Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Easy, healthy pumpkin muffins made with whole grains, natural sweetener (maple syrup) and real pumpkin! These muffins are fluffy and delicious.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
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We caught our first cool fall breeze this week. Do you know what that means? It’s pumpkin muffin time.
I snapped some new photos of my favorite pumpkin muffin recipe as I satisfied my pumpkin craving. These pumpkin muffins are perfect for chilly fall mornings and afternoon snacks.
They’re healthier than most, since they’re made with whole wheat flour and oats, sweetened with real maple syrup or honey, and call for coconut oil or olive oil instead of butter. Believe it or not, this healthy pumpkin muffin recipe yields light and fluffy muffins.
These pumpkin muffins wouldn’t be complete without plenty of warming spices, including cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Most “pumpkin spice” flavor comes from the spice, not the pumpkin!
I love these muffins with a spread of almond butter, peanut butter or pecan butter on top. Nut butter adds some extra protein, which means that I’m not hungry before lunchtime. If you’re going pumpkin-crazy this time of year, enjoy your muffin with a homemade pumpkin chai latte.
These pumpkin treats have the magical power to convert “healthy muffin” skeptics into fans. Let’s make some!
The Best Pumpkin Muffins
Five reasons to love this pumpkin muffin recipe:
- These muffins are easy to make with basic ingredients. Only one bowl required!
- They’re made with 100% whole grains, yet they’re fluffy and delicious. No one will know the difference.
- They’re also naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey, rather than loaded with refined sugar. The maple syrup (or honey) offers a touch of extra flavor, which I love.
- These muffins feature a few of your favorite warming spices so they taste like your favorite pumpkin latte.
- They freeze well for later, too. Just defrost individual muffins in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, or until gently warmed through. You don’t want to overdo it.
Healthy Pumpkin Muffin Notes & Tips
Change it up. Add nuts, chocolate chips or chopped fruit cranberries or crystallized ginger. See recipe notes for details.
Simplify the recipe. Substitute 2 teaspoons store-bought pumpkin spice blend for the individual spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice). Or, if your spice drawer is empty, simply use 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and call it good.
Craving a sweet topping? Liz topped these muffins with my maple glaze from my pumpkin scones recipe, which sounds marvelous.
This muffin recipe is special diet-friendly. You can easily adjust this recipe to make it vegan, dairy free, egg free and/or gluten free. See the recipe notes for details.
Watch How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Baking Tips for Success
How to Measure Flour
How you measure your flour is important. Why? If you measure incorrectly, you could end up with up to 50 percent extra flour, which will make your muffins dense, dry and flavorless. Use the spoon and swoop method:
- Gently stir your flour to loosen any clumps.
- Spoon your flour into the measuring cup with a big spoon or a flour scoop. Do not scoop up the flour directly into the measuring cup.
- Level off the top of the cup with a knife. Repeat as necessary.
Use Baking Soda, Not Baking Powder
They are not the same thing. Both are leaveners that help your baked goods rise (baking powder contains some baking soda, but that’s a long story). For ideal results, always follow the recipe and measure carefully.
How to Stir Your Batter
This muffin batter is super simple to stir together by hand, and that’s how I recommend making these muffins. Why? Whipping your batter will make the flour’s gluten protein too strong, yielding tough muffins.
I know it can be tempting to use a stand mixer or hand mixer when it’s within reach. Please don’t! Follow the instructions below and you’ll end up with light, fluffy muffins.
More Pumpkin Treats & Fall Muffins
Craving more? You’re going to love these recipes:
- Healthy Pumpkin Bread (like these muffins, but in bread form)
- Pumpkin Pecan Scones with Maple Glaze
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Perfect Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Healthy Banana Muffins
- Healthy Apple Muffins
Please let me know how these pumpkin muffins turn out for you in the comments. I love hearing from you, and hope these pumpkin muffins become your new favorite.
P.s. That beautiful mug in the photos above and below? That’s handmade by my friend Margaret.
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Easy, one bowl, healthier pumpkin muffins made with whole wheat grains and naturally sweetened! These pumpkin muffins are as light, fluffy and delicious as their coffee shop counterparts. Recipe yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice or cloves)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour**
- ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top
- Optional: 2 teaspoons turbinado (raw) sugar for a sweet crunch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius). If necessary, grease all 12 cups of your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and didn’t require any grease).
- In a large bowl, beat the oil and maple syrup or honey together with a whisk. Add the eggs, and beat well. Add the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin spice blend, baking soda, vanilla extract and salt.
- Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are ok). If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins***, like nuts, chocolate or dried fruit, fold them in now.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with about a tablespoon of oats, followed by a light sprinkle of raw sugar and/or pumpkin spice blend if you’d like. Bake muffins for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. These muffins are delicate until they cool down. You might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan.
- These muffins taste even better after they have rested for a couple of hours! They’ll keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They keep well in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months (just defrost individual muffins as needed).
Notes
Recipe adapted from my healthy pumpkin bread.
*Oil options: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil might lend an herbal note to the muffins, if you’re into that (I tested with California Olive Ranch’s “Everyday” variety and couldn’t even taste it). Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.
**Flour alternatives: White whole wheat flour works great, if you can find it. Whole wheat pastry flour yields extra light and fluffy muffins that are delicate until cooled. All-purpose flour and gluten-free all-purpose flour blends work as well.
**Change it up: You could really go crazy with add-ins here. After stirring in the flour and oats, gently fold in up to ¾ cup chocolate chips, chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts, and/or some chopped dried cranberries or crystallized ginger.
Serving suggestions: These muffins are great on their own, with a pat of butter, or spread with almond butter. They would also be fantastic with homemade pecan butter or coconut butter.
Make it egg free: Readers report that these muffins turn out well with flax eggs!
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup, flax eggs and non-dairy milk.
Make it dairy free: Simply use your non-dairy milk of choice.
Make it gluten free: Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose blend works well instead of the whole wheat flour. You could use 2 ½ cups certified gluten-free oat flour instead or follow my recipe for almond flour-based pumpkin muffins.
Make it oat free: Simply omit the oats. No other changes necessary.
Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet. Choosing olive oil instead of coconut oil will reduce the saturated fat content; total fat content will remain the same.
Update September 24, 2019: I removed white whole wheat flour as an option simply because I can’t find it in stores any more. I also upped the amount of spice from 1 ½ teaspoons to 2 teaspoons.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hi there, I’m looking forward to trying the recipe. Just wanted to let you know King Arthur Flour (employee-owned!) makes white wheat flour. I’ve gotten it at regular grocery stores as well as health food stores. If yours don’t, they would probably get in in for you if you’ll use it regularly. Good luck.
I came to comment this exact thing! You can order from them online also. King Arthur flour is the best
Thanks for the recipe… Im looking forward to trying it… Is it possible to substitute raw sugar for maple syrup? If yes how much the quantity would be..?
Hi! I don’t recommend it as it helps with the overall moisture.
I, too, thought these were bland – at first. However, the second day made all the difference. The flavor and moisture level were just right – perfect with a cup of coffee! I used olive oil and honey.
I made these for the second time today to accompany a meal for some of our houseless neighbors. I made a vegan batch and a non-vegan batch. I used the zest of one orange (added to the wet ingredients) for each batch and added some dried currants and chopped walnuts. For the non-vegan batch, I subbed eggnog for the milk because I still had some in the fridge from the holidays that was still good. Both batches were excellent and very much appreciated.
Made a double batch today. Turned out great. Thank you…I improvised a little..using partial almond flour and substituted half maple syrup for swerve …yummy!
These are excellent! I was really pleasantly surprised but how flavorful they are. Even better after sitting in the fridge overnight. I used my stand mixer (with whisk attachment) for the wet ingredients and then hand-mixed the dry ingredients in. Great recipe. Thank you!
Tastes very healthy. Next time I’ll definitely be adding much more pumpkin spice and probably a bit of brown sugar. Even though that’ll make it a little less healthy
Just made these and I can’t stop eating them! These are the best muffins I’ve ever made. So incredibly moist and not too sweet. Thanks for the recipe! I made the batter in less than 5 minutes. Hitting all my fall cravings.
So, so, so good.
Thank you, Megan!
I just made these and I am in love! Muffins are my weakness, so I’m always looking for healthy recipes. This one fits the bill. I substituted low sugar applesauce for the oil, and eliminated the oats. I sprinkled a sugar substitute on the top of each muffin. That gives them just a bit of sweetness. Thanks for a great recipe!
A muffin weakness, I hear you! Thank you for sharing, Gloria.
Gloria, you said you made these muffins, however given the changes you made, you certainly didn’t make these muffins. I’m glad your recipe was great, but you can’t say you made these muffins.
By any chance do you remember how much apple sauce did you use instead of oil?
Thank you for this recipe! I just whipped these up for my kids on their day off from school. Delicious and healthy!
Thank you for your review, Marin!
