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.
Where this recipe took me today:
1) added in one peeled, grated carrot
2) coconut milk for added sweetness
3) 1/3 c honey (instead of 1/2 c)
4) steel cut oats instead of old-fashioned
As my daughter came downstairs she said, “Oh mom! Those muffins smell GREAT!” Looking forward to gobbling them down in a few minutes.
Great results! That’s exactly what should have happened. :)
Just made these tonight because I was craving something sweet and found a can of pumpkin in the pantry. Oh my goodness, just the right amount of sweetness- makes me feel like it’s fall again. Next time I eat one I’m definitely going to smear some pb on! Thanks for this recipe, it’s a new keeper for sure.
I’m so glad you found this recipe, Ally! I love how that worked out.
Just made these muffins, although I was a little tired because I managed to forget the milk, vanilla and pumpkin! Nevertheless they turned out great and they still have the pumpkin spice flavour. Can’t wait to try making them again…with all the ingredients!
Ha! I hope you do try them again, and that’s funny that they still tasted good without all those ingredients!
I’ve made these three or four times now (using regular milk). They’ve worked out perfectly each time. They’re a really big hit in school lunches, and I love that there is no refined sugar in them. Easy to throw in things like flax, hemp, etc., to up the nutritional value even more.
So glad this works so well for lunches, Kelly! It’s a great grab-n-go snack.
This recipe is fantastic! I just made them with my kids and added walnuts and some chopped dark chopped. Absolutely declicious and the kids are tearing into them! The pumpkin spice flavor is great. It gave me a little taste of fall in March!
Thanks, Lauren! I’m a big believer in pumpkin throughout the seasons.
OMG these were amazing!!! Definitely a winner and will stay with my recipe folder.
I made it without vanilla and cloves (simply coz I didn’t have any) but they are sooooo fluffy and soft and delish! Great way to use up some pumpkin soup. Even my teen loved them.
So many of my recipes I’m looking for bring me to your website!! ♡♡♡
Great to hear this, Kayleen!
This is my new go-to recipe, as well as the similar banana one! I use oat bran instead of whole oats, and a bit more of it, then top with pumpkin seeds. Absolutely delicious! Thank you.
Yum! Sounds amazing, Chantal.
So simple to make. Very moist and delicious!
Perfect!
The healthy pumpkin muffins came out great! I used an ‘unhealthy streusel topping” on a few. Yummy with both toppings!
Great! Thank you, Fran.
These look great but I’d love to add some extra vegies into them for the kids (grated carrot and zucchini). Would i need to change the quantities of anything to add these?
Thanks :)
I think you might want to reduce the liquid a bit, because the carrot and zucchini will definitely release some moisture.
Using olive oil in pumpkin muffins is a terrible idea. I just ruined a double batch of muffins that I made with my granddaughters (using last of my pumpkin from last winter and a cup of maple syrup).
I agree. This should not be a suggestion. I tasted the batter before baking and it taste like olive oil. It tastes horrible and can’t imagine it’s much better after it finishes baking. I’m bummed because maple syrup is do expensive what a waste!
Do not use maple syrup
My kids love these in their school lunches!
We also love your Greek broccoli salad – perfect for hot Sydney weather, even in winter
Can you use steel cut quick oats? Of course it’s the only thing in my pantry!
No, but you can just omit the oats!
If one wants to add chopped walnuts/pecans, and only chopped walnuts or pecans, when should one add them and in what amount?
If one wants to use applesauce in place of oil, how much no-sugar-added, organic applesauce should one use?
As a tired mama, I accidentally mis-read the recipe and added a whole can of pumpkin so our muffins were extra moist but it didn’t ruin them and they were, in fact, still delicious. Next time we’ll do it right but YUM! 5 stars from the whole family.
These are absolutely amazing muffins. I’ve tried many recipe’s, and I love your methods for creating these muffins.
They were SUPER moist, fluffy, and delicious. I took them to work and shared with my colleagues.
I used plain white flour instead of the wholemeal flour, and it worked well. The mix was probably runnier than it should have been but maybe that attributed to their moisture level.
I’m going to make this one again and put chopped walnuts in it for some crunch.
Whoops I meant to leave this comment on another page for your apple muffins. I guess I’ll have to make these ones too now!
Hi there,
I just made these this afternoon, and I really liked them. They were a hit with my two little preschoolers too, so I will be making them again for sure! So awesome to find a new “go-to” pumpkin muffin recipe that doesn’t contain refined sugar, and that uses whole wheat flour!!! I really liked the amount of spice in these too…really flavourful. I used honey this aft, but am going to make the next batch with maple syrup to test out the difference. Thank you for sharing this healthy, quick and easy recipe!
