Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

As a seasonal classic, these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are soft and moist with a sweet crumble topping. Bursting with citrus flavor and a subtle sweetness, these lemon poppyseed muffins are absolutely delicious. Plus they have a slight crunch from the poppy seeds in every bite!

I love these muffins alongside my morning coffee or with an iced tea in the afternoon. They’re gluten free, vegan, and perfect to make ahead for a quick bite. Prep a batch now and thank me later!

If you’re looking to another lemon creation, check out this easy cake recipe. Gluten Free Lemon Cake bursting with lemon flavor in a soft and moist loaf form. The cake has a lemon drizzle on top that’s next level tasty!

Ingredients

Coconut Sugar – A refined sugar free sweetener with a subtle caramel flavor.

Unsweetened Applesauce – Adds sweetness to the muffins while also serving as a vegan egg replacement.

Coconut Oil – Coconut oil is a great vegan alternative for butter. Just be sure to melt then cool the coconut oil before mixing with other ingredients.

Almond Milk – My favorite plant based milk to drink and bake with. Feel free to use any plant based milk available.

Lemon Juice – The acidic nature of lemon juice helps balance the flavors + acts with the baking soda to help give rise to these vegan muffins.

Lemon Zest – Deepens the lemon flavor for that fresh citrusy pop.

Gluten Free Flour – My go to GF flour blend is the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Mix. It gives the best texture to baked goods and is such an easy swap.

Almond Flour – My favorite naturally gluten free flour. Almond flour gives a light and airy texture to baked goods without being too dense. I love Bob’s Red Mill almond flour for the texture + quality.

Poppy Seeds – Have an ever so slight nutty flavor to them but are more often used for texture. You can buy in bulk on amazon and Frontier Co-Op or in smaller sizes at most grocery stores.

Baking Powder/Baking Soda – Help give rise to these gluten free and vegan muffins.

How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a regular size muffin tray with 12 liners.
2. To a large mixing bowl combine all wet ingredients – coconut sugar, applesauce, coconut oil, almond milk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest – and whisk together until well combined. You want to make sure the applesauce, coconut oil, and almond milk are all room temperature otherwise you risk the coconut oil clumping. If you are bringing items from the fridge (applesauce and almond milk), you can also microwave for 10-20 seconds until they are slightly warm.
3. Add in your dry ingredients – GF flour, almond flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – and stir until just combined. Let the batter sit for at least 5 minutes so it has time to thicken.
4. While the batter rests – prepare your crumble topping. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and use your hands to mix together until evenly combined.
5. To your muffin pan, fill so each liner is *almost* full – I used a 3 tbsp cookie scoop so each liner was even. Top with crumble topping and lightly press into the batter.
6. Move to the oven and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes (mine were 21 minutes), or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Gluten Free Crumble Topping

The key to a good crumble topping is balancing the liquid and dry ingredients. You want the crumble to thoroughly combine without getting too wet and dense. For this recipe you’ll need almond flour, rolled oats, coconut sugar, cashew butter, coconut oil, and poppy seeds.

Once you’ve made your lemon poppyseed muffin batter, let it rest while you prepare the crumble topping. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and use your hands to mix together until evenly combined.

• For a lighter crumble: use your hands to combine until you can rub your thumbs together and the topping sprinkles onto the muffins.

• For a thicker crumble: form the crumble mixture in a ball, then pinch off clumps of the crumble and press into the top of the muffin lightly.

How to Zest a Lemon Without a Zester

Whether sweet or savory, I love adding lemon zest to my recipes. It’s such a simple way to add fresh flavor while also using more of the lemon.

If the idea of zesting a lemon has you wary though, fear not I’ve got you covered. You actually don’t need a “zester” to zest a lemon. Here are some simple ways to do it without.

• Box Grater – If you’ve ever used a box grater to grate apples, zucchini, or cheese then you’re set. Use the smallest size available and gently ‘grate’ the lemon peel.
• Paring Knife – You’ll want to be careful while doing this method but it does work well. Gently scrape the serrated edge of the knife against the lemon peel and keep going until you get to the white pulp layer.
• Vegetable Peeler – Just as you would any other vegetable/fruit, hold it carefully and gently peel the outer layer off. Once you’ve got the thin sliced lemon peels, chop and mince them into the smallest pieces possible.

Poppy Seed Recipes

If you’ve never baked with poppy seeds before then consider this your push to do so! The tiny little seeds are nearly flavorless yet add great texture.

I love to bake muffins, breads, or even desserts like cookies and cakes with poppy seeds. It’s just a fun way to add some health benefits plus they look neat, like little sprinkles!

You can find all sorts of poppy seed recipes on the web or try my summer favorite, Vegan Lemon Cake Cookies. These vegan + gluten free lemon poppyseed cookies are part cake, part cookie dough, with the most incredible texture! Made with a base of almond flour and coconut flour, they are lightly sweetened with maple syrup and topped with an easy lemon glaze. Absolutely delicious and healthy too!

And if you try this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment and rating in the boxes below! I always love to hear from you, and it also helps other people find this recipe when they search online for the BEST Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins 🙂

Vegan + GF Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Author Casey Colodny

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 20 minutes minutes

Total: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

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Bursting with citrus flavor and with a subtle sweetness, these lemon poppyseed muffins are absolutely delicious. Plus they have a slight crunch from the poppy seeds in every bite!

Ingredients

Wet:

• ⅔ cup coconut sugar
• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce room temperature
• ¼ cup coconut oil melted & cooled
• ½ cup almond milk room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest ~1 whole lemon (make sure to do before you juice your lemon!)

Dry:

• 1 cup 1:1 gluten free flour I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour
• 1 cup super fine blanched almond flour
• 1 tbsp poppyseeds
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt

Crumble Topping:

• ½ cup super fine blanched almond flour
• 3 tbsp rolled oats
• 2 tbsp cashew butter
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp coconut oil solidified
• 1 tsp poppy seeds

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F and line a regular size muffin tray with 12 liners.
• To a large mixing bowl combine all wet ingredients – coconut sugar, applesauce, coconut oil, almond milk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest – and whisk together until well combined.* Recipe notes below for how to avoid the coconut oil clumping, but if it does, these muffins will still turn out well!
• Add in your dry ingredients – GF flour, almond flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – and stir until just combined. Let the batter sit for at least 5 minutes so it has time to thicken.
  
• While the batter rests – prepare your crumble topping. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and use your hands to mix together until evenly combined.

  For a lighter crumble: use your hands to combine until you can rub your thumbs together and the topping sprinkles onto the muffins

  For a thicker crumble: form the crumble mixture in a ball, then pinch off clumps of the crumble and press into the top of the muffin lightly.
  
• To your muffin pan, fill so each liner is *almost* full – I used a 3 tbsp cookie scoop so each liner was even. Top with crumble topping and lightly press into the batter.
  
• Move to the oven and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes (mine were 21 minutes), or until a knife inserted comes out clean
  

Notes

*You want to make sure the applesauce, coconut oil, and almond milk are all room temperature otherwise you risk the coconut oil clumping. If you are bringing items from the fridge (applesauce and almond milk), you can also microwave for 10-20 seconds until they are slightly warm.

STORAGE:

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days – I like to store with a paper towel in the container to absorb excess moisture. You can also store in the fridge for up to a week, but make sure to microwave or heat until warm for the best texture! Straight out of the fridge they can be a little hard and you miss the moist texture.

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