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 are currently in the oven now!! My boyfriend is driving to Nashville tomorrow morning for a wedding (8 hours away). So I wanted to gather up some more healthful options on his road trip, including these muffins!!
I made these for my daughter to get her out of a breakfast rut. I believe I followed this recipe closely. I didn’t have all the spices on hand so I used ground ginger, cinnamon, and a touch of fresh cracked pepper. I also 100% used a very generous heaping cup of pumpkin purée with no regrets. They turned out so tender and moist and pumpkin-y. A little smear of cream cheese may have to make an appearance. Very delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Cream cheese sounds lovely! Thank you for sharing, Erin.
All your muffin recipes are so good and this is no exception. I followed recipe exactly except for the 3/4 cup flour I always add 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup ground flax and 1/4 cup protein powder. I do this in all your muffin recipes and it always works. I also used instant oatmeal as that’s what I had on hand. I bake in mini muffin trays so that I can pack them in my daughters school lunch, Because of this I always leave out nuts. Perfect fluffiness, perfect amount of sweetness. Thanks!
I’m glad you were able to get creative and adapt this to what works for you, Alice! I appreciate you sharing.
So – I was just trying to cut back on sugar. I used heavy whipping cream and browned the butter for the fat.
I think next time I’ll use 2% b.c these bad boys are so dense to be a bit custardy, but they’re wicked tasty though.
Protein powders are a bad idea, since they are oxidized cholesterol damaged by heat.
Also, baking with honey is not recommended, since heating honey destroys its beneficial properties: it kills the natural enzymes, nutrients and probiotics present in raw honey.
Hi Ralitza. I am a Registered Dietitian with a Ph.D. in Nutrition. I have to reach out to let you know that however well-meaning you are, your comments are incorrect. The amount of possibly oxidized cholesterol in protein powder would be insignificant. As far as raw honey, the amount of enzymes, nutrients and probiotics are trivial, so no one should worry about cooking with it. Respectfully, Joan Walsh
Thank you for your comment, Joan! It was very helpful. I was wondering what I had missed.
Thank you
Good points. People tend to go a bit overboard…
Really love this recipe and all the other stuff you do. Would it be possible to have the ingredients by weight? Just goes so much faster and allows easier substitutions of ingredients. Thanks for Outremont, Quebec, Canada
Hi, Angelique, I don’t have the weights for this recipe. Sorry!
Thanks for the reply. It just makes substitution easier when weights are provided for a recipe. I try and use what I have in the kitchen instead of running to the store. Love your recipes.
Thank you, Angelique!
Agreed on weights for everything! Especially dry ingredients – a must!
Hello! Here are the weights for some of the ingredients:
Coconut oil – 70g
Maple syrup -160g
Pumpkin puree – 250g
Milk – 65g
Whole wheat flour – 240g
Old fashioned oats – 31g
Enjoy!
That is so kind of you! Thank you. I think I put too much oats. Oats were stil l”crunchy” after cooking. Will try again with the weight of 31 g. I have “real old fashione oats”, almos steel cut.
The flour amounts to 222 grams. I prefer to weigh my flours as it’s so easy to mess up there.
So Debbie. So true! 222 grams instead of 240 of whole wheat flour?
I got 222 grams with my math but that doesn’t say much. Lol. However, it’s what I used and the recipe turned out great. I’m sure it would have worked with 240 as well.
Really good and the longer they sit the more moist they seem
These were a great success, thank you!
Thank you, Anna! I appreciate your review.
I didn’t have any vanilla and they are still AMAZING! I used oat milk and chose the coconut oil. Just the right amount of sweetness. ;)
I’m glad you loved them Wendy!
Great recipe. Easy and delicious. Light as a feather too.
I’m glad you loved them, Bev! Thank you for your review.
I had plans to make this as directed but half way through, realized I was out of coconut oil and eggs! I ended up subbing butter and mashed bananas, leaving the milk out to make up for the moisture. They turned out AMAZING and best part, my kids can’t even tell they’re healthy!
Curious about substituting in the mashed banana. Think this could be done instead of the oil? I’d plan to leave in the eggs. Thanks!
Hi Mary, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.
Hi Kate, I would like to make these as mini muffins. Do you know how long I should bake them and at what temperature?
Thank you!
Hi Maggie! You will want to keep them at the same temperature, just about half the time. Keep an eye on them though. I hope you love them!
These muffins are PERFECT! If you’re looking for an easy, healthy but super tasty muffin recipe to kick off the Fall baking season, this one is for you. I loved how I had most if not all of the ingredients in my pantry already. I used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour and baked for just about 20 minutes at 325. Perfection!
I absolutely love your banana muffin recipe so I’m excited to try this one too! I’m planning to make my pumpkin purée from a fresh pumpkin, what is the measure? 8oz?
Hi Jess, you use the cup measurement listed once you make your puree.
