Seriously the best vegan pumpkin muffins I’ve ever tasted! Perfectly spiced, soft and moist. Best of all you only need 1 bowl and 30 minutes to make them!
Vegan pumpkin muffins are perfect for fall but I could seriously eat them all year long. They are perhaps the most fluffy, moist and flavorful muffins that ever existed.
Pumpkin puree gives them that beautiful orange hue and incredible flavor, especially alongside warming autumn spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Pumpkin is also what makes these muffins SO moist and irresistible.
I love to keep a few in my freezer at all times, if I can stop myself from eating the whole batch fresh! Along with my popular Vegan Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Coffee Cake, these muffins are one of my favorite fall treats.
Ingredients you need (with substitutions)
- Canned pumpkin puree – I’ve never made them with fresh pumpkin, but it should work just fine. Use quality canned pumpkin for the best results.
- Melted vegan butter or oil – You only need 1/3 cup for the whole batch. I prefer the taste melted vegan butter adds, but a neutral oil works as well, such as avocado, vegetable or melted coconut oil. For oil free, substitute applesauce or non-dairy yogurt.
- Non-dairy milk – I usually use soy, but sometimes I will use almond, cashew or even oat milk. Use your favorite.
- Brown sugar – To make the muffins extra rich tasting. Feel free to use less for a less sweet muffin, or substitute coconut sugar instead.
- All purpose flour – If you need gluten free vegan muffins, use a quality gluten free mix. Almond flour will NOT work here though.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves – If you have it, substitute 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix instead.
- Add ins – Sometimes I stir in some vegan chocolate chips, chopped nuts or dried fruit. But most of the time I like to keep them purely pumpkin.
How to make pumpkin muffins
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Prepare the muffin pan with paper liners. Spray the inside of the liners with non-stick spray. I always do this for muffins so they don’t get stuck.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, melted vegan butter or oil, milk and brown sugar.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. I use a fine mesh strainer for this. You can skip the sifting, but you may find little chunks of flour in your muffins. Not the end of the world really, but I prefer sifting here.
Stir until just combined, but do not over mix the batter or your muffins will be dense and rubbery. Stir in any optional ad ins, if using.
Fill the liners all the way to the top for nice big muffins. You should get 12 good sized muffins.
Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with no wet batter.
It’s best to let the muffins cool for at least 30 minutes before enjoying. The flavors mingle together and settle, and the texture gets better as they sit.
How to store leftover muffins
Leftover pumpkin muffins will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days, or a week in the refrigerator. Cover them or keep in a container so they don’t dry out too fast.
You can also freeze them. Freeze in a large container or ziplock type freezer safe bag.
I love to warm them up in the microwave for 30-40 seconds or even pop them in the air fryer for a few minutes until warm. YUM!
Tips
- Add frosting! These muffins are totally sweet enough to pass as cupcakes if you swirl some Vegan Vanilla Frosting on top.
- Don’t accidentally use pumpkin pie mix! You have to use pumpkin puree, which is just plain old canned pumpkin.
- Do not over mix the batter. This is almost always the reason your muffins turn out dense and rubbery. Mix gently until just combined, and carefully fold in any optional ad ins.
- Do not over bake. This is the second reason for dry, dense muffins! Only bake them until a toothpick comes out clean.
Can I turn these muffins into pumpkin bread?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work very well. I tried it when testing my Vegan Pumpkin Bread and it wasn’t good. My advice? Go make that bread instead!
You can, however make mini pumpkin muffins! Bake for only 15-18 minutes.
Want more pumpkin recipes?
- Pumpkin French Toast
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake Bars
- Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Pecan Frosting
- Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie
And check out all my Vegan Fall Recipes!
1 Bowl Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup melted vegan butter OR vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup soy or almond milk, unsweetened
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Optional ad ins:
- 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries or chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease a muffin pan. If you use paper liners, also make sure to spray the cups lightly with oil so the muffins don’t get stuck to the paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the pumpkin, melted vegan butter (or oil), non-dairy milk and brown sugar. Whisk until well combined and smooth.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices over the wet mixture (I use a fine mesh strainer for this or use a sifter).
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet gently using a large wooden spoon until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
- Fold in any optional ingredients, if using, and fill the muffin cups full. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For oil free, replace the butter/oil with applesauce or non-dairy yogurt. They won’t be quite the same though.
- If you want less sweet muffins, you may lower the brown sugar amount to 3/4 cup. Or feel free to substitute coconut sugar if desired.
- For gluten free, use a quality gluten free flour mix.
