These pumpkin muffins are incredibly moist, perfectly spiced, and delightfully soft. These are less sweet, making them ideal for any time of day during the autumn season. Feel free to mix in chocolate chips for a pumpkin-chocolate twist.
Why You’ll Love These Muffins:
- Simple and Reliable.
- Soft and Moist.
- Rich Pumpkin Flavor.
- Customizable: Add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or dried cranberries can be added.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: This is the main ingredient that gives muffins their shape and helps them rise.
- Baking soda: This helps the muffins rise by creating bubbles, making them light and fluffy.
- Ground cinnamon: This spice adds a warm and sweet flavor, giving the muffins their cozy autumn taste.
- Pumpkin pie spice: This is a mix of spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves) that makes the muffins taste festive and aromatic.
- Ground ginger: This adds a warm and spicy flavor that works well with the other spices.
- Salt: This improves the overall taste and balances the sweetness of the muffins.
- Vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil): This keeps the muffins moist and rich, making sure they don’t dry out.
- Granulated sugar: This sweetens the muffins and helps balance the flavors.
- Packed light or dark brown sugar: This adds sweetness and a bit of caramel flavor, making the muffins softer.
- Canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling): This gives moisture, flavor, and a nice color to the muffins, plus it adds vitamins and fiber.
- Large eggs: These help hold everything together, add moisture, and make the muffins rise.
- Milk (dairy or nondairy): This adds moisture and helps make the muffins tender. It can also change the flavor a bit, depending on the type of milk used.
How To Make Pumpkin Muffins
Set your oven to 425°F (218°C). Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by spraying it with nonstick spray or lining it with cupcake liners.
In a spacious bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and salt by whisking them together until well mixed. Set this mixture aside.
In a medium bowl, mix the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, and milk until well blended. Pour this mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and gently fold everything together until just combined, ensuring no flour streaks remain.
Distribute the batter into the liners, filling each one to the brim.
Bake the muffins at 425°F (218°C) for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue baking for another 16–17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The total baking time is approximately 21–22 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
Seal the muffins well and keep them at room temperature for up to a week.
Pro Tips for Pumpkin Muffins
Use the spoon-and-level method for flour. Scoop the flour into your measuring cup with a spoon, then level it off with a knife to avoid packing too much flour.
Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together just until combined. Overmixing can lead to dense muffins.
Room temperature eggs blend more evenly with the other ingredients, resulting in a smoother batter and fluffier muffins.
Ensure you use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar and spices. For extra smooth muffins, drain any excess liquid from the puree using a paper towel.
Starting at 425°F creates a burst of heat that helps the muffins rise quickly, forming a domed top. Lowering the temperature to 350°F ensures they bake evenly.
Preheat the oven fully before baking to ensure the muffins rise properly and bake evenly.
Add a tablespoon of Greek yogurt or sour cream to the wet ingredients for extra moisture and tenderness.
Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, they’re done. Avoid overbaking, as it can dry out the muffins.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Cooling on a rack prevents soggy bottoms caused by trapped steam.
Variations
Fold in ½–1 cup of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips for a sweet twist.
Mix in ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts for a crunchy texture.
Swirl a dollop of sweetened cream cheese into each muffin for a rich, cheesecake-like filling.
Make a crumb topping by combining ½ cup flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle this over the batter before baking for added sweetness and crunch.
Drizzle with a simple glaze made from powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract once the muffins have cooled.
Add extra spices like nutmeg, cloves, or cardamom for a more complex flavor profile.
Replace half the oil with unsweetened applesauce and use whole wheat flour or a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour.
Add ½ cup dried cranberries for a sweet and tart burst of flavor.
Substitute some of the sugar with maple syrup for a naturally sweet, autumn-inspired flavor.
Use a mini muffin tin for bite-sized treats. Bake at 350°F for about 10–12 minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder to the batter for a coffee-flavored twist.
Replace the eggs with flax eggs (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water per egg), and use a non-dairy milk and coconut oil.
Substitute ½ cup of the pumpkin puree with mashed ripe banana for a unique flavor combination.
Sprinkle pumpkin seeds (pepitas) on top before baking for a crunchy, nutritious garnish.
How To Freeze
For extended storage, freeze the muffins for up to three months. To enjoy, thaw them overnight in the fridge and warm them up in the microwave if you prefer.
How To Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
For a twist on your pumpkin muffins, mix in 1 cup (around 180g) of chocolate chips just before transferring the batter to the muffin pan. Alternatively, you can add 1 cup (about 130g) of chopped pecans or walnuts, or 3/4 cup (approximately 105g) of dried cranberries for extra flavor and texture.
More Recipes
- Pumpkin Brownies
- Pumpkin Bread
- Caramel Apple Cookies
- Blueberry Muffins
- Strawberry Shortcake Muffins
- Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins
- Breakfast Egg Muffins
Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups 219g all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup 120ml vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup 100g granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup 67g packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups 340g canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup 60ml milk (dairy or nondairy)
Instructions
- Set your oven to 425°F (218°C). Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by spraying it with nonstick spray or lining it with cupcake liners.
- In a spacious bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and salt by whisking them together until well mixed. Set this mixture aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, and milk until well blended. Pour this mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and gently fold everything together until just combined, ensuring no flour streaks remain.
- Distribute the batter into the liners, filling each one to the brim.
- Bake the muffins at 425°F (218°C) for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue baking for another 16–17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The total baking time is approximately 21–22 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
- Seal the muffins well and keep them at room temperature for up to a week.