I had these at a friends house and had to come home and make them myself. They are so tasty! I use chocolate chips in mine – always. I don’t know how they would taste without that because I think the chocolate chips really make a wonderful addition. Love these either with wheat flour or gluten free – and so does my picky husband! :) Thank you!
I’ve made these 3 times now so I’m overdue on leaving a much deserved review.
My whole family enjoys these healthy treats…they request them in their lunches. When I run out, my six year old looks at me quite seriously and says, “I’ll help you make some more this weekend, Mama”.
We always add some chocolate chips, but follow the recipe pretty closely. I’ve subbed in applesauce to bring a can of pumpkin up to two cups for a double batch…tasty!
Thank you for your review, Patty! I’m happy these are such a hit in your house.
This is my favorite go-to muffin! I have made them many times and they are always a bit hit with family and neighbors. I usually make a triple batch, freeze them, and toast them up for breakfast. I use 2 cans of organic pumpkin and 1 entire container of pumpkin pie spice for the triple batch. And, I add in the chocolate chips and nuts, top with an oatmeal/cinnamon/nut mix for more crunch.
Thank you for sharing, Susan! I appreciate it.
This is my favorite go-to muffin! I have made them many times and they are always a bit hit with family and neighbors. I usually make a triple batch, freeze them, and toast them up for breakfast. I use 2 cans of organic pumpkin and 1 entire container of pumpkin pie spice for the triple batch. And, I add in the chocolate chips and nuts, top with an oatmeal/cinnamon/nut mix for more crunch.
Horrible. Not moist at all and lack of flavor. Might as well eat cardboard.
I’m sorry you didn’t like these, Adrian.
Maybe you should try some non healthy muffins. You definitely made theses wrong or you just simply don’t know how to bake. 9.8 out of 10 people loved theses :) (including me) they taste like pumpkin spice in a muffin! so go be rude some where else please.
I’ve got a hungry 15 month old who loooves muffins and this recipe has become the household fave! I’ve made it with canned pumpkin as written and also with bananas when the pumpkin is gone and both are amazing. The whole wheat muffins I grew up with were too firm and dry so this recipe makes me happy. (Tip to others: If you sub bananas be sure to reduce the maple syrup by half so the muffins won’t be too sweet.) Thanks Kate!
I’m wanting to try and sub banana for the sweetener. Do you know how many banana’s you used in stead?
I just do an even swap – 1 cup mashed banana in place of the pumpkin. You could probably eliminate the maple syrup altogether… just add a little extra banana (or another wet ingredient) to prevent the muffins being too dry. :)
I just made these muffins and they are awesome! I love the texture and I love the fact that they don’t taste too sweet. I would like a little more pumpkin flavor next time though. Would you suggest increasing the amount of pumpkin spice blend and, if so, by how much? Thank you again for all your delicious, healthy recipes.
Hi Amy, if you want more pumpkin flavor you could try changing up your brand of pumpkin. I have found some to be more watery then others and/or add a little more pumpkin spice mix. I like these as is, so it’s hard to provide specific amounts. Maybe start with 1/2 tsp?
Thank you so much for such healthy and delicious looking recipes, and for the notes. I can’t wait to make these muffins. I’ll rate the recipe as soon as I get a chance to make them.
These are amazing, Kate! I even used a little less maple syrup, and they are that perfect ‘just sweet enough’ deliciousness. Plus it helped that I didn’t over-bake them, which is one problem I seem to have because I’m too worried about under-baking everything. But this time I did it perfectly. I also added a few cinnamon chips (unhealthy I know, but it was a very small amount). Next time I want to add raisins because pumpkin and raisins go well together. Oh and I subbed the last 3/4 cup of flour with 1/3 cup of coconut flour. It worked great! Maybe next time I’ll try even less flour and more coconut flour. Anyway, I love this recipe, so thank you!
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These are great! I followed the recipe exactly! And used the recommended glaze. Thanks for sharing!
I’m a Type 1 diabetic, so I usually make some adjustments to recipes for my sake. I substituted my homemade applesauce (spiced, but not sweetened) for the maple syrup and for half of the coconut oil. I also cut the milk in half because of the added moisture of the applesauce. The flavor was very good, but definitely more hearty than sweet. I’m wondering if I should have used the full amount of milk, as your sweeteners were already in liquid form, and I replaced one liquid with another. I will probably add a little turbinado or some Swerve next time. Overall, it’s a very nice recipe for me to fiddle with, and I appreciate it.
