Vegan Lemon Poppy Zucchini Muffins are packed with zingy lemon flavor. Serve them for a snack or at a springtime brunch. They’re a terrific addition to the Easter dinner table, and they’re great for Mother’s Day, too. They make a great afternoon snack or light breakfast. Warning: you might find it tough to eat just one! This healthy muffin recipe is easy to make, and it's egg free and dairy free.
Vegan Lemon Zucchini Muffins
Cold, blustery days always conjure up images of baking muffins in a warm kitchen while sipping a mug of hot tea. I don’t bake muffins in the warmer weather, but these Lemon Poppy Zucchini Muffins have me rethinking that policy.
It's technically spring here, but it's still chilly. The weather left me with a hankering for muffins, but since it's April, I didn’t want to make my standard pumpkin chocolate chip. I wanted something lighter and more appropriate for spring, despite the cold. Lemon is always a flavor that comes to mind when I think of spring, so some sort of lemon muffin seemed like the logical answer.
After tinkering in the kitchen for a bit, I created this recipe for addictive Lemon Poppy Zucchini Muffins. They are super easy to make. It’s really just a matter of mixing all of the ingredients together and then baking!
Clabbered Almond Milk
Clabbered almond milk (or soy milk) is the first step in this recipe. Clabbering thickens and curdles milk, giving it a buttermilk-like consistency.
To make clabbered milk, you just need to add vinegar to almond or soy milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes. It will look curdled, which is what you want. This won't work as well with other non-dairy milks, so make sure you use either almond or soy.
The acid in the apple cider vinegar also activates the baking soda , which helps the muffins rise.
How to Grate Zucchini
This recipe calls for one cup of grated zucchini. I use one medium-sized zucchini.
It only takes a couple of minutes to grate your zucchini using a manual grater. If your food processor has a grating attachment, you can get the job done in a matter of seconds!
How to Zest a Lemon
I use a microplane zester to zest my lemon, but if you don’t have one, you can use a of grater. You’ll need the zest from one lemon from this recipe, which is about a tablespoon. Don't worry about being precise, because a little more or a little less won't make or break the recipe.
How to Make Vegan Lemon Poppy Zucchini Muffins
This recipe is super easy to make!
- While the milk is clabbering, you sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Next you mix the wet ingredients, including the clabbered milk, and sugar together in a smaller bowl.
- Then you pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix everything together, being careful not to over-mix. The batter will be thick
- Next you fold in the zucchini.
- Finally, you scoop the batter into a muffin tin, and bake! Bake your muffins in a 350°F oven for 17 to 20 minutes.
Be sure you allow your muffins about 10 minutes to cool before digging in. It's best to cool them on a wire rack.
Storing your Muffins
Your muffins will last about 5 days in the fridge. Be sure you store them in an air-tight container. They also freeze well, so they’re great for meal prep. They’ll last in an air-tight container in the freezer for about 6 months.
Recipe Notes
Placing the rack in the upper third of the oven to make muffins is a trick I learned from Fran Costigan in the Rouxbe Essential Vegan Desserts course. It helps the muffins form nicely domed tops.
Recipes like this one often tell you not to over mix the batter. That's because mixing too much can activate the gluten in the flour, causing the muffins to be gummy, rather than fluffy.
Lemon Poppy Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond or soy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1½ cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Juice and zest of one lemon about 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of zest
- ½ cup coconut sugar or organic cane sugar
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated zucchini packed (about 1 zucchini)
Instructions
- Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil the cups of a muffin pan or line it with paper liners.
- Mix the almond or soy milk and apple cider vinegar together and set aside for 10 minutes
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, and almond or soy milk mixture.
- Pour the wet mixture into dry mixture and mix until there are no visible lumps of flour. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Carefully fold in the zucchini.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling them ¾ of the way full.
- Bake until the muffins are golden brown around the edges and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 to 20 minutes.
- Place the muffin tin on a wire rack and allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing them.
Originally posted March 28, 2018. Updated April 3, 2022.
Other vegan muffin recipes you might enjoy include:
- Cranberry Muffins
- Carrot Cake Muffins
- Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
More Zucchini Recipes Include:
- Quick and Crispy Zucchini Fritters from Vegan Comfort Cooking by Melanie McDonald
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Peanutty Pad Thai Zoodles
- Zucchini Lasagna Tart
Kristin
yum! these look delicious -- perfect for spring.
Dianne
Thank you, Kristin!
Caty Bakes Cruelty-Freeeeee ^o^
This is exactly what Im craving for camping! But I only have All-Purpose and Chia seeds.... whatdya think?
Dianne
Hi, Caty! I don't think chia seeds will work in the place of poppy seeds. Chia has a binding quality, and they might interfere with the rest of the ingredients.