These Pumpkin Oat Muffins are packed with real pumpkin, applesauce, and whole grain oats, making them one of the best healthy muffin recipes for fall!
If you’ve been following our blog for awhile you already know how much we love making muffins. They’re a great way to showcase seasonal flavours (like these Lemon Pistachio Muffins, these Raspberry Lemonade Muffins, or even these Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins), and it’s usually pretty quick and easy to throw them together yet make it look like you spent all day slaving away in the kitchen!
Not that we are into deceiving people, but sometimes it’s nice to make a healthier and just-as-pretty version of your favourite restaurant or coffee shop treats at home – especially when you can share them with others to prove just how easy it is to make delicious food at home!
You will need these kitchen items on hand to make this recipe (affiliate links):
- a good mixing bowl
- a wooden spoon
- a silicone spatula
- measuring cups for dry ingredients
- measuring spoons
- muffin tins
- measuring cups for liquid ingredients
If you’re a more seasoned baker and you want to up your muffin game, we’d suggest picking up an ice cream scoop like this one for portioning out the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Good quality paper muffin liners are also nice to have for easy removal.
A cooling rack is also helpful for cooling the muffins, especially if you’re making multiple batches at once and need to re-use your pans. And although we recommend making muffins by hand, an electric hand mixer or stand mixer can also be helpful for big batches of muffins – but only if you’re a seasoned baker and know how to use an electric mixer without over-mixing (over-mixing is the cardinal sin of muffin baking!).
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You need these ingredients below to make this pumpkin muffins recipe:
- pumpkin puree (canned)
- unsweetened applesauce
- brown sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- vegetable oil
- all purpose flour
- rolled oats
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- ground cloves
- powdered ginger
- ground nutmeg
- sea salt
- pumpkin seeds, raw
Time needed: 27 minutes
Follow these steps to make this pumpkin muffins recipe!
- Whisk Ingredients.
In a large bowl, add the pumpkin, applesauce, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and canola oil. Whisk these ingredients together with a wire whisk until they’re combined.
- Add the dry ingredients.
Add the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix the dry ingredients together a little bit with your fingers before using a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Don’t over-mix here, but stop as soon as you see the flour disappear.
- Fill the muffin tins.
Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 muffin cups you’ve prepared with paper liners. Sprinkle a few oats and a few pumpkin seeds onto the top of each muffin before putting them in the oven to bake.
- Put in the oven to bake!
Bake the muffins for 17-19 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until the tops lose their shine and they bounce back to the touch.
- Let them rest.
Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before removing them from the tin onto a wire rack to cool completely before enjoying!
How do I know when the muffins are done?
Bake the muffins for 17-19 minutes or until the tops lose their shine and they bounce back to the touch.
How do I store these muffins?
These pumpkin oat muffins keep well in an airtight container for several days at room temperature.
How many calories are in the muffins?
The muffins are 226 calories each with the added pumpkin seeds, they are 173 calories without the added pumpkin seeds.
Do steel cut oats work?
No, they are far too tough for this recipe.
Do these freeze well to eat at a later date?
Yes you can, but make sure they are packed in foil and in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months.
Why are my muffins dense and rubbery?
When muffins turn out dense and rubbery its due to over-mixing and not getting the muffins in the oven quick enough.
We hope you enjoy these Pumpkin Oat Muffins as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below what your favourite muffins are? We’d LOVE to know!
Looking for more recipes like this? You’ll LOVE these!
EASY NO FAIL MUFFIN RECIPES AND BAKING TIPS
Get my easy no-fail muffin baking e-cookbook!
Watch the video below to see exactly how we make these healthier muffins. You can find more delicious recipe videos on our YouTube channel.
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Are you trying this recipe? Use the comment form below to share your take; now with support for image uploads and comment voting!
Healthy Pumpkin Oat Muffins
Recipe: Equipment
Recipe: Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (canned is best)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats plus a few tablespoons for sprinkling
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds for sprinkling on before baking
Recipe: Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- To a large bowl, add the pumpkin, applesauce, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and canola oil. Whisk these ingredients together with a wire whisk until they’re combined.
- To the wet ingredients, add the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix the dry ingredients together a little bit with your fingers before using a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Don’t over-mix here, but stop as soon as you see the flour disappear.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 muffin cups you’ve prepared with paper liners. Sprinkle a few oats and a few pumpkin seeds onto the top of each muffin before putting them in the oven to bake.
- Bake the muffins for 17-19 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) or until the tops lose their shine and they bounce back to the touch.
- Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before removing them from the tin onto a wire rack to cool completely before enjoying!
Recipe: Notes
Storage Instructions
These muffins make a great after school snack or a snack for school lunches! They keep well in an airtight container for several days at room temperature.Freezer Instructions
Freeze these muffins in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.No-Fail Tips
These muffins contain approximately 173 calories each without the added pumpkin seeds, and approximately 226 calories each with the added pumpkin seeds.Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Not sure what happened here, but these turned out very dense and sort of rubbery. Too bad. Flavour was ok. I did not overmix or forget any ingredients.
Dense and rubbery muffins are caused by over-mixing and/or not getting your muffins in the oven fast enough. Please check out the video to see if the consistency of your batter is similar to ours and make sure you get your muffins in the oven as fast as possible after mixing the wet and dry ingredients. Hope this helps ☺️
Would it be possible to sub maple syrup for the brown sugar? If so, how would you adapt?
Unfortunately that substitution would not work in this recipe.
These turned out great, not too sweet and perfect size for small kids. Next time will try adding cranberries or raisins as someone suggested in the comments.
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Absolutely delicious, and so easy! I love how moist they are. I made them gluten free with King Arthur’s gf flour, just substituting the flour 1:1, and they were perfect. Will definitely be making these again 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback, and thanks for letting us know about the gluten free substitution.
Love this recipe – the spice mixture was perfect and I was able to skinny them down by substituting more applesauce for the vegetable oil!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Wondering if these freeze well to eat at a later date?
Yes, you can freeze them, but make sure they’re well packed in foil and in a freezer bag or container. You can store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Happy baking!☺️
Excellent muffin!! Added chopped dried cranberries! Topped with the pumpkin seeds! Made eleven slightly larger gorgeous muffins. Baked couple extra minutes!
That addition sounds delicious!🙂
What size can of pumpkin?Will 796ml do a double batch?And I am diabetic and splenda brown sugar blend and
it works fine
Yes! 🙂