Once the leaves start changing color and there is a chill in the air, all my favorite fall spices come out, and I am a baking machine. But these delicately spiced pumpkin muffins are on my year-round rotation — partly because they’re so easy to prepare, and partly because my sons request them for a special breakfast treat so often!
You only need 10 minutes of active time for my pumpkin muffin recipe: The batter could not be easier to make with a few simple ingredients, most of which I’m sure you already have on hand! For tall, perfectly domed muffins like you find at your local bakery, start with a very hot oven for the first 5 minutes, before reducing the temperature so the muffins can bake through. If you’re in the mood for more pumpkin breakfast recipes, then try out my baked pumpkin donut recipe, pumpkin scones recipe, or pumpkin pancakes recipe.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Leavening agents — for sky-high muffins, you’ll need both baking powder and baking soda.
Spices — store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice has all the perfect fall flavors you need. You can swap it out for 1½ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. But these are your muffins, so if you only like cinnamon, go ahead and just use that. You could even use garam masala for a more savory, bold flavor.
Pumpkin — like many other pumpkin recipes, you need canned pumpkin puree for these muffins. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling, which has other ingredients added to it that will affect the flavor of the muffins. It can be confusing since the puree and pie mix are usually right next to each other in the grocery store (and in very similar packaging). So double-check the label! It should only contain 100% pumpkin. You can use fresh pumpkin puree if it’s not too runny.
Sugar — using both granulated sugar and light brown sugar gives you a hint of molasses in each pumpkin muffin, which is simply sublime paired with the warm fall spices.
Oil — I like using vegetable oil, which adds plenty of moisture and richness to these easy pumpkin muffins. But you could also use coconut oil, which will add a little sweetness, or even olive oil. Just be aware that coconut and olive oil have a strong flavor, and it will come through in the muffins. You can also use melted butter.
Milk — you don’t need much milk at all, so feel free to use what you have in the fridge. I use whole milk, but almond milk or even water works just as well!
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins
1. Whisk together all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until combined.
2. Grab a medium bowl and whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, vanilla, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Plop in the pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix or your muffins will be dense and tough.
4. Line a muffin pan with paper muffin liners. Divide the batter equally among the liners. Fill each one about three-quarters of the way. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, which will really help the muffins puff up. Then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for 15 minutes more or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Weigh the flour. If you want moist, tender pumpkin muffins, measure the flour with a kitchen scale! Using too much flour is a common mistake when baking, and the results will be dry. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour up before spooning it into a measuring cup, then level off with a knife.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Set the eggs and milk out on your kitchen counter 30 minutes to an hour before you start baking. Cold ingredients will make a cold batter, and you don’t want cold batter going into a hot oven. Additionally, room temperature ingredients mix together better.
- Don’t over-mix the muffin batter. Gently stir the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients until just combined. If you mix too much, you will end up with dense pumpkin muffins.
- Add chocolate chips for more sweetness. If you’re looking for a sweeter muffin, fold ½ to ⅔ cup chocolate chips into the batter.
- Add a streusel topping for some textural interest. Try adding the crisp streusel topping from my blueberry muffin recipe on the tops of the muffins. It adds a crunchy, perfectly sweet finish.
- Use paper liners in the muffin tin. The muffins can stick catastrophically if you skip the muffin cup!
- Start out with a scorching hot oven. Baking the muffins at 425°F for the first 5 minutes helps them rise and gives them that professional bakery-style look.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best tip I can give for moist, soft muffins is to measure the flour using a kitchen scale. Scooping directly from the flour container will cause you to use too much flour almost all of the time…which, in turn, yields dry muffins. Weighing the flour will help you use the exact amount you need. I also recommend not tweaking the amount of oil used in this recipe. I understand the urge to “healthify” certain things, but oil is a key ingredient for moist pumpkin muffins.
Vegetable oil is the best oil for muffins because it has a neutral flavor and adds moisture and richness to the batter. You could swap it out for coconut oil or even olive oil, but note that both oil’s strong flavor will come through in the baked muffins.
Absolutely! These homemade pumpkin muffins stay moist for up to a week in the refrigerator, so they can be made ahead.
For gluten-free pumpkin muffins, substitute the all-purpose flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour. The other ingredients should not contain any gluten, but please double-check all labels as gluten is often an unexpected ingredient in some spice mixes.
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. I like to store them in the refrigerator, which bumps up their lifespan to a week. Reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave for a warm breakfast treat.
If you want to make a few batches of pumpkin muffins to have on hand for whenever the mood for something comforting strikes, consider freezing them. Wrap the muffins in plastic wrap and foil, and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. They’ll thaw in 3 to 4 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this pumpkin muffins recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Pumpkin Muffins
Video
Equipment
- Two bowls
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
- 2½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cup pumpkin puree (280g)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (110g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- ½ cup vegetable oil (120mL)
- ¼ cup whole milk (60mL)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then whisk together until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, vanilla, and granulated and brown sugars. Add in the pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Divide the batter among the paper liners, filling each one about three-quarters full.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 15 min or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- Weigh the flour. If you want moist, tender pumpkin muffins, measure the flour with a kitchen scale! Using too much flour is a common mistake when baking, and the results will be dry. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour up before spooning it into a measuring cup, then level off with a knife.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Set the eggs and milk out on your kitchen counter 30 minutes to an hour before you start baking. Cold ingredients will make a cold batter, and you don’t want cold batter going into a hot oven. Additionally, room temperature ingredients mix together better.
- Don’t over-mix the muffin batter. Gently stir the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients until just combined. If you mix too much, you will end up with dense pumpkin muffins.
- Add chocolate chips for more sweetness. If you’re looking for a sweeter muffin, fold ½ to ⅔ cup chocolate chips into the batter.
- Add a streusel topping for some textural interest. Try adding the crisp streusel topping from my blueberry muffin recipe on the tops of the muffins. It adds a crunchy, perfectly sweet finish.
- Use paper liners in the muffin tin. The muffins can stick catastrophically if you skip the muffin cup!
- Start out with a scorching hot oven. Baking the muffins at 425°F for the first 5 minutes helps them rise and gives them that professional bakery-style look.
