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 delicious! I made vegan with flax eggs and used olive oil. I also subbed organic brown sugar for maple since it’s so pricey and no healthier. To make up for the moisture lost, I used the whole can of pumpkin. So glad I did that, as they turned out fantastic! We added dark chocolate chips, too.
I’m glad you loved these muffins, Jamie!
We have been making these on repeat for my son who has just been diagnosed with an egg allergy — so we make the vegan version. SO GOOD. Our whole family loves them – thank you for creating easy and delicious recipes (we just made your oven baked falafel for dinner last night).
I’m happy you are still able to make these work with you! I appreciate your review, Rachel.
These turned out great! good directions about WWFlour. We substituted apple cinn instant oatmeal and agave, for oats/honey, and adjusted amounts to account for sweeteners in oatmeal packet. We started out with only partial can pumpkin, so also reduced all ingredients proportionally (except eggs) and they came out not too sweet and super moist. This is a keeper.
Great to hear, Jill!
Would you only adjust baking time for mini muffins, or do you recommend other tweaks?
Hi Katie, you will want to cut the time in half and keep an eye on it.
I opened a new can of organic pumpkin and a spot of mold was at the top! I used a can of butternut squash instead w Cho chips, yellow raisins, and added a quarter cup of wheat bran!
Great recipe. I agree with others that it’s not a sweet muffin but I really like that. I used the individual spices and fresh ginger since that’s all I had. It’s a beautiful, moist yet light and spicy muffin. For those who want it sweeter they could try subbing agave syrup since that does taste sweeter than an equal amount of honey or maple syrup. Thanks for the tasty recipe!
Thank you for your feedback, Alicia! I appreciate your review.
I made these wonderful healthy muffins today as soon as I discovered your recipe. I used the EVO, real maple syrup, almond milk, and followed the directions. I bake with 100%stone ground white whole wheat flour with all the nutrients of more traditional wheat. (King Author brand works well). The muffins did not disappoint- so moist and light! Wonderful fall taste.I added some dried cranberries to the mix and 1\4 cup of butterscotch morsels at very end. As a retired nurse educator these get the thumbs up from me as they also have significant source of potassium from the pumpkin, healthy fat, and not overly sweet. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing, Chris! I’m delighted you enjoyed it.
I had an epic fail on the recipe- nothing to do with the recipe and everything to do with the baker! I used cassava flour which I was led to believe is a fine substitute- it was not! The muffins taste fine but they are super dense and they didn’t rise. I will try again soon but word of warning: don’t use cassava flour! Thanks for your great recipes!
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Made them this morning, easy and delicious, thank you.
I’m glad you loved them, Marta! I appreciate your review.
These are excellent. They were simple and easy to make. They are hearty in all the right ways. I love pumpkin muffins with butter that sweet salty flavor is perfect for fall!
I’m happy you think so, Caitlyn! I appreciate your review.
Have you ever used avocado oil in these muffins?
These are always my go-to pumpkin muffins!! I look your recipe up every fall!!! My kids and I love them!❤️Thank you for posting it!
You’re welcome, Jamie!
Could almond flour be subbed?
Hi Jill, Almond flour isn’t a great 1:1 option. Oat flour could work here.
Really good. I think i could have cooked 20minutes living at 4000 feet and they would have been more moist but a great moist feel anyway.
I subbed Cup4cup flour and they came out amazing!!! So great with my morning coffee
Sooooo good! I did use canola oil as that was all I had at the time, but I used honey and whole wheat flour. I sprinkled turbinado sugar on top with extra oats and these came out BEAUTIFULLY! The sugar on top lends a little crunch and slight sweetness. They are great warmed with some butter. These are my fall staple this year!
These are simply amazing!! Turned out perfect ❤️
That’s great, Jessica! Thank you for your review.
Can you use quick oats instead of rolled?
Hi Visha, I recommend this recipe best as written. I do know others tried it and said they had good results. Let me know if you try it!
Made this recipe this morning and love it! I read some comments and added a few tablespoons of chia seeds, used an applesauce pouch in place of some of the coconut oil, did half and half honey and maple syrup, and added some blitzed pumpkin seeds and golden raisins. Huge hit and super delicious, will be making these again and again!!
Second time making them and they are perfect! Not over powering in sweetness which is great. I love the healthy aspect of them because my toddlers can have more than one and it has become an easy go to for a snack or heading out the door. Thank you for the recipe!!
Wonderful to hear, Kayla! I appreciate your review.
Amazing recipe! It’s a great dish for those that need a quick breakfast in the morning or a healthy snack. I like to go half n half on maple syrup and honey. I think that gives it a superb hint of maple and sweetness. Keep up the great work!
October 1, 2022
I’ll start by saying these disappeared FAST in our house!! They were moist, extremely flavorful, and (I still can’t believe it) healthy. I’m not a super experienced baker but they were great.
It’s only been a few days and I am making more because we have friends coming to visit and I want them to know you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.
Thank you for making me look good! LOL
I love that! Thank you for your review, Maureen.
Hi! I made these yesterday and they were absolutely amazing. I’ve never had anything I baked turn out this well. I’m looking forward to sharing them with any friends and family who want to try. Thank you so much for all the effort you’ve put into this blog. It’s one of my favourite sites on the internet and your recipes are my favourite things on any of my weekly menu’s.
Made these with white flour and coconut oil! They were terrific. Not too sweet!! Which I love
The search for the best pumpkin muffin is over! These are moist, flavorful, satisfying and hearty. Perfectly sweet and healthy. I’m in love!
