These easy pumpkin muffins are moist, tender, and warmly spiced—the perfect fall treat! Make a batch, and it'll disappear before you know it.
These pumpkin muffins are perfect for fall! They’re soft, super moist, and deliciously spiced—cinnamon, allspice, and more fill them with seasonal flavor. But best of all, they’re so easy to make. You can whip them up in less than an hour with a couple of mixing bowls and a whisk. No mixer required here!
I love that these pumpkin muffins taste sweet, but not too sweet, so that they can pass for breakfast or a healthy snack. Enjoy one (or two) in the morning with a cup of coffee, and then grab another for an afternoon pick-me-up. If you have any extras, you can freeze them, but if your household is anything like ours, these pumpkin muffins won’t last long.
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins
These healthy pumpkin muffins are so simple to make!
To start, grab these ingredients:
- Pumpkin, of course! Canned pumpkin puree gives these muffins an amazing moist texture and rich pumpkin flavor. Make sure to use pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling contains sweeteners and spices that we don’t need here.
- Eggs – They make these muffins tender and fluffy.
- Oil – Melted coconut oil and vegetable oil both work well, adding moisture and richness. I’ve even had yummy results with olive oil.
- Maple syrup – For sweetness. I love this natural alternative to granulated sugar!
- Milk – Use your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk in this recipe. I’ve had great results with almond milk and oat milk.
- Apple cider vinegar – It helps the muffins puff up as they bake.
- Vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- All-purpose flour and whole wheat flour – This combination makes the muffins wholesome, but not dense.
- Baking powder and baking soda – They make the muffins nice and puffy.
- Pumpkin pie spice – What would pumpkin muffins be without cozy, warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger?
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
To make this pumpkin muffin recipe, start by prepping a 12-cup muffin pan. Grease the muffin cups or line them with paper liners.
Next, make the batter. Whisk together the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another.
Pour the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.
Stir until everything is just combined. Careful not to overmix!
When the batter is smooth, use a 1/3-cup measuring cup to scoop it into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix! If you make baking recipes often, you know this tip like the back of your hand. Overmixing the batter will make these muffins dense, so only stir until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined.
- Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before you eat. They’re delicate when they first come out of the oven. But with a few minutes to cool, they set up with a perfect moist, tender texture. They have a richer pumpkin spice flavor after cooling, too!
- Add mix-ins. For a fun variation, fold 1/2 cup chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans into the batter.
- Add a topping. For a sweeter treat, sprinkle the muffins with the brown sugar streusel topping from this apple muffins recipe before baking. You’ll love the added crunch on top! Or top the muffins with cream cheese frosting after baking.
- Make them special diet-friendly. See the notes in the recipe card below to make this pumpkin muffin recipe vegan or gluten-free.
How to Store Pumpkin Muffins
Store these homemade pumpkin muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They’re almost moister on days 2 and 3!
Can you freeze pumpkin muffins?
Absolutely! I love to freeze these healthy pumpkin muffins so that I have them on hand for quick breakfasts or snacks. Seal them in an airtight container or bag, and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Allow frozen muffins to thaw overnight in the fridge, or zap them in the microwave for 30 seconds if you want to eat them right away.
More Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
If you love this pumpkin muffin recipe, try one of these delicious pumpkin recipes next:
- Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Best Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Bars
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
And if you love muffins, check out these 10 Healthy Muffin Recipes.
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup milk
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease or spray a 12-cup muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, oil, maple syrup, vinegar, and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Use a ⅓-cup measuring scoop to divide the batter into the muffin tin. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
This is now my go-to pumpkin muffin recipe!
These rose beautifully and were so tender. I made these gluten-free and I used 1 cup K.A. Measure for Measure flour and 3/4 cup of a buckwheat, flax, and brown rice flour mixture. I also reduced the milk & added an extra 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Added in walnuts & raisins. These are wonderful for breakfast and I love that there’s no butter or cane sugar. Thank you!
Thank you for your GF modifications – I’m glad they worked out well!
