Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Easy vegan lemon poppy seed muffins with bakery-style high tops and a luscious lemon glaze! These muffins come together in just 1 bowl with common pantry ingredients.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American, Vegan

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings muffins

Calories 331

Author Anthea

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour (note 1 for gluten free)
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar (note 2)
2 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon lemon zest or zest from 2 large lemons
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt optional

Wet ingredients

1 cup (250g) dairy-free milk room temperature
⅔ cup (165g) neutral flavored oil such as olive oil (note 3)
¼ cup (60g) lemon juice from approximately 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

Topping (optional)

3 tablespoons flaked almonds
1 cup (100g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F, note 4). Arrange muffins liners in a muffin pan.

Make the muffin batter:

Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix until well combined and the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Add all of the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined.
Use an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to divide the mixture into your muffin tin.

Bake the muffins:

Optional: sprinkle flaked almonds on top of your muffins.
Place the muffin pan in the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
Bake the muffins for around 22-25 minutes. They are ready when you can insert a toothpick into a muffin, and it comes out clean. Some moist crumbs on your toothpick are fine, but there shouldn't be any wet batter on it.
Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes then allow them to cool on a wire rack.

Make the lemon icing (optional):

Add the powdered sugar and lemon juice to a medium bowl. Whisk until combined. The icing should be runny but hold its shape for a few seconds when you drizzle it. To make the icing thicker, add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar and mix again. To make the icing thinner, add a few drops of lemon juice and mix again.
When the muffins have cooled, drizzle the icing on top.
Enjoy the muffins warm or at room temperature. Note that the icing will melt if you warm up the muffins.
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Video

Notes

To make these vegan lemon muffins gluten-free, substitute the flour with 1 1/2 cups (150g) almond flour and 1 1/2 cups (240g) gluten-free all-purpose flour. Alternatively, King Arthur's measure for measure flour works as a 1:1 replacement - if using, I suggest baking the muffins for 24-27 minutes.
This amount of sugar creates moderately sweet muffins, especially when paired with fresh lemon juice. Alternatively, you may use coconut sugar. This will result in darker and less sweet muffins.
You may use melted coconut oil (room temperature) for these muffins. However, coconut oil can solidify in colder climates and this will make the muffins feel drier than normal. If so, I'd recommend warming up the muffins before you serve them.
The initial high temperature encourages the muffins to rise higher.

Nutrition