These vegan pumpkin muffins are lightly sweetened, generously spiced, and made with whole-grain oat flour. You'll love them for breakfast, snacks, and dessert! Gluten-free and made without oil, soy, or coconut.
I recently realized there's a surprising shortage of both pumpkin spice AND muffin recipes on this blog. I'm not really sure how that happened because I love both. Vegan pumpkin muffins to the rescue!
On that note, if you're a pumpkin fan, definitely try this Pumpkin Oat Ice Cream. It's sooooo creamy and amazing. And if you happen to be reading this during fall, try my Pumpkin Pie or Sweet Potato Pie this Thanksgiving. Like these muffins, both recipes are oil-free, vegan, and gluten-free!
Anyway, back to muffins....
Made with oat flour, my favorite flour for healthy baked goods, these vegan pumpkin muffins are EASY, satisfying, free from refined sugar, and oh-so-tender and delicious.
You'll need just 12 ingredients (plus the optional walnuts and chocolate chips) and about 30 minutes to make a batch. It's super easy, and I'll show you how...
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Ingredients
- oat flour - make your own oat flour by blending rolled oats until fine, or use store-bought.
- nut butter - I used raw almond butter but any other runny nut or seed butter you like is fine. Try tahini or sunbutter for a nut-free option.
- pureed pumpkin - I used canned pumpkin. If you use home-cooked pumpkin, make sure it is fairly thick in consistency and not runny.
- maple syrup - I don't recommend substituting the maple. It's important for the overall flavor and contributes moisture to the batter.
- pumpkin spice blend - if you don't have the blend on hand, make your own pumpkin spice with the following:
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cloves
See the recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Prep is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
- In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Pour dry into wet, and whisk to form a batter. If using walnuts and/or chocolate chips, fold those in now, reserving some for the tops of the muffins.
- Divide the batter among the muffin pan, using about ⅓ cup per muffin. Decorate the tops with more chocolate chips and/or walnut pieces, if desired. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Variations
Here are a few fun ways to switch things up:
- low-fat - skip the walnuts and chocolate chips, and fold in your favorite dried fruit. Sprinkle rolled oats on top for decoration.
- dried fruit - for a fully WFPB muffin (whole-food, plant-based), instead of sugar-sweetened chocolate chips, these pumpkin spice muffins are perfect with raisins, currants, cranberries, or chopped dates.
- glaze - drizzle the muffins with this simple maple-coconut glaze featured in my oil-free apple scone recipe, or this rich vegan condensed milk.
If you're looking for more ways to use oat flour and pumpkin, try these oil-free vegan chocolate muffins!
Equipment
You'll need 2 mixing bowls and a standard 12-cup muffin pan to make the recipe. A cooling rack is also helpful.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, technically they are gluten-free since they are made with oat flour. Keep in mind that cross-contamination can occur. Look for certified GF oat flour if needed, and if you're baking these for someone with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance, it's a good idea to ask if they're okay with oats.
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Absolutely! These muffins freeze very well. Make sure they're protected from air and freezer burn and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or briefly in the microwave.
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I hope you love these healthy pumpkin muffins as much as we do. If you try the recipe be sure to give it a star rating and comment below to let us know!
📖 Recipe
Healthier Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 230 grams oat flour - (2 ¼ cups)
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice blend
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked pumpkin puree
- ½ cup applesauce
- ⅓ cup non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup runny almond butter or other nut/seed butter
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional add ins:
- ½ cup chopped raw walnuts - See Notes for other ideas.
- ½ cup non-dairy chocolate chips - Check for allergens as needed.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 370 degrees F, and locate a standard muffin pan.
- In a medium-size bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour dry into wet, and whisk to create a batter.
- If using walnuts and/or chocolate chips, fold those in now, reserving a palmful of each for the tops of the muffins. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin pan, using approximately ⅓ cup batter per muffin. Decorate the tops with more chocolate chips and/or walnut pieces, if desired.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Tip: if you included chocolate chips, these are especially amazing when the muffins are still warm and the chocolate is melty!
Notes
- Nut-Free - use a seed butter like tahini or sunbutter instead of almond butter, and omit the walnuts.
- Low-fat - skip the walnuts and chocolate chips, and sprinkle rolled oats on top for decoration. Fold in your favorite dried fruit.
- Dried fruit - instead of chocolate chips, these are great with raisins, currants, cranberries, or chopped dates.
- Glaze - drizzle the tops with this quick and easy maple-coconut glaze or this coconut-free vegan condensed milk.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Rachel
The best muffins ever! I’ve gotten everyone addicted to these. Great for breakfast, snack, dessert etc! And they are healthy 🙂
Annemarie
What to do when you have one cup of pumpkin left from another recipe? Make these muffins! They're excellent! Flavour and texture are perfect. I used cashew butter and added raisins and walnuts. The recipe made 24 mini (or bite-size) muffins and 6 full size muffins. Will definitely make again.
Patricia
Awesome-thank you for posting
Leigh
Thank you! Made these, and they are so moist and delicious. I didn't have apple sauce, so I used one ripe banana instead. So good!
Sally
I made these muffins last night. They are delicious. I especially appreciated the easy to follow recipe and that I had most of the ingredients already. I added chocolate chips to 4, cranberry and sunflower seeds to 2 and the rest plain; all delicious with just the right sweetness. This first batch was my tester. I plan to make another batch next week to share with friends.
Jennifer
I have made 4 batches of these muffins in the last 7 days because they are so yummy & go fast in our house of 4. They are quick & easy to whip up with just 1 kind of gluten free flour (that I can make at home with rolled oats). I love that they are sweetened with maple syrup & have no oil. The muffins are super moist & just the right sweetness. More please!
Jen
I made these muffins tonight and they were delicious! I used my homemade apple butter in place of apple sauce and added a couple of Tbls of molasses and less maple syrup and used pecans instead of walnuts. I made oat flour from whole oats in my little coffee grinder but next time I think I won't grind the oat to such a fine flour. I love the recipe and how versatile it is to accommodate my preferences and still come out 5 star!
Lynn
I ate two before they were completely cooled and unfrosted, which tells you how delicious they were. I love baking with oat flour since it's so healthy, however more times than not, the recipes are dense and too moist (but still edible). This recipe came out perfect ... per hubby "wow, these taste like normal muffins" 🙂 Thank you!