These easy pumpkin muffins are moist, tender, and warmly spiced—the perfect fall treat! Make a batch, and it'll disappear before you know it.
These pumpkin muffins are perfect for fall! They’re soft, super moist, and deliciously spiced—cinnamon, allspice, and more fill them with seasonal flavor. But best of all, they’re so easy to make. You can whip them up in less than an hour with a couple of mixing bowls and a whisk. No mixer required here!
I love that these pumpkin muffins taste sweet, but not too sweet, so that they can pass for breakfast or a healthy snack. Enjoy one (or two) in the morning with a cup of coffee, and then grab another for an afternoon pick-me-up. If you have any extras, you can freeze them, but if your household is anything like ours, these pumpkin muffins won’t last long.
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins
These healthy pumpkin muffins are so simple to make!
To start, grab these ingredients:
- Pumpkin, of course! Canned pumpkin puree gives these muffins an amazing moist texture and rich pumpkin flavor. Make sure to use pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling contains sweeteners and spices that we don’t need here.
- Eggs – They make these muffins tender and fluffy.
- Oil – Melted coconut oil and vegetable oil both work well, adding moisture and richness. I’ve even had yummy results with olive oil.
- Maple syrup – For sweetness. I love this natural alternative to granulated sugar!
- Milk – Use your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk in this recipe. I’ve had great results with almond milk and oat milk.
- Apple cider vinegar – It helps the muffins puff up as they bake.
- Vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- All-purpose flour and whole wheat flour – This combination makes the muffins wholesome, but not dense.
- Baking powder and baking soda – They make the muffins nice and puffy.
- Pumpkin pie spice – What would pumpkin muffins be without cozy, warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger?
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
To make this pumpkin muffin recipe, start by prepping a 12-cup muffin pan. Grease the muffin cups or line them with paper liners.
Next, make the batter. Whisk together the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another.
Pour the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.
Stir until everything is just combined. Careful not to overmix!
When the batter is smooth, use a 1/3-cup measuring cup to scoop it into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix! If you make baking recipes often, you know this tip like the back of your hand. Overmixing the batter will make these muffins dense, so only stir until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined.
- Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before you eat. They’re delicate when they first come out of the oven. But with a few minutes to cool, they set up with a perfect moist, tender texture. They have a richer pumpkin spice flavor after cooling, too!
- Add mix-ins. For a fun variation, fold 1/2 cup chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans into the batter.
- Add a topping. For a sweeter treat, sprinkle the muffins with the brown sugar streusel topping from this apple muffins recipe before baking. You’ll love the added crunch on top! Or top the muffins with cream cheese frosting after baking.
- Make them special diet-friendly. See the notes in the recipe card below to make this pumpkin muffin recipe vegan or gluten-free.
How to Store Pumpkin Muffins
Store these homemade pumpkin muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They’re almost moister on days 2 and 3!
Can you freeze pumpkin muffins?
Absolutely! I love to freeze these healthy pumpkin muffins so that I have them on hand for quick breakfasts or snacks. Seal them in an airtight container or bag, and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Allow frozen muffins to thaw overnight in the fridge, or zap them in the microwave for 30 seconds if you want to eat them right away.
More Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
If you love this pumpkin muffin recipe, try one of these delicious pumpkin recipes next:
- Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Best Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Bars
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
And if you love muffins, check out these 10 Healthy Muffin Recipes.
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup milk
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease or spray a 12-cup muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, oil, maple syrup, vinegar, and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Use a ⅓-cup measuring scoop to divide the batter into the muffin tin. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
I would love to sub cottage cheese in these for a protein snack, any tips?
I tried this recipe for the first time today, and realized I didn’t have any wheat flour on hand, so I subbed almond flour, since I like almond flour in pumpkin bakes after finding a pumpkin cookie that used 100% almond flour. I probably could have used a bit more than I did (I used 1 1/4 cup almond to replace the 3/4 cup of wheat).
I agree that the muffin itself is not very sweet, but I did add the topping from the Apple Muffins as suggested in the article and that made them just right in sweetness. That said, I don’t think I’d use coconut oil in the streusel topping again because the oil seemed to melt too quickly compared to butter and it made for really greasy cupcake liners when I removed the muffins from the pan.
The flavor profile of the muffin on its own I really liked, despite their subtleness, probably because they ended up tasting so much like the pumpkin cookies I make with almond flour. They definitely need the topping imo, and I’d even recommend a drizzle of glaze if you’ve already made them and feel like they need a boost of sweetness.
Next time, I’ll use 1 1/2 cup of almond flour because I think that would give them a bit better structure, and use my tried and true streusel topping recipe instead of the one using coconut oil, but these still taste great for a muffin with a lower sugar profile and healthy(er) ingredients! Did I mention they’re really delicious with a hot cup of cinnamon tea?!
Thanks for your comment, Amelie! So glad you enjoyed the muffins.
I love this website & all the recipes I have found on here but this one really let me down. It tasted very bland to me. If I make it again I will definitely need to add sugar!
Hello I just found you and happy I did love your site and recipes. A question for you about your pumpkin muffins would I be able to use all almond flour in place of the gluten free flour?
Thank you
Dawn
Hi Dawn, I’m not sure if 100% almond flour would work—it’s not quite the same as a wheat flour or GF flour blend. I think you could use half almond flour though!
Excellent! Made with GF flour.
Didn’t use spices, used just cinnamon.
Best muffins ever!
Thank you!
Lovely! Soft, moist, tasty. I left out the pumpkin spice for a milder, more savory flavor. Thank you!