Vegan lemon poppy seed muffins made with gluten free ingredients without compromising on taste or texture. Moist and citrusy with a touch of sweet!
The texture of these muffins is perfection. It's amazing that they use 10 simple ingredients. These will quickly become a family favorite!
This post was sponsored by Rubbermaid but the content and opinions expressed are fully my own.
We love all types of muffins especially those made with fruit like vegan apple cinnamon muffins and vegan banana bread muffins. Adding lemon poppy seed into the mix will get us muffins all year long!
Ingredients
Making vegan lemon poppy seed muffins also gluten free is not easy, but I was able to conquer the perfect texture and flavor without eggs, butter or oil!
Once they're baked I keep them sealed in my Rubbermaid storage containers with the EasyFindLids System™ to maintain that perfect taste and texture.
Here is what I use for the muffins:
Dry ingredients-
- Oat flour - double check it's gluten free if needed
- Fine grain almond flour
- Cane sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Sea salt
- Poppyseeds
This gluten-free flour mix is what I used for the best texture. I have not tried subbing with another ready mix.
Wet ingredients-
- Light coconut milk or other non-dairy milk
- Lemon juice
- Unsweetened apple sauce
- Lemon zest
Dress up your lemon and poppy seed muffins with an optional lemon glaze made with:
- Powdered sugar
- Lemon juice
How to Make Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
You're going to love this vegan muffin recipe, it'll quickly become your go to! They have the best lemon flavor, take about 10 minutes of prep and 30 minutes to bake to sweet perfection:
- Mix all dry ingredients, except for the poppy seeds, in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk in the coconut milk, lemon juice and apple sauce.
- Fold in the lemon zest and poppyseeds.
- Fill prepared muffin tins lined with baking cups.
- Bake, then let cool on a cooling rack.
- Drizzle with the icing if using and serve!
NOTE: You can print the FULL recipe with all ingredients & detailed instructions below!
Flavor Variations
Customize these lemon and poppy seed muffins each time you make them with a variety of flavors. Mix any of these into the batter, or use as a topping. The lemon blueberry muffins were my fave combo!
Be aware that adding frozen fruit will add extra moisture to the batter and can effect the end result, and may need longer to bake.
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Shredded coconut
- Chia seeds
- Slivered almonds
- Fresh mint or basil
- Or make these lemon poppyseed cupcakes by adding frosting!
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
Keep these vegan and gluten-free lemon poppyseed muffins as fresh as possible! Rubbermaid's EasyFindLids System™ has a variety of sizes to store your prepped ingredients and finished muffins.
- Prep the components up to 3 days ahead of time:
- Mix the dry ingredients in advance and store in an airtight container.
- In a separate storage container combine the dairy free milk, apple sauce, and lemon juice. Keep in the fridge.
- Make the icing if using, refrigerate until baking.
- Or make the muffin batter up to 24 hours ahead of time.
- Combine everything and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Give a quick stir just before pouring into the muffin tins and baking.
- Once baked, seal the lemon poppy seed muffins in an airtight container at room temperature.
- They'll be best the first 2 days, but will keep for up to 5.
- Freeze the muffins for later!
- Seal in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The Best Storage Containers
My top choice for keeping these vegan lemon muffins perfectly fresh is the Rubbermaid EasyFindLids containers. Here's why:
- They're super cute! Which means I can take these muffins along to parties or give as a gift and the container doubles as a serving platter.
- The EasyFindLids System™ has lids that match multiple bases and eliminates that annoying search for a matching lid.
- They nest beautifully in my cabinets keeping them nice and organized, and once filled they stack perfectly!
- Freezer safe means these muffins have a home for months!
- Dishwasher safe because who wants to do extra dishes by hand?
Preparation Tips
In order to get the best success with this lemon poppy seed muffin recipe make sure to follow these tips:
- Use foil baking cups in the muffin pan as they don’t stick like paper does.
- To ensure the vegan lemon muffins rise evenly, smooth the batter down on the top using a moistened finger.
- The baking time may vary by a minute or two.
- Start checking them at 20 minutes and take out when a toothpick comes out clean and the tops just begin to get firm.
- Let the poppy seed muffins cool in the tins until they are cool to the touch, then transfer to baking racks until completely cool, about an hour.
- For the best texture you need accuracy with the flours. Which is why I include precise weights. If you don’t have a scale, then you can purchase this fairly inexpensive one.
- If you prefer to measure, then measure the flours by scooping your measuring cup into the flour versus spooning it into it. This is how I measured when getting my weights.
- I trialed these with many different sugars and cane sugar gave the best flavor. You can use coconut sugar but it will give you a deeper flavor that won’t be as sweet.
Other Amazing Vegan Gluten Free Muffins
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour , gluten free if needed
- ¾ cup fine grain almond flour
- 1 ¼ cup cane sugar , see note
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup light coconut milk
- ¾ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup poppyseeds
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
Icing (optional):
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F/ 120 C.
- Put flours, sugar, baking powder, into a medium bowl. Whisk to mix and break up any clumps.
- Make a little well in the middle and add in the coconut milk, lemon juice and apple sauce.
- Whisk again to combine and get a smooth batter.
- Fold in the lemon zest and poppyseeds
- Fill 12 muffin tins lined with baking cups or prepare the muffin tins with butter or oil. I use foil baking cups as they don’t stick like paper does. I also smoothed the batter down on the top by using a moistened finger, this helps them rise evenly as they bake.
- Bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes. Depending on your oven, your baking time may vary by a minute or two. Start checking them at 20 minutes and take out when a toothpick comes out clean and the tops just begin to get firm.
- Let cool in the muffin tins. Once cool to the touch, remove and continue cooling on baking racks until completely cool, about an hour.
- Once cooled you can top with the icing if you choose to use it and serve.
Notes
- I trialed these with many different sugars and cane sugar gave the best flavor. You can use coconut sugar but it will give you a deeper flavor that won’t be as sweet.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Steffanie
You said you tried the recipe with many different sugars. Did you try it with maple syrup, and if so, what was the outcome? (I just don't do cane sugar)
Thanksa
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Steffanie! Maple syrup, or other wet sweeteners, would totally change this recipe unfortunately. The texture was best using a dry sweetener. You can try maple sugar!