With just a handful of nutritious ingredients and an easy method, these Healthy Pumpkin Muffins are a perfect treat to share. We love to make and enjoy these each fall for breakfast, snack time, or as a simple side dish for dinner.
This easy muffin recipe is loaded with nutrients and the batter simple stirs together in a bowl or blender. Plus, the muffins bake up in just 14 minutes! We make a few batches of these muffins each fall when pumpkin fever is running high—and if I’m lucky, I get to stash some in the freezer for future days.
I love this recipe so much because you simply stir the ingredients together in a single bowl—no fancy tools or a pile of bowls needed. It also tastes great, is super easy, is a great way to use up leftover pumpkin, and would be great to make with the kids if you like to have them in the kitchen with you.
We love to eat these plain, topped with a drizzle of honey, or even topped with a smear of cream cheese to transform them into pumpkin cupcakes. And you can make one simple adjustment to make them added-sugar-free as a baby muffin.
(You may also like Pumpkin Oatmeal, Healthy Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.)
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need
To make this healthy pumpkin muffin recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients so you know what to have on hand or to pick up from the store.
- Whole-wheat flour: Or you can trade in a gluten-free flour blend.
- Almond butter: Or you can use peanut or sunflower seed butter.
- Pumpkin puree: You can use canned or homemade pumpkin puree. (Do not use pumpkin pie filling.)
- Vanilla extract
- Neutral oil: Such as canola or avocado. You could also use melted coconut oil or butter.
- Maple syrup: Or honey for kids over age 1. You can also use the same amount of applesauce to make this muffin recipe added-sugar-free.
- Pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon: For lots of flavor.
- Baking powder and baking soda: To help the muffins rise nicely.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make these simple healthy Pumpkin Muffins. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full information, including the amounts and timing.
Step 1. Preheat oven and grease a mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. Gather all your ingredients.
Step 2. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend well— or add to a large bowl and whisk well to thoroughly combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Step 3. Spoon the batter into muffin tins. (Be sure to grease the tin well with nonstick cooking spray. I find it better than using muffin liners, which may stick to the muffins.)
Step 4. Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
TIP: The muffins are done when they are set on top, have little cracks, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Store
You can store these healthy Pumpkin Muffins in an airtight container or storage bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge. We like to let these cool fully and eat them at room temperature or chilled.
If freezing in a freezer bag, lay flat so the muffins are in one layer so they’re easy to remove from the bag one at a time—or thaw evenly if thawing the whole bag at once.
Best Tips for Success
- To make this pumpkin muffin recipe nut-free, use sunflower seed butter and omit the baking soda.
- To make egg-free, use a product like Just Eggs instead of something like flax eggs.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
- You can use pureed butternut squash instead of pumpkin puree.
- Use canned or homemade pumpkin puree.
- Add ¼ cup raisins, cranberries, or chocolate chips to the batter for extra flavor. Add extra pumpkin spice or even a little ground ginger if you like.
- Eat these plain, topped with a drizzle of honey, or apple butter.
- Let the almond butter sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to ensure it’s not too hard when it’s time to stir.
- Use the same amount of applesauce in place of the maple syrup to make these added-sugar-free.
- Try my pumpkin baby food and Pumpkin Protein Muffins, too.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear what you think of the recipe if you try it, so please comment below with your thoughts!
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola or avocado)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a mini muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl and stir for 30-60 seconds to thoroughly combine. Or add to a blender and blend well.
- Spoon the batter into muffin tins. There should be about 1 ½ tablespoons of batter in each one.
- Bake 14 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in muffin pan.
- Remove and serve. (To make as standard-size muffins, bake for about 16 minutes.)
Video
Notes
- Store muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or freeze in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 6 months.
- Add ¼ cup raisins, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips to the batter for more flavor.
- Nut-free: Use sunflower seed butter in place of the almond butter and omit the baking soda.
- Gluten-free: Use cup for cup GF flour in place of the whole wheat flour.
- Use canned or homemade pumpkin puree.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
- Eat these plain, topped with a drizzle of honey, or apple butter.
- You can use honey instead of maple syrup if you prefer for kids over age 1.
- Use ¼ cup applesauce in place of the maple syrup to make these added-sugar-free.
Nutrition
This post was first published November 2017.
Can these be made without almond butter or sunbutter? What could we use instead? Those allergies run in our family and we’re not ready to introduce nuts or seeds to our 10 month old.
I haven’t tried these any other way but you could look at my other pumpkin muffins or my Pumpkin Bars to see if those ingredients work better for your family.
These are so good! I was worried that they wouldn’t go over that well because they’re a bit lower in sugar, but both of my boys loved them. And so did I! Thanks for all the great healthy muffin recipes!
