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.
These muffins were delicious. The only thing that I did differently was instead of sprinkling oats on top of each muffin I used slivered almonds with a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon on top of each muffin.
Looking forward to baking these! Would pureed butternut squash work in place of the pumpkin? Would it affect the taste much? Any other suggestions for substituting the pumpkin? I know it’s a ridiculous ask seeing as these are “pumpkin muffins” but I need to improvise as my store is out of stock of pumpkin! Thank you!
Hi Jill, I’m not sure without trying it as the flavoring is slightly different. It would work as a substitution for sure!
I think you probably could. They’re similar textures and, fun fact, most canned pumpkin is actually not pumpkin (I know, right?). It’s usually squash. And i like it, which is shocking because I hate squash.
I used pureed butternut squash and the muffins were great! I often switch out various winter squash purees in recipes, depending on what I have in my freezer (homemade). Also used half white whole wheat and half all purpose flour. Oh, and some chocolate chips. All in all, a little more decadent and very tasty!
I love these with butternut squash! It is my go-to. Bc it is sweeter, I recommend doing 1/3 c maple syrup.
So yummy! We had our first glimpse of coolish mornings today, and these were the perfect accompaniment. I used whole wheat einkorn flour, and they were delicious!
Incredibly yummy. 5 stars! I followed the recipe almost to a T. I cut the maple syrup down to a 1/3c. I added chopped fresh apple and walnuts to the batter. I made a crumble topping with oats, walnuts, brown sugar, dash of cinnamon, a little flour and Vegan butter. I put a little crumble mix on each muffin, patted it down. 22 mins later … voila. We couldn’t wait and tried one immediately. YUM!
Just tried the recipe today. Instead of muffins, I baked a 9×6 loaf. It took about an hour to bake, but it was worth the wait. The result was excellent! Looking forward to try other recipes.
Can I use all purpose flour?
Hi Krista, yes that should work.
Could the sugar/honey be omitted? Want to make this for my 10-month-old
Hi Daniel! I wish I had more guidance for you, but it’s needed for the overall moisture and for these to rise correctly. You could check the comments to see if other readers have tried something else.
What about applesauce?
Hi Melissa, I’m not sure without trying it. I know others have tried this in other recipes to replace the oil and didn’t mind the results. However, I can’t say for sure.
Hi there!
Did anyone else find that the temperature for these was far too low? I followed the directions and found that my muffins came out wet (not moist) inside, as if they weren’t cooked all the way through. The flavour is great (I snuck nibbles of the not-all-the-way-baked batch), but still…. I’m not a “baker” and so am struggling to gauge the right temperature and how much time to make them work.
Hi Celeste! Thank you for your note. The temperature and timing for these muffins are correct. Perhaps your oven runs on the cool side? If it happens again, I think your muffins will just need a couple extra minutes in the oven. Hope that does the trick for you.
Same thing here- mushy inside even after 29 minutes. Taste wonderful tho! I wonder if almond flour makes mushy vs wheat? I followed recipe exactly and oven normal.
Hi Sarah, Unfortunately almond flour isn’t a great 1:1 replacement as to why you didn’t get great results. Sorry it didn’t turn out for you.
Hi Celeste, I found my batches take 28 minutes in my new oven and they come out perfectly every time. I add choc chips and walnuts so not sure if that’s why they need a few minutes more, but this length of time is consistently good for me.
Yes. I have an oven thermometer so I know my oven was the right temp. After 25 minutes I took them out and they were not at all done. I upped the temp to 400 degrees and baked them for an additional 15 minutes. They were perfectly done then.
I wonder if elevation might have something to do with it. Not sure. Next time I make these I’ll use 400 degrees for 25 minutes and see if that works.
These muffins are amazing! I like that they use healthier alternative ingredients that I usually have rather than ingredients that are less accessible. I didn’t feel like measuring a bunch of spices so I went with the suggestion of increasing the cinnamon and used fresh grated nutmeg. Also didn’t have enough maple syrup so added agave to balance it out.
I’ve made your banana muffins which we love- so I tried these tonight and they are also delicious! Followed recipe exactly as written. Huge hit with my family
Lovely, Megan! I’m glad you love both muffin recipes. These ones are obviously great for fall!
These were so nice and easy to make!! I followed the recipe exactly and mine turned out a little on the dry side – what do you think could be the culprit?
Thanks so much!!!
Hi Alison! I’m glad you liked them. It sounds like they may have been a little over done. How long did you leave them in the oven?