These are great! I love that they aren’t overly sweet and I only take one bowl! Also love that there is no “white” ingredients which I prefer (sugar, white flour, etc.). My house smells wonderful, too. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Caitlin!
I made these last night for my kids to have for breakfast this morning. I tasted the batter and it was delicious! However, when the muffins were cooked, I noticed they weren’t very flavorful. Any idea what I can do to help with that? Just add more spices?
Hi Kyla, I’m sorry to hear that! Yes, you can always increase your spices and make sure they aren’t past their best used date.
I’ve made this recipe dozens of times and it always turns out delicious! With 4 kids I. The house, I have to triple the recipe so I’m not making it once a week. Freezes very well.
An overall nice recipe! Tender muffins, but just a tad bland for my preference. I’ll probably add a bit more of the spices next time.
Thank you for sharing, Shana!
Amazing! They taste fantastic. Breakfast snack or dessert absolute winner!
Thank you, Annie!
These were so good! I’ve been having one for breakfast with some almond butter every day this week
I have some open light coconut milk. Would that work as the milk in the recipe?
It should work. Let me know what you think, Edna!
Excellent, used flax eggs and 100% whole wheat flour. Added vegan choc chips and walnuts.
That’s great to hear, Gretchen. Thank you for your review.
Awesome!! Moist, yummy, not too sweet! I also added some wheat bran and wheat germ, fresh cranberries, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds Definitely will be making these again!! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your variation, Sue! I appreciate your review.
Thanks for this recipe! I use your recipes for the lions share of my baking and really appreciate the healthy alternatives. Other pumpkin muffin recipes I came across had even more sugar than flour.
These are truly amazing! I didn’t use oats or add in anything like nuts this time (will try in the future) and they were perfect as is. I’m trying to give up processed foods (especially processed sweets!) and this recipe did not make me feel like I was eating a “health food” version of a muffin.
Made the “Healthy Pumpkin Muffins.” Sprinkled them with a mueslli mix, came out great!
Looking for a DYNOMITE healthy pumpkin recipe, I stumbled into tour site. I love the ingredients and instructiions you provide and am very anxious to try them.
I noticed in your remarks at the end of your recipe in your September 24th, 2019 update you commented that since you could no longer find “white whole wheat flour” you were removing it.
I went on to Amazon and found several manufacture’s of white whole wheat flour including King Arthur Flour.
Being new to cooking stuff I don’t know if this is different and should I use it to replace “whole wheat flour’ in your recipes.
Thank You for such GREAT recipes I am a HUGE fan!!! Andy
Dear Katherine, thankyou for posting the pumpin muffin recipe with gf and df options. I use olive oil however as my husband Ian is on aheart diet and also low cholestrol I wonderfed how muchbapple sauce do I replace the olive oil with and also would this reduce tge cholestrol. I am so eager to try this as I have so many dietry restrictions and love to find a treat. I can manage 1 pumkin muffin every 3 or 4 days as pumkin is a moderate salicylate so have to be minful of this but I am sure these lovely muffin muffins would be a delight to my taste buds. My heart is full of gratitude for your recipe. Kindess regards Robyn
Hi Robyn, I wish I could provide some more guidance. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
These came out great. They are sweet enough and moist. I didn’t air any substitutions. I added 1/2C mini chocolate chips, and a oat streusel topping that didn’t stick. I did press it on but maybe because I used vegan butter instead of butter to keep the recipe nondairy? Not sure. Very happy to have a healthy pumkin muffin recipe!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! It could have been the difference in the butter.
Delicious and we will make these again. They were a hit with my very picky 3 and 5-year-old and I had to hide them from my husband! Thank you for this recipe!
You’re welcome, Kathleen! Thank you for your review.
Diabetic version
Cassava, almond, coconut flour mix. Proportions? Stevia is natural sugar substitute. Agave is flavorful an low glycemic but still fructose. A mix would be good too.
Great recipe! Have made it twice and delish both times.
so good! I added in some chopped dates, almonds , and dark choc chips! easy breakfast to bring with me for classes :)
So light and fluffy! Some of the best muffins I ever made – thank you so much for the recipe. Used the coconut oil and stirred in 1/2 C chopped walnuts. Yum!
These are scrumptious and just what I needed on a cool, fall morning. They are surprisingly super moist for a whole wheat muffin. I used TJs seasonal bourbon maple syrup as the sweetener, which added some depth and richness. Also topped with a cinnamon-sugar-walnut topping before popping into the oven. Perfection. Kate, thank you!
Would it be possible to cook in a loaf pan to make bread instead?
Hi Melissa! Yes, follow my pumpkin bread recipe instead. It’s nearly the same and offers timing for the loaf pan, etc.
Hi Kate
I have used baking soda when I bake but it leaves an after taste which I don’t like. I started using Aluminum free baking powder, and it works for me.
Anyway thanks for the baking tip.
My husband didn’t think they tasted pumpkiny enough, I will ramp up spices next time.
