Tender, fluffy, and perfectly spiced, these easy Pumpkin Muffins are a one-bowl, no-special-equipment recipe that’s perfect to share for breakfast or snack.
Easy Pumpkin Muffins
Yes, it is true that I have other Healthy Pumpkin Muffins and Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins on my site already, but when someone asked me for a recipe that was similar to the Little Bites Pumpkin Muffins from the store? I knew I had to develop this recipe.
These easy pumpkin muffins are SO fast to stir together in one bowl, they are insanely tender and moist, and they have just enough sweetness to give them that classic pumpkin flavor we expect.
The base has yogurt for extra nutrition and fluffiness and honestly? These are such a perfect fall (or anytime!) snack to share with the kids.
(These are a great kid-friendly Thanksgiving side dish.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at the ingredients you need to make this easy muffin recipe so you know what to have on hand.
- Pumpkin puree: I usually use canned pumpkin puree from the store to make this recipe super easy. (Look for plain pumpkin puree, rather than pumpkin pie filling, which is very sweet.) You can also use homemade pumpkin puree if desired.
- Whole milk yogurt: I like to add full fat yogurt to the base of the muffins to help them be a little more satisfying, and they add moisture and tenderness to create that classic springiness found in store-bought muffins. Check the Notes for the dairy-free option.
- Unsalted butter: I prefer to bake with unsalted butter, so I use it here.
- Egg: We add one large egg to this recipe to help the batter hold together nicely and bake through evenly. Check the Notes for the egg-free option.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor that pairs nicely with the pumpkin pie spice. You can use pure or imitation vanilla.
- All-purpose flour: I use regular all-purpose flour here to ensure that the muffins are super light. You can also use whole wheat pastry flour if you prefer.
- Sugar: I add just enough sugar to sweeten the muffins so they taste delicious. In this recipe, I have found that granulated sugar creates a superior texture over honey or maple syrup, so I recommend using sugar if possible. (The others will work if needed, but the muffins are a little drier.)
- Pumpkin pie spice: Pumpkin baked goods get their classic flavor from pumpkin pie spice, which is widely available in US grocery stores. If you don’t have access to it, you can use cinnamon.
- Baking powder and baking soda: A combination of these two ensures that the muffins bake through and rise properly. Be sure that your baking soda is fresh and active before you start baking.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Below is an overview of the process involved in making this pumpkin recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full information, including the amounts and the timing.
- Add the wet ingredients to a medium bowl.
- Whisk to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients into the bowl and whisk gently to combine.
- Portion out into a greased mini muffin tin or standard size muffin tin. Bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
How to Store
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Serve at room temperature, chilled, or warmed slightly.
Or you can freeze the muffins for a future week. Let cool on a wire rack, then transfer to a freezer bag, remove as much air as possible, and seal. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Other Pumpkin Baked Goods to Try
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Lower Sugar Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes
Best Tips for Success
- Be sure to use fresh, active baking soda. This is key to making sure that the muffins bake through in the center.
- I prefer to bake with the Wilton nonstick muffin pans greased with nonstick spray.
- Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour.
- Egg-free: Increase the baking soda to 1 teaspoon, omit the egg, and add 2 tablespoons milk.
- Dairy-free: Omit the yogurt and butter and use ½ cup melted coconut or avocado oil.
- Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose if you prefer. (They will be a little denser.)
- Add chocolate chips to the batter if desired.
- Use canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree.
- If you have leftover pumpkin after making this recipe, find more ideas for what to do with leftover pumpkin.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this post, so please comment below to share!
Easy Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup plain whole milk yogurt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 24-cup nonstick muffin tin with nonstick spray. (Or a 12 cup standard muffin pan.)
- Stir together the pumpkin puree, yogurt, melted butter, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Stir in the flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Portion into the prepared muffin tin using a heaping 1 tablespoon per mini cup or about ¼ cup for each standard size muffin. Bake for 12-14 minutes for mini muffins and 16-18 for standard size muffins, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment
Notes
- Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- Be sure to use fresh, active baking soda. This is key to making sure that the muffins bake through in the center.
- Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour.
- Egg-free: Increase the baking soda to 1 teaspoon, omit the egg, and add 2 tablespoons milk.
- Dairy-free: Omit the yogurt and butter and use ½ cup melted coconut or avocado oil.
- Use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose if you prefer. (They will be a little denser.)
- Add chocolate chips to the batter if desired.
They’ve turned out amazing. Probably one of the most moist muffins I’ve made from your recipes ! I used spelt flour instead of all-purpose and added an extra 1.5 teaspoons of yogurt.
My 3-year-old (and husband and me) loved these! They are a lot less sugar than most other pumpkin muffin recipes I’ve found online, but still have a nice flavor and texture!
If I don’t have butter can I sub avocado oil? How much do you think?
Yes, you should be able to use the same amount.
My kids and husband LOVE these, and they never like anything I make 😂 Love your recipes, Amy!!
Oh yay!!
My kids loved them, even my picky 3 year old!
My only issue (which doesn’t take any stars away from the yummy recipe) is it seems like a lot of sugar for a young toddler (my 12 month old). I used coconut sugar to make me feel a little better about it 😆 But I am still hesitant to give him any. I saw a old recommend mention a way to substitute out the sugar (I think it was add more pumpkin and a ripe banana or something). I think I will try that next time. Or maybe a ripe banana and 2 Tbs of coconut sugar.
These muffins are so great! We love them! I do have a question about the storage. It says 3 days at room temperature or 3 days in the fridge. Can you clarify which one I’d 3 days please?
These are so delicious! I have a special pumpkin bread I make every year for my family and I have to tell you this flavor is remarkable!! I just sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar on top. Sooo moist! Thank you! My grand babies are going to love them!! If not the adult with chow down!LoL!
Perfect!
These muffins are so so yummy! I used slightly less sugar than the recipe called for since I only had vanilla (sweetened) yogurt at home. They turned out so good I ate like 5 when they came out of the oven!! Will definitely make again.
Absolutely delicious, and so easy and quick to make! I only had Greek yogurt, and it worked perfectly. The muffins are soft, fluffy, and so flavorful.
Can these be made with melted coconut oil vs butter? Yum!
Sure thing!
Has anyone tried to make these with banana instead of sugar? Trying to not give my kiddo added sugar for as long as I possibly can. 🙂
You can omit the sugar and do 3/4 cup pumpkin and 1/4 cup mashed very ripe banana.
When omitting the sugar, is the 3/4 pumpkin in addition to what the original recipe calls for or 3/4 instead ?
No, use 3/4 cup pumpkin puree and 1/4 cup mashed very ripe banana (or applesauce) in total.
These are delicious and so quick and easy! I love the pumpkin spice! My plain yogurt had gone bad, so I subbed sour cream, and I didn’t want to fuss with melting butter so I used avocado oil. Still turned out delicious! I hope my kids love them too!
These are the best pumpkin muffins! Easy one bowl recipe that the whole family loves, especially when chocolate chips are added.
My kids always complain about how my muffins taste too healthy… not these! They ate them up and left me with crumbs. I doubled the recipe, added in about 3/4 cup of chocolate chips and it made around 18 muffins for me. (also added in flax, pumpkin flavored protein powder, and wheat germ)
So glad to hear that!
Very easy to make, great recipe to make with a toddler helper! They are delicious! So light and fluffy and wonderful pumpkin flavor! I will be making these all season long.
So glad to hear it!
These are incredibly yummy muffins. I make them at the start of every fall. My daughter prefers them with mini chocolate chips and sprinkles added, but they are excellent as is as well.
Soooo good! They came out amazing. Thanks so much!
Hi! If I use a silicone mini muffin pan do you know how long I should let these bake?
Should be similar timing, maybe 2 more minutes.
This is an incredible recipe! I substituted the greek yogurt for cottage cheese( after blending) and it turned out amazing.
So good! Better than the ones from Starbucks!