I actually did it twice. First attempt, I substituted almond butter with Greek Yoghurt ( I didn’t have any on hand) so it turned out to be more of a quiche. My second try, I followed as it is. I was worried about the amount of whole wheat flour but I just continued on. The muffins turned great! They were still moist and soft for 3 days considering I kept them in the fridge. My toddler like both.
This recipe is perfect! The muffins turned out moist and fluffy and so so tasty! My 11 month old loved them and so do I! I’ll certainly be baking these again and again. Reading the recipe I couldn’t believe so little flour was needed. But I believe that the almond butternis what keeps them so moist and delicious. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so glad! And I know that the amount of flour is surprising, but they are so darn good!
3/4 cup almond butter and only 1/4 cup flour? Is this a typo or am I missing something. I follow the exact recipe and the batter is very loose because of the 3 eggs and also has a big chunk of almond butter in the middle.
It’s not a typo. Did you bake it? It works even though it’s an unusual batter mixture.
Made with spelt flour and peanut butter because that’s all I had. I was a bit skeptical 6the 1/4 cup and re-read the recipe and comments multiple times. I felt the batter was just to soft. I ended up adding a couple of teaspoons of extra flour just to make me feel better. They came out surprisingly fantastic if I do say so myself. The peanut butter taste was prominent and I’m sure almond butter would have been milder and allowed the pumpkin flavors to shine through but it was still very good.
I’m glad that it worked out and yes, the batter is unusual but it bakes up well.
Hi,
I made these muffins with the following modifications. We don’t eat a lot of “butters” (peanut, sunflower, almond, etc) and all I had was peanut butter and didn’t want to use that. So instead I used plain Greek yogurt.
I also didn’t have maple syrup and so I used honey.
I thought I had pumpkin pie spice but it turns out I didn’t (why am I even baking at this point??) so I used my own measurements of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger.
At the last minute I added grated carrot.
The batter seemed thin, which worried me and I added a bit more flour…but I was scared to add too much since I just wasn’t sure how it was going to cook up.
They cooked up surprisingly well but definitely came out quite quichey in texture. They’re very moist and easy to eat. They did hold their shape well. My 11 month old seemed to like them a lot. I found them quite flavourful and would probably tone down some of the spices.
Will make again. Thanks!
I’m glad they worked out!
Delicious, I used Nutzo instead because that’s what I like and I don’t think it changed the taste much
Hi there can I use almond spread instead of almond butter?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure but let me know if you do!
This is my go-to muffin recipe for my 14 month old. If you follow the instructions, these bake perfectly. I love that these are muffins that my daughter can snack on that are actually fairly low in carbs but high in protein and fat – exactly what my growing vegetarian kiddo needs in her diet! We’ll be making these for years to come. For younger kids, we halved the amount of maple syrup with great results. They were still slightly sweet and delicious.
Thanks so much for sharing that Shelby and I’m so glad that they’re working so well for your family!
This recipe is easy, fast and delicious! My 14 month old loved the muffins. They are so moist perfect for him to chew since he has no molars. Mini pumpkin muffins will be a tradition for years to come in our home. Thanks Amy!
This looks like a great recipe to try for my 13 month old. I would like to add just a little oatmeal. Do you know how that would change the quantity of other ingredients?
I think you could probably use it in place of the flour or do half oatmeal and half flour with good results.
Can you freeze?
yes! They freeze really well. Store in a zip top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge.
Is there an error in the recipe, like it should say 1 and 1/4 cups of flour? I added 1/4 c of flour only as listed and the muffins turned out very oily and eggy. I did use regular butter instead of almond butter, but I doubt that was the issue.
There is not an error in the recipe—regular butter will not bake the same as almond butter in this recipe due to it being very low in gluten. It works very well as written!
I Agree it seemed very oily , the eggy-ness didn’t bother me. Also I used sunflower butter in hopes to take to preschool snack and that’s all I could taste, I want to try w 1/4c of the sunflower butter and 1c pumpkin. I tasted no pumpkin.
How would you adjust the baking time for regular sized muffins, not mini?
I haven’t made them full size but I would guess in the 18-22 minute range would be right.
Can you use peanut butter instead of almond butter?
They will have a slightly different flavor but I would think so!
I made them with peanut butter instead of almond butter and replaced oil with apple sauce (same amount in recipe) and they came out delicious! Fluffy and the right amount of balanced flavors. My 2 year old ate 3 before I could even stop him! they were a big hit with both of my toddlers (2 and 3.5).
These were so good my 2 1/2 year old immediately gobbled up two! I added two tablespoons of Hemp hearts also for some added texture.
Can these be frozen also?
I’m so glad and I love the hemp seeds add! You can freeze them once cooled. Add them to a zip top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temp or in the fridge or briefly warm in the microwave.