Friends, prepare to level up your muffin game with these undetectably vegan and gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffins! They’re perfectly sweet, tender, FLUFFY, and bursting with bright, lemony goodness.
Made in just 1 bowl, they’re just as fun to make as they are to eat! Let’s get baking!
How to Make Vegan Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
These super FLUFFY muffins begin with using an electric mixer to cream together the vegan butter, cane sugar, and lemon zest. This adds air (to create fluffiness) and infuses the butter with BIG lemon flavor.
Next comes applesauce for moisture and a generous amount of lemon juice because we aren’t messing around when we say BIG lemon flavor! It just wouldn’t be a lemon poppyseed muffin without it. Vanilla extract is key, too, for quintessential muffin flavor!
Then it’s time for the dry ingredients: Almond flour keeps these muffins light and cakey, our GO-TO gluten-free blend adds structure, baking powder and baking soda give them major rise, sea salt adds flavor, and poppyseeds add a pleasant crunch.
The last step: Divide your batter between muffin liners and bake until fluffy with lightly golden edges. And for best texture, try to wait for your muffins to cool before digging in! We know — it’s hard. But these are worth the wait!
We hope you LOVE these lemon poppy seed muffins! They’re:
Fluffy
Bright
Tender
Super lemony
& Undetectably vegan + gluten-free!
Enjoy them for brunch, snack, or dessert, or take them to gatherings to see if you can impress even your gluten-loving friends (we think you will)!
More Lemony Recipes
- Lemon Loaf Cake (Vegan/GF)
- Lemon Blueberry Waffles (Vegan + Gluten-Free)
- Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars
- No-Bake Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Donut Holes
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup cane sugar* (ensure organic for vegan-friendly)
- 1/3 cup softened vegan butter (we used Miyoko’s)
- 3 Tbsp lemon zest (4-5 lemons yield ~3 Tbsp zest)
- 1/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour (we like Wellbee’s)
- 1/2 cup dairy-free milk (plain, unsweetened // we used almond milk)
- 1 ¼ cup MB 1:1 GF Blend (or all-purpose flour if not GF // see notes for other options)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ Tbsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a standard muffin tin with 12 muffin liners (we like these), or lightly grease.
- To a medium mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the cane sugar, softened vegan butter, and lemon zest. Mix with an electric stand mixer or handheld mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Next add applesauce, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and beat on medium until well combined and slightly fluffy. The mixture may look curdled, which is fine. This will sort itself out in the next step!
- Now add almond flour and beat until smooth and well incorporated. Next add in the milk and mix on low until fully combined. Finally, add the gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and poppy seeds. Mix on medium until light and fluffy with the poppy seeds evenly distributed.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin liners and bake for 30-34 minutes, until lightly golden on the edges. When a toothpick is inserted into a muffin it should come out almost clean with just a crumb or two left behind. For the best possible texture, let the muffins cool completely before enjoying.
- Best when fresh, but they can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
*If using our original DIY Gluten-Free Flour Blend or a similar store-bought brand such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour, we suggest using slightly more of it. Results will vary.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
Kaja Gula-Thomas says
Hello! Sounds delicious but I would like to cut the sugar in half. How would I need to adjust the rest of the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Kaja, The sugar is important for structure here so we wouldn’t recommend reducing it, but if you still want to try it, we would suggest keeping everything else the same.
xeejaydivision says
This recipe sounds so good, but, at risk of sounding like someone who shouldn’t be making it, is there a substitute for the Almond Flour? And (less importantly) the applesauce? Flour is down to a nut allergy, applesauce is just not common in the UK but I might be able to find it with baby food. Thanks. Xx
Hi! We wish we had a good gluten-free, nut-free alternative for you, but unfortunately almond flour is important here for the light and fluffy texture! You could play around with a mix of other GF flours (sunflower/pumpkin seed meal, more GF blend, cassava flour, potato starch), but it will take some experimentation to get the right amounts as they vary in their absorbency and properties. We would suggest referencing our guide to gluten-free flours for guidance. Or if you’re not GF and can have all-purpose flour, that would be an option (it’s not as absorbent so you’ll only need about half the amount). For the applesauce, you could try another neutral-flavored fruit/veggie purée (such as pear sauce) or 2 eggs (if not vegan) and bake for less time since eggs will be more drying. We haven’t tried with these modifications so we can’t guarantee the muffins will turn out the same. Let us know if you do some experimenting!
The Vegan Goddess says
This looks delicious. I love lemon desserts and will make this.
H’mm, it seems like all of the lemon desserts like this are made with white sugar in lieu of coconut sugar, which I prefer in baked goods.
Also, I always swap out vegan butter with coconut oil and will do so here. Most of the time it works perfectly.
Hi! You’re spot on that with lemon desserts, we usually prefer cane sugar. It provides a more neutral flavor that lets the lemon flavor shine. Coconut sugar can be overpowering and will also yield a darker muffin with less structure. Coconut oil might also have an overpowering flavor here, but it could work! Let us know if you try it out!
Victoria says
Can I omit the applesauce or substitute it with an egg? ♡
Hi Victoria, we haven’t tested it that way, but it could work! We would suggest using 2 eggs. Eggs are more drying than applesauce, so you may not need to bake the muffins for as long. Let us know if you do some experimenting!
Luv says
Can I use bread flour instead?
Hi, we haven’t tried with bread flour, but if not gluten-free, all-purpose flour would be a better fit for this recipe than bread flour. We would suggest using a slightly lesser amount of all-purpose flour (~1 cup) in place of the GF blend. Hope that helps!
annabeth says
Hi :) This recipie is PERFECT for me, as it avoids ALL my intolerances, but one.
How could i make this nut free? do i simply omit the almond flour, or replace it with more GF flour blend?
Hi Annabeth, the almond flour is important for the light and fluffy texture! The muffins would turn out more floury and dense with additional GF blend. We aren’t sure of a good alternative in this recipe, unfortunately! You could play around with a mix of other GF flours (sunflower/pumpkin seed meal, more GF blend, cassava flour, potato starch), but it will take some experimentation to get the right amounts as they vary in their absorbency and properties. We would suggest referencing our guide to gluten-free flours for guidance. Let us know if you do some experimenting!
missi weinhart says
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Do you recommended salted or unsalted vegan butter? Thanks!
Yay! We’re excited to hear what you think of the muffins! We used salted vegan butter, but either will work :)
missi weinhart says
WOW! These muffins are absolutely delicious and super easy to make.
The flavor is so rich and the poppyseeds along with the crispy edges add just the right amount of texture. I will definitely make them again… thinking tomorrow!
YAY! We’re so happy you enjoy the muffins and want to make them again :) Thank you for the wonderful review, Missi! xo