Vegan lemon poppy seed muffins - these giant, bakery style vegan muffins are light, fluffy and moist with tall muffin tops and a sweet, zingy, lemony flavour.
They are easy to make and perfect for Spring time snacking!
Packed full of fresh, zesty lemon flavour, these muffins are a great breakfast or mid morning or afternoon snack. They also happen to be very easy to make in just one bowl and are perfect for baking in advance and freezing!
Ingredient Details:
Lemons: You will need both lemon zest and juice so make sure that you buy unwaxed lemons. Don't use bottled lemon juice instead, the flavour is not as good.
Poppy seeds: These can be omitted if you want plain lemon muffins.
Yogurt: The yogurt helps to keep the muffins nice and moist, with a light, fluffy texture. A thick, Greek style yogurt is best as the thicker the batter, the higher the muffin tops, but any kind will work.
Milk: You can use any kind you like but it should ideally be unsweetened and soy milk is best as it has the highest protein content.
Sugar: Caster or granulated sugar is best to retain the pale yellow colour of the muffins.
Oil: Any neutral flavoured oil will work, I use olive or sunflower.
Plain flour: Plain (all-purpose) flour is best. I haven't tested these gluten-free.
Baking powder and soda: Using both baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) will give you the best rise and texture. Don't swap one for the other, you will not get the same result.
Vanilla: Extract is better than essence and you can also use vanilla bean paste.
How To Make Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Step 1: Whisk together the lemon zest and juice, milk, yogurt, oil, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
Step 2: Whisk in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, followed by the flour. Gently stir in the poppy seeds. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven.
Step 3: Divide the batter between about 9 muffin cases, ideally spread out across two muffin pans with an empty cavity between each one. Fill the cases all the way to the top.
Step 4: Bake for 7 minutes at a high oven temperature, then turn the oven down and bake for a further 15 minutes.
Top Tips:
USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for standard measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml.
Don't over-beat the batter as that can make the muffins tough. Just stir the mixture with a balloon whisk until no dry streaks remain, a few little lumps is fine.
Resting the batter for 15 minutes before portioning it out allows it to thicken up and the flour to hydrate, which helps to create nice, tall muffins.
For tall, bakery-style domed muffins, fill the muffin cases all the way to the top, they should almost be overflowing.
I like to space the cases out across two muffin tins as this can help to create tall muffin tops. If you only have the one tin then you can either bake them all in one tin or in two batches.
To make sure that the cases don't stick, use good quality ones and allow the muffins to cool completely before eating them, they are more likely to stick when they are warm. You can also spray the muffin cases with baking spray or oil, or bake the muffins straight in a well greased non-stick muffin pan.
Lightly grease the top of the muffin pan to help stop the muffin tops from sticking to it.
This recipe makes 9 giant muffins, you can make 10-12 smaller ones if you prefer, though bear in mind that smaller muffins will probably bake a little quicker.
FAQ's:
There are a few steps that help to ensure nice, tall muffins:
1: Rest the batter at room temperature for 15 minutes before scooping it into the muffin cases.
2: Fill the muffin cases right to the top, they should be practically overflowing.
3: Space the cases out across two muffin pans, try and leave an empty cavity between each one.
4: Bake the muffins at a high temperature for 7 minutes to give the muffins an initial boost, then turn the oven down and bake for a further 15 minutes.
The muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days though the fresher they are eaten the better.
Yes these vegan lemon poppy seed muffins freeze well. Freeze them on the day they are baked to preserve freshness but make sure that they have cooled completely first. Place in a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to sit at room temperature for a couple of hours to defrost.
More Vegan Muffin Recipes:
- Vegan double chocolate muffins
- Vegan carrot muffins
- Vegan stollen muffins
- Vegan chocolate chip muffins
- Vegan pumpkin muffins
- Vegan blueberry muffins
- Vegan gingerbread muffins
- Cinnamon pear muffins
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Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- finely grated zest of 3 lemons
- 80 g (⅓ cup) fresh lemon juice
- 160 g (⅔ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 160 g (⅔ cup) Greek style vegan yogurt
- 144 g (⅔ cup) neutral oil (I use olive)
- 240 g ( 1 cup + 3 Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 400 g (3 + ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
Instructions
- Whisk together the lemon zest and juice, milk, yogurt, oil, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl.finely grated zest of 3 lemons, 80 g (⅓ cup) fresh lemon juice, 160 g (⅔ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), 160 g (⅔ cup) Greek style vegan yogurt, 144 g (⅔ cup) neutral oil (I use olive), 240 g ( 1 cup + 3 Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- Whisk in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, followed by the flour. Be careful not to over-beat the batter, just mix it until no streaks of flour remain. Gently stir in the poppy seeds.3 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), ½ teaspoon salt, 400 g (3 + ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7. Line two 12 hole mufin tins with 9 cases, spreading them out across the tins so that there is a gap in between each one.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cases, filling them all the way to the top; they should be almost overflowing. An ice cream scoop is handy for this.
- Bake for seven minutes then turn the oven down to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Bake for a further 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Once cold store in an airtight container.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
- USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Text to Coloring
Thanks for the tip about using thick yogurt for better muffin tops! I usually just grab whatever's in the fridge, but now I'm curious to see how much of a difference it makes. Can't wait to give these a try for some fresh springtime snacks!
Genevieve Cooke
Another brilliant recipe, thank you! Lovely texture and taste as usual. I also really appreciate everything being measured in grams here, very helpful and made it much simpler measuring everything. Thank you!