Welcome to the epitome of fall baking! (Well, besides apple cake and apple crisp.) These are my super-moist, deliciously spiced, and extra soft pumpkin muffins. They’re adapted from my popular pumpkin crumb cake muffins and aren’t quite as sweet, making them the perfect “anytime” treat during the fall season. You could even add chocolate chips for extra tasty pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. No mixer required!
One reader, Nicole, commented: “Another winner, of course. We made the mini muffin version and they were so light, moist, and delicious. Perfect breakfast compliment for this crisp fall morning! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Holly, commented: “First time making these. Did half regular and half with chocolate chips, and they came out delicious and very moist. Even my picky daughter loved them… This recipe is definitely a keeper. ★★★★★“
Meet my favorite pumpkin muffin recipe, the sequel to my favorite zucchini muffins and banana muffins. I appreciate “simple” muffin recipes like these because sometimes we don’t crave all the bells and whistles of pumpkin cream cheese muffins… right? Over-the-top muffins are undoubtedly delicious, but I’m certain you’ll want to make today’s easy pumpkin muffins again and again. Why?
Here’s Why You’ll Love My Simple Pumpkin Muffins
- Reliable, easy recipe with basic ingredients
- No mixer needed
- Extra soft & moist
- Deep pumpkin spice flavor (you can use your homemade pumpkin pie spice!)
- Dairy free if using dairy-free milk
- Very adaptable recipe—add chocolate chips, nuts, or dried cranberries; sprinkle with coarse sugar; or leave plain
How are these different from pumpkin cupcakes? My pumpkin cupcakes recipe is a favorite! In that recipe, you use less flour and milk with the same amount of pumpkin, so the cupcakes have a much lighter, airier texture. Today’s muffins are thicker and denser with just as much flavor.
Grab These 11 Ingredients:
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour in this recipe. If desired, you can replace half of the flour with whole wheat flour for a heartier, denser pumpkin muffin.
- Baking Soda: Helps the muffins rise. There’s no need for baking powder and, in fact, I’ve made these pumpkin cream cheese muffins with only baking soda before too. (Just leave out the baking powder in those; truly no noticeable difference in the outcome.)
- Cinnamon, Ginger, & Pumpkin Pie Spice: Pumpkin is tasty, but in order to really bring out its flavor, you need some warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, and pumpkin pie spice. You can use store-bought or try my homemade pumpkin pie spice blend. Pumpkin pie spice already includes cinnamon and ginger, but for the BEST, deepest flavor, I recommend using all 3. See recipe Note.
- Pumpkin Puree: You need 1 and 1/2 cups (about 340g) of pumpkin puree, which is most of a standard 15-ounce can. Do not use pumpkin pie filling. Just like with these pumpkin snickerdoodles, canned pumpkin is best, but you could use fresh puree if that’s what you have.
- Oil: The muffins taste dry and rubbery without some fat. Just as if we’re making pumpkin cake and pumpkin coffee cake, use vegetable oil. You could also use melted coconut oil.
- Brown & White Sugars: Pumpkin adds a lot of volume to the muffin batter, but doesn’t sweeten it at all. Using half white and brown sugars provide enough sweetening, and the brown sugar adds additional flavor.
- Eggs: Provide structure.
- Milk: Like most muffin recipes, the batter needs a liquid. You can use whole milk, buttermilk, or any dairy or nondairy milk you enjoy. I use orange juice in my pumpkin bread recipe, but using orange juice (for the amount of liquid needed here) wasn’t ideal here. The muffins were too citrus-y. You could, of course, replace *some* of the milk with *some* orange juice.
This is optional, but I love adding a little coarse sugar to the tops of the pumpkin muffins before baking. I do this in a lot of my muffin recipes (both online and in my book) because it adds a sparkly crunch—just like real bakery muffins! You can use something like Sugar in the Raw or white sparkling sugar. And don’t forget my high-temperature trick, included in the written recipe and explained in the Notes below.
As instructed in the printable recipe below, grab a large bowl for the dry ingredients, a medium bowl for the wet ingredients, then whisk it all together. Expect a thick batter:
Fill the muffin liners all the way to the top:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
You can turn these easy pumpkin muffins into pumpkin chocolate chip muffins! Simply fold 1 cup (about 180g) of chocolate chips in the batter right before spooning into your 12-count muffin pan.
If you enjoy pumpkin + chocolate together, be sure to try my chocolate pumpkin muffins as well. For extreme chocolate and pumpkin lovers only!