- If you have pumpkin pie spice mix, you may use 3 teaspoons of it and omit the single spices. Either way works!
- These muffins freeze well, simply let them cool completely and place in a freezer bag.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in August 2018 and has since been republished with improved photos and writing.
Hello! My baby is going through allergy testing and he passed his baked egg challenge so now I have to have him eat baked egg every.single.day for the next 6 months (in increasing quantities along the way). So basically that means I am going to be making A LOT of muffins. Going to switch up recipes to keep the variety fresh. The allergist told me that I just need to make sure there are 2 eggs per 12 muffin yield and that the muffin is fully cooked (clean toothpick test) and baked for a minimum of 30 minutes. QUESTION FOR YOU – if I added 2 eggs to this recipe, would I need to change any of the other ingredients? I realize you may not know but I wanted to ask. Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth! I think you could probably add 2 eggs to the recipe without issue. I haven’t tried it myself but I’m pretty confident they will be fine. You could probably cut the milk in half if you add the eggs. Hope that helps and best of luck figuring out all the allergy stuff with your little one!
I fear I must’ve done something wrong, because these turned out to be a wet nightmare.
The only change I made was using applesauce instead of oil, which you mentioned as a possible substitution. Should the ratio have been changed?
On the outside they look like muffins until you touch them, and they technically taste fine, but on the inside they’re a mess of gloop. It’s almost as if there wasn’t enough flour and I just have pumpkin blobs even though I used the recommended amount of (all-purpose) flour
Help?
Perhaps there was too much liquid in the batter or the muffins weren’t baked long enough if the inside was still gloopy. If you try again, bake them for a few minutes longer (until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean).
SO GOOD!!! I used whole wheat flour and they came out great.
Hi Sarah. Thanks for your wonderful feedback and review! I’m thrilled you loved the muffins!
LOVE these! I added oatmeal, chopped nuts, and cocoa powder and they turned out fantastic!
Thanks for your awesome feedback, Becky! You muffins sound delicious!
If I wanted to add in oatmeal or top it with oatmeal do you know how I’d go about this? I LOVE these muffins by themselves or with chocolate chips added in but was craving some oatmeal this time!
Thank you for your help! Such a fan of your recipes since we’re a gf/df/egg/nut free household between my kiddo and I!
I’m glad to hear it, thank you! I think you could add in a little bit of rolled oats, and sprinkle some on top before baking. I wouldn’t add too many, but I bet 1/2 cup would be okay.
Thank you so much!!
We make this recipe all the time! Def our go to muffin recipe! I use BRM all purpose baking flour and they rise into big fluffy moist muffins. I also add a tsp ACV to the milk to make buttermilk beforehand. When we’re burnt out on pumpkin, I switch it up by subbing for applesauce, decreasing the sugar, and only using cinnamon for spice. Thanks so much for this recipe!!
Thank you so much for your feedback and wonderful review, Laura!
Hi Nora,
Would it work to add in some shredded zucchini to these muffins ?
I would worry about the zucchini weighing down the muffins because of the added moisture. If you try it, make sure you squeeze out as much liquid from the shredded zucchini as possible!
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve made these a few times now and they come out great! I use Libby pumpkin and a silicone muffin pan (no liners) that I fill almost all the way up. This recipe makes 12 with perfectly voluptuous muffin tops. After I bake for 25 minutes, I let them sit in the silicone pan for 10 minutes (this is for carryover cooking for those who are unfamiliar), then pop them out and cool on a rack for another 10. Perfection every time.
Hi Kaila. Your description of your muffins made my mouth water! They sound so beautiful! I’m so glad you are loving the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great feedback!
Very tasty recipe! But mine came out a bit undercooked even after 35 min. I think the reason is that I made my own pumpkin puree and seems it was too wet even when I drained it properly + after reading the recipe again I might have overworked the batter as well.
Still super tasty and goes well with your vegan vanilla frosting.
Thank you for your review and feedback, Karoliine! Fresh pumpkin is so tempting to use, but yes, it contains a lot of extra moisture. Still, I’m happy you loved the flavor!
Muffins were perfect! Rose lovely, also. I got 12 full size muffins. Thx Nora. We are not vegan just yet but working on it. Our vegan daughter introduced you to me n I have made several of ur recipes and my husband n I have loved them all! Keep up the great job!
Hi Susie! I’m so happy to welcome you to my site! I’m glad you liked the muffins, and hope you will enjoy your journey through my recipes! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Great flavor, soft texture, but disappointed at minimal rise. I used ice cream scoops I typically use for muffin and cake batter. My baking powder was still fresh. I used organic purée by Farmer’s Market sold at Whole Foods. I will add a couple teaspoons of EnerG egg replacer the next time I make pumpkin muffins and hope for a taller outcome!
