Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
The best vegan pumpkin muffin you will ever taste! Spiced perfectly with cinnamon and nutmeg and full of healthy pumpkin puree it’s like taking a bite of fall! You can whip up a batch in about 30 minutes with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
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I love to bake up a batch of these or my other healthy muffin recipes on the weekend like spinach muffins, vegan zucchini muffins, or healthy vegan muffins with hidden veggies. This way you’ll have quick and easy breakfasts and snacks to grab the rest of the week.
These pumpkin muffins have 64% of the needed vitamin A for the day in just 1 serving!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- They’re free of eggs, dairy, and nuts.
- They can easily be made soy and gluten-free.
- You can add chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, cranberries, or whatever you want to them.
- You can whip up a batch in 30 minutes!
- No fancy kitchen tools are needed, just a bowl, a spoon, and a muffin tin.
- You can make them ahead and they’re great for breakfast, dessert, or snacks!
Such an amazing recipe! So easy and fast. I made it with no modifications and they came out absolutely perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
—Alexandra
These muffins were inspired by my vegan banana bread recipe since it never fails me. I swapped out the bananas for pumpkin puree and made a few small adjustments to come up with these muffins. I’ve made them many times now, and like my banana bread, this recipe never disappoints!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Pumpkin Puree – 1 can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling). You can also make your own homemade pumpkin puree if you are feeling ambitious.
- Sugar – any vegan sugar will work. Brown sugar or coconut sugar will give it a richer flavor and darker color. Feel free to reduce the sugar a little if you want.
- Refined Coconut Oil – you can also use vegan butter, margarine, or another neutral-flavored oil. I find that coconut oil gives the best texture.
- Plant Milk – soy, oat, almond, or hemp will all work well.
- Vanilla – for flavor
- Flour – you can use white, wheat, or gluten-free flour mixes or my homemade gluten-free flour mix. I have tested this recipe with many types of flour and they all work well.
- Baking Powder – to help it rise.
- Baking Soda – to help it rise.
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg – for flavor. You can also use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Spray Oil – to coat the inside of your muffin tins. You can also use cupcake liners instead.
How to make vegan pumpkin muffins
Step 1 – Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
Step 2 – Add 1 cup pumpkin, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, 1/4 cup soy milk, and 1 tsp vanilla, to a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir well.
Step 3 – In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp salt, and give a little stir to mix it all up.
Step 4 – Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together until a thick batter is formed.
Step 5 – Add 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, or dried cranberries and mix again.
Step 6 – Pour into oiled muffin tins, filling 3/4 of the way full, and bake. (You can use cupcake liners if you would like.)
Step 7 – Bake for 22 minutes for mini muffins and 24 minutes for regular-sized muffins.
Pro Tips
- Measure carefully, slight changes in measurements can significantly change the final product when baking.
- Spoon the flour into the measuring cups so you don’t pack it down resulting in too much flour.
- Make sure to preheat the oven and be sure it reaches 375° F before putting in the muffins. This helps them to rise and get a dome on top.
- To make your muffins look pretty, sprinkle a few chocolate chips on the top just before baking so they don’t get mixed in with all the batter.
Gluten-free instructions
These vegan pumpkin muffins come out perfectly when you use my gluten-free flour mix. You can also use any store-bought gluten-free flour mix that you have, but the taste and texture are best with my mix. It will take you less than 5 minutes to make it and it’s well worth the time!
Note about gluten-free flour – Any grain-based flour mix will work, but I don’t recommend using grain-free flour like almond flour. They do not bake the same and they will not work in exchange for traditional flour.
If you love everything pumpkin like we do, be sure to try my vegan pumpkin cheesecake, vegan pumpkin pie, vegan chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, and vegan pumpkin bread.
More vegan fall recipes
- Vegan Apple Cake
- Vegan Caramel Apples
- Creamy Pumpkin Bean Soup
- Red Lentil Soup with Pumpkin and Kale
- Baked Oats with Apples
- Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies
- Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
Vegan pumpkin muffin recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup coconut oil , melted (or vegan margarine)
- 1/4 cup soy milk , or any plant-based milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups flour, (regular wheat, whole wheat flour, or gluten-free flour mix)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips , or raisins, nuts, or cranberries. (plus a few more for sprinkling on top).
- 1 spray oil , on muffin tins
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Add 1 cup pumpkin, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, 1/4 cup soy milk, and 1 tsp vanilla, to a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir well.
- In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp salt and give a little stir to mix it all up.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together until a thick batter is formed.
- Add 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, or dried cranberries and mix again.
- Scoop into oiled muffin tins, filling 3/4 of the way full and top with a few vegan chocolate chips.
- Bake for 22 minutes for mini muffins and 24 minutes for regular-sized muffins.
