Healthy Pumpkin Muffins are made without butter, oil or flour! These naturally gluten-free pumpkin muffins are moist, flavorful and perfectly pumpkin spiced.
author’s note
You’d Never Believe These Are Healthier!
Pumpkin season hits and I always have half a can of pumpkin lurking in the fridge. I wanted a muffin that used a lot of pumpkin, not just a spoonful, and still baked up light and fluffy.
After a few test runs with oats, honey, and warm spice, this is the Healthy Pumpkin Muffins recipe I reach for.
No butter, no oil, no refined flour, just simple pantry staples that bake into soft, pumpkin-packed muffins. I usually toss in dark chocolate because melty pockets of chocolate make these feel extra special.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Swaps or tips |
|---|---|
| Canned pumpkin puree | Use solid-pack pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. If it seems watery, blot with paper towels. |
| Old-fashioned oats (blended to oat flour) | Use certified gluten-free oats if needed. Store-bought oat flour works. Weigh for best results. |
| Honey + light brown sugar | Use all honey or a honey–maple mix. Adjust sweetness to taste. |
| Eggs | Room-temperature eggs mix in more evenly. |
| Pumpkin Pie Spice + cinnamon + nutmeg | A ready blend works great. Add a pinch of ginger for extra warmth if you like. |
| Dark chocolate chips | Mini chips spread more evenly. Swap for chopped pecans, walnuts, or raisins. |
Featured Comment
“Just made these muffins last night for the first time and they are absolutely amazing!! So so delicious! The perfect pumpkin muffin recipe – flavourful and great texture! What a perfect recipe. I’ll be making another batch today to bring to my sister. Thank you so much for sharing”
– Monica
How To Make Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Prepare: Preheat oven and grease a muffin pan.
- Mix: Combine wet ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, mix together dry.
- Combine & Bake: Mix together wet and dry ingredients, stir in dark chocolate chips, fill muffin cavities, and bake until tops are set.
- Cool & Store: Let cool before removing from the pan and store in an airtight container. Best enjoyed within a few days.
Storage
Leftovers?
Room Temperature: Store muffins in an airtight container. Best within 1-2 days.
Refrigeration: Keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Bring to room temp before eating.
Freezing: Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a bag or container. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temp or microwave before serving.
More Healthy Pumpkin Recipes:
Shakes And Smoothies
Pumpkin Protein Shake
Desserts
Healthy Pumpkin Cookies
Desserts
Healthy Pumpkin Bread
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin see note 1
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar see note 2
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon oat flour regular oats that have been blended, see note 3
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9 cavities in a muffin pan with nonstick spray; do not use muffin liners with these; they stick to the liners. Press excess liquid out of the pumpkin with paper towels.
- Combine the pumpkin, honey, brown sugar (see note 2), vanilla, and egg in a bowl. Beat until combined.
- In another bowl, stir together the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and oat flour.
- Add the dry to the wet, mixing until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Divide the mixture evenly among 9 muffin cavities and place a few (3–4) extra chocolate chips on top if desired. Bake for 19–24 minutes or until the tops of the muffins look dry (not gooey) (My oven takes 23 minutes). Remove and allow to cool for 3–4 minutes, then remove them from the muffin pan onto a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tips For Success
- Do not overmix: Mix until the dry bits just disappear.
- Let the batter rest: Two to three minutes helps the oats hydrate for a softer crumb.
- Fill cups almost full: Oat-based batters do not spread much.
- Check doneness early: Every oven runs a little different, so start checking at 18 minutes.
- Non-stick Muffin Pan: Use a high-quality non-stick pan for easy removal. Here’s my favorite muffin tin.
Hi Chelsea! I made these muffins today and they came out awesome! I do have one question though…do I use liquid or dry measurement for the pumpkin? I used dry measurement and it seems they came out a bit too moist. Or, maybe I should have baked them just a little longer?
Heather
Thanks so much Heather! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂 The baking time may be different based off of your altitude or differences in ovens. If they are too moist maybe try baking them a little longer or adding a bit more oat flour 🙂
Made these yesterday with some friends. We inhaled the entire batch before they even had time to cool. None of us could believe there were so many healthy ingredients with how tasty these are. Definitely making these again soon! Thank you!!