Hi Kate
I seen you said you can’t find white whole flour anymore I have a surprise for you I buy it at target I have been baking your recipes I love the Healthy banana bread
Oh good! Thank you, Nyla, glad to hear it!
I had been eyeing this recipe for a while and finally decided to make it last night. I made them completely vegan using homemade almond milk, flax seed and maple syrup. I love nuts in my muffins so i added about a 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts. These muffins turned out absolutely delicious. So light and fluffy and full of yummy pumpkin spice sweet flavor. I am sure I will be baking these again very soon. Thank you Kate!
I’ve just made these, followed the recipe exactly (using spelt flour, olive oil, maple syrup & evaporated milk) and added a tablespoon of rum and half cup raisins. Absolutely delicious! Perfect proportions, thank you!
You’re welcome, Anna!
It’s a rainy cold day here in Iowa, and I happened to find some pumpkin while I was cleaning out my pantry. These whipped up so quickly and they were delicious!!!!
I’m glad you loved them!
After making this recipe several times, I have the most success when I take the time to let all liquids and eggs come to room temperature. It makes all the difference in the texture of the muffins! So yummy.
Bonus: Add 1/2 orange worth of zest for brightness, A+++++
Thanks for commenting, Rachel!
This is our legit favorite muffin recipe that I‘be made at least one batch a week for the last 2 months! We’re vegan and although flax egg works fine these turn our larger & more muffin like /more like using real eggs with bob’s red milk egg replacer. By far the best egg replacer I’ve ever used. They are a lot more dense & don’t really rise with flax eggs. Either way the taste is wonderful & I’m so glad we came across this! Especially with staying home so much with the world’s lockdowns I like to make a batch for the fridge & keep an extra batch of these muffins in the freezer so we can have yummy healthy things like this to snack on and enjoy throughout the week.
I love that, Haylee! Thanks for sharing what egg placement you like and for your review. I know others will find that helpful!
I made almond milk and used the pulp to add to this recipe. Then, I added whole wheat flour, etc. according to the recipe. I love how the recipe lists the ingredients for the pumpkin spice mix; I decided to use allspice instead of nutmeg. The muffin came out tender and moist. I don’t think I can tell it is whole grain at all. This is such a yummy treat! Thank you for the recipe.
I love these muffins with raisins added. They just add punch of sweetness that livens up the muffins beautifully.
I’ve really enjoyed the banana and carrot muffins from this blog but these came out terribly for me. They have the consistency of play dough (even after I cooked them 6 min longer than recommend). Would not recommend this name one of the other recipes instead
I make these on repeat for my toddler and he gobbles them up. He’s eaten two in one sitting as a snack and then demanded one again for his afternoon snack. Because it’s for my toddler and I’m trying to control his sugar intake I do cut the maple syrup in half and add a little less flour. I’ve made these so many times that I can add the flour until the batter looks “right.” I also have subbed a 1/4 cup of oats with hemp hearts with great success. My husband and I love these too, and I always have a can of pumpkin in my pantry so I can make these at least once a month.
I love how many times you have made these, Cee! I appreciate your review and comment.
These look amazing! Thinking of making this in the morning. I have jack-o-lantern pumpkins that I roasted, pureed and froze. At first I thought they were the sugar pumpkins. Hopefully I can get them to turn out sometimes I don’t have the best luck with muffins.
Excellent! It worked with canola oil since I didn’t have any coconut oil on hand. I used honey as opposed to maple syrup. I’m so glad Kate included the nutrition information on the recipe. I tend to eat way too many muffins at one sitting (don’t we all?) so now I know one is enough for breakfast, with one cup of milk. They are delicious and filling.
I used wheat flour that I grind on my own from my food storage.
Hello, if I did these in mini muffin tins how would I adjust the bake time?
Hi Elena! Typically, you cut the time in half and then adjust as necessary. Make sure to keep a close eye at the end so they don’t get overdone.
Can I add chocolate chips to the recipe? If so, how many? Or should I just sprinkle some atop the muffins before putting them in the oven?
Hi! See step 3. I usually recommend 1/2 cup in muffin recipes for additional mix-ins.
Thank you! Just made your healthy blueberry muffins and they are wonderful. Love your recipes!
Very nice recipe and so easy to make. Realized we didn’t have WW flour so substituted AP. Also to use up the entire 15 oz, can of pumpkin, we increased all measurements by 1,5, which yielded an additional half dozen muffins. Next time will increase the spices.
Thank you for providing another great recipe that my dairy free daughter can use!