Just made these tonight! Followed the recipe exactly and my husband and I really like them. I might add more of the pumpkin spice in my next batch, but these are a real hit! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi,
I made the muffins twice. The first time I followed the recipe precisely and had to bake them for more than 40 minutes and they were still not done. The texture was a bit odd – on the outside they looked done but on the inside they were wet. The taste and texture reminded me more of a baked pumpkin rather than a muffin. The second time I decided to add more flour to make it feel more like a cake dough rather than mush but the same thing happened… Honestly I’m not sure what the problem might have been since other people left positive reviews to the recipe but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Hi Nina, did you change anything about the recipe, specifically the eggs or the type of flour?
Hi, I made this recipe today for first time and I love it, thanks a lot.❤️❤️❤️ file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/ca/10/0F7352BE-19CC-4320-ACD0-2CC3C4F3B98E/IMG_6575.HEIC
Hi,
Can I leave the apple cider vinegar out?
Thanks,
Annie
Made these muffins today with my little girl. They’re so good – soft and moist. We added chocolate chips. Thank you for a wonderful recipe 🙂
Hi I’ve made these so many times and love them! Just wondering if I could make them as mini muffins? Any suggestions for length of cooking time?
Hi Rebecca, I think that would be fine, I’d bake them for much less time – I’d start checking around 10 minutes?
These muffins turned out so soft and tender. I made a regular batch and a mini batch which baked for 15 mins. They aren’t quite as sweet as I was expecting, so next time I make I want to add chocolate chips.
I think chocolate chips would be a fun add in!
Made these today with canned yams (didn’t have pumpkin) and they were great!
Added chocolate chips and they turned out delicious!
Excellent! Lovely moist muffins.
I made the vegan version. Because I didn’t have whole wheat on hand, I used all purpose flour, except 1/4 of rye flour.
I gave the recipe 4 stars because. I found they needed a longer baking time. I baked them for 26 minutes..
Do you think I could use regular milk instead of almond milk? Thanks!
yep, you can!
Made these today with fresh pumpkin purée. My kids loved them! Will be a new Fall favorite.
Any idea how long to cook if making jumbo muffins? Any temperature difference? Making as a reward for my husband who is reroofing our house!
Hi Pam, I don’t know if these will work as jumbo muffins, they’re very tender and I think a more dense muffin would hold a jumbo shape better. You could try baking them longer but I haven’t tried, so I can’t give an exact time.
I tried them with paper liners in a jumbo muffin pan and they turned out great! They were fragrant and high, both moist and light in texture and utterly delicious! I baked them 30-35 min until their interior temperature was 200 degrees. Perfect recipe for autumn. Thank you so much!!!
I’m so glad they worked out!!
Do you think it is possible to swap out the oil and use apple sauce instead?
Hi Rina, I can’t say with out trying. IF you give it a go, can you let me know?
I did try it and I thought it turned out well, however, I haven’t made the recipe as written so I can’t compare. I also used flax eggs and added chocolate chips!
I’ve actually been making these muffins for a couple of weeks now as they are the base recipe for the healthy banana muffins on this site. They are insanely delicious— we have muffins every week now (the banana version all summer and then this recent switch to pumpkin for fall). I recently swapped out the banana for pumpkin which this recipe does and used pumpkin pie spice— I keep vegan by doing the flax mixture and while not super light and fluffy, they are moist and yummy if you prefer to vegan. I also add the dark chocolate chips because pumpkin and chocolate are one of my favorite combinations. These— and the banana muffins— are the best muffins I’ve ever made. Thank you for this recipe!
Oh ha! You and I were thinking alike :). I’m glad they’ve worked out well with the flax mixture.
The pumpkin muffins sound so good this time of year. Just wondering if you have ever swapped almond flour for the all purpose/whole wheat flours?
Hi Karine, I haven’t and almond flour isn’t a 1:1 swap, so I don’t recommend it with this exact recipe.
Hi! This recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it! I don’t have whole wheat flour … do you think it would work to use only all purpose flour?
Hi Jennifer, whole wheat is more dense and dry so you might need more AP than what’s listed here. I can’t say for sure because I haven’t tested this version.
HI, This recipe sound wonderful. However,I am gluten sensitive. Any ideas on how to substitute GF flour, or even what kind you would recommend?
Hi Pat, take a look at the notes in the recipe card – we have a gluten free option listed there. I hope you enjoy!
Hi! Can I make these vegan with flax eggs? thank you so much
Elizabeth