Name: Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Gluten Free)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients: 2/3 cup vegan buttermilk* (166ml // make your own by combining 2/3 cup plant based milk + 1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar); 1/3 cup lemon juice (83ml); 1/3 cup coconut sugar (68g); 1 tbsp lemon zest; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp oat flour (166g); 1 cup almond flour (112g); 3 tbsp tapioca starch (28g); 2 tbsp poppy seeds (18g); 2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/4 tsp salt

lemon poppy seed muffins stacked on each other with a bite shot

This Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins recipe is deliciously moist, fluffy and bursting with flavour of this lovely citrus. Easy to make in just 1-bowl using healthy ingredients! Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar Free & Oil-Free.

3/4 angle shot of lemon poppy seed muffins with glaze

These lemon poppy seed muffins are EVERYTHING in my life right now– moist, fluffy and bursting with the lovely flavours of lemon. Guysss, I can just feel spring right around the corner.

But for now, these are the muffins that give me hope that the weather will soon get warmer. Ready to get a taste of spring?

ingredients for vegan lemon poppy seed muffins on a marble backdrop

What You Need

Oh, and yeah there are (a couple) more reasons why these muffins are amazing and kinda my favourite right now– they’re made with healthy wholesome ingredients but still taste AMAZING:

Vegan Buttermilk: basically some dairy free milk mixed in with some apple cider vinegar and rested for around 5 minutes
Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest: (duh)
Coconut Sugar: for a bit of sweetness to balance the tartness of the lemons
Oat Flour: gives these muffins a nice crumb and is packed with fibre!!
Almond Flour: brings moisture and the combo of oat and almond flour creates the perfect texture for gluten free lemon poppy seed muffins
Tapioca Starch: for binding and fluffiness purposes
Poppy Seeds: (duh x2) I mean, you could also use chia seeds if you don’t have poppy seeds on hand

That’s right ya’ll. Delicious treat-like lemon poppy seed muffins that are flourless, eggless, low in sugar and oil free.

How to Make Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Muffins are easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

From the get-go I’ll have the buttermilk prepared either overnight or while I gather the other ingredients. Once its nice and thick, I’ll mix in all the wet ingredients.
Then add in the dry ingredients and use a big spatula and mix everything together scraping the sides of the bowl inward until a thick muffin batter forms.
Fill the muffin tins to the BRIM. Don’t be shy here, get aggressive and fill them to the tippy top. Then just bake ’em up!

The muffins are baked at 425F degrees for the initial 5 minutes. This encourage the muffins to burst quickly to achieve sky high tall muffins. Then reduce the temperature to 350F degrees and bake for another 18-20 minutes to finish them off. Don’t bake them at 425F degrees the entire time or you’ll be left with burnt the tops and raw bottoms.

Let them cool on a wire rack and then drizzle on a lemon-y glaze! Simply just mix together vegan powdered sugar with 1 tsp of lemon juice and 1-2 tsp of water until you get the right consistency (not too runny but not thick). You can also top it off with some sliced almonds or more poppy seeds for extra crunch, yum.

gluten free lemon poppy seed muffins on a wire rack with glaze on top

Tips for Perfect Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Fill Them to the TOP: in addition to the temperature, filling them to the top is what gets you those high top tall muffins.
Rotate the Muffin Tins When Baking: this encourages even baking of the muffins.
Remove them From the Muffins Tins (!!): I like to remove the muffins from the tins as soon as I can touch them. Leaving them in the muffin tins not only continues to cook them because of the heat but it also creates soggy muffins.

How to Store Lemon Muffins

Room Temperature: Place a paper towel on the bottom of a container. Then put the muffins in the container in one layer. Add another paper towel to the top and cover the container but do not seal it. It will keep at room temperature for to 2-3 days.
Freezer: If not eating within 2 days, it’s best to freeze the muffins by keeping them in a air tight freezer safe bag or container for up to 1 month.

side top shot of healthy lemon poppy seed muffins drizzled with glaze

These muffins are textural perfection– fluffy, moist, cake-like with little bits of crunchy poppy seeds. SO GOOD.

Here’s what my favourite taste tester (Eric) had to say about them: “they taste like something you would get at Starbucks… like one of their unhealthy cakes or muffins or something, damn thats good”.

I hope you try and love these vegan lemon poppy seed muffins as much as we do!

cross section of lemon poppy seed muffins on a muffin liner

More Vegan Gluten Free Muffins

lemon poppy seed on another muffin with a bite shot

If you recreate this Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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