Perfect! Super simple and hit the spot for a little taste of fall in muffin form. My husband claims he doesn’t like pumpkin, but he’s on his 2nd muffin! 🙂 I’ll be doubling this recipe next time. Can’t wait for my boys to try them after school. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that!
The perfect pumpkin muffin! Very moist and perfectly spiced. My picky 5 year old gobbled up 5 in no time. We did add a cinnamon glaze on top which increased the indulgence. Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
Hello, can I add ground flax to this recipe and if so, how much do you recommend?
Thanks,
Sarah
If you add more than 2 tablespoons, the muffins may wind up a little dense.
I made these for my 15 month old but did not add the sugar since I’m trying to keep him away from added sugars as much as possible. I did do about 2 tbsp of honey though. They turned out great! Definitely will make again.
Just made these with my 4 year old and they are so delicious and super moist! Thanks for the recipe!
Fantastic recipe! I used whole milk in place of the yogurt, and my mini muffins were perfect at 12 minutes in the oven. I also added chocolate chips to half the batter, and it made for an extra yummy treat. Thanks Amy!
Thank you for sharing! If no yogurt on hand and substituting with whole milk instead, how much milk would be necessary?
The same amount of milk should actually work the same. Enjoy!
Easy to put together, lightly sweet, very yummy. My son loved helping make them. These will be in rotation!
Delicious and moist! I substituted the yogurt with full fat milk because I didn’t have any yogurt, worked out nicely.
Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious. We used maple yogurt instead of plain.
We have made these muffins three times now and they are so good! My 8 year old, 5 year old and 2 year old all love them. I also eat quite a few for snacks or breakfast. Really flavorful and fluffy.
Hi, Amy! I only have full fat Greek yogurt on hand. Could I use that instead of whole milk yogurt? If so, do I have to make any modifications to balance it out?
Hi- Yes, you can use that, just add a splash of milk too. Enjoy
I’ve made these a few times now, and they are delicious. I have a question though- they always puff up beautifully in the oven and then sink to have flat tops as they cool. Any idea what I’m doing wrong? I’m still learning all this baking science, but I know my baking soda and baking powder are pretty new! Thanks! Your recipes are a hit with my 2 year old! 🙂
Hi- are you at a higher altitude? Otherwise, maybe make sure the baking powder and soda are evenly mixed in the batter and that the oven has preheated long enough so it stays at temperature. Hopefully one of those things helps!
This was happening to me too so I did some research and found out that the yogurt is heavy so it needs more gluten to “hold it up”. I added more flour until the batter was thicker and it worked! I just eyeball it so I don’t have a measurement for you. hope that helps!
I made this with my toddlers today and we all loved it! Your recipes have been my go-to for the past few years raising my boys. Thank you for sharing!
Amazing. My 2.5 year old ate 4 mini muffins as soon as they were cool enough. The 9 month old loved them too! No pumpkin pie spice so I used a scant 2 teaspoons cinnamon, a few shakes of ground clove, and grated the frozen ginger I had for eh 30 seconds or until I was bored of it hah. Amazing recipe.
These are simply amazing!! I purchased a mini muffin pan specifically for this recipe and I’m so glad I did. My toddler loved helping making them and the flavor and consistency are perfect!
I had leftover pumpkin puree that needed to be used. Sub’d 1/3c spelt, did the dairy free and egg free subs per your notes and added chocolate. They came out so tender. I liked it and so did my kid! For dairyfree chocolate, the pound of dark chocolate from trader Joe’s is awesome. Just chop it up over parchment paper and it transfers so nicely into the bowl. 10/10
Truly so easy. I just needed a can of pumpkin puree and the rest I already had at home. A hit with everyone including spud.
Can these be frozen?
Yes, let cool and place into a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 6 months.
Just made these for my daughter and my nephew. They love them and so do I! Super moist and just the right amount of sweetness! Now my house smells like fall. Win win!
Yay!
These were so yummy and perfect for me and my baby! Have you made this recipe as a loaf and did it turn out well? Id love to bake a whole loaf to share with the family!
