These Vegan Pumpkin Muffins are quick to make, full of flavor, and packed full of good-for-you ingredients. Dairy free + egg-free – these muffins are perfect for breakfast, snack or as a healthy dessert.
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Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
It is the week of Halloween and pumpkin everything has been taking over the minds of all for at least a month.
And I’m not mad. I love pumpkin in just about everything, especially muffins! And while I have a several pumpkin muffin recipes on the blog (Healthy Carrot Pumpkin Muffins being the most popular), oodles of readers reached out to me asking for a fluffy egg-free and dairy-free muffin recipe that was packed with pumpkin!
So I got to baking and veggie-loading….and these vegan pumpkin muffins quickly won the hearts of my family and, soon, they will win your heart too.
Bake on, TNNers.
Homemade pumpkin pie spice
These vegan pumpkin muffins (along with many other pumpkin baked recipes) calls for pumpkin pie spice.
If you are scratching your head about what pumpkin pie spice, fear not. Pumpkin pie spice is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a blend of spices that are commonly used together to give pumpkin pie those warm flavors that many of us look forward to in fall.
Pumpkin pie spice can usually be found with the other spices at your local grocer. But, if you can’t find it or simply don’t want to run out the the store, you can easily make your own using the following:
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Just combine in a jar with a lid. Secure the lid on top, shake to mix everything up and enjoy in this recipe. Plus, you will have leftovers to enjoy in your next pumpkin creation!
Why these vegan pumpkin muffins are so good!
- Delicious! The perfect way to get pumpkin in at breakfast or snack in a kid-approved way!
- Quick and easy to make. Blend up the wet ingredients. Stir in the dry. Pop them in the oven!
- Nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free. Perfect for those following a vegan diet or people with allergies to these typical baking ingredients can enjoy these pumpkin muffins!
- Made from easy to find ingredients. No running around looking for this or that, these vegan muffins are made from things you can find at most grocery stores.
- Packed with good-for-you ingredients. Pumpkin, banana, whole wheat flour and flax meal!
Suggested adaptations
- Make them gluten free with oat flour. Use gluten free oat flour from the store or make your own with certified gluten free oats (this post tells you how to make your own). The muffins are a bit denser but equally as yummy!
- Replace the pumpkin with butternut squash or sweet potato puree. I find these three orange veggies are very interchangeable in many recipes, including these vegan muffins.
- Bake it as a loaf. Same temperature for for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean!
- Skip the chocolate chips. Totally an optional ingredients that is fine to leave out. Or replace with raisins!
- Make them non-vegan. If you prefer to bake these with eggs, you can! Skip the flax and the water in this recipe and replace them with 2 large eggs.
Other vegan muffin recipes you need in your life.
- Carrot Apple Vegan Muffins
- Vegan Carrot Muffins (with lentils)
- Kid-Friendly Vegan Spinach Muffins
- Egg-Free Chocolate Butternut Squash Muffins
Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground flax meal
- 5 tablespoons water
- 1 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana about 1 medium banana
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or date syrup can sub honey if vegan is not needed
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice see above for homemade option
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips (be sure they are dairy-free) plus a few extra for topping if desired.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350 ℉ and line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake liners or grease with extra oil to prevent sticking.
- In a small bowl, combine ground flax and water. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes to "gel."
- Once the flax "eggs" have set for 5 minutes, pour them into your blender. Add the banana, pumpkin pure, vanilla, maple syrup/date syrup, oil, and vinegar. Blend until very smooth.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Stir together. Pour in the pumpkin mixture from your blender into the bowl. Stir together and mix until well combined and batter has a smooth consistency.
- Fold in chocolate chips, if using.
- Portion the batter out into the prepared muffin tin and top with extra chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cool an additional 10 minutes before enjoying.
- Enjoy! Let leftovers cool completely before storing them in an air-tight container in your fridge for up to 4 days or in freezer for a month or more.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Comments
These came out great! Thanks for another awesome recipe ❤️
Yay! I am so glad to hear that!
Followed the directions exactly and these were perfect! My first truly successful vegan baking attempt. Highly recommend for any skill level!
I am so glad they were a success for you!
These are so fluffy and flavorful! Thanks, Taesha.
I am so glad you enjoyed!!
if vegan isn’t important can i sub eggs for flax seed? how many? thx
Yes! I’d sub the flax and water with 2 eggs
WOW Taesha this is SO easy and SO delicious! I used eggs and actually doubled it so I could use my whole can of pumpkin puree and cooked it in a rectangular glass pan like a cake. It’s absolutely wonderful and a perfect early fall treat! My husband likes it as well. Thanks for all you do!
I am so happy to hear all of that! Thank you for taking the time to share, Mary Lou! 💚
Could I leave out the sweetener in these without affecting the end product?
The banana will certainly add some sweetness, so if you like a muffin with mellow sweetness, sure…it would probably work. I would probably replace the maple syrup/date syrup with extra mashed banana or unsweetened applesauce to help replace the moisture lost from omitting the sweetener.
The banana I used wasn’t quite ripe. The end product still had amazing texture but mellow sweetness.
Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad these were a success. Yes, these banana lends a lot to the sweetness, so the riper the better.
Good flavor and moisture but more dense than I like for a muffin. I used two eggs instead of the flax eggs and did half all purpose and half white whole wheat flour.
Hi Tasha! Love this recipe! Have made these a couple times and am ready to make again. Just one question, mine want to glue themselves to the muffin liners, meaning when we go to eat them, we lose part of the muffin. I’ve tried spraying the inside of the liners and it helps some, but the stickiness prevails. We are at high altitude in Colorado so I’m thinking I’ll add a touch more flour today, but wondering if you have any other suggestions to try! Thanks so much!
Hi Michelle! I’m so glad you enjoy these muffins so much! Okay, let’s talk muffin liners. I find this to be very important when it comes to muffin recipes that don’t have a lot of added oil (like my recipes). Some brands of liners just stick more than others. I love If You Care liners or silicone liners because they almost never stick, especially if I let the muffins cool completely. That is another thing! Hot muffins will stick to the liners…so let those muffins cool completely! I have never cooked at a high altitude, so I can’t tell you if that is part of the problem but I’d be interested ot hear if adding more flour helps! I know I have several reader who live at high altitude who often ask about adjusting baking recipes.