That’s a great way to increase the pumpkin spice flavor. Thank you for sharing!
Love these. I use half all purpose flour and half almond flour. I add walnuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. I switch off between these and the banana muffins about every two weeks. Thanks so much!
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Deb!
Hi, love your recipes! I try not to add sweeteners to anything I eat, a half a cup of maple syrup feels like a big thing to leave out of the recipe, feels like it will really alter the end product. Any advice on that? Thank you!
Hi Heidi, If you change the sweetener, you won’t have the same result. It also helps add to the moisture of the muffins.
Amazing versatile recipe! I made them with Butternut squash today and they were a success! Thank you for sharing s such delicious, healthy recipes!
You’re welcome, Fatima!
These sounded great and the texture is very good but they lack flavor. I will increase the spices next time and add raisins and slivered candied ginger. Good starting point.
I’m sorry you didn’t love these. Thank you for your feedback.
These muffins are so delicious! Moist and pumpkin-y and not too sweet! Will definitely make a double batch next time!
I’m glad you loved them, Regan! I appreciate your review.
Lovely! Thank you for the recipe. I could not use flax eggs and used aquafaba instead……worked fine. Otherwise followed this recipe exactly. And all organic! Will be making this again for my husband loving pumpkin.
Made them last night and Wow!!! Amazing thank you!
Is there an aprox calorie number for these?
You’re welcome, Jodie!
I love these muffins so much!!
I wonder if anyone has made it with bread flour though. I had some at home and wanted to try it. If you have, what measurement did you use?
Thanks!
These are so yummy! I made them as mini muffins for a baby/toddler Halloween party for a healthy baby friendly treat, and used the maple syrup option so it was safe for the littles. I made them the morning of the party, but should have made them the night before. Simply because the longer they cooled the better they were in all regards, as you mentioned. Particularly sticking to the muffin liners. One day later and those are peeling right off, no problem. Everyone loved them!
I’m glad you loved them, Lisa. I appreciate your review!
For the healthy pumpkin muffins it calls for a can of pumpkin purée. There are at least two sizes of cans and mine is 796ml. Could you specify which size is suitable for this recipe? ThanksLinda
Hi Linda, you will want one cup of the puree for a single recipe. A 15 oz can is more than one cup.
Hi Kate,
I loved the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Modifications: I swapped 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour with almond flour, and its so good <3.The rich, savory texture is yum!
Improvement: It was very less sweet with Kroger's low calorie maple syrup in same volume. I would use additional sweetner the next time.
These turned out great; even better than expected. I doubled the recipe, used whole wheat pastry flour, vanilla soy milk, and cut down on the sweetener. Used brown sugar instead of honey, left out the oats, added 1 cup of toasted chopped walnuts and 1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger. After they completely cooled, I iced them with cream cheese/honey frosting. Just 8 0z of cream cheese whipped with 1/4 cup of honey. They are really delicious. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Mary! Thank you for sharing.
These are tasty! I reduced the honey by 1/4 cup and added dark chocolate chunks and turbinado sugar on top. I also replaced the coconut oil with applesauce and they are still super moist and delicious. Thank you! My kids will love these as much as I do.
You’re welcome, Kate! Thank you for your review.
My kids LOVE these. I make them with maple syrup and add mini chocolate chips. I adapted it to a 1.5 recipe in order to use a full can of pumpkin since the leftover bits drive me nuts and I make 24 muffins so they are a bit smaller for littles (or to justify eating two, take your pick). Yum and thanks!
Hello Kate & Cookie, my first misunderstanding came from clicking on 3X.. However, let me describe my baking experience of this recipe… I substituted Spectrum Culinary Organic All-vegetable shortening for the first ingredient; 1-1/4 c maple syrup instead of 1-1/2 c; 5-1/4 c Bob’s Red Mill GF 1 to 1 Baking Flour; and I added 2t monk fruit sugar to the recipe–instead of adding that to the top of the muffins. I used every other ingredient as stated in your recipe. I pre-heated oven to 325 F, I filled paper and/or silicone baking cups 1/2 to 3/4 full and placed into aluminum cupcake baking trays which were 6-count each. I placed and baked two 6-count cupcake trays at a time on the second level from the top of the oven; set the timer for 23 minutes; I set the first two trays of cupcakes 12-count on a cooling mesh tray outside, eagerly awaiting to taste the scrumptious recipe; continued placing the remaining dough into trays, etc., recipe yielded 40 muffins. When I tasted one of the first cooled batch it was soft in the middle and I thought umm, is this raw, yes they all turned out raw in the middle. The end result I returned them to oven and baked all an additional 15-20 minutes, even slicing them in half to continue fully baking. I allowed all to cool in the kitchen on mesh cooling trays. Finally, they were cooked. Please help me understand what went wrong? Thank you. I’ve had success with all other C&K recipes I’ve made. Thank you very much. Victoria