Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

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5 from 254 votes
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These healthy pumpkin muffins are lightened up with less oil and sugar but are every bit as moist and fluffy as you’d expect!

healthy pumpkin muffins.

Who said muffins can’t be part of a healthy diet? Come fall, this healthy pumpkin muffins recipe needs to be on your menu.

While healthy blueberry muffins and healthy breakfast muffins are year-round staples, this is what I make the fam during the cooler months as they bake in minutes and are full of flavor. Perfect for lunch box snacks, they may look complicated to make, but they are one of the most foolproof baked goods ever.

Table of Contents
  1. Why this recipe works
  2. Ingredients needed
  3. How to healthy pumpkin muffins
  4. Tips to make the best recipe
  5. Dietary swaps and flavor variations
  6. Storage instructions
  7. Frequently Asked Questions
  8. More healthy pumpkin recipes to try
  9. Healthy Pumpkin Muffins (Recipe Card)

Why this recipe works

  • Made with oat flour. Traditional muffins use white flour or bread flour, but using oat flour adds extra fiber, protein, and whole grains to the recipe (like my oatmeal muffins).
  • Perfect texture and flavor. The texture is moist and fluffy in the middle with a tender crumb. They are full of pumpkin flavor, thanks to adding pumpkin puree to the batter (no pumpkin pie filling!).
  • Low sugar and nothing refined. Swapping out white sugar or brown sugar for coconut sugar keeps these muffins refined sugar free. This sweetener also works well with the pumpkin flavor.

Don’t let the word ‘healthy’ fool you. These muffins taste like any good bakery-style muffin out there!

Ingredients needed

These pumpkin oatmeal muffins are so easy and besides a bunch of pantry staples, there isn’t much else that is needed to make. Here is what you’ll need:

  • Oat flour– Ground up rolled or quick oats. Skip the expensive packaged kind and make your own
  • Baking powder– The leavening agent used to give the muffins some rise and fluffiness.
  • Pumpkin spice– A must for any recipe using pumpkin puree. You can make your own by mixing together ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ground ginger. 
  • Pumpkin puree– Homemade pumpkin puree or unsweetened canned pumpkin. If you use the latter, be sure that it is NOT pumpkin pie filling.
  • Coconut oil– A fantastic alternative to butter. Use refined coconut oil, as it has no coconut flavor whatsoever.
  • Eggs– room temperature eggs.
  • Milk of choice– I used unsweetened almond milk to keep them dairy-free, but any milk can be used (coconut, soy, non-fat, etc).
  • Coconut sugar– A refined sugar free sweetener. You can find these at Asian grocers or health food stores. White or brown sugar will also work or liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup 
  • Oatmeal crumb topping- A simple mix of oat flour, rolled oats, sugar, cinnamon, and coconut oil.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How to healthy pumpkin muffins

What I love about this recipe is that everything is made in one bowl to clean up is an absolute breeze!

Step 1- Make the batter. Start by whisking together your flour, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl, then set that aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until creamy.

pumpkin batter.

Gently fold through the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated and no air pockets remain.

pumpkin muffin batter.

Step 2- Make the crumb topping. If desired, make the crumb topping by mixing together the oat flour, rolled oats, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and coconut oil.

Step 3- Bake the muffins. Now, disperse the batter evenly amongst a greased 12-count muffin tin and sprinkle the crumb topping over each one. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out mostly clean.

how to make healthy pumpkin muffins.

Step 4- Cool then serve. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips to make the best recipe

  • Do not over-bake the muffins. Remember, muffins will continue to bake as they are cooling in the muffin tin. Remove them from the oven when a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
  • Use superfine oat flour. For the best texture of the muffins, the oat flour used must be a powdery texture. If you are making your own, you may need to blend it down several times.
  • Adjust the sweetness. These muffins are pleasantly sweet, thanks to the addition of coconut sugar and the natural sweetness of the pumpkin. However, if you prefer a sweeter muffin, add an extra tablespoon or two of your favorite sweetener.
  • Use actual flour. If you prefer to have muffins made with flour, swap out the oat flour with whole wheat flour.

Dietary swaps and flavor variations

The beauty of these muffins is just how easy they are to customize to a plethora of diets or preferences. Here is what we have tested:

  • Make them vegan. Switch out the eggs for an egg substitute.
  • Add mix-ins. Add chocolate chips to make healthy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins or fold through some walnuts and pecans for some crunch.
  • Pumpkin muffins with applesauce. Replace half the pumpkin with unsweetened applesauce. This gives the muffins a slightly less intense pumpkin flavor while keeping them perfectly moist and fluffy.
  • Healthy pumpkin banana muffins. Swap out half the pumpkin for mashed banana.
  • Pumpkin oatmeal muffins. Do as I did and make a simple oatmeal streusel on top. Combine rolled oats with coconut sugar and sprinkle on top of each muffin before baking them. Drizzle with a simple powdered sugar glaze.

Storage instructions

To store: Muffins can be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days. If you’d like them to keep longer, store them in the refrigerator and they will keep for up to 1 week.

To freeze: Place muffins in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Let them thaw completely from their frozen state.

pumpkin muffins healthy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my muffins so dense?

If your pumpkin muffins are more on the dense side, it comes down to how long you cook them! To ensure they are never dense, be sure to remove them from the oven when a toothpick comes out mostly clean.

How many calories are in a homemade pumpkin muffin?

Each pumpkin muffin contains less than 150 calories.

More healthy pumpkin recipes to try

healthy pumpkin muffins recipe.

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

5 from 254 votes
These healthy pumpkin muffins are lightened up with less oil and sugar but are every bit as moist and fluffy as you'd expect!
Servings: 12 muffins
Prep: 2 minutes
Cook: 18 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Video

Ingredients  

Crumb topping

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 12-count muffin tin and fill each one with muffin liners.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice and set aside. In a mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients and cream together until smooth.
  • Gently fold through the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Distribute the batter evenly amongst the muffin tin.
  • Make the crumb topping by mixing together the oat flour, rolled oats, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and melted coconut oil. Sprinkle over the top of each muffin.
  • Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
  • Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

TO STORE: Muffins can be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days. If you’d like them to keep longer, store them in the refrigerator and they will keep for up to 1 week.
TO FREEZE: Place muffins in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Let them thaw completely from their frozen state.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffinCalories: 148kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 6gFat: 4gSodium: 58mgPotassium: 209mgFiber: 3gVitamin A: 6401IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 2mgNET CARBS: 20g
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Arman Liew
Tried this recipe?Give us a shout at @thebigmansworld or tag #thebigmansworld!

Recipe originally posted September 2021, but updated to include new information, photos, and a recipe video for your benefit!

Arman Liew

I’m a two time cookbook author, photographer, and writer, and passionate about creating easy and healthier recipes. I believe you don’t need to be experienced in the kitchen to make good food using simple ingredients that most importantly, taste delicious.

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  1. 5 stars
    Tried this recipe, it was really good, but the only thing that I thought was too much of that ingredient is the pumpkin, I know that it’s called pumpkin muffins, but it just was too dense. It felt like a heavy muffin.

    But still it was good.

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