More Pumpkin Favorites
- Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Bars
- Pumpkin Pancakes or Pumpkin Waffles
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Coffee Creamer
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Pumpkin Hand Pies
For even more inspiration, here are my 30+ best pumpkin dessert recipes.
Print
Easy Pumpkin Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 21 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These muffins are adapted from my popular pumpkin crumb cake muffins and aren’t quite as sweet, making them the perfect “anytime” treat during the fall season. You could even add chocolate chips for extra tasty pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. No mixer required!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (dairy or nondairy)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then fold everything together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain.
- Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16–17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21–22 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan before enjoying.
- Cover tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze the muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then heat up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Pumpkin Pie Spice & Spices: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and ground allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. Do not leave out the 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon that is also called for in this recipe. Depending how much you like ginger, you can skip or leave in the extra 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger that is also called for in this recipe.
- Can I reduce the sugar or oil? You can absolutely slightly reduce either or both, but understand that sugar and oil help produce moist, tender muffins and the results may be disappointing and your muffins could taste dry. For the oil, feel free to swap *some* for applesauce. You could also try substituting all or most of both sugars with coconut sugar.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins/Other Add-Ins: Simply fold 1 cup (about 180g) of chocolate chips in the batter right before spooning into your muffin pan. Or you can add 1 cup (about 130g) of chopped pecans or walnuts, or 3/4 cup (about 105g) of dried cranberries.
- Mini Muffins: For around 30 mini muffins, line mini muffin pans with liners or spray with nonstick spray. Prepare batter as directed and fill liners to the top. Bake at 350°F (177°C) the entire time (skip the initial high temperature) for 11–13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Why the initial high oven temperature? Like I do for most muffin recipes, bake the muffins for 5 minutes at a very hot temperature. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, switch to a lower temperature for the remaining bake time. This initial high temperature will quickly lift the muffin tops so they’re extra high, then the centers will bake during the lower temperature bake time. This trick makes beautiful bakery-style muffins every time.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This one was not my favorite. Followed the recipe exactly and I just prefer some of the other recipes better.
Would this recipe work with 1 cup of brown sugar instead of 1/2 brown and 1/2 granulated? Or would it mess with the texture too much?
Yes, absolutely; you can make that change.
Halved the recipe and made 21 mini muffins, swapping out maple syrup for the granulated sugar. They were very moist but not underbaked, and smelled incredible. Very pleased to have this recipe come together so quickly and deliciously!
These were amazing! I’m a real muffin lover and have a hard time finding good recipes but this was such a great one! So fluffy and pumpkiny! Really made me feel like it was fall(though it isn’t) thank you guys for this amazing recipe! Will be using it frequently!
Can I use egg substitutes for this recipe?
Hi Sam, we haven’t tested any but let us know if you do.
One the best pumpkin recipes I have tried – moist, fluffy and full of fall / cold day flavors
My little one loves both pumpkin and blueberries and I’m curious about adding frozen blueberries to this recipe; do you think that would work?
Hi Brooke, we don’t see why you couldn’t add blueberries. Let us know if you try.
I made this recipe, yesterday and it came out amazing!
Fantastic recipe that is easy to make, delicious, and looked like it came from a bakery. I made the recipe as instructed along with adding chocolate chips and sanding sugar to the tops as mentioned in the recipe.
Incredible!!! I made these for Thanksgiving and they were well received! Add the chocolate chips- they make all the difference! Very moist!
Sally – these are incredible. the spice amount was perfect, but the extra ginger really put them over the top. i added 1 tsp of baking powder for a bit more lift, grated orange pee, 1/2 tsp of orange extract, and 30 grams of chocolate chips. not crumbly at all but not soggy. just soft and fluffy – thanks for such a lovely recipe!
We’re so glad you love these muffins, Lisa!
This recipe was tops. So so good. Can I convert this to a loaf recipe?
Hi JoLynn, you can use this recipe for pumpkin bread, which will give you the right amount of batter for a standard 9×5 loaf pan. Enjoy!
My friend and family all love these muffins, especially when I add dark chocolate chips!
I made your pumpkin muffins with mini chocolate chips and they were a huge hit! Easy and perfect! I’d like to make them again for a gluten free friend. Would a GF flour work in these? Any ideas welcomed. Thank you
Hi Cathryn, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour but some readers have reported success with a gluten-free all-purpose flour like Bob’s Red Mill or Cup4Cup. We don’t recommend almond flour as it has very different baking properties and is not always a 1:1 swap. We do have these pumpkin oatmeal cups you may enjoy! Make sure the oats you use are certified gluten free.
