Vegan + Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

This post featuring these vegan + gluten-free Meyer lemon poppy seed muffins is sponsored by Danone North America. Please see my disclosures.

I love lemon anything, so when Danone asked me to come up with a new recipe featuring Meyer lemons from Sprouts and So Delicious® Coconutmilk Yogurt Alternative, I knew this would be such a fun project.

Truly, yogurt and Meyer lemons are a match made in recipe heaven… and I had a hard time settling in on one recipe!

It didn’t take long, however, for my cravings to kick in as I started thinking about lemon poppy seed muffins. I haven’t had one in so long … but I knew I could change that!

In this post you’ll find step-by-step instructions on how to make this moist and sweet gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffin recipe, as well as some baking tips to aid you in the kitchen.

Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this article 👇 to see how you can save money when you shop for So Delicious products at Sprouts.

Ingredients With Zest

To make these beautiful gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffins, you’ll need to shop for a few key ingredients, all which you can get at Sprouts.

So Delicious® Coconutmilk Yogurt Alternative: Yogurt offers the best and easiest way to make your lemon poppy seed muffins moist and creamy. I use So Delicious yogurt alternatives anytime a recipe calls for yogurt.

Meyer Lemons: Load up on Meyer lemons at Sprouts because you’ll need a lot of ’em for this lemon-riffic recipe. Plus, Meyer lemons are in season now.

Meyer lemons are a bit smaller and rounder in appearance when compared to typical lemons. They’re also a bit sweeter than regular lemons – more like a cross between a lemon and mandarin orange.

Poppy Seeds: These beautiful seeds will elevate the visual appeal of your muffins and add a little fun texture too.

Gluten-Free Flour: You’ll need a gluten-free flour blend to make this muffin recipe. Remember, if you want your muffins to mimic the texture of wheat flour muffins, you’ll need to purchase a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. Luckily Sprouts has plenty of brands to choose from.

How to Make Vegan + Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

You’re going to flip once you see how easy it is to make this vegan and gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffin recipe.

You’ll need two bowls, a whisk, batter scoop, and 12 cavity muffin tin (or two six cavity muffin tins).

In one bowl, combine all dry ingredients including the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum (omit if your gluten-free flour blend already contains it), granulated sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds.

In a second bowl, combine all wet ingredients including the So Delicious Vanilla Coconutmilk Yogurt Alternative, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, oil and vanilla and stir well to combine.

Remember to so zest those lemons BEFORE you cut into them. It’s so much easier to zest an intact lemon.

You’ll also notice there’s no egg in this recipe. The combination of the apple cider vinegar and baking soda will act as a leavening agent, ensuring these muffins rise without any egg. Yep, I’m totally geeking out on baking science.

Now combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir well, by hand, to form your muffin batter. Easy, right?

Prepare your muffin tin either with cooking spray or muffin tin liners, and then add an ice cream scooper full of batter to each cup. Fill each cavity about two-thirds of the way full to leave room for the batter to rise.

Bake the muffins at 375º F for 18-23 minutes until muffins are light golden brown and when no batter comes off on a toothpick inserted into the center. 

Do not overbake these muffins. Check them at 18 minutes and see how they’re doing. The tops should spring back lightly when you touch them, giving a visual cue that they’re ready to come out of the oven.

Making a Lemony Glaze

To make the beautiful and sweet glaze that you’ll drizzle atop the gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffins, simply combine one cup of powdered sugar, the zest of one full lemon and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Stir until smooth.

If the glaze is too thick, add more lemon juice. If it’s too thin to drizzle, add more powdered sugar. You want the glaze thick enough so it doesn’t leak everywhere, but thin enough that it pours neatly over the muffins.

Once the muffins are completely cooled, you’ll then use your spoon to gently drizzle the glaze atop each muffin. You can do this over the wire rack to prevent the glaze from pooling at the bottom of each muffin.

Allow the glaze to set for 10 minutes before eating … as if you could wait that long! These muffins are a sight to see, indeed!

The Muffin Taste Test

These muffins are ultra-moist thanks to an infusion of creamy So Delicious Coconutmilk Yogurt alternative. Not only does the coconutmilk yogurt alternative offer moisture to the muffins, but also it serves as a binding agent to hold them together without the gluten protein.

These gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffins are also slightly sweet, but they’re not overwhelmingly sweet. If you want them to taste a tad sweeter, simply add more glaze.

And of course, they are ultra-lemony too. If you love citrus flavors, pucker-up because this recipe is bursting with those zesty lemony flavors you crave most.

Shop for So Delicious at Sprouts

I’d like to share details on how you can save money when you shop for So Delicious products at Sprouts.

During the month of February 2020, So Delicious will be offering digital coupons off many of its products.

To find these coupons, you’ll need to first download the Sprouts app to your smartphone. Once you do that, create a login, “clip” the So Delicious coupons found inside the app, and then scan your barcode (via the app) at checkout. No need to leave money on the table – clip ’em coupons now!

Remember, you can get all the ingredients you need to make these delicious vegan, gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffins at Sprouts.

To learn more about So Delicious products, visit SoDeliciousDairyFree.com.

Feel Good Food

So Delicious yogurt alternative products are certified vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified, Kosher Pareve and certified gluten-free.

Danone North America is a Certified B Corporation®, employing the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

Certified B Corporations® are committed to balancing purpose with profits and are required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.

Visit Danone North America’s website for more information about its B-Corp™ status.