These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are moist and fluffy, fresh and tangy and healthy enough for breakfast!
With summer just around the corner, I thought it was time to introduce everyone to a sweet treat that’s easy to make, and suitable for all sorts of summery occasions like:
- picnics
- alfresco breakfast
- lazy brunches
- packed lunches
- road trips
- general travelling
and what better than not-too-sweet, zesty, nutty Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins!
The base of these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins is my go-to vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free muffin batter. It requires just one bowl, simple ingredients, and is easily customisable – you can use any type of oil, any plant-based milk and any type of liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc).
Plus, if you’re not into almonds, the ground almonds can easily be substituted with ground walnuts, or ground sunflower seeds if you’re nut-free.
You can just make these muffins with lemon, but I decided to add poppy seeds for extra texture, a slightly nutty flavour, and because they add some extra nutrients too!
Inspired by my Lemon Poppy Seed Cake recipe, I decided to make a sweet, tangy lemon syrup to pour over the muffins. The syrup is refined sugar free and easy to make, and adds a little extra zippy sweetness. I recommend pouring the syrup over the muffins straight out the oven while they’re still hot, so that it gets properly absorbed.
But, it’s totally optional so you can definitely leave it out if you want.
These muffins do taste best when fresh, but they’re easily transportable and keep well for a few days. You can reheat them in the oven or an oven toaster if you like.
For more muffin recipes, check out my:
- Carrot Muffins
- Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins
- Chocolate Muffins
- Apple Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Muffin Tin Sushi Cups
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make these Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:
glass mixing bowl
measuring jug
muffin/cupcake tin
Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 200 ml (4/5 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 150 g (1 1/4 cups) ground almonds* (almond meal)
- 150 g (1 1/4 cups) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking power (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
For the syrup (optional):
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
For the muffins:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil)
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, poppy seeds and ground almonds
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry
- Transfer the mixture between 8 muffin cases in a muffin tin
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean
For the syrup:
- Whilst the muffins are baking, mix together the lemon juice and maple syrup
- Drizzle it over the muffins as soon as they’re out of the oven - it will soak into the muffins better when they're hot
- These muffins taste best eaten on the day they’re made, but keep for a few days. They can be reheated in the oven or an oven toaster if you like!
Notes
almond flourDisclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Eva
These sound amaaazing! Do you think they’ll hold well in the freezer? So I can make some extra and save them for a rainy day 🙂
Rhian Williams
Thank you! Yes should be ok!
John
If I substitute maple syrup for maple sugar, may I add more coconut oil in the recipe to balance the liquid/solid ratio?
Rhian Williams
Yes the should be ok to add some extra coconut oil to balance out the liquid, but it should be ok even if you don’t add extra coconut oil. Hope that helps!
kelsey
Loved these muffins. Im allergic to gluten, diary, soy and eggs so its hard to find recipes that actually taste good. I followed your recipe exactly and it made 12 delicious muffins. I’ll defiantly be making this again. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so glad you liked them!
Abby
Would I be able to make these without the ground almonds? Thanks! 🙂
Rhian Williams
Yes – but they will need to be substituted with ground walnuts or ground sunflower seeds!
Audra
I just made these muffins and they are really good. I am curious what the consistency of the batter should be like. MY muffins did not rise as much as the ones in your pictures and they were also more dense. Thanks!
Rhian Williams
Thank you for your feedback! The batter should be a little bit more liquidy than a traditional cake batter. If your muffins didn’t rise as much I would suggest adding a little extra baking powder next time!