Vegan 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
You can make muffin batter up to two days ahead of time, but the batter may thicken and the muffins won’t be as soft and fluffy. Add a small amount (1/4 cup) of plant-based milk to the batter to thin it out if it’s too thick before baking.
Yes! Simply use applesauce instead of oil in this recipe for oil-free muffins.
To make this recipe gluten free, simply use a gluten free all-purpose flour or another gluten free flour like spelt (I have not tested this).
💡 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
- Refrigerator storage: Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
- 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 and Lemon Berry Cornmeal Muffins.
Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Equipment
- 1 muffin tin
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 microplane
Ingredients
- 1 cup plant-based milk oat or soy
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or applesauce if oil-free
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten free flour
- ¼ cup poppyseeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients: To a small bowl, add 1 cup plant-based milk, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Whisk to combine, then let sit for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Make lemon zested sugar: To a small bowl or plate, add 2 tablespoons lemon zest and ½ cup granulated sugar. 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.
- Combine dry ingredients: Combine the 2 cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup poppyseeds, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, and the lemon zested sugar from step two into a large bowl. Use a whisk to combine ingredients.
- 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.
- 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.