These Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are moist, delicious, yet quick and easy to make! They are delightful as they are but can be made fruitier with berries and served topped with creamy vanilla frosting or refreshing lemon glaze. This muffin recipe can be made gluten-free too!
The Best Lemon Poppy seed Muffins Recipe
With spring almost upon us, I decided that it is the perfect time to make something fresh and lemony to welcome the season! And what can be more wonderful than enjoying some moist lemon muffins loaded with lots of poppyseeds on a sunny day? They will also make the perfect addition to your kids’ lunchbox or as to-go snacks to bring to work.
And when topped with a luscious vanilla frosting, currants, and more poppy seeds- they instantly turn into a dessert to die for! So make a big batch to enjoy all day or week long!
Moist Lemon Muffins with Berries
You can make them even more special by adding berries of your choice. Blueberries would be amazing! It would be like enjoying a slice of my Lemon Poppyseed Blueberry Cake but quicker to make and in muffin form! And if you have leftover lemons and seeds, you might also want to try my Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting to really kick the season off!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour: you can use all-purpose flour, spelt flour, or gluten-free flour if needed.
- Leavening agents: you will need both baking powder and baking soda to give the batter the lift it needs to make the muffins soft and fluffy! If you do not have baking soda, you can just add a tablespoon more baking powder.
- Soy milk: or any other plant milk that you have like almond or oat. However, since soy is a good egg substitute, it gives the best texture.
- Soy yogurt: this will help make the muffins super moist for days! It also imparts a tangy flavor and helps in activating the leavening agents for perfectly formed pastries. You can use other vegan yogurts too or substitute applesauce.
- Lemon: you’ll need both the juice and zest for that bright and fresh citrus taste. One medium-sized lemon makes about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of fresh lemon juice plus 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon zest.
- Vegetable oil: like avocado, butter-flavored canola oil “Alba oil” or sunflower oil for more moistness!
- Vanilla extract: or ground bourbon vanilla or the pulp of a vanilla bean.
- Poppy seeds: if you don’t like poppyseeds, you can bake the lemon muffins without them.
- Raw cane sugar: or other sugar to taste.
- Salt: just a pinch.
- Turmeric: optional for yellow color.
- Toppings: these are optional. You can finish the muffins with vegan whipped cream or vanilla frosting on top and white currants or other berries you like!
How to make Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
As always, I recommend checking out the recipe video and these step-by-step instructions first. Then you can find the full recipe with the exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Make the batter
Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Then add baking soda, salt and sugar and whisk together. In a measuring jar, stir together soy milk, yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, oil, vanilla extract and optional turmeric. Then pour into the dry ingredients and stir briefly until all ingredients are just combined. Lastly, stir in the poppy seeds.
Step 2: Bake and garnish
Spoon the batter into muffin tins and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10-20 minutes. Then remove and let cool completely on a cooling rack. Enjoy as they are or top with whipped cream or vanilla frosting or drizzle with lemon glaze. I garnished mine with some poppy seeds and white currants too!
Tips when Making Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- As always, never over-mix the batter or you will end up with dry and chewy muffins. Just mix until the dry and wet ingredients are incorporated. Do not be bothered if you still see a few small lumps.
- The baking time will depend on the size of your muffin molds or pan and the oven you are using. Check if they are done by inserting a toothpick in the middle of a muffin. If it comes out clean, your muffins are ready to go!
- Do not overfill your muffin cups. Just fill them ¾ of the way to ensure they will have space to expand as they bake.
- Keep them in the pan for a couple of minutes to fully set before moving the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins to a cooling rack.
- If you want to add berries, toss them in some flour or cornstarch first. Then fold them into the batter. Add frozen berries directly from the freezer and do not thaw beforehand, otherwise, the muffins will be too moist.
What is the best way to store muffins?
You can make vegan muffins and cupcakes ahead just like classic sponge cakes and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days and in a cool place or refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If the lemon poppy seed muffins become hard and dry after a few days, you can simply heat them in the microwave for a few seconds before eating. This will make them wonderfully soft, fluffy and moist again and they will taste just like freshly baked!
Can I freeze muffins?
Sure! The muffins freeze beautifully for 3 months. Just remove the paper cups and place the muffins in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. To keep the muffins from sticking together and to make it easier to remove them when thawing, I recommend separating the individual muffins with a piece of parchment paper beforehand.
How to thaw frozen muffins
The gentlest way is to let the vegan lemon muffins thaw overnight in the refrigerator. This way they will retain their moisture, flavor and great texture. Before eating, you can bring the muffins to room temperature or microwave them for 30 seconds to soften them up nicely.
If you want to thaw them quickly, you can also simply put the frozen muffins in the microwave for about 2 minutes or in the oven for 10 minutes.
These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are:
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- So easy to make
- Full of fresh lemon flavor
- Loaded with crunchy poppy seeds
- Customizable
- Can be made gluten-free
- Stays soft and moist for days
- Perfect for springtime!
More Recipes for Vegan Muffins and Cupcakes
- Apple Carrot Muffins
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Blueberry Crumble Muffins
- Berry Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
- Mini Apple Pies
Recipe Video
If you try this easy vegan Lemon Poppy seed Muffins recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you take a photo of your cupcakes and share it on Instagram or Facebook, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your creations! Happy baking! 🙂
The Best Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins (easy, moist, delicious)
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (220 g) flour all-purpose, spelt or gluten-free flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda or 1 tsp more baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- ½ cup (100 g) raw cane sugar or other sugar to taste
- ½ cup (120 g) soy milk or other plant milk (*see notes)
- ½ cup (100 g) soy yogurt or other vegan yogurt
- 1 (50 ml) lemon juice + zest of it (makes about ¼ cup lemon juice + 1-2 tbsp lemon zest)
- ⅓ cup (80 g) vegetable oil e.g. butter-flavored canola oil "Alba oil" or sunflower oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or ground bourbon vanilla or the pulp of a vanilla bean
- 2-3 tbsp poppy seeds + a little more for decorating
- 1 pinch of turmeric optional for a shiny yellow color
Topping (optional)
- 7 oz (200 ml) vegan whipping cream or vanilla frosting
- white currants or other berries
Instructions
*Note: Check out the recipe video + step-by-step photos above!
- Preheat the oven to 356 °F (180 °C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners (see photo above).
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Then add baking soda, salt and sugar and whisk together.
- In a measuring jar, stir together soy milk, yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, oil, vanilla extract and turmeric (optional). Then pour into the flour mixture and stir briefly until all ingredients are just combined. Lastly, stir in the poppy seeds.
- Divide the batter into the muffin cups and bake the muffins for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10-20 minutes. Then remove and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Decorate with whipped cream or vanilla frosting, poppy seeds and white currants or enjoy as they are!
Notes
- Gluten-free: you can also use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
- Berry Muffins: If you want to add berries, toss them in some flour or cornstarch first. Then fold them into the batter. Add frozen berries directly from the freezer and do not thaw beforehand, otherwise the muffins will be too moist.
- Storage: muffins will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- For more information and tips, as well as step-by-step pictures, check out the blog post above!
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