The Best Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

This is the BEST Healthy Pumpkin Muffins recipe out there! They are made with an entire can of pumpkin (no leftovers!) and will make your home smell like the perfect crisp fall day. These are incredibly easy to put together and turn out perfectly moist and fluffy.

This recipe is 100% whole wheat, refined sugar free and freezer friendly.

My family loves to cozy up on crisp fall morningswith allll the spiced pumpkin breakfast treats – and these healthy pumpkin muffins are one of our favorites, right alongside my Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes and my Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal.

This is a simple clean muffin made from scratch – the perfect fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving holiday treat.

Muffins are one of my all-time favorite breakfast and snack foods – and you’ll never find me without at least two batches of muffins in the freezer!

These wonderfully cozy Healthy Pumpkin Muffins are no exception. They’re in our regular rotation for fall and my kids start waiting for me to make them as soon as school starts back up after the summer.

Pumpkin is simply perfect to use in healthy muffins. It adds so much moisture and sweetness (read: you won’t need as much fat or sugar!) and gives the muffins a certain stability and fluffiness – even though they’re made with whole wheat flour and optionally without any refined sugar.

THESE HEALTHY PUMPKIN MUFFINS

• can be made without any refined sugar for an extra-healthy treat
• are easy to whip up with just a handful of simple staple ingredients
• can be frozen to keep on hand for those busy days!

I really wanted to create a recipe that uses an entire can of pumpkin (nothing worse than that half-empty can you inevitably end up throwing out most of the time!), so I was anxious to see if it works with a whole 15 ounces of puree in the muffins. But my fears were without reason – it works amazingly well and the pumpkin flavor really comes through that way.

So, these really ARE made with an ENTIRE CAN of pumpkin (no pesky leftovers sitting in the back of your fridge – though you could always make a batch of Pumpkin Cheesecake Cottage Whip if you just so happen to be looking for a recipe to use said leftovers).

I have made many a healthy muffin in my lifetime, but these are by far the best I’ve ever (ever!) made.

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How to Make Healthy Pumpkin Muffins:

Just a heads-up before you start: We finished off the entire first batch within 24 hours, so I suggest you at least double it if you plan on freezing any. Really – they are SO good, you won’t believe you can feel good about tucking them into lunch boxes or using them as a quick on the go breakfast.

Read on for the detailed steps, or scroll down for how to freeze these muffins, more tips to make this recipe foolproof and the printable recipe card.

► 1 Prep: First, you’ll want to get out a bowl and a measuring jug, line a 12 cup muffin pan with muffin liners and turn on your oven to 330°F. These muffins bake at a slightly lower temperature so the honey in them doesn’t burn and turn bitter!

PSA: When it comes to healthy muffins, they tend to really stick to the liners a lot of the time. The only muffin liners I’ve found that comes off easily every single time are the recycled liners from If You Care – they’re amazing, and I never use any others now!

You can buy them here on Amazon (this is an affiliate link and I earn a commission for purchases made after clicking through).

► 2 Mix muffin ingredients separately: To make the best muffins, it’s important to first mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. That way you can mix them together really well before they come together.

So, add all dry ingredient to a bowl and stir to combine them well (especially get that baking powder mixed in evenly!) and add all the wet ingredients to a large measuring jug and whisk them together really well until smooth and evenly colored.

► 3 Make muffin batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients (this is where it comes in handy to use a measuring jug – mess-free pouring!). Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to JUST combine the wet and dry ingredients. Lumpy batter is perfectly fine! Also, the batter is quite thick from all the pumpkin, that’s fine, too.

► 4 Add muffin batter to muffin cups: Evenly distribute the batter for your healthy pumpkin muffins between your prepared muffin cups. I usually do this with a large cookie scoop because it’s fast, easy and mess-free!

I have a cookie scoop similar to this one on Amazon! (This is an affiliate link and I earn a commission for purchases made after clicking through.)

► 5 Bake the muffins: If you want to add the optional streusel topping, do so now – it’s just oats, pecans and pumpkin spice crumbled together with a little butter. Then bake the muffins for around 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out just clean.

Tips for the Best Healthy Pumpkin Muffins:

• Do not overmix this batter!

Due to the high quantity of pumpkin puree in this recipe (one entire 15-oz can!!) and 100% whole wheat flour, you really have to be careful not to overmix this batter.

It’s totally fine if you have a few lumps, if you mix it too much you’ll end up with dense and gummy muffins instead of fluffy goodies.

Using the cornstarch does help combating this a little, but I recommend gently folding just until you can’t see any more dry flecks of flour.

• Add a little something extra with the topping

I added the topping on a whim when I made these for the blog, because they look a little plain on photos without it.

Combine 3 tablespoons quick cooking oats, 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts or pecans and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Cut in 2-3 tablespoons stick butter and mix with your fingertips until small crumbs form.

Sprinkle over the muffins just before baking, slightly pressing it into the batter to help it stick.

How to Freeze Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

These are easy to freeze!

Just add them to a freezer-friendly bag or container once they’re completely cooled. Label the bag with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months) and stick in the freezer.

To defrost, remove from the container and place the muffins on a rack on the kitchen counter (this is to prevent sogginess from thawing) for a few hours.

You can warm them in the microwave or oven if you like.

More Delicious Pumpkin Recipes:

• Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
• Homemade Pumpkin Spice Mix
• Homemade Pumpkin Puree

And if you liked these recipes, there’s plenty more to make family meals easier for you! Be sure to join my FREE recipe circle here to get easy recipes by email.

P.S: If you tried this recipe, why not leave me a comment below to let me know how you liked it?

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