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
The nut butter and eggs in these muffins lends each one almost 3 grams of protein, which is pretty good for a little muffin. Each muffin also has a range of balanced nutrition which makes them a nice snack or meal component.
You can use sunflower seed butter instead of the almond butter called for in the recipe, but know that there seems to be about a 50/50 chance that the finished muffins will turn green. If you do use sunflower seed butter, I would recommend omitting the baking soda to reduce the likelihood of this happening. (They’d still be safe to eat, they’re just a funny looking color!)
This muffin batter is built on nut butter, eggs, and pumpkin, providing a nutritious, naturally sweet base.
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, 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.
hello i make these with banana and peanut butter. can i replace the oil with whole milk yogurt or would that not work?
Ok, these are tasty. I had to use peanut butter as I ran out of almond butter recently and it changes the flavour profile but is a delicious combination. Pumpkin pie spice isn’t really available as a pre-mixed spice where I am so I threw in a few pinches each of cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves. I was really impressed with the texture given there’s only a ¼ cup of flour! Baby and toddler snack approved.
Super easy to make, the whole family loves them!
Any way to add Greek yogurt to this to boost protein? Love your banana/peanut butter protein muffins would love a pumpkin version – this is close just missing the Greek yogurt!
I don’t know that you can add yogurt to this recipe without changing other ingredients a lot, but you could look at this pumpkin muffin recipe: https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/easy-pumpkin-muffins/
did you try with greek yogurt? i want to try replacing the oil with whole milk yogurt.
Would almond flour work?
It is likely that the muffins will not bake through the same way since almond flour and wheat flours do not work similarly. You can use a gluten-free all purpose flour to make them gf if needed though.
I made these with Natural peanut butter and unsweetened applesauce for my 16 month old grandson. They came out just as pictured although, I only baked them for 11 minutes in my gas oven. 14 minutes would have dried them out. He loved them! They didn’t taste very sweet to me. Raisins would give them a nice sweet touch.
I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and applesauce instead of maple syrup. My son (13 months) and I love them! I eat them with a bit of jam for sweetness, but my son loves them plain. I was amazed by how soft and fluffy they were. I will definitely make these again! Next time I’ll try them with almond butter.
I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and applesauce instead of maple syrup. My son (13 months) and I love them! I eat them with a bit of jam for sweetness, but my son loves them plain. I was amazed by how soft and fluffy they were. I will definitely make these again!
Could be a little sweeter,
Any suggestions?
Add 1/4 cup sugar. Enjoy!
Not sure where I went wrong here, I followed the recipe as is except for using a mix of peanut and almond butter (which seemed fine per the notes), and I even cooked them for less minutes at a lower temp and they came out super dry and spongy. Which surprised me since there’s not alot of flour in the recipe. I pre-heated the oven quite early. Could it have been too hot and they seriously overcooked?
Could I still make these without any of the “butters” such as no almond butter or no sunflower seed butter? Should I sub something instead such as flax?
I would recommend using this recipe instead: https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/easy-pumpkin-muffins/
I added 1 tablespoon flax seed and chocolate chips. They are so good and getting devoured.
I would love to add oats to this recipe! How would I do this?
Given the unusual ingredient list in these, I am actually not super sure how to best do that. You might be able to add 1/4 cup oats and 2 tbsp milk and have a similar result, but that is my best guess without actually testing them. Let me know if you try it!
Always nice to try a muffin recipe that’s something other than bananas and flour! I just left out the maple syrup but added some finely chopped dates. Was so happy to see my baby enjoy the muffins, as she’s not a big eater. Thanks 🙂
Hello,
Can I use white whole wheat in place of just whole wheat flour? Thanks
Sure