Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
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Published Oct 21, 2021, Updated Mar 29, 2023
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These healthy pumpkin muffins are naturally sweetened and made with whole wheat pastry flour, rolled oats, yogurt and fall spices. They’re perfectly moist and fluffy and come together quickly. This post is sponsored by Kroger.
I love baking this time of year! There’s something about the cozy spices and warm treats that I can’t get enough of. I have shared a couple of pumpkin muffin recipes over the years but I wanted to switch things up and make a new healthy pumpkin muffins recipe with pantry staples.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You can buy all the ingredients at your local Kroger! One stop shopping is key for our family these days.
- It’s a festive fall recipe! You’ll love the slightly sweet pumpkin flavor of these muffins thanks to the pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice.
- It’s the perfect recipe for a fall gathering or healthy snack before you venture out trick-or-treating!
Here’s What You Need
- whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour – whole wheat pastry flour works better than regular whole wheat flour if you’re looking for the light and fluffy bread that regular all-purpose flour provides, but still want the nutrients of whole wheat flour. My go-to brand is Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour. If you can’t find whole wheat pastry flour you can also use white whole wheat flour, a blend of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour or just regular all-purpose flour.
- old fashioned rolled oats – my fave brand is Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats. We’ll mix some into the batter and top the muffins with some extra oats.
- pumpkin pie spice – make your own pumpkin pie spice at home or use a store-bought blend, I’m using Kroger brand.
- baking soda – to help the muffins rise.
- sea salt – brings all the flavors together.
- pumpkin puree – you can use canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree. If using store-bought, just make sure the ingredient list is only “pumpkin” – you don’t want to accidentally buy pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugars.
- honey or maple syrup – we tested this with ½ cup of maple syrup and then with ¾ cup honey. We liked the honey version much better, but if you want the muffins less sweet, feel free to reduce the sweetener to ½ cup.
- Greek yogurt – plain non-fat Greek yogurt keeps these muffins moist without a lot of added oil.
- avocado or olive oil – helps keep these muffins super moist and fluffy!
- eggs – helps bind the wet and dry ingredients together.
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
This recipe is super simple! Start by mixing the wet ingredients in a large bowl. I used a whisk to really combine everything well. In a separate medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined. You want to make sure you don’t over-mix or you will have super dense muffins! There may be a few lumps in your batter and that is totally fine.
Line a muffin tin with silicone muffin liners or paper ones and divide the batter evenly between the cups. Next, sprinkle some extra oats on top of each muffin. Bake at 350ºF for 22-24 minutes. You’ll know the muffins are done when you insert a toothpick into the center of the muffin and it comes out clean.
Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool slightly. When it’s cool enough to handle, remove each muffin and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before enjoying!
Variations
- I didn’t test these with a gluten-free flour mix but you should be able to swap a gluten-free all purpose blend for the flour in this recipe. Or try this tested and approved flourless pumpkin muffin recipe!
- Need a vegan recipe? Try my vegan pumpkin muffins instead!
- I love these muffins as is but if you want to add some texture you could mix in some walnuts or pecans. Want a little extra sweetness? Add in chocolate chips or dried cranberries.
What to Serve with Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
These pumpkin muffins are the perfect simple breakfast or afternoon snack. Here are some serving ideas:
- On their own with butter, coconut oil or nut butter spread on them!
- Pair with hard boiled eggs, egg white bites or a breakfast wrap for a healthy breakfast on the go!
- Serve with spinach quiche, fruit salad and a mimosa for a fun brunch.
- Pair with any protein-packed snack for an afternoon pick-me-up.
How to Store Leftovers
These muffins store really well. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. You can also freeze these for longer storage. I recommend using a freezer-safe container and storing them for up to 3 months.
More Pumpkin Recipes to Try
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
- Pumpkin Bars with Chocolate Chips
- Pumpkin Bread
- Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Oatmeal
- Pumpkin Chia Pudding
- Vegan Curried Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Brownies
- Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Popular Muffin Recipes
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Almond Flour Muffins
- Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Oat Bran Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Blueberry Yogurt Muffins
- Healthy Chocolate Muffins
- Strawberry Yogurt Muffins
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Banana Blender Muffins
Be sure to check out the full collection of pumpkin recipes and all my muffin recipes here on EBF.
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour , or white whole wheat flour
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats, plus more for topping muffins
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup honey or maple syrup
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons avocado or olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with silicone or paper liners.
- Whisk together the pumpkin puree, honey, greek yogurt, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Combine the flour, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. There may be a few lumps, that’s totally fine. Just don’t over mix!
- Divide the batter evenly between muffin cups. Sprinkle a few oats on the tops of each muffin.
- Bake muffins for 22 to 24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove from the muffin tin and to cool completely.
- They’ll keep at room temperature for up to 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. They keep well in the freezer in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Notes
- We tested this with ½ cup of maple syrup and then with ¾ cup honey. We liked the honey version much better, but if you want the muffins less sweet, feel free to reduce the sweetener to ½ cup.
- Need this recipe to be gluten-free? You should be able to swap a gluten-free all purpose blend for the whole wheat pastry flour or try this tested and approved flourless pumpkin muffin recipe!
- Need a vegan recipe? Try my vegan pumpkin muffins instead!
- Optional mix-ins: You could add some chopped nuts, chocolate chips or dried cranberries to the batter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was so excited to see this recipe, as I’m always looking for low sugar, clean, healthy recipes for my husband and I. I tried this recipe today and was not happy with the result. The only items I changed were cutting back to 1/4 cup of sweetener and I used Bob’s Red Mills Gluten Free Flour. The consistency was not as pictured and was thinking that more wet ingredients were needed. Would greatly appreciate your thoughts. Thanks l!
Oh no!! So sorry to hear that, Eileen. What sweetener did you use? I’m wondering if it needed a bit more liquid since you cut back the sugar to 1/4 cup vs. 1/2-3/4 cup.
I’m going to try this today but try subbing some of the flour, about 1/2c with protein powder. What are your thoughts?
I haven’t tried it so not sure if it’ll change the consistency of the muffins. Keep me posted how they turn out!
They turned out very good. I used spelt flour,1banana in place of the maple syrup, coconut oil also added walnuts. Very filling breakfast, not sure what I’ve done to the nutrition breakdown.
Happy to hear you enjoyed these pumpkin muffins, Valerie! Thanks for the review 🙂
Question! Can I replace the flour for Einkorn all purpose flour?
I’ve never tried Einkorn flour, but I’d imagine it would work just fine! Let me know if you try it!
I wonder if this can be made into a loaf instead how long do you think it would be in oven for?
Hey Mary – I think it would turn out as a loaf instead of muffins! I’d guess it would take 40-50 minutes, but I’d keep an eye on it. 🙂 Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Looking to make these… has anyone tried using regular yogurt or non-dairy yogurt (my fav is Cashewgurt) instead of the Greek Yogurt?? Wondering if it would change recipe much at all… lmk please if you’ve tried this! 🙂
I think these muffins would be just fine with dairy-free yogurt! Let me know if you try it and how they turn out.
1)the oats did not cook and were tough
2)while the outside rose and browned nicely the inside was gummy and soggy
4)how about a version using allulose, stevia or erythritol instead of high calorie sweetener
Hi Margie – Did you change anything about the recipe? What type of oats did you use? You can definitely adjust the sweetener using whatever you prefer.