I made these for my husband who is on Weight Watchers. They are 9 smart points each. They are really good!
I would love to try these! I may have missed something, can you please clarify how much 1 can of pumpkin puree measures out to approximately. The stuff I buy has an extremely large amount of pumpkin which I think may be a bit too much (but I could be wrong)
Thanks so much!
If you are buying a can of pumpkin it is usually 1 3/4 cup-ish.
We love these muffins! I pretty much always have a batch in the freezer as a quick snack for my 3 year old.
Made these today! Such an easy and delicious fall treat. They turned out super moist and tasted wonderful.
Great! Happy to hear they were a great fall treat, Emily. Thanks for your review!
They turned out great! Thank you for the recipe!
I cannot see the flour measurement
Great to hear, Teddy!
Please give me the flour measurement I do not see it on the ingredients list I apologize if I am sending more than 1 email not sure if the first one got through Thank You Alice
Hi Alice! The measurement is towards the bottom of the ingredient list :) 1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour. Enjoy and let me know how it goes for you!
Thank You
Any chance these can be baked inside cupcake liners? Or are they so delicate they’ll be torn apart when you try to take off the paper?
Hi Emily, I think they’ll be fine in cupcake liners. I haven’t heard otherwise!
These are delicious! I made them using 1/4c maple sugar and blended oats instead of using wheat flour. I’m obsessed. My 3yo also can’t get enough.
Winning kids over is the best! I am happy they can be enjoyed by all. Thank you, Lindsey for your review :)
These were fantastic!! I used flax eggs and water in place of the almond milk (due to nut and soy allergies) and they turned out beautifully!!
I am happy to hear it worked with your subs! Thanks so much, Rachel!
So my hubs is allergic to oats – do you think they would work with all flower?
Flour! Silly voice texting!
Hi Sarah! You can actually just omit the oats.
Absolutely delicious. Baked following recipe to a t, using honey, almond milk, and coconut oil. I often make muffins and share them with neighbors, and friends, but I can’t stop eating them myself. My 23 year old godson texted me a “thanks for the muffin. Really flavorful.”
Wow, pretty good praise. This is my second time making them. I really should stop making muffins. Haha.
Great to hear, Robin! Thanks so much for sharing. Truly appreciate your review.
I have a question about the pumpkin muffins. I love using yogurt in the raspberry muffins. How much yogurt could I use in these instead of the
milk or would they come out the same using 1/4 c yogurt instead of the milk. Thank you. Or how much yogurt to use if feasible.
Hi Shirley! I haven’t tried to be sure, but 1/4 cup is such a small amount that I think you could safely substitute yogurt without causing problems. Please let me know if you try!
I just made the muffin batter and put the muffins in the oven and then just now noticed your note saying you adjusted the recipe to make 12! I used the recipe as it appeared on your website today but distributed the batter amongst 10 cups. Will they come out ok?
They should come out just fine. :) You may just need to check and cook a little longer depending on how big some of the muffins are. Just keep an eye on the tops to not over cook. Let me know how it goes!
These are fabulous!! I tend to bake with what she I have on hand so I used leftover roasted winter squash instead of pumpkin, Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour, and the last bit of buckwheat pancake mix. Mixed in raisins and walnuts. They turned out great!!
Thank you for your comment and review, Joyce! So happy it turned out great for you.
I just love these!
I am a lover of pumpkins, soups and fall food in general.
Thanks for all the great options. My daughter is now completely vegan, and some of the recipes I normally use for pastry do not turn out well with flax eggs, so it is sometimes difficult to know how to adjust proportions etc.
Pumpkin everything for fall, right?! So happy this worked for your family with your daughter’s vegan needs. Thanks for the review, Rebecca!
These are delicious! Thank you for a delicious recipe to accompany our afternoon tea time!
Glad you like them so, Hannah! I appreciate your review :)
I just made these for a breakfast option for on the go. I leave by 6:45 am every morning for for work, so these will be perfect!
Great to hear! Having a nice on-the-go breakfast option is a nice to have. Happy these are working for you. Thanks, Annie!
My kids love these muffins for breakfast and so do I. I found that it’s easy to fill up the muffin cups by using about two scoops of my cookie dough scooper. :)
Win! Thank you, Amanda for sharing and for your review. :)
This is a really good recipe. It went together quickly and produced a moist, healthy muffin. I made as written and added 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts as my add ins. I will increase the spices the next time I make them to 1 tsp cinnamon and up the nutmeg to 1/2 tsp. I typically reduce the amount of sugar in a recipe but I don’t think anyone will need to do that with these. They are not sweet at all. This is great if you are looking for a true muffin and not a cupcake that someone calls a muffin. Very good recipe that I’ll definitely make again
Happy you enjoyed it, Lynda! Thank you for your review :)
Delicious. Used Almond flour for half the flour. Soooooooooo delicious.