Thank you so much! I’ll give them a try with Bob’s. Your lemon bars were wonderful, too, by the way. Even though I had to use a smaller glass pan.
OMG, these are THE best pumpkin muffins I’ve ever eaten! So moist, so tasty, so GOOD. Added dark chocolate chips and only used 1/4 cup of each of the sugars. Excited to try more of your recipes
I made this with sweet potatoes and blueberries. They got rave reviews and I’ll def make again. Tomorrow 🙂
My husband is very happy this morning! I added approximately a cup of blueberries I had in freezer and some orange oil that I buy from King Arthur and they are delicious. Easy to make, used dark brown sugar added a few pecans. Even though it wasn’t Libby’s pumpkin purée these taste like pumpkin spice is perfect. I’ve never had a problem with your recipes great direction written clear and precise. I made your scones earlier in the week, the master scone recipe is my go to and husband loves those as well. Baking cookies from several of your cookie posts, looking forward to those too. Thank you Sally.
I loved this so much!
I made a half batch of these to use up a half can of pumpkin. I added a little streusr
These are the most tendeer muffins I’ve ever baked. I made a half batch to use up some leftover pumpkin. I added a little streusel topping on top. Perfect muffin texture and flavor. Once again, you gave us a winner recipe.
So glad you love them, Mary!
These are soooo good! I swapped out brown sugar for 1/2 cup maple syrup and used 1/2 cup monk fruit instead of cane sugar. I added walnuts and chocolate chips. Fluffy, moist and delicious!!
Excellent and easy recipe! I didn’t really measure the pumpkin, and I had a mixture of puree from my garden and a can. Just kinda scooped some can stuff in to the dog bowl for the pooch and called it a day. Did not disappoint! I agree, this is absolutely better than the cream cheese one, it is less sweet, but can be matched with a dollop of whipped cream and a little sprinkle of pumpkin pie seasoning and it’s the perfect dessert. Will make again!
Fabulous recipe. I had leftover pumpkin, but didn’t quite have enough, so, I added a bit of unsweetened applesauce to make up the difference. Beautiful moist, and a lovely flavour. I sprinkled ground pecans on each muffin before baking. Added a nice crunch.
Fabulous recipe. I had leftover pumpkin, but didn’t quite have enough, so, I added a bit of unsweetened applesauce to make up the difference. Beautiful moist, and a lovely flavour. I sprinkled ground pecans on each muffin before baking. Added a nice crunch.
Fabulous recipe. I had leftover pumpkin, but didn’t quite have enough, so, I added a bit of unsweetened to make up the difference. Beautiful moist, and a lovely flavour. I sprinkled ground pecans on each muffin before baking. Added a nice crunch.
Would you have the recipe to make this into jumbo muffins instead?
Hi Joy, you can use this batter for jumbo muffins. You can follow the baking times and instructions from these jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide.
I have some of your pumpkin spice that I made from your recipe I saved in an airtight container. How long would you recommend keeping? I think what I have is maybe a couple years old
Hi Marlene, homemade pumpkin pie spice mixture will last in a tightly sealed container until the individual spices’ expiration dates, which is typically 1–2 years.
Can you swap the oil for butter?
Hi Caroline, oil really works best for these pumpkin muffins.
So yummy! Cant resist them. MUST MAKE! Good for fall baking.
I made these with mini chocolate chips, using half the recommended amount of chocolate chips. The tops were sprinkled with chocolate chips so folks knew what they were getting. Friends, co-workers and family have all given them a 5-star review. The recipe notes were really appreciated! I’ve made this recipe as written, doubled the recipe, made both full-size muffins and mini-muffins. All were perfect. My Note: The mini-muffins work out better without liners when using a non-stick tin. 2)
Can sour cream be substituted for the oil?
We recommend sticking with oil.
Delicious! These muffins are so moist and have great flavor. So easy to throw together, and they pop up nicely in the tin because of the higher cooking temp to start.
Mine needed to cook for another couple minutes I think because my canned pumpkin was refrigerated (it was a large can and I had used part of it for something else a few days ago). Anyway, mine weren’t quite done after cooking for 22 minutes.
Delicious and easy recipe! I made these using cooked fresh Queensland, pumpkin on Thanksgiving and they were a huge hit. I cut back on the sugar somewhat and they were still super delicious with the added spices. I’m definitely going to save this recipe and make them again. Thank you so much for posting it.