Muffins are the best food invention. They are one of the few things you can get away with eating for breakfast or dessert. These fluffy egg and dairy free orange and poppy seed muffins are delicious any time of the day. And this allergy-friendly recipe is also free from nuts, wheat and gluten and is suitable for vegans too.

Orange and poppy seed muffins on a white plate with fresh oranges and spoon of poppy seeds with text overlay "egg free dairy free nut free orange & poppy seed muffins gluten free vegan"

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Ingredients

To make these egg and dairy free orange and poppy seed muffins you’ll only need to a few simple ingredients:

1 1/2 cups self raising flour (gluten free if required)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
1/4 cup vegetable oil (eg canola)
2/3 cup orange juice (juice of 1 to 1 and half large fresh oranges)

Poppy seeds and poppy seed allergy

Poppy seeds are not one of the top allergens and there are not many reports of people being allergic to poppy seeds. However, there is the potential for someone with a sesame allergy to also be allergic to poppy seeds (cross-reactivity). If you:

are allergic to poppy seeds;
are allergic to sesame or other seeds and are concerned about eating poppy seeds; or
can’t find safe poppy seeds that don’t have a “may contain” warning for other allergens that you are comfortable with;

just leave them out of this recipe. Orange muffins taste delicious without the seeds too.

Orange juice

This recipe tastes best when made with freshly squeezed orange juice. If squeezing your own juice, you’ll need approximately 1 to 1 and a half large oranges. For a quick and easy way to juice, I just use my handy metal citrus squeezer.

However, if you don’t have fresh oranges available, it’s fine to use packaged juice.

Making gluten free muffins

I sometimes make these orange and poppy seed muffins with ordinary wheat self-raising flour and sometimes with gluten free self-raising flour. They both work just as well, with a couple of things to note for the gluten free option.

My go-to gluten free flour is White Wings (maize and tapioca starch based with rice flour), but you can just use your normal brand. If you only have plain flour and not self-raising, you’ll need to double up on the baking powder in this recipe to get enough rise.

When using gluten free flour, you may find that you need to leave the muffins in the oven for an extra minute or so to ensure that they brown completely. The cooked gluten free muffins are a little moister than ones made with wheat. They are also best enjoyed the same day as they tend to soften more quickly.

Apart from that, my family members who don’t have wheat allergy or gluten intolerance tell me that both versions are equally delicious.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/375F.

Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper muffin cases, cupcake liners or reusable silicone muffin liners. You’ll only need 10 liners – leave 2 holes empty.

Add the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and poppy seeds to a large mixing bowl and stir thoroughly to combine.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the vegetable oil and orange juice. Mix well by hand until the ingredients form a smooth batter.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, filling almost to the top.

Dairy free orange & poppy seed muffin mix in muffin cases in a baking pan

Place the muffin tray in the oven and bake for approximately 16-18 minutes, or until muffins are lightly browned.

If using gluten free flour, you may need to leave the muffins in the oven for an extra minute or two until they brown evenly.

Remove the muffin pan from the oven and allow the muffins to cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Your delicious vegan orange and poppy seed muffins can be kept in an air tight container for 3 days. If you have used gluten free flour, the muffins will soften and lose the crunchy muffin top more quickly. So enjoy them fresh out of the oven for best results. Muffins can also be frozen to enjoy later, but are best served warm in that case.

Makes 10 muffins.

Orange and poppy seed muffins on a white plate with fresh oranges and spoon of poppy seeds with text overlay "orange & poppy seed muffins egg, dairy, nut & gluten free - vegan"

More allergy-friendly recipes

Love muffins? Try our nut, egg and dairy free strawberry muffins recipe or nut, egg and dairy free apple crumble muffins. Or you might enjoy some of our other citrus flavoured allergy-friendly treats such as:

You’ll find lots more allergy-friendly recipes on our recipes page.