Maybe you added too much flour? I used to have this problem often before purchasing a digital kitchen scale. Now I use it to weigh my flour and other large quantities of dry ingredients when baking. It really makes all the difference for consistency!
Made these today using coconut oil, white whole wheat flour, and maple syrup – which I cut to about 3/8 cup. We had coaches oats instead of regular oatmeal, so I used those in the muffins and just omitted the oats on top. They were pretty easy to make, and I’m a fan! My toddler is a fan – she just stole another one off of the counter, so she probably won’t eat her dinner! My husband who generally dislikes all things pumpkin said he likes them too!
I love these muffins! I don’t want something too sweet and these are perfect without mix-ins. I was nervous to add the oats but I’m glad I did! I’m making these again next week!
I made these muffins two days ago. I used oat milk and added pepitas, craisins, and walnuts to the batter. So. Delicious. I can’t wait to make them again.
These muffins were delicious. My toddler and I made them this afternoon. We added chocolate chips and they were so yummy.
I would love to know what kind of muffin tins you use that are non-stick. I have been using silicone muffins tins and they are wonderfully non-stick, but everything takes much longer to bake in them.
Hi Elisa! You can find all my kitchen essentials in my shop page.
These muffins are so good, and my toddler thinks so too!! I first came across this recipe when I had gestational diabetes and was looking for low-carb/low-sugar recipes. Thanks for the great recipe!
These are wonderful and healthy! Thank you for all your efforts!
You’re welcome, Julie! Thank you for your comment.
Ok, are these muffins still healthy if you eat the whole dozen in two days?? They turned out so good! I used what I had on hand, so sadly no oats in them this time around, then I used white flour and pumpkin pie spice. Popped out of the oven super moist, extra pumpkin-y and flavorful. I love them both with and without a sugar-spice mix on top. I’m definitely going to use up the rest of my canned pumpkin to make these again later this week. Thanks for this phenomenal recipe!
Great to hear, Sarah! Thanks so much for sharing.
I’ve made these muffins several times as written – they’re one of my fall favorites. Today I was preparing to bake another pumpkin muffin recipe (first mistake right there), and realized I didn’t have all the right ingredients, so I turned to my tried and true C+K recipe! I never do this, but for those wondering about substitutions: I made these with melted butter, whole milk, and all purpose flour, plus folded in one medium apple, peeled and chopped. The result is fluffy and delicious! I now have two versions of this recipe to love.
That’s great to hear it turned out so well, Kate! I appreciate your review.
Great recipe!
I use another bowl for the flour which I mix with the oatmeal and walnuts and blueberries…
This method coats the walnuts and blueberries so they don’t clump together.
What size pumpkin can?
Looks great!
Hi! You can use a 15oz can. It will be more than cup of puree, so make sure you measure it.
Can I add bananas to this for pumkpin banana muffins, or will the extra ingredient affect the cooking time?
Hi! Sorry, I haven’t tried it with this one and not sure it would get you a desired result without changing other ingredients.
I need to know what size can of pumpkin, please. Thanks.
A BIG thank you, deeeelish! I will add dark chocolate chips another time, maybe cranberries. Yummy breakfast and snack! Dessert, too, with almond or coconut milk ice cream! I used almond milk, next time I might try coconut. Again, thank you!~
These are incredible! I made them with Cup4Cup wholesome flour, coconut oil, maple syrup and added dark chocolate chips. I’ve tried a lot of pumpkin recipes and this is by far the best!!!!
AMAZING and just what I was looking for to fill my need for fall comfort food! Made these today and followed yor recipe to the tee. I love all your recipes, keep them coming:)
Hi I was wondering how much sugar I should add if I don’t have have enough honey or maple syrup
Hi Katelyn! Sorry I don’t have an answer for you as the wet ingredients are important in moisture and for it to rise appropriately. Changing one element, can impact the entire recipe.
Amazingly light; perfectly sweet. I’ve made them 3 weeks in a row!
Mine came out a bit dry. I didn’t cook as long as recommended so any suggestions? Flavor was good I do think I mixed to much so I will be more cautious of that next time.9
Hi Gayle! I’m sorry to hear that. How did you measure your flour? It could be you had too much flour to not enough liquid.
Hi! Would oat flour work in these?
Hi Kami! Sure, just be sure you follow my oat flour tips. Let me know how they turn out for you!
Hi Kate,
If I add bananas to these muffins, how will it affect baking time?
Thank you!
Hi Krissy! I’m not sure about adding bananas to this recipe as changing one element in baking can impact your results. Have you tried my banana muffins?