Haha! 🙂 So great to hear it!! Thanks for your kind comment! 🙂
I made these last night and yes, they are not much to look at 🙂 but they are tasty…I went by the 114 cals as well as I’m tracking on MFP…I plunked the ingredients in to the MFP calculator this morning and I’m so sad to say that they came out to 199 cals per muffin !!!!
I used pure pumpkin puree which is super low is calories but the oat flour jacked up the calories !!! I too used 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips…the Enjoy Life brand that are dairy free, nut free etc ….I am so disappointed that the calories are so high…Im sorry to say but they just aren’t worth 199 calories. I hate to throw the rest away so I’ll be working out extra hard this week to make up eating some. Too bad my husband doesn’t like pumpkin.
I don’t believe 199 calories per muffin is accurate. There have been lots of people calculate the nutrition facts on these muffins if you read through the comments and they tend to come out about 100-145 per muffin. (I always get You can also freeze them if needed!) I get that they are each 102 calories on this site: http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
to make this recipe even healthier I used maple syrup instead of brown sugar.
My friend made these and they were absolutely delicious! I was wondering if they would work with almond flour instead of oat flour? Thank you!!
So great to hear! Thanks for the comment 🙂 I can’t say for sure since I’ve never used almond flour (and don’t have tons of experience with it), but I don’t see why the substitution wouldn’t work. Sorry to not be of more help!
Hi Chelsea,
I made these pumpkin muffins and the taste was great, but the texture reminded me more of a baked oatmeal (only with ground oats), they are not as light and airy as a muffin. I have yet to find a baked oatmeal recipe that tastes as “pumpkiny” as this, so I was wondering what would happen if I used regular old fashioned oats instead of the ground oats in this recipe? Would I need to adjust the amount and use more oats? I was thinking they would make fun little baked oatmeal cups. Thoughts?
Hello! I tried making these, but they did not rise 🙁 After some other pumpkin recipe fails, I realized it must be the pumpkin puree I used, as my rising agents were fresh. Do you have any suggestions for what brands of pumpkin puree to use, or which one you used? I used E. D. Smith, but for some reason, it only seemed to work in recipes requiring white flour, as opposed to the oat flour in this one, and ww pastry flour in another. The batter didn’t look overly wet either, so I’m not sure what went wrong. I’m also sure I followed the recipe exactly. Any advice? 🙂
Oh no! I haven’t ever had a problem with these not rising so I wonder if it is the pumpkin puree you are using if it is having problems in other recipes as well! I generally use Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin (this has the least amount of extra liquid added in my opinion/experience) and occasionally will use the great value brand that Wal-Mart makes. Both have been used and worked great in these muffins. I’m also wondering, perhaps altitude could make a difference? Yours may need to bake for longer if they are deflating. If they are rising during the baking and then deflate after you pull them out of the oven they may not have baked long enough. I hope this helps!
I made these yesterday. Used coconut sugar, was super careful not to over-stir. They were fantastic! Can’t get over how healthy/easy/tasty they are. Making them again for sure!!
So glad to hear coconut sugar was good in these — I’ll have to try that next time 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment! Glad you enjoyed these!
Discovered some canned pumpkin in the back of my pantry and had to find a way to use it! These are amazing – so moist. I should have blended my oats a little longer than I did, my muffins came out a little more textured than I was hoping. Noted for next time. Thanks for sharing!! 🙂
hi chelsea, thanks for the recipe… looks great…. exactly what i am looking for right now actually 🙂
1 question though…. why no muffin liners?….. i dont yet own a muffin pan (soon) … so i usually just use the liners on their own in a tray… hope to hear from you … thanks 🙂
Hi Chelsea,
I’ve made some of your recipes, they’re great! I love anything pumpkin. I’ve wanted to make these muffins…today was the day! To make the recipe even healthier, I used coconut sugar in place of honey, apple sauce in place of brown sugar and a flax egg. I had enough batter for twelve muffins! I wasn’t sure how good they would be basd on how they looked. They are delicious. YUM!
SO great to hear! I love all your healthy swaps and the changes you made and am so glad to hear they were delicious for you 🙂 Thanks for the comment!