I would recommend 350 degrees F for about 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly. Enjoy!
Made these tonight with my toddler and they are indeed delicous and easy! I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice so used 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger and a pinch of clove and they turned out perfect.
Whipped these up quickly with ingredients I had on hand. My young toddler ate two in one sitting topped with butter! Safe to say they were a hit.
Oh yay!
Can I add chia seeds and flax seeds ? If so how much ?
Can I use Greek yogurt?
Came here to ask the same question!
Yes, that should be fine. The batter will be just a smidge thicker!
Made these today with Greek yogurt! Added a little water to thin it but I don’t know if it did anything. They are delicious. Wish I made a double batch!
Hi this recipe is great! Can I sub maple syrup for the sugar? Thanks!
Wondering the same
Yes, you can use maple syrup in place of sugar though I find the texture to be best with sugar. You may not notice a difference though. Enjoy!
Hi this recipe is so easy and delicious! Can I sub maple syrup for the granulated sugar? Thanks!
Sure. I find that the texture isn’t quite as moist when you do that, but you can if you prefer.
Super easy to make and so tasty, the whole family loves them!
Soft, moist, great pumpkin spice flavor! I had fat free yogurt on hand, and used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 AP flour. Very tasty!
I love this recipe! It’s super simple and fun to make. The only issue I’ve run into is that the batter doesn’t quite stretch to fill all 12 cups in my muffin tin.
Also, I *tried* to follow the instructions, but I just couldn’t bring myself to add a full tablespoon of oil to each muffin cup — I’m not a baker at all, but it just felt wrong! 😂 When there’s not enough batter, the muffins end up a bit too oily, though still tasty.
This morning, I made some tweaks by adding cocoa powder and maple syrup to add moisture, so I could cut back on the oil. They turned out pretty good but I think the original recipe with the simpler addition of chocolate chips was the better combo.
Amazing. Oh my goodness. They’re perfect. Fluffy and sweet and pumpkin-y and on the healthier side compared to other similar recipes! 5/5 stars
Love this recipe and so easy and fun to make with our 3 year old! We made it gluten free by substituting 1/2 cup potato starch, 1/4 cup tapioca flour and 1/4 cup sorghum flour for the wheat flour and they were amazing!
love them! can i make with sweet potato puree instead of pumpkin?
Great recipe!! Made mini muffins already, but do you think I could use this same recipe for a loaf or cake shape? Thanks!
Yes! for a 9×5 loaf, I like to do 350 F for 50-60 minutes. For a cake, it would depend on the size of the pan.
these are SO good!!! i used salted butter and still added the salt and they were perfect. i also used vanilla whole milk yogurt and left out the vanilla extract. can’t say enough good things about them!!!
Can these be frozen?
Yes!
Hello!
For the pumpkin spice, is there a difference between using powder or liquid form?
Thanks!
I always use a powdered one. Enjoy!
hello is the flavor of the yogurt noticeable?
These are PERFECT in every way. We top them with a couple of dark choc tips for good measure and our 14 month olds (as their parents) annihilate them.
Also salted butter for the win. ❤️
Exactly as described, quick, easy and delicious!
So glad to hear that!
Just made these! My 19 month old (and husband!) love them! Thank you so much! Super easy too!
Made these today with my almost 3 year old, so easy and delicious. She’s been eating them all day. And our 1 year old loved it too.
Can I use maple syrup or banana (how much of each?) to replace the sugar?
Of those two options I would use maple syrup.
So excited to try these. I always wonder and want to confirm. Is oat flour cup to cup or is gluten free all purpose better?
Gluten-free cup for cup is a more reliable direct sub. Using oat flour might not turn out exactly the same.
Ever added nuts to this?
I haven’t but I bet you could add chopped ones, like walnuts or pecans
Can you use Greek yogurt?
I think that will be fine, the batter just will be a little thicker.
How much in a can? 15 oz?
Yes
Yes, though the amount in the recipe is listed for you.