Paleo Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins – delicate, lemony poppy seed muffins made with a blend of almond and tapioca flour. Mixed together in one bowl and only 8 ingredients!
Four!
It took four attempts before getting this recipe nailed down for these paleo + vegan lemon poppy seed muffins and it was so worth it! Attempts numbers 1 & 3 were completely inedible with #3 coming out weird and green(??). Attempt two was tasty, but sunk a little too much in the middle. It also required three different types of flours which felt like a bit much for a simple muffin.
Fourth time’s the charm though, right? At any rate, it was worth it!
How To Make: Paleo + Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
These muffins are as easy as they come. It’s just a matter of whisking together the dry ingredients and then stirring in the wet into a thick, lump free batter.
A few things to keep in mind when making these:
- I have not tested these muffins with any other flour combination so I’m afraid I can’t advise on any substitutes here.
- Make sure your oven is properly heated up before adding the muffins and don’t be tempted to open to oven door while baking! Letting the cool outside air into the hot oven will cause your muffins to sink in the middle.
- Your batter should be thick and stick to your spoon when held up. If the batter looks too runny add an extra spoonful or two of almond flour to thicken it up.
Is Baking Powder Paleo?
Technically no. Baking powder is usually contains corn starch which makes it not technically paleo friendly. Fortunately, it’s really easy to make your own baking powder at home by mixing together a small amount of arrowroot starch, baking soda and cream of tartar. I include the amounts needed in the recipe below if you’re interested in making it.
That being said – if you’re not bothered about following a strict paleo diet this recipe only needs two teaspoons so it’s not much at all.
Note about the lemon glaze:
The glaze pictured here is not paleo. It’s a simple powdered sugar glaze. I personally love a lemon glaze with my baked goods so I didn’t want to skip on it here though it’s completely optional and up to you if you want to add it.
If you are interested in keeping this strictly paleo you can make your own powdered coconut sugar by blending regular coconut sugar in a high speed blender for about 30 seconds until it turns to powder. If you do go the coconut sugar route keep in mind that your glaze will look more like the one in these Carrot Apple & Flaxseed Muffins.
And that’s it! Zesty lemon muffins make in one bowl and ready in under an hour – enjoy!
If you like this recipe you might also enjoy my vanilla paleo + vegan cupcakes and my paleo chocolate cupcakes as well!
Paleo Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Paleo Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins - delicate, lemony poppy seed muffins made with a blend of almond and tapioca flour. Mixed together in one bowl and only 8 ingredients!Â
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups |240 g almond flour
- 1/2 cup | 56 g tapioca flour or arrowroot starch
- 2/3 cup | 120 g coconut sugar or white cane sugar (white sugar is not paleo)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup | 56 g melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup | 120 ml almond milk, room temperature (or another milk sub of your choice)
- 3 tablespoons | 45 ml lemon juice +1 teaspoon lemon zest
Optional Lemon Glaze
- 1/2 cup | 63 g powdered sugar*
- 1 tablespoon | 15 ml lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C and grease or line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. You'll only need 9 cup greased/lined.
- Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and poppy seeds together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
- Stir in the coconut oil, almond milk, lemon juice and zest until no lumps remain and a thick batter forms.
- Pour the batter evenly into each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full. Place in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes until the tops have goldened and the insides are cooked. Let cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes in the pan before enjoying.
Optional Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl whisk together the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins once they have mostly cooled down.
Notes
- Make your own paleo baking powder by mixing: 1/2 teaspoon baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot starch + 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- You can make your own paleo friendly powdered sugar by blending coconut sugar in a high powdered blender (I used Blendtec) and process until you get a soft powdery sugar. If you do make your own powdered coconut sugar your glaze will look more like the glaze in these Carrot & Apple Flaxseed muffins.
- I ran out of coconut sugar when picturing these which is why my glaze is white. I'm also not strict paleo so I prefer a classic glaze but this part is up to you!
I haven't yet tried this using other types of flours so I can't advise on using alternatives here.
France says
I like your recipes, but I think that you put a lot of sugar, 2/3 t of sugar for 9 muffins is way too much sugar for me, even to the taste.
Brittany says
Would I need to make any adjustments if I added in blueberries?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Brittany! You might need to add a couple of minutes on to the overall cook time but they shouldn’t need any other adjusting. Hope you love them – blueberry lemon muffins sound amazing right now!
Emilie Lamy says
Can you substitute chia seeds for the poppy seeds? Or substitute another type of seed?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Emilie! I have on occasion used chia seeds instead of poppy seeds successfully. That being said, I would only use 1 tablespoon instead of two – chia seeds absorb moisture around them which can make the muffin too dry if you use too much. Hope that helps!