Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins, an easy plant-based muffin recipe with lemon juice, lemon zest, and crunchy poppyseeds. Ready in under 30 minutes!

Love lemon poppyseed muffins, but not sure how to make them vegan? These easy peasy muffins use baking ingredients you likely already have on hand, and they are so soft and moist you’d never know that they’re vegan.

👉 Ready to learn how to make plant-based poppyseed lemon muffins? Let’s do it!

---

🍋 Ingredients

• Flour: all-purpose flour is what I used in this recipe, but you can use gluten free all-purpose other another gluten free flour (I have not tested it)
• Lemon juice and zest: zest a lemon and then squeeze the juice, we’ll use both to flavor the muffins
• Poppyseeds: very thin, small black seeds from the poppy flour that add a nice crunchy texture
• Plant-based milk: a creamy plant-based milk like oat or soy works best
• Apple cider vinegar: a splash adds a dash of flavor
• Oil: a light vegetable oil or apple sauce, if you want to go oil-free
• Vanilla extract: adds flavor and a light brown solor
• Sugar: granulated white sugar is best, though brown sugar can also be used
• Baking powder, baking soda, salt: helps muffins to rise and become soft
• Recommended tools: muffin tin, mixing bowls

---

🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)

1️⃣ Step One: Preheat oven and prep muffin tin

The first step to making plant-based lemon poppy seeds muffins is to preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).

Then line a muffin pan with muffin liners and set aside.

---

2️⃣ Step Two: Combine the wet ingredients

To a small bowl, add plant based milk, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

Whisk to combine, then let sit for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

---

3️⃣ Step Three: Make lemon zested sugar

To a small bowl or plate, add granulated sugar and lemon zest.

Then, using your hands, mash the zest into the sugar to help release the lemon zest oils to coat the sugar. This will provide a very strong lemon taste for the muffins.

---

4️⃣ Step Four: Combine dry ingredients

Combine the all-purpose flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and the lemon zested sugar from step two into a large bowl. Use a whisk to combine ingredients.

---

5️⃣ Step Five: Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients

Slowly drizzle in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together with a baking spatula.

Keep folding until all ingredients are combined, but do not over mix.

---

4️⃣ Step Four: Bake muffins

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full, which is about 1/4 cup of the batter.

Then bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean with no batter residue.

Remove the muffin pan from the oven and place muffins on a baking rack until cool. Then serve or store to enjoy later!

---

❓ Recipe questions + quick tips

---

💡 Ideas for serving

• As a tasty breakfast muffin. Make a big batch of these muffins for an on-the-go plant-based breakfast.
• As an afternoon snack. Pair this muffin with a piece of fruit for a quick afternoon snack.
• As a dessert. Drizzle a bit of homemade icing or other sweet topping for an easy dessert.

---

🧊 How to store

1. Refrigerator storage: Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
2. Freezer storage: Freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container for up to one month. To thaw, remove from the freezer into the refrigerator for 24 hours before enjoying.

---

👉 More plant-based muffin recipes

Want more vegan muffin recipes? Try Vegan Bran Muffins, Blueberry Bran Muffins, Zucchini Bread Muffins, and Lemon Berry Cornmeal Muffins.

UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in May 2023 and was updated in November 2024 for clarity.