I made my first batch of these on Sunday morning. Making my second tonight (Tuesday). :) I’ve made many of your muffins and other recipes so I knew they would be good! But my husband (who has eaten 3/day) says these are his favorite muffins I’ve ever made. Follow the recipe exactly except I used healing spoonfuls of cinnamon and ginger, sprouted whole spelt flour, and raisins as add ins. Thanks for the great recipe!
Amazing! Delicious! 5 star! I made these using 1 cup almond flour and 3/4 c all purpose flour in place of wheat flour. I used coconut oil, pure maple syrup along with chopped pecans and unsweetened coconut as mix-ins. These muffins are so delicious and moist. My husband is going crazy over them.
I’m glad you loved it, Pamela! I appreciate your review.
I made this with 1/2 batch, made 6 decently sized muffins. I also used white whole wheat flour (found it at meijer… not sure if that helps) and honey, and half applesauce half oil for a lower fat breakfast. Yum! The sweet crunch of the top sugar really brings it all together. Ty for sharing!
Hi Kate, can I add diced apple to this? Would it increase the cooking time or temperature?
Hi Brittney, I can’t say without trying it.
I love this recipe! I’m feeling the fall vibes over here and have been making them over and over. So light and fluffy! Since I’m working on including more protein in my diet, I’ve been subbing lupin flour for the whole wheat flour and also threw in some pumpkin seed protein powder (which is really just ground pumpkin seeds) in place of the oats. It’s such a versatile recipe, and I love the suggestions for sweet toppings too. Delicious, and healthy enough to eat for breakfast. Thanks for sharing this. :)
Hi there, if I use cupcake liners, do they peel off cleanly? Or do the muffins clump on to the paper? Thanks!
Hi! I would grease them to be sure, it can vary by liner.
Hi, these muffins sound wonderful. How long do you recommend baking them recipe in a mini muffin pan?
Hi, You can but I suggest baking for half the time and keep an eye on them.
We LOVE these! I only made my first batch 2 days ago, but had to make a double batch this morning (because large can of pumpkin just *had* to get used, right??). 3/8 cup of chocolate chips per batch was right for us. Today I did half the batch as normal sized muffins and half mini. For us at 5210′ elevation it was 22 min for the larger ones, 15 min for the mini.
Hello,
My daughter has an affect with Oats, are you able to use quinoa flakes instead of oats?
Thank you,
Lil
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
Any Recommendations for not getting a dense, heavy result when using gluten free fLour? I have tried this recipe multiple times and keep getting muffins that are more like ammunition.
Thanks for the recipe . Muffins turned out great and very tasty. I added walnuts and cranberry like you suggested. Definitely will bake them many more times!
Great to hear, Olga! I appreciate your review.
I accidentally added some cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon. Scooped out what I could, but it was actually an amazing addition!
Thanks for this recipe, I love everything I’ve tried of yours.
Oh no! But I’m glad it still turned out ok for you, Annika.
how many grams of sugar per muffin?
Hi Cindy! The nutritional information is below the notes section.
These are the best muffins I have ever tried! I substitute eggs with chia seeds and it works great. Thank you so much on this recipe, I will make them again and again :)
Bro, there are no eggs in your ingredients list but the recipe says “add the eggs”. Now I’ve gotta find a new recipe halfway through. Thanks.
Hi Claire, see under maple syrup. It’s 3rd on the list.
These are so quick & easy to prepare, and they taste delicious! I didn’t change a thing; just added some chopped walnuts as suggested for an add-in.
Scrumptious!!!! These were so good, I wanted to eat them all!!!
I added a touch more cinnamon and sliced almonds with the oatmeal topping!
Definitely will make again !
Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Jenny!
Hi, thank you so much for this recipe! It tastes just as Starbucks pumpkin muffins! So gorgeous and very easy to make. We baked a huge pumpkin and tried out your recipe with some freshly mashed pumpkin. We’re going to do batch baking tomorrow using up the rest of the pumpkin and stock up our freezer with them.
I’d like to make these as mini muffins for an event. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi! You can make these mini muffins. Just bake for half the time and keep and eye on them.
These just came out of the oven and look and smell amazing. Can’t wait to taste them. I used avocado oil, figuring it was lighter than EVOO and I was out of coconut oil. And I mixed in some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. I also used paper muffin cups to line the tin.
I’m new to using coconut oil. Is it best to buy the solid and melt it (how exactly does one do that?) or is the already liquid coconut oil as good as the solid? Not over-processed if liquid version? Love every recipe I’ve made so far! Thank you.
Hi! I buy the solid and melt it. Let me know what you think when you try it!
What size can of pumpkin do you use? I am using fresh pumpkin so I need to know the amount.
Hi Nancy, the can is roughly 15 ounces. I hope you enjoy these muffins!
For some reason, I didn’t care for this recipe that much. I probably over stirred it like you said not to lol, but mine came out a bit dry and kind of gummy. Also, not quite as sweet as I like. One thing I’m not sure about, is cooking Coconut oil, the same as regular coconut oil? I used a bottle of liquid “cooking coconut oil.” Maybe that’s why! Anyway, I wanted them to have more rich flavor, which they didn’t. Suggestions for next time?
Hi Beth, I’m sorry to hear that. Was your coconut oil soil in a jar and then you melted it ?
Absolutely love these muffins. My 16 month old triplets also love them ❤️
That’s great to hear, Sarah! I appreciate your review.
I made these with GF flour and they turned out great. I also made half of them with walnuts and that gave a little crunch. I plan to make them with white whole wheat flour as well (found at Publix).
That’s great to hear, Teri! I appreciate your review.