I’d recommend first baking the muffins at a higher temperature for a short time! Try baking them at 425 for the first 5 minutes. Then, reduce down to 375 for the rest of the cooking time without opening the oven. Trust me!
Can you substitute oat milk for the almond or soy milk?
Yes, that will work!
I loved these! so simple and delicious! Just wondering – do you think they need to be refrigerated?
Hi Laura. I’m so glad you love the recipe! They do not need to be stored in the refrigerator, but they will last longer that way. I would keep them covered either at room temperature or in the refrigerator so they do not dry out.
Made these with whole wheat flour and they were delicious.
I’m so glad you loved them, Hedy! Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
I’m excited to make these! Have you baked these as mini muffins before? If so, what how long do you recommend baking for? Thanks for you help 🙂
Hi Nicole. I have not baked these as mini muffins, however, other have! I would bake them for 12-15 minutes for mini muffins.
Mine turned out pretty mushy. Is that the usual texture? I baked for 26 min. Any idea how to change this? Thanks!
Hi Eva. Are you using all purpose flour, or did you substitute a different flour? Did you make any other changes to the recipe? I’ve never had them not cook through all the way, so I’m not sure what’s happening for you.
It depends on the type of Pumpkin Puree you use. Some can be really wet (Trader Joes for example) while others aren’t. I’ve had this happen to me with TJ’s. If that’s the case, I’d half or even 1/3rd the amount of pumpkin puree.
They are good ?.
Moist and delicious!! I sprinkled chopped pecans on top Yum!
Thanks for sharing your great feedback and review! I am happy you loved the muffins!
*****5-stars ***** This vegan, pumpkin muffin is THE BEST (I mean, ANY Nora recipe is truly AMAZING). These muffins are moist, delicious, and a fave in our family. We aren’t doing too much cane/brown sugar these days, so we subbed with date sugar, surprisingly 1:1, and they came out great. Thanks to Nora for another awesome recipe!
You are welcome! I’m thrilled that you all loved the muffins! Thanks for taking time to share your great feedback and experience!
I used natural butter & milk…. My pumpkin puree was delicious ?? & the best so they came out delicious.
Hi Adriana. I’m glad the muffins turned out wonderful for you! Thank you for sharing your positive feedback!
I’ve made this recipe 3x in a month and my family isn’t vegan. We love it!!
I cut the brown sugar to 1/2 cup, use unsweetened vanilla almond milk, add Lily’s chocolate chips and bake for 15 minutes. Makes 18 muffins every time.
Hi Jenny. I’m thrilled you guys love the muffins! They are such a delicious fall treat! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and review!
These were so delicious! Added chocolate chips and made regular size and mini muffins. Love love all of your recipes, thank you so much for sharing them!
Hi Mallory. Thank you for your fantastic feedback and review! I am so glad that you love the muffins! I appreciate you using my recipes, and am thrilled that you are loving them! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Hi! Can you tell me what size muffin tins you recommend?
Hi Stacy. I use a regular sized muffin tin and that works great. I believe the size of an regular muffin cup is 2″ x 1 1/4″. Hope this helps!
Made these muffins with pecans for Thanksgiving – they are so moist and tasty.
I’ve made these so many times now and they are a family favorite! I sub the oil with unsweetened applesauce but other than that I follow your delicious recipe! Thanks so much for continuing to share your wonderful recipes!
HI Mia. You are welcome! I love sharing my recipes! I’m thrilled that you and your family are loving the muffins! Thanks for you wonderful feedback!
Any thoughts on why mine never cook in the middle? I keep baking them until they are literally burnt on the outside.. still raw inside. What am I doing wrong? ?
Did you use a different flour or make any changes to the recipe? I’ve never had them not cook all the way through, and it’s hard to know what exactly went wrong without being there.
These are delicious and oh so sweet! For the milk I used almond and my brand of butter was Earth Balance. I did not add salt but added in about a cup of plain chopped walnuts. My batter made 20 cupcake sized muffins. They were done after 23 minutes. I will definitely make them again!
Hi Erika, if you are using a dark or non-stick pan, or a pan that makes large muffins (usually these make 6 per pan instead of 12) you might need to reduce the oven temperature to 350º or even 325º and bake for a little bit longer. The lower temperature + longer bake time will allow for the center of your muffins to cook through without overcooking the outside.