Notes
- Measure carefully, slight changes in measurements can significantly change the final product when baking.
- Spoon the flour into the measuring cups so you don’t pack it down resulting in too much flour.
- Make sure to preheat the oven and be sure it reaches 375° F before putting in the muffins. This helps them to rise and get a dome on top.
- To make your muffins look pretty, sprinkle a few chocolate chips on the top just before baking so they don’t get mixed in with all the batter.
*This recipe was originally posted on 10/16/2018. It was updated on 9/29/20 to include new images and more detailed instructions.
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Hi love the recipe ’cause it’s eggless. Love raisins so I will add. Thank you. Take care lots of love from South Africa
I’m so happy that the recipe worked well for you, Sushila! 🙂
Hi Monica. The default yield for this recipe is 12 muffins, but Step 7 says, “Bake for 22 minutes for mini muffins, and 24 minutes for regular-sized muffins.” Mini muffins?? Are there mini-muffin tins?? What is the yield for mini muffins?? I’m a newbie baker, have no idea! Thanks
Hi Christine, there are mini muffin tins. They hold about 1/4 cup of batter. Regular muffin tins have 12 muffin divots in a tin, mini ones usually have 24.
Hi! Do you know if this recipe needs to be adjusted for high altitude?
I would think it would need some adjustment, but I haven’t tested it at high altitude. Enjoy! 🙂
Made these this evening for my daughter and 2 grandsons – ages 14 & 21. (Big appetites!!) First time I EVER made a recipe i hadn’t tested and tasted before giving it to someone else. BIG HIT! Gave them some warm, spicy apple cider to go with it for the Sunday evening after Christmas WIN!!! Thank you, Monica!! (Making GF version for hubs and me tomorrow.)
I’m so happy that you all liked them! Enjoy! 🙂
So this evening, I made same exact recipe for hubs and me. Used Steve’s GF Bread Flour (AuthenticFoods.com) which I’ve been playing around with lately. No almond flour in this GF mix.
Batter seemed a little drier. Made a dozen muffins to bake and still had a good amount of batter left in the bowl. Weird. Using white wheat flour the other night, just perfectly came out to 12 muffins.
These 12 baked in same 24 min. Didn’t rise at all. Taste good. We like them. Not dense or rubbery or any of the usual GF baking issues. Just did not rise. Same exact size and shape of batter that went into muffin tins and oven, came out. They’re kind of like halfway between cake-y cookie and the texture we expect with quick bread.
What’s left I might add more pumpkin and liquid and bake in little loaf pans. Has anyone else reported anything like this? Besides using proportionally less of this GF mix or not using this one at all for this recipe, other ideas? Might try your GF flour mix which i’ve not made yet.
Hubs has been using this mix for cornbread and some other GF baking experiments. Been working fine. I am shocked that this happened. Just FYI. Not just any GF flour mix, even without almond flour. Thanks!
Hi Monica, thanks so much for a great recipe. I followed it exactly and the muffins were awesome! I made sure not to overmix the batter and they were light and moist. This will be my go-to recipe for a delicious vegan alternative to one of my favorite fall breakfast items.
I’m so happy that you liked them, Mary! 🙂
Turned out perfect! Used raisins instead of chip, and pumpkin from the garden. Thank You!
I’m so happy that you liked them and super impressed that you used pumpkin from the garden! 🙂
Such an amazing recipe! So easy and fast. I made it with no modifications and they came out absolutely perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy that you liked them, Alexandra! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
I made these today and they’re delicious! I subbed 1/2 cup date sugar and 1/2 cup coconut sugar. I used vegan butter and vanilla soy milk, plus 1/2 tsp ground cloves. I will definitely be making these again!
Thanks so much Michelle – so happy to hear that you liked them! The ground cloves sound delicious! 🙂
These look yummy but the sugar content is a bit high for me. Do you have any tips for making a low sugar version?
Thanks Melissa, I have made them with less sugar and they came out okay with simply reducing the sugar by 1/4 cup. Pumpkin is a strong flavor without sugar, so you do need a bit to still make them taste good.
Made these today and they are absolutely delicious! Great recipe. Will be making these often. Made the whole house smell wonderful. Thank you for sharing it.
You’re welcome Cathy, I’m so happy that you liked them! They do smell wonderful too! 🙂
I had to use about 1/2 cup of potato starch because I ran out of gluten free flour. We had a guest and he loved them just as much as we did- couldn’t believe I’d just made them from scratch for the first time.
So glad that you liked them and that they came out well even with some potato starch swapped out for the GF flour!
I will be making these for my daughter, we all love pumpkin and making dishes that are healthy! Thank you!
Great Amy, I hope that you enjoy them!
These look so yummy!! Perfect for fall- can’t wait to try them out!
Thanks Alexa! Hope you like them! 🙂