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Is there anything cozier than filling your kitchen with the scent of warm spices and pumpkin during fall? Extra soft, generously spiced, and packed with pumpkin in every bite, these vegan pumpkin muffins have a light, tender crumb and all the cozy flavors of fall. They’re just as good with your morning coffee as they are for an afternoon snack!
I don’t know about you, but every fall, when temperatures start dropping, I almost automatically switch to baking mode. Apple crisp, pound cake, and marble cake, are among my favorites to bake during the colder months, but I especially love anything pumpkin. They always fill the whole house with that warm, cozy scent that makes me feel like Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner.
Along with pumpkin bread, these pumpkin muffins are the ones I make the most, even well into December. They’re tender and packed with pumpkin flavor, thanks to a full cup of pumpkin purée in the batter. They’re also warmly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, with a hint of vanilla.
⭐️ What Makes These Pumpkin Muffins So Good
- They are like little pillows. Really! The crumb is super soft and airy, with just the right amount of moisture – it doesn’t make the muffins feel wet.
- They keep super well. Have you ever baked muffins only to find them dry the next day? Luckily, you’re not going to experience that here. The pumpkin purée and oil keep them moist for up to 4 days (if they last that long!).
- They’re just perfect for fall. They’re simple to make, with no special ingredients or equipment needed. Low effort, maximum deliciousness!
🎃 Notes on Ingredients
- Pumpkin purée – Although you can use homemade pumpkin purée, I personally always go with canned to save time. Make sure to use plain pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling, which contains added sugar.
- Flour – You don’t need any specific flour here. All-purpose flour does the job perfectly!
- Spices – Instead of using a traditional pumpkin spice mix, I use my own blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. I find it more reliable than using a pre-made mix, which can vary from brand to brand.
- Sugar – I like to use the classic granulated white sugar, but light brown sugar also works. Just keep in mind that it will give your muffins a darker crumb.
- Oil – Pumpkin purée and oil work together to give the muffins a tender crumb that stays moist. Use a neutral vegetable oil so it doesn’t overpower the pumpkin and spices.
- Vegan milk – Pick your favorite unsweetened plant-based milk. The type of milk used won’t affect the texture here, but I suggest using one with a mild flavor, such as almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk.
- Vanilla extract – For extra flavor!
- Leaveners – Baking soda and baking powder help the crumb rise during baking. By the way, there is no mistake: I use a larger amount of baking soda than baking powder in these muffins.
🥣 How to Make Pumpkin Muffins
- Combine the wet ingredients. Add the pumpkin purée, oil, milk, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl.
- Mix. Using a whisk or a wooden spoon, mix until smooth.
- Add the sugar and spices.
- Mix again until the batter is smooth and well combined. At this point, the batter will turn dark brown, this is normal.
- Add the flour and leaveners.
- Mix until combined. Mix until the flour is fully incorporated into the liquid ingredients. Be careful not to overmix though.
- Fill a muffin pan. Divide the batter between a lined muffin pan, filling each cavity to 3/4. Note: I use 1/4 cup of batter per muffin.
- This recipe yields 12 regular-size muffins, so you will likely need to fill two pans, unless you have a 24-cavity pan.
- Bake. Finally, bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until they are just slightly golden brown.
📔 Tips
- Measure the flour correctly. Cup measurements are convenient, but they need to be used correctly. To measure the flour, use a spoon to fill the measuring cup rather than digging into the bag of flour with the cup. Then, use the the flat edge of a knife to level the top off.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter. That’s an easy mistake to make if you don’t bake often. Mix the batter until you no longer see streaks of flour, but don’t mix beyond that point. Overmixing will result in denser, chewier muffins.
- Don’t over bake them. Take the muffins out as soon as the tops are golden brown and set. You can use a toothpick to check for doneness. It should come out with just a few crumbs attached. If it comes out coated in batter, the muffins need to bake longer.
🍫 Variations
- Toss in chocolate chips – One of my favorite variations! Incorporate about 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips into the batter for gooey pockets of chocolate in your muffins.
- Top with a streusel – You can use the streusel topping from my carrot cake muffins to add crispy, crumbly tops!
- Sprinkle with nuts – Slightly crush pecans, almonds, or macadamias and sprinkle them over the batter before baking.
And yes, you can combine all three for decadent chocolate chip streusel pumpkin muffins!
❄️ Storage
Room temperature: Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They can also be refrigerated if you want to keep them a bit longer, but this will make the crumb firmer.
Freezer: These freeze very well! Wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw them on the counter for a few hours.
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Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230 g) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) oil
- 7 tbsp (105 ml) unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (224 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 2 and 1/2 cup (300 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 and 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 and 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to
340 °F (170°C) and line two 6-cavity muffin pans with paper liners. Alternatively, you can use a 12-cavity pan. - Combine the wet ingredients. Add the pumpkin purée, oil, plant-based milk, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. Mix using a whisk or a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth and the oil is well incorporated.Next, add the sugar and spices and mix again.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until the flour is fully incorporated into the liquid ingredients. Be careful not to overmix, though.
- Fill the muffin pans. Divide the batter between the lined muffin pans, filling each cavity to 3/4. Note: I use about 1/4 cup of batter per muffin.
- Bake. Finally, bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until they are just slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing them from the pan.
- You can store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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