Lemon Pomegranate Muffins

These lemon pomegranate muffins take advantage of the the abundance of the bright, red, and flavorful pomegranates that are available right now. 

These muffins begin with a tender, sweet, buttery, and lemony crumb filled with pomegranate arils and poppy seeds and are topped with a crumbly poppy seed streusel. 

I was really sad when they were all gone. Fortunately, these muffins are super easy to make so you can bet that there will be more... very soon. 

I'm also on a quest to get creative with pomegranates while they are in season. They are so good in one of my favorite salads where they are sprinkled over arugula with fennel and apples, or over baby greens with cheese and pecans. They're also tasty iin cocktails, and even in chocolate desserts. 

Ingredients in These Muffins:

From the Pantry: Unbleached all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. 

From the Fridge: Eggs, sour cream and melted unsalted butter. 

Poppy Seeds: They always go so well with lemon cakes and quick breads. 

Lemon Zest and Juice: I used Meyer lemon, which is slightly sweeter than most lemons. They were part of a package I received from the wonderful Melissa's Produce, along with some pomegranates, to celebrate fall cooking and baking. 

Pomegranate Arils: You can either use the pre-packaged arils that are already removed from the pomegranate, or you can separate the arils yourself. I used both. 

To Make These Muffins:

First, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Then, stir in the pomegranate arils. 

In another bowl, whisk together the sour cream, melted butter, eggs, poppy seeds, and lemon zest and juice. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and then divide the batter among the cavities of a muffin tin.

Next, make the streusel. Whisk together sugar, flour, poppy seeds, and salt. Cut in softened butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter and then pinch the ingredients together into crumbly clumps. Sprinkle the streusel over the tops of the muffins right before baking. 

Finally, bake the muffins for about 25 minutes. 

Tip for Removing the Arils from the Pomegranate:

Removing arils from a pomegranate isn't all that difficult, unless, of course you don't want to get sprayed with pomegranate juice. (It stains!)

This time, I tried removing the arils in a bowl of ice water. Once you cut or tear the fruit open and slice it into quarters, place the pieces into a bowl of ice water and then pull the arils away from the flesh. The arils should sink and the flesh should rise to the top of the water. 

Drain the arils on paper towels. Be careful not to press or crush them. 

Storage:

You can store these muffins in an airtight container for up to four days. They are best kept in the refrigerator because of the fresh pomegranate, especially after a day or two. 

To rewarm the muffins, microwave them individually for about 15 to 20 seconds. 

These muffins were so good. I love the combination of lemon and pomegranate flavors, and the streusel added just the right sweetness. 

You can serve them at room temperature or warmed and with or without a little melty butter or jam. 

Muffin Monday - October 2025! 

Another month, another muffin! 

• Cinnamon Stuffed Streusel Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Lemon Pomegranate Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Oatmeal Zucchini Muffins with Dried Cranberries from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Peanut Ripple Banana Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Simple Banana Muffins (2 Bananas = 6 Muffins) from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Sourdough Peanut Butter Banana Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Lemon Pomegranate Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Author: Karen Kerr

These lemon pomegranate muffins take advantage of the the abundance of the bright, red, and flavorful pomegranates that are available right now. 

Ingredients

For the Muffins

• 188 grams (1 1/2 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
• 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 1.88 grams (scant 1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
• .75 grams (1/4 teaspoon) kosher salt
• 124 grams (3/4 cup) pomegranate arils
• 120 grams (1/2 cup) sour cream, room temperature
• 113 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 5 grams (1 1/2 teaspoon) poppy seeds
• 1.5 grams (1 1/2 teaspoons) lemon zest
• 8 grams (1 1/2 teaspoons) lemon juice

For the Streusel

• 66 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 42 grams (1/3 cup) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 29 grams (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed and softened

Instructions

To Make the Muffins

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F with a rack in the middle. Prepare a 12 cavity muffin tin with butter and flour or Baker's Joy nonstick spray.
2. n a medium-large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the pomegranate arils.
3. In another medium-large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, butter, eggs, poppy seeds, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Fold in the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
4. Divide the batter among the cavities of the muffin tin and top with the streusel. Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes. Move the muffins to a wire rack to continue to cool.

To Make the Streusel

1. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, poppy seeds, and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter and crumble everything together and pressing some of the ingredients together into clumps. Use immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

283

Fat (grams)

13 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

7 g

Carbs (grams)

39 g

Fiber (grams)

1 g

Net carbs

38 g

Sugar (grams)

24 g

Protein (grams)

4 g

Cholesterol (grams)

62 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2025/10/lemon-pomegranate-muffins.html

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Recipe adapted from Bake From Scratch Magazine, November/December 2018. If you love baking, this magazine is wonderful. It's one of my favorites.