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.
Gina
Never tried anything like this before but they were delicious, can’t believe they’re quite healthy too!
Rhian Williams
Aw thank you so much for sharing, really happy to hear that!
Alison
I’ve been trying to perfect something lemon poppy seed muffins… but yours look amazing!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so glad you think so!
Olga
Just made them and they are so surprisingly summerly delicious! Thank you!
Rhian Williams
Amazing, thank you so much! Really glad you like them!
Roxy
Hi i would like to know if i can replace the APF gluten free for other like oat, brown rice or any other flour. thanks
Rhian Williams
Hi – yes I think brown rice flour should work, and oat flour should work if you add some extra milk because it absorbs more liquid. Hope that helps!
Elizabeth
How did you get that shape to the muffin and also those wraps? An affiliate link for those would be great, thanks! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Rhian Williams
Thank you! I’m so sorry I can’t find a link to the muffin cases I bought anywhere as I bought them in Japan…I hope you manage to find some that shape but I can’t find any of that shape anywhere online. Sorry!
Mai
Hi, I have a nut allergy so I was wondering if there was something else I could put instead of the almond meal? Really excited to try your recipe!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much! You can use ground sunflower seeds or use a fifth of the amount of coconut flour. Hope that helps!
Valentina Allende
Hi! I’d like to know what can I substitute the maple syrup with cause I can’t find it anywhere in my city. Thanks!
Rhian Williams
Hi! You can use any other liquid sweetener – so agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or honey if you’re not vegan, or you can even just use the same amount of sugar. Hope that helps!
Mieks
Just made these, they are delicious. I was able to make 12 following the recipe fairly closely and used regular flour. Super yummy and moist:) Thanks so much!
Rhian Williams
Aw great, thank you so much. So glad you like them!
P. Dot
Can you use only regular flour and not a mix? I’m poor, so can’t buy fancy stuff aside from what I need to get with a dairy allergy. Thanks.
Rhian Williams
Yep you can use regular wheat flour no problem!
Kara Western
I really enjoyed these! The only thing I changed was to use 1/4 cup brown sugar instead of maple syrup. I used buckwheat and oat flour, they turned out a little dry and crumbly. It made 12 regular sized muffins, but they didn’t rise at all. I’m new to gf baking is this normally a problem when not using gluten? Thank you!!
Rhian Williams
Hi, thank you for your feedback! I’m glad you liked the muffins. I think they were dry and crumbly because both buckwheat and oat flour are like that and require more moisture. Using a mixture of almond flour and gluten-free flour keeps them moist. If using buckwheat and oat flour in future I would add some extra milk and maybe something to help with moisture such as a few tablespoons of applesauce. Hope that helps!
Anonymous
Do you think this recipe would work using all almond flour rather than a mix?
Rhian Williams
I’m sorry I have tested it like that, but unfortunately it doesn’t work with 100% almond flour. If you don’t want to use gluten-free flour, you can alternatively use rice flour. Hope that helps!
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!