These healthy lemon poppy seed muffins aren't your typical sugary muffin. They're made with whole-grain oat flour, sweetened with maple syrup, and contain no oil, dairy, or eggs. They're perfect for breakfast and snacks and just sweet enough to satisfy a dessert craving! Ready in 30 minutes.
There's just something so amazing about lemon in baked goods and desserts.
Recently I was updating this Vegan Lemon Ice Cream post and started pondering other easy, sweet lemon ideas. With an unopened jar of poppy seeds on hand, that decision pretty much made itself!
The batter for these lemon poppy seed muffins is similar to this carrot cake scone recipe. It also uses oat flour combined with a bit of almond flour for texture and richness.
For even more tang to complement the freshness of the lemon zest and juice, we're using vegan yogurt as the fat in today's muffin batter.
Usually I like to add a bit of nut butter to my oil-free baked goods but in an attempt to offset the maple syrup and keep the color of the muffins as light as possible, yogurt seemed like the best choice.
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Ingredient Notes
- oat flour - you can make your own by blending rolled oats in a high-speed blender or use store-bought; currently I'm using this oat flour by Anthony's
- almond flour - I use this blanched almond flour by Nature's Eats
- poppy seeds - look for poppy seeds on the spice aisle of the grocery store or order online
- baking powder and soda - these work together with the heat and lemon juice to help the muffins rise
- lemons - it's good to have 2 lemons on hand to make sure you have enough juice
- applesauce - adds moisture and acts as a replacement for oil
- maple syrup - look for pure maple syrup
- vegan yogurt - I used Kite Hill's Greek-style plain yogurt. You can also make your own at home with this cashew yogurt recipe. If you have a thinner yogurt, strain it through a few layers of cheesecloth until thick.
See recipe card below for quantities and full recipe.
Instructions
Making lemon poppy seed muffins is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Stir the two together until a thick and fluffy batter forms.
- Divide the batter evenly among a 12-cup muffin pan. Sprinkle a few extra poppy seeds on top of each muffin, if desired. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes then move them to a cooling rack.
While the muffins are resting, mix together the super quick and easy coconut butter glaze to drizzle on top!
Serving Suggestions
These are great while still warm, about 10 minutes after coming out of the oven, and at room temperature or chilled. Serve with your favorite tea or coffee or a glass of cold non-dairy milk.
And if you're not into the coconut icing on top, try them with a dollop of almond milk yogurt or this maple-sweetened vegan condensed milk!
Tips
Anytime you're working with baking soda and an acid it's a good idea to work quickly once the wet and dry ingredients are combined.
Even though we're not dealing with gluten in this muffin recipe, I still find it's best not to overmix the batter. Simply stir everything together with a large spoon, then immediately start scooping the batter into the muffin pan.
For more helpful baking tips check out this post: Top 12 Vegan Baking Tips
Equipment
A microplane zester comes in handy for the fresh lemon zest.
You'll also need a small/medium bowl, a larger mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, and a standard muffin pan.
And I always recommend using a kitchen scale for the most consistent results. If you've never used one before and you do a good amount of cooking and baking, you'll be amazed how much you'll love it!
I use this scale by Escali. It's usually around $25 on Amazon and worth every penny!
Storage
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 6 days.
Poppy seed muffins are freezer friendly. Make sure they are well protected from air. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
If you're new to baking with oat flour or almond flour, here are some more ideas and ways to put those ingredients to use. All of these recipes are oil-free, too!
More ways to use oat flour
- oat flour pancakes
- oat flour banana bread
- double chocolate chip cookies
- spiced tahini oatmeal cookies
- pistachio muffins
- apple-cinnamon scones
More ways to use almond flour
- the best gluten-free vegan pie crust
- fudgy almond flour brownies
- vegan gluten-free tart crust
- the easiest almond flour cookies
- healthy pecan sandies
- oil-free thumbprint cookies
I hope you enjoy these healthier Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins! If you try the recipe I'd love to hear from you. Share your feedback in the comments below.
Happy baking!
More vegan lemon recipes:
📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredient:
- 220 grams fine oat flour (2 ¼ cups)
- 60 grams fine almond flour (½ cup)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds - plus an extra pinch for decoration
Wet ingredients:
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest - from about 1 large lemon
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup thick, Greek-style vegan yogurt, unsweetened - I used Kite Hill Greek-style; see Notes.
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional icing:
- 1 tablespoon coconut butter - this is pureed coconut, which is different than coconut oil.
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or non-dairy milk, for thinning/consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and locate a standard 12-cup muffin pan. If the pan is non-stick you shouldn't need oil or liners, though you can oil the pan or use paper liners if you like.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together all wet ingredients.
- Pour wet into dry, and stir until combined. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, using approximately ⅓ cup batter per muffin. Sprinkle a few extra poppy seeds on top if desired.
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to a cooling rack.
To make the icing:
- In a mug or small bowl warm the coconut butter just enough to melt it (about 10 seconds in the microwave).
- Whisk in the maple syrup, and add milk or lemon juice as needed for consistency. Microwave for a few more seconds if needed. Drizzle over the muffins and serve.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Marina
Hi, Lori
Would this work as a single cake instead of muffins?
And any other ideas for the icing? Very difficult to get this coconut butter where I am...
Thank you, love your recipes!
Lori
Hi Marina,
I do think a single cake layer is a great idea. I haven't tried it yet, though, so I can't give a definitive bake time. Might be closer to 30 minutes.
For the icing, a bit of cashew butter, thinned in the same ways could work. You can also make your own coconut butter by processing dried coconut flakes in a food processor, in case you're interested in that.
Hope you enjoy!