Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Dairy-Free)

Lemon-Flavored Anything for Spring, Summer and Anytime

Spring and summer are the seasons for lighter, fresher flavors, and that’s why I love anything with the fragrant aroma and fresh taste of lemon.

From our favorite lemon yogurt cake, to lemon meringue pie, to a super easy lemon curd, there’s barely any lemon recipe that I don’t love.

Gluten-Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

And of course, I can’t wait to share these amazingly vibrant and deliciously easy lemon poppy seed muffins with you!

With a soft, tender texture, these gluten-free poppy seed muffins are filled with bright lemon flavor and studded with poppy seeds, and then finished off with a drizzle of tart and sweet lemon glaze.

How’s that for YUM?

Why This Recipe Works:

• Simple Ingredients: The ingredients required for this gluten free lemon poppyseed muffin recipe are easily accessible at the local grocery store (nothing fancy needed!).
• Easy to Make: Preparing the batter is really as simple as combining the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, the baking before drizzling an easy lemon glaze over the muffins.
• Totally Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free: The best part is that these poppy seed muffins are 100% gluten-free and dairy-free, which means that even those with Celiac disease or gluten or lactose intolerances can enjoy them without issues!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s a visual overview of the ingredients required for this gluten-free lemon poppyseed muffins recipe.

(For exact measurements, please scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post).

For the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:

For the Lemon Glaze (Optional, but Highly Recommended):

Recipes Notes + Substitutions

• Fresh Lemon Zest: I recommend grating the lemon zest just before adding it to the recipe for the best fragrance, aroma and fresh lemon flavor.
• Sunflower Oil: I like using sunflower oil because I always have a bottle of it on hand. Alternatively, you may use another vegetable oil (such as corn oil, canola oil, olive oil, avocado oil etc). You may also use melted coconut oil or melted vegan butter if you prefer. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use melted butter or ghee instead.
• Sugar: I used granulated white sugar, but you can also use cane sugar, light brown sugar, or dark brown sugar if you like (just bear in mind that the darker the color of the sugar, the darker the batter and the color of the interior of the muffins will turn out). If you diabetic or insulin-resistant, I highly recommend using granulated monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute that is zero glycemic index and will not raise your blood sugar).
• Eggs: Eggs are necessary as a binder and to help the batter rise. I have not tried using an egg substitute so I’m not sure how that will turn out. If you are allergic to eggs, or would simply prefer to keep this recipe egg-free, you may try using acquafaba or an egg-replacer. (If you do make this recipe without eggs, please let me know how it goes in the comments below, I’d love to know!).
• Lemon Juice: For best results, I recommend using fresh lemon juice. However, if you don’t have fresh juice, you may also use bottled lemon juice instead.
• Almond Milk: I like using an unsweetened version of my homemade almond milk. You may also use another non-dairy milk (such as cashew milk, rice milk, tigernut milk, coconut milk etc).
• Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I recommend using a good-quality gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that is made up of lighter flours/starches (such as rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch, or potato starch) to ensure that you get light and fluffy muffins. I do NOT recommend using a gluten-free flour blend that is made up of heavier flours (such as garbanzo bean flour).
• Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is the replacement for gluten in gluten-free flours, and helps to better bind the ingredients together. If your gluten-free flour blend does not already include xanthan gum, make sure to add it in.
• Baking Powder: Since baking powder is the only leavening agent here, make sure you add it in as it is necessary for the batter to rise. If you are Celiac or gluten-intolerant, make sure to use certified gluten-free baking powder.
• Poppy Seeds: Since this is a recipe for poppy seed muffins, poppy seeds are a key ingredients here. If you don’t have access to them, or would like to make simple gluten-free lemon muffins, feel free to leave them out.
• Powdered Sugar: Also known as icing sugar, or confectioners’ sugar, powdered sugar is very fine in texture is will dissolve very well into the milk and lemon juice mixture. If you are diabetic or insulin resistant, I recommend using powder monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 powdered sugar substitute that is zero glycemic index and will not raise your blood sugar).

How to Make Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Step by Step):

1. Preheat and Grease

Preheat the oven to 350F and adjust the oven rack to the center position. Grease a 12-cup regular muffin pan with oil or non-stick spray and line the pan with regular cupcake paper liners.

2. Prepare Zest and Juice

Grate the lemons to get the lemon zest and squeeze the juice, removing any seeds.

3. Beat Oil, Sugar and Zest

In a large bowl, combine the sunflower oil, granulated sugar and lemon zest and beat well.

4. Add Eggs, Juice and Milk

Add the eggs, lemon juice, and almond milk to the bowl and whisk for one minute until the mixture is light and fluffy.

5. Combine Dry Ingredients

Sift the gluten-free flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum (if using), and poppy seeds in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

6. Add Dry Ingredients to Wet

Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well until just combined to get a homogeneous pale yellow batter (the batter will be thick so you will have to spoon it instead of pour it).

7. Transfer Batter to Muffin Pan

Spoon approximately 1/3 cup of the batter into each of the 12 cavities of the muffin mold.

8. Bake Until Golden

Bake batter for approximately 40 minutes until the muffins are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Remove from the oven once ready.

9. Let Cool Completely

Allow the muffins to cool in the mold for 10 minutes before removing them and letting them cool to room temperature on a wire cooling rack.

10. Prepare Lemon Glaze

As the cake is cooling, prepare the simple lemon glaze. In a small bowl, combine sugar, lemon juice, and almond milk, and whisk until smooth. Add more almond milk as necessary until you get a thick yet pourable consistency.

11. Drizzle Glaze Over Muffins

Pour the lemon glaze on top of fully-cooled gluten-free lemon poppyseed muffins and let the lemon icing drizzle down the sides.

Allow the lemon glaze to set, for at least 15 to 30 minutes, before serving.

Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks

• Make Jumbo Muffins: If you rather make jumbo muffins, simply divide the batter between the muffin cups of a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Make Mini Muffins: If you rather make mini muffins, simply divide the batter between the muffin cups of a 24-cup mini muffin pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Make a Loaf: If you prefer to make a lemon poppy seed loaf instead, simply pour the batter into a 9″ x 5″ metal loaf pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 350F until the loaf is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Swap Out Lemon for Other Citrus: If you like, feel free to use other citrus fruits (such as oranges or grapefruit) instead of lemons.

Recipe FAQs:

Lemon Recipes to Make:

• Lemon Poppy Seed Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Lemon Bundt Cake (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Lemon Olive Oil Cake (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Lemon Blueberry Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

Other Gluten-Free Muffins You’ll Enjoy: