Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
These healthy pumpkin oatmeal muffins are tender, moist, and full of that warm fall flavor. Made with pumpkin puree, whole wheat flour, rolled oats, applesauce, and just a little brown sugar, they’re an easy one-bowl breakfast recipe that’s perfect for meal prep, lunchboxes, and stocking your freezer for busy weekday mornings breakfasts.
The healthy pumpkin muffins that kick off fall in my kitchen…
Every September, I become a tad bit predictable. The second I see the first leaf start to change color and get a whisper of crispness in the air, it is straight to the grocery store I go to grab all the canned pumpkin and immediately start making all the pumpkin recipes I have dreamed up over the years. These healthy pumpkin oatmeal muffins are almost always one of the first things I make because they’re so easy to make, they freeze beautifully and making a batch of wholesome muffins at the start of the week is the one meal prep thing I do that makes life a little easier later on. Which, on busy school mornings, is really all I’m asking for.
I know that there are many pumpkin muffins out there that are more bakery style with with more oil and added sugar than I use in my muffin recipes. And no judgment if that’s your thing, but I want to let you know upfront that these are not that. They are delicious, yes. But they are also designed to be nourishing and part of a balanced snack or breakfast. Made with whole wheat flour, rolled oats, pumpkin puree, applesauce, and just enough brown sugar to sweeten them up so they feel fun to eat, but without tipping into cupcake territory. I added in a god amount of pumpkin spice to give them that warm fall flavor I know you came here for. And while they are hearty, they are also soft. And totally the kind of muffin I’m just as happy handing Allie on the way out the door as I am sitting down with alongside a hot cup of coffee on a Saturday morning.
And because I want to make sure these turn out as good for you as they do me, let me share a few important tips and tricks. First, be careful not to over-mix the batter. Overmixing actives the gluten a little too much and makes for dense muffins and we are aiming for tender. And if you’re feeling it, chopped walnuts or pecans are delicious mixed in and I will never tell you not to add a few extra chocolate chips on top. Pumpkin and chocolate are just one of those combinations I can’t resist (as you know if you have made my pumpkin baked oatmeal or my chocolate pumpkin muffins….I just think they are such an unexpected pairing that wins!). Or want a banana-y version? My oatmeal pumpkin banana muffins bring both the pumpkin and banana flavor together.
Let’s make these pumpkin muffins together. Just you and me…
Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins (one bowl!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (245 g) pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup (183 g) unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (59.15 ml) avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ⅓ cup (73.33 g) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1¼ cups (150 g) whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup (60.81 g) rolled oats
- ¼ cup (45 g) mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners or grease with oil.
- Add pumpkin puree to a large bowl, along with applesauce, eggs, oil, vanilla and brown sugar. Whisk together well.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture. Whisk together again to incorporate everything.
- Add the flour and rolled oats to the bowl. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix, as this can result in dense muffins. Finally, fold in chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling about ¾ of the way. Top with additional chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. If you have a kitchen thermometer, cook until the muffins have an internal temperature of 200℉. This will ensure they are cooked through, but not overcooked.
- Allow them to cool in pan for 15 minutes before enjoying. Once cooled completely, store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in your freezer for up to a month.
Notes
- I’ve tested these with both oat flour and cup-for-cup gluten-free flour for GF. I found that the oat flour worked best for my preference but both worked. Be sure to let your batter rest for 15 minutes before portioning onto the muffin tin so your flour can hydrate if swapping in the whole wheat flour for either gluten free option.
- If you need these to be egg-free, I’ve successfully made these muffins several times subbing in 2 flax eggs
- If you need these to be gluten free, be sure that the rolled oats are certified gluten free as well as the oat flour (should you use that for your flour swap)
- If you don’t have avocado oil, any neutral oil like vegetable oil will work. I have also made these with melted unsalted butter and loved how they came out.
Can we swap maple syrup for the sugar or will it negatively effect the consistency?
Maple syrup adds more moisture to the muffins since it is a liquid. You might need to add a little more flour to this (maybe a tablespoon or 2) to balance out the moisture, but I haven’t tested that to be sure
I made these substituting maple syrup for the brown sugar 1:1, and adding 2 tablespoons wheat flour. I increased it to 1/3 cup dark choc chips.
In my oven 20 minutes baking time was perfect. They are delicious! Moist, tasty, not overly sweet. I highly recommend trying them, especially because they a tasty example of using oats, applesauce, and maple syrup to cut down on fat, wheat, and limit refined sugar.
So glad you enjoyed them! And love your adaptations!
I want to try this recipe, but we only have quick oats. Can I use those instead of rolled oats?
Hi Ashley, I haven’t tried but I think that should work fine!
Excellent! Well liked by both kids and adults. Love that this includes healthy oats and pumpkin. I added dedicated coconut in my latest batch due to go into the oven soon.
Kid AND adult approved is always a mega win. Love the addition of coconut. I have some sitting in my pantry and I am totally going to add them to my next batch!
Can you use white flour?
Hi Emily! I haven’t tested these with all-purpose flour but they might work. Since whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than APF, I’d suggest adding a tablespoon or two more of flour to help balance things out…
I’ve made this recipe several times using mashed sweet potato when I ran out of pumpkin. Always turns out great with no other changes. Love the recipe, I always double it.
Oh yay! I love hearing that sweet potato works so well in these too! And so glad you love these as much as we do, Gina! Thanks for popping back and sharing!
Loved these! Currently enjoying one with my morning coffee. Just the right amount of sweetness, just the right amount of chocolate chips, and just the right amount of bite to make it a muffin, not a cupcake. We might have overmixed the batter a little – even though there were specific instructions not too – but my 3.5 year old was very excited to help 🙂
Hi Lindsay! So glad you all loved them so much and enjoying one with your coffee is soooooo the move! And I feel like a slightly over mixed muffin is so worth the joy your kiddo must have felt being your kitchen helper!
Great tasting muffins and so easy to make.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it so much, Bill!
I just made these they are delicious!
Oh I am so delighted you loved these so much, Jodi! Thanks for circling back to leave a review!
I Mill my own flour with wheat berries. What would you suggest soft white, spelt?? and how much in ratio to store-bought flour? Thank you so much. Can’t wait to make them!
Hi! I haven’t tested these with freshly milled flour, so unfortunately I can’t confidently recommend which wheat berry would work best or an exact substitution ratio. I’d hate to steer you wrong since freshly milled flour can behave a bit differently than the store-bought whole wheat flour I used to develop the recipe. If you experiment with it, though, I’d love to hear what you use + how they turn out! 💚
Just made these with no substitutions- so easy and so delish. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed them, Sasha!Thanks so much for coming back and sharing!
Muffins came out delicious and so moist!! Love the fact that you used whole wheat flour and oats. More such recipes please!
Oh I have oodles of muffin recipes like this one, Kavya! Try my carrot oatmeal muffins next! https://thenaturalnurturer.com/one-bowl-healthy-oatmeal-carrot-muffins/
My new favorite muffins! I made them without chocolate chips, and they are delicious! Moist and the perfect amount of pumpkin spice!
Yay! I am so glad you loved them, Bridget! They truly just taste like fall in muffin form to me! And I adore that these are tasty without the chocolate…I’ve made them that way too but my teenager almost always is like “um, but where is the chocolate?”