Would these work if I added a cream cheese center? I REALLY love cream cheese centers in pumpkin muffins but all other recipes are really unhealthy!
That sounds amazing! I haven’t tried that, but would love to hear if you do. Delicious!
These were amazing. I’ve made them twice, about to make them for the third time. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
I’m happy you have enjoyed them a few time! I appreciate your review, Tina.
Hi! I modified this recipie by adding pecans, dark choclate chunks, about 2 tbsp of instant coffee, and way more pumpkin spice than was called for… Result?
They are DELICIOUS!!
Thanks for the quick recipie!
I’m happy you loved the, Katie! Thank you for taking the time to review.
Could you please add the weights of each ingredient in grams maybe in parentheses or as a new switch (like the scaling thing)? It would be so helpful for those poor souls in Europe.
Hi Anna! Thank you for the feedback. I would like to offer that feature someday. I’m hoping for some technology to help make it happen—with hundreds of recipes multiplied by many ingredients each, it would be quite a difficult project to do manually (and correctly).
I’m excited to try these! Is it possible to sub the maple syrup sweetener for white or brown sugar?
Hi! This one was designed for a liquid sweetener. If it can work, I haven’t tried it and not sure on measurements if it would. Sorry to not be of more help!
I’m not a fan of pumpkin but I know it’s good for me and the other 2 people in my house love it. It was moist, light, and just a little outside crunch. I added dark chocolate chips and left out the oats on the top, only mixed in the batter to limit complaints from the teenager. They were delicious, even to me, though I think the chocolate helped me out. Great recipe and like the fact that they have less sugar/are naturally sweetened.
Very good recipe for muffins that don’t call for as much sugar as many others! Used heavy cream for the milk, added 1/3 cup pecans to the batter, and topped with sliced almonds. The muffins have a pleasing crumb texture and are full of satisfying pumpkin flavor. Do recommend!
This is a fantastic recipe! Moist muffins without being soggy. I was afraid they’d be dry with whole wheat flour but they were perfect! I added walnuts but otherwise followed the recipe as-is. Thanks for this healthier muffin choice!!
These muffins are delicious, healthy, and oh so perfect for a fall afternoon! I made your apple muffin recipe a few weeks ago, also yummy! For the pumpkin recipe, I added 1/4 cup of raisins because I didn’t have enough maple syrup. Thank you!
I love this recipe but I add entire can of pumpkin for even better nutrition. Works just fine.
These turned out amazingly. We added chocolate chips to ours and a sprinkle of brown sugar on top with the oats. I had to cook mine for 30 minutes before the toothpick came out clean, definitely will be making these again!
Delicious! Thank you :-)
You’re welcome, Ron! Thank you for your review.
Can you make mini muffins with this recipe?
Hi! Sure, you will just need to shorten the bake time by half and keep and eye on them as they will have some variance to when they will be done.
These are the best pumpkin muffins ever! I used applesauce and 2 Tbsp. Olive oil. I did everything else to the letter,but added fresh cranberries (3/4 c.),1/2 c craisins and 1/2 c. Chopped walnuts. Absolutely so flavourful ! The oatmeal in the recipe and then on top,yummm. Ionly had Demerara sugar , so perfect for the topping.
I made them jumbo sized so I got 8.
Thank you for sharing how you made these, Irma! I appreciate it.
Hi! These look delicious!! Do you think oat flour could work in this recipe? Swap out for reg flour?
Hi Tiffany! It could work. Just be sure to follow my oat flour guide.
These muffins are delicious! They are moist, fluffy and have great flavors. I added oats and brown sugar on top since I didnt have turbando sugar. Make these ASAP!!
So Good. Very moist and full of flavor.
I did not plan well so I had to substitute. I used half and half instead of evap. Milk I added a little coconut and walnuts. I topped with oats and coconut sugar
These muffins are amazing! They come together quickly and easily, and taste amazing. What a delicious way to use up leftover pumpkin!
I’m glad you loved them, Gen! Thank you for your review.
Not enough flavor in my opinion….the batter tasted really bland to me so I even added a little extra cinammon.
I’m sorry you didn’t love these. I appreciate your feedback. You can always increase the seasoning more if you try them again.
Such a delicious recipe, not too sweet. Super easy. Love that it’s sweetened with maple syrup. I used half whole wheat and half spelt, per another commenter.
I have made these a couple times now and my family scarfs them up as soon as they are cool enough to touch. FYI, Target (or at least the one near me) carries white whole wheat flour.
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Rebecca.