I’ve just made my first batch,these were a winner in my household. I used honey instead of maple syrup, rice bran oil instead of the oils suggested and replaced the oats with desiccated coconut. Added a mix of dark chocolate chips and dark chocolate melts. Sprinkled the top with a little cinnamon sugar instead. Delicious!
That sounds delicious, Karen! Thank you for your review.
Hi Kate,
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve turned to baking as I try to cut down on person-to-person interaction (such as going to a bakery). In Hong Kong, where we live, pumpkin muffins are not common in any case.
These are my favorite of any type of muffin recipe I’ve tried. The amount of sweetener is very low and the ingredients are healthy yet still tasty and delicious.
The 3 things I’ve tried:
1. substituting apple sauce/baby food prunes for oil. Tastes better with the oil. Trying half oil and half prunes next time.
2. sprinkling with sugar on top. This makes a huge difference in taste and given the low sugar already, worth the trade off.
3. adding a sliver of apricot on top for garnish (say slicing one dried apricot into 6 sliver). This adds minimally to flavor, but for people in my household used to bakery garnishes, they loved the addition, saying it tasted much better. I think it’s more psychological, but it mattered to them.
I appreciate you sharing what you have tried, Jackie! Thanks so much for your insight on what has worked for you.
Hi! I want to make These, i was wondering if oat flour would work? Thank you :)
Hey Alexandra! I haven’t tried oat flour in this recipe, but I know it works well in a very similar recipe. The muffins won’t rise quite as tall, and will be extra delicate when warm from the oven. Still should be tasty, though! Please report back if you try it.
Could you sub out the eggs with 2 egg whites? Or will the muffin not bake properly?
Also these are always a hit whenever I make them!
Hi Julia! I’m glad to hear you like these muffins. I think your muffins would turn out well enough with 2 egg whites, but I haven’t tried to be 100% certain.
I’m probably the only one to ever do only half a batch, but I was trying to finish up some pumpkin I had opened to make baby food and it was all I had left. These were way better than the unhealthy pumpkin cookies I used a whole cup of pumpkin for so I’m excited to give these priority next time and make a whole batch! Maybe tomorrow….mmmm.
Also, I’m not really a muffin person, but I like good and healthy recipes and these were surprisingly the perfect texture and tasty. I’ve been wanting them again since we ran out the other day.
My husband really liked the cookies I mentioned so I asked him to compare these, as he ate two of my last three, and he said equal…so considering these were healthy, I call that a win for the muffins!
I haven’t tasted the pumpkin ones yet, but I’ve had the banana ones! I just made these with sprouted spelt flour, applesauce, and chia seed “eggs”. They look great! I just need to taste them, but I’m sure they are fine.
Moist and delicious! I used applesauce and honey per your substitutes and sprinkled coconut sugar on top before baking.
Healthy treat for us all, the kids love them:)
I made these today with almond flour. They were really yummy, but they didn’t seem to be cooked all the way through. Should I adjust the amount of almond flour next time or cook them longer?
Hi Kristin, I don’t typically recommend almond flour as a 1:1 substitute. That could be the issue you ran into.
These were great. Used Coconut oil, coconut milk, good quality maple, and they were delicious. They were heavy — but I think that’s because I threw in some shredded coconut and added plenty of nuts. I probably should have added some more coconut milk or pumpkin puree because I could tell the batter was super thick. However, they were delicious, and this was my fault for over-doing the add-ins!
I discovered cookie&kate during the start of the shutdown while in search for a pumpkin recipe made with wheat flour (the only flour left at my local grocery store at the time). Anyway, let me tell you…what a find I made!!! I have baked the Healthy Pumpkin Muffins three times now and this recipe will forever be a keeper! I had never used maple syrup as a sweetener before and the combination with the pumpkin is a match made in heaven. I will always think back on this challenging & difficult time with memories of the good things that have come: All of Kate’s outrageously delicious recipes!!! THANK YOU!!!
Nathalie, I’m so glad to hear it! If you find yourself with any extra bananas, I think you’ll love the banana bread, too. :) Stay well!
Hi, your print recipes is missing the 2 eggs in the ingredient list.
This is the second recipe of your’s (the other was the roasted chicken) I’ve tried and it is also great. Very well thought out. Appreciate the hard work that had to go into all this. Thank you!
Looks good, but to make it whole food plant based, substitute 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce for the oil. Yum!
I love pumpkin muffins any time of the year and these are amazing. They are so delicious and moist and easy to make. I love that they are healthier too with just the right amount of natural sweetness. This recipe is a keeper. I will be making these often. Thanks so much!!