Thank you, Lynn for your review :)
We enjoyed these pumpkin muffins so much! Thank you for this recipe! My add ins were chopped walnuts and chopped crystallized ginger. ❤️
You are welcome, Julia! I am happy you liked them so much. Your add-ins sound delicious!
My entire family loved this recipe!
I used avocado oil, 1 cup of dark chocolate (62% Cacao) chips and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. I didn’t have ground ginger or clove in the house, so instead I used 1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of allspice. Texture and taste was perfect. Maple glaze was the perfect finishing touch. Yummy!
That is great to hear! Thank you for your comment and review, Carrie :)
Hi! I just made and quickly devoured one of these delicious pumkin muffins and I just wanted to tell you they are so yummy! I did add a handful of dark chocolate chips and some pecans. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks so much!
Well thank you, CJ! Thank you for your comment. If you would want to leave a star review, I would really appreciate it (since you devoured them!).
I substituted 1 cup of gluten free flour and 3/4 of a cup of almond meal (because I always feel better when I can throw in a little extra protein for my kids) for the flour and put in a little extra pumpkin. It was so moist and delicious and perfect. Thank you so much! I love your recipes! And your puppy!
Thank you, April! You are kind. I am happy the substitutions worked well. Thank you, for sharing!
I just made these muffins with my kids (for the second time) and this time we sprinkled brown sugar over the tops instead of oats and they added the little extra sweetness and crunch we needed! We also used half applesauce, half coconut oil and added ground Flax for some extra health! Very moist, thank you!
You are welcome! I like the adjustments. Sounds very delicious.
Hi there – about your pumpkin muffins. It says a can of pumpkin puree. Can I use pumpkin instead, and how much? 1 cup?
Hi Jo – Are you going to be cooking fresh pumpkin? For the proper consistency for these muffins, I recommend having the pumpkin mixture smooth. After you cook your pumpkin, I would put it in a blender or food processor. Use roughly 2 cups of the pumpkin as one can of the puree is roughly 2 cups. Hope this helps!
This is our go-to muffin recipe. It works great with chocolate-chips, nuts, or added banana for a pumpkin/banana combo. We love this recipe and make these all the time for events and neighbors. We love that they feel nourishing, but not heavy or sugary like some muffins.
Thanks for figuring out such a great recipe!
Those sounds like great combinations, Laurel! You are welcome. Thanks for your wonderful comment and review.
My whole family loves these muffins! I made them using olive oil and maple syrup and mix in some chocolate chips. My teenagers will grab one on their way out the door to school, which makes our hectic mornings a lot easier.
I am happy these muffins make busy mornings more manageable for you and your family, Mary Beth! Thanks so much for your review.
Do you think it would work to substitute roasted or steamed sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin?
Yes, cooked and mashed sweet potatoes would work!
Hi, Kate.
I just made a version of your Healthy Pumpkin Muffins: I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin, yogurt instead of milk, and a half cup of oat flour (which I ground from steel-cut oats) instead of old-fashioned oats. I also added a cup of frozen blueberries. The muffins came out great, except the baking time was at least ten minutes longer. Next time, I’ll use applesauce (I make it from scratch) in place of the oil to cut down on calories. I’ll also try baking at 350 degrees instead of 325. Your thoughts?
Paulette
Thank you for sharing your version! I appreciate the comment and review.
Amazing and light even with whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour). Delicious. Everyone loved them even the grandchildren. I love how they are not overly sweet like so many muffins and the spice blend is perfection. Thank you!
Happy to hear that, Hannah! You are welcome.
I made these muffins using honey and they were amazing! They were moist, the pumpkin flavor was lovely and they had just the right amount of sweetness to be enjoyable but not overwhelming. I froze some and a couple weeks later they were just as wonderful. I’m definitely making another batch! I was wondering if there was a way to add more protein to the recipe while maintaining the fabulous flavor. If you have any suggestions I would love to know. Thanks for this awesome and easy recipe!
Hi Stacey – I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you, for sharing. I haven’t tried myself, but I know other readers have added protein powder to some of my muffin recipes. Let me know what you try! I really appreciate your star review :)
These are delicious. Hearty and just sweet enough with honey. I added walnuts and a few chocolate chips – yum!
That sounds wonderful, Kristi! Thank you for providing a star review.