Easy pumpkin muffins are deliciously soft, moist and fluffy pumpkin muffins filled with cozy warming spices. This pumpkin muffin recipe is easy to make using a bowl and a whisk and will be your new go to recipe for fall muffins.
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Why You Should Make This Recipe
I absolutely adore a delicious fall muffin recipe. Especially moist and fluffy muffins filled with cozy spices. My Apple Oatmeal Muffins, Cinnamon Muffins, Pumpkin Banana Muffins, Sweet Potato Muffins and Cinnamon Streusel Muffins are just a few of my favorite muffins recipes from the blog. This recipe for the easiest pumpkin muffins are filled with the coziest flavors and textures and I know you’ll love them just as much because:
- Layers of flavors and textures: From the incredibly moist pumpkin and spice filled muffins, to the sweet and crunchy sugar topping these made for fall muffins will delight your senses.
- Easy to make and bake: These homemade fluffy pumpkin pie muffins taste like you just bought them from the bakery, but are so simple to make at home. Grab two bowls, a whisk and a muffin pan; then mix, rest, bake and enjoy.
Ingredients
This easy pumpkin muffin recipe requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you will need to whip up a batch.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground all spice, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather oil, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make these delicious and east pumpkin muffins.
- All purpose flour: To make these pumpkin pie muffins gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Make sure to measure the flour by grams (240 g) versus cup for cup for the most accurate substitution.
- Baking Powder: Make sure the baking powder is fresh and in date.
- Ground Warming Spices: I love a lot of sweet warming spices when I bake with pumpkin. If you don’t have ground spices, you can also use 4- 5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, chai spice or apple pie spice blends.
- Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: These pumpkin muffins with banana call for granulated and light brown sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make this recipe refined sugar free.
- Oil: Any neutral baking oil will work well in this muffin recipe. If you prefer a more buttery taste, use ½ cup (118 ml) melted butter.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Canned Pumpkin Puree: You can use the same amount of fresh pumpkin puree if you have some on hand. Do not use pumpkin pie filling.
- Vanilla Extract: Feel free to use vanilla bean paste.
Variations
- Mini Pumpkin Muffins: Prepare the muffin recipe according to the recipe directions. Use a 24 ct. mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners. Use a tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the lined mini muffins wells. Bake the muffins at 375 (190 C) for 14-16 minutes or until the sides of the muffins are lightly golden and the tops bounce back quickly when lightly pressed. Cool the muffins in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Gently remove them from the pan and enjoy.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins: Prepare the recipe as written. Fold in 1 cup (170 g) chocolate or mini chocolate chips into the batter right after mixing the dry ingredients into the wet. Reserve ¼ cup for topping the muffins before baking. Bake according to the recipe directions.
- Easy Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel: Prepare the streusel by mixing ½ cup (60 g) all purpose flour, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon (3 g) ground cinnamon mixed with 4 tablespoon (57 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed into small pieces until a sand like consistency is formed. Prepare the simple pumpkin muffins, top with the streusel and bake as written in the recipe.
- Maple Glaze: Top the muffins with a maple glaze. Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) maple syrup and 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) milk until smooth and well combined. Drizzle over the muffins and enjoy.
How To Make
Learn how to make easy pumpkin muffins in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Line (2) 12 ct. muffin pans with cupcake liners.In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground all spice, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and salt together until well combined.
- In another bowl whisk oil, granulated sugar, light brown sugar and eggs together until well combined. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
3. Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the muffin batter into each of the muffin liners, alternating every other cup. Top with coarse sugar if you like. Bake the muffins at 375 F (190 C) for 20 - 25 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes about with a few moist crumbs or when a finger pressed gently into the center of the muffins quickly bounces back. Be careful as the sugar will be very hot. Cool the pumpkin muffins in the muffin pan for 5 - 10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins to cool to room temperature and enjoy.
How To Make Ahead, Freeze and Store
- Store: Place the pumpkin muffins in an airtight container lined with paper towels on the bottom. Store at room temperature for up to 4 days. Keep in mind that these muffins are very moist, so they will most likely feel a bit sticky or wet on top. To help with this, line the container with a layer of paper towels, place the muffins in a single layer on the paper towels and place another layer of paper towels on top of the muffins.
- Freeze: Make sure the muffins are completely cooled to room temperature. Individually wrap each muffin in plastic wrap. Place each wrapped muffin in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the pumpkin spice muffins is to let them sit out at room temperature for at least two hours. Enjoy at room temperature or microwave the muffin for 20 - 30 seconds for that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in soft, fluffy and moist muffins.
- Use lots of warming spices. Pumpkin doesn’t have a strong taste on it’s own that’s why I love adding lots of ground warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom. If you don’t have individual spices on hand, use pumpkin, chai or apple pie spice blends.
- Don’t overmix the muffin batter. Mix in the dry ingredients into the wet by hand until just combined.
- Rest the batter for 30 - 60 minutes. This is a little trick to get those beautiful bakery style domes on muffins. Allowing some time for resting allows the batter to hydrate, thicken and rise, making these the best pumpkin muffins.
- Alternate muffin wells in the muffin pan. This allows each muffin to get the maximum of amount of even heat circulating around it. The tops will still pop up, but they won’t be as high if you decide to fill all the muffin liners at once.
FAQs
When storing moisture heavy baked goods such as pumpkin bread or pumpkin muffins, the moisture becomes trapped in the airtight container. That excess moisture settles on top of the muffins, creating a sticky, wet layer. To help with this, add a layer of paper towels on the bottom of the container and also on top of the muffins while stored in the airtight container. Feel free to throw in a couple of saltines to help absorb even more moisture.
Each person has their own definition of what “healthy” means. Muffins can be made healthier by using whole grains, natural sweeteners and ingredients with fiber such as pumpkin. Homemade muffins are healthier than store bought ones as you can control the ingredients used in the muffins.
Pumpkin puree and canned pumpkin are the same thing and can be used interchangeably in this pumpkin muffin recipe. Make sure not to use pumpkin pie filling which is different than pumpkin puree and canned pumpkin.
Other Pumpkin Recipes to Try
- Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Pumpkin Banana Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins from Cake Mix
If you try this Easy Pumpkin Muffins recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M
Easy Pumpkin Muffins
Equipment
- 1 whisk
- 1 - 2 12 count muffin pan(s)
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground all spice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) neutral oil or melted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 15 oz. canned pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) at least 30 minutes before baking the muffins. Line (2) 12 ct. muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground all spice, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and salt together until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon , 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground all spice , ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon salt
- In another bowl whisk oil, granulated sugar, light brown sugar and eggs together until well combined. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.½ cup (120 ml) neutral oil or melted butter, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, room temperature, 15 oz. canned pumpkin puree, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoopto scoop the muffin batter into each of the muffin liners, alternating every other cup. Top with coarse sugar if you like.
- Bake the muffins at 375 F (190 C) for 20 - 25 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes about with a few moist crumbs or when a finger pressed gently into the center of the muffins quickly bounces back. Be careful as the sugar will be very hot.
- Cool the pumpkin muffins in the muffin pan for 5 - 10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins to cool to room temperature and enjoy.
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