These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Muffins are fluffy, sweet and tangy. They’re made with yogurt, which keeps them seriously moist. They come together in one bowl and are refined sugar free too. Perfect for breakfast, a snack or dessert.
Why do these muffins contain yogurt?
I was a bit worried that these lemon muffins might come out too dry, but I managed to combat this issue by using plant-based yogurt in place of plant-based milk. Not only does the yogurt keep the muffins super moist whilst creating a beautifully dense crumb, but it also creates a tangy flavour.
Tips for baking with lemons
- For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you’ve had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
- You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
- I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you’re using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
- For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.
How to make this recipe
- Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.
- Divide the batter between muffin cases in a muffin/cupcake tin.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
For even more lemon flavour, you can make a lemon syrup to pour over the muffins. The syrup is refined sugar free and easy to make, and adds a little extra zippy sweetness.
Tips for the lemon syrup
- Mix it together while you’re waiting for the muffins to bake in the oven.
- I recommend pouring the syrup over the muffins straight out the oven while they’re still hot, so that it gets properly absorbed.
- It’s optional so you can leave it out if you want.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of plant-based yogurt: almond, soy, cashew or coconut yogurt all work well.
- If you can’t find plant-based yogurt, you can replace it with any type of plant-based milk, or use an equivalent amount of blended up silken tofu.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds.
- You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
Different flavour alternatives
You can easily make this recipe your own by adding ingredients that suit your taste preferences. Here are some ideas:
- Poppy seeds – use my Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins recipe instead.
- Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries – use my Blueberry Muffins recipe as a guide for how much fruit to add.
- Desiccated coconut.
- Dried cranberries.
How long do these Lemon Muffins keep for?
These Muffins do taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days. You can reheat them in the oven or an oven toaster if you like.
More gluten-free vegan muffin recipes
- Carrot Muffins
- Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins
- Chocolate Muffins
- Apple Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Banana Muffins
- Orange Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
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 #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make it
Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 230 ml (1 cup) unsweetened plant-based yogurt (I used coconut yogurt but you can use any other plant-based milk) *
- 8 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (use unwaxed lemons)
- 12 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
For the syrup (optional):
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
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 yogurt to the same bowl along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash of any plant-based milk if it’s looking too dry.
- Transfer the mixture between 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!
Video
Notes
- For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you’ve had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
- You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
- I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you’re using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
- For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.
Disclosure: 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.
illy
Hi,
the recipe says 12 tablespoons maple syrup.
12??
Is that right?
Rhian Williams
Yes, because lemon juice is sour. You can cut down the amount of sugar if you want though!
Emily
I followed the recipe step by step, but did not come out good at all. Not tasty 🙁
Rhian Williams
Sorry to hear that! What type of gluten-free flour did you use?
TMVA
Disappointed. I had high hopes for the muffins. They were not light and fluffy, the taste was meh and gummy. I used cup4cup gf.
Rhian Williams
I’m sorry to hear that. I think the issue was the type of flour you used contained xanthan gum, which can result in a gummy texture for baked goods such as muffins. I’d recommend using a gluten-free flour without xanthan gum, or using 140g white rice flour and 10g tapioca flour. I hope that helps!