These Vegan Pumpkin Muffins are perfectly spiced, fluffy, and moist. Best of all, they’re easy to make in one bowl in just 30 minutes!
Looking for more vegan muffin recipes to try? I know you’ll also love my Vegan Apple Muffins, Vegan Banana Muffins, and Cranberry Orange Muffins.
“These seriously are the best vegan pumpkin muffins! I make them a few times every year, and without fail at least one person that tries them for the first time asks me for the recipe – both vegans and non-vegans!” -Nikki
I know that fall is the perfect time of year to bake a fresh batch of these Vegan Pumpkin Muffins, but I could truly eat them all year long. I don’t think I’ve ever had a muffin that was so soft, fluffy, and moist before!
Their irresistible texture and cozy fall flavors are all thanks to simple baking staples, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spices. Just mix them all together in one bowl and bake! In no time, you’ll be left with an ultra-cozy treat to enjoy right away or freeze for later.
Why these are the best vegan pumpkin muffins
- Moist and fluffy – Pumpkin puree not only makes these muffins orange and tasty, but also makes them incredibly moist! Every bite melts in your mouth.
- Warm fall spices – This wouldn’t be a pumpkin muffin recipe without plenty of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in the batter.
- Easy 1-bowl recipe – Just like my Vegan Apple Cake and Vegan Pumpkin Cake Bars, these vegan pumpkin muffins are always on my fall baking list because they come together so easily!
How to make vegan pumpkin muffins
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements below in the recipe card.
Whisk the pumpkin, melted vegan butter (or oil), non-dairy milk, and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices over the wet ingredients in the same bowl. Mix until just combined.
Recipe Tip
Do not overmix the batter! This will almost always give you dense and rubbery muffins. Instead, gently mix the wet and dry ingredients together until the flour is absorbed.
Finish the muffin batter by gently folding in the mix-ins of your choice with a spatula.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups, then bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Set them aside to cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!
Recipe Tip
Do not overbake the muffins. This is the second reason for dry, dense muffins! My muffins were light and fluffy after baking for 22 to 25 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center—if it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached, the muffins are done.
Frequently asked questions
Customize these muffins with your favorite add-ins, like dairy-free chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, raisins, chopped pecans, dried cranberries, or pumpkin seeds. You could even top them with the pumpkin pie-spiced streusel from my Pumpkin Coffee Cake recipe for extra sweetness!
Absolutely! Bake your mini pumpkin muffins for 15 to 18 minutes instead.
I tried this when I was testing my Vegan Pumpkin Bread, and it didn’t work well. My advice? Go make that bread instead!
Sure. A quality gluten-free flour mix (like King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill) will work as a substitute for the all-purpose flour here.
For oil-free, replace the butter or oil with an equal amount of applesauce or non-dairy yogurt. The texture will be different, but the muffins will taste good.
Transfer the cooled muffins to an airtight container and store them at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thaw the frozen muffins on the counter before serving. I love to warm them up in the microwave for 30 seconds or even pop them in the air fryer for a few minutes until warm. YUM!
1 Bowl Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup melted vegan butter OR vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup soy or almond milk, unsweetened
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Optional ad ins:
- 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries or chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease a muffin pan. If you use paper liners, also make sure to spray the cups lightly with oil so the muffins don’t get stuck to the paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the pumpkin, melted vegan butter (or oil), non-dairy milk and brown sugar. Whisk until well combined and smooth.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices over the wet mixture (I use a fine mesh strainer for this or use a sifter).
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet gently using a large wooden spoon until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
- Fold in any optional ingredients, if using, and fill the muffin cups full. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For oil free, replace the butter/oil with applesauce or non-dairy yogurt. They won’t be quite the same though.
- If you want less sweet muffins, you may lower the brown sugar amount to 3/4 cup. Or feel free to substitute coconut sugar if desired.
- For gluten free, use a quality gluten free flour mix.
- If you have pumpkin pie spice mix, you may use 3 teaspoons of it and omit the single spices. Either way works!
- These muffins freeze well, simply let them cool completely and place in a freezer bag.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in August 2018 and has since been republished with improved photos and writing.
I tried these last night with roasted pumpkin (Buttecup).
I added a little water and blitzed to make puree, then followed the recipe.
They came out really nice and I made about 15 of these.
I also added some pumpkin seeds on top to make them pretty.
Highly recommended.
I found these way too sweet but I’d try again with less sugar.
Just right! I made 2 batches, one w GF flour, one white flour. White flour batch poured like cake mix, while the GF flour became thicker. Both baked in my oven 25 min. Came out different from each other, but moist and delicious. I would make these again.
Delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Solid recipe. I’m going to play around with the sugar and oil levels to see if I can’t get it a little healthier while also having nice taste and texture.
Everyone loved them as is… well… I did add a pinch of cardamom because I love it in stuff like this and I used canola oil because thats what I had.
Thanks Nora!
<3
Made these 4 times now. They are wonderful! I love using mixed chopped nuts and chocolate chips to fold in. They freeze well. Vegan Food Rocks!
I’m thrilled you are loving the recipe! Thanks for your wonderful review!
I love these muffins so much! They are delicious!
Thanks for your wonderful review! I’m thrilled you love the muffins!
I left them in for 22min, perhaps 25 minutes would have been better. I didn’t measure the walnuts but I would have put more in and sprinkled some on the top. I wouldn’t make again though. I prefer your other muffins more
These are absolutely the BEST!
First of all, they are easy and quick to make.
Second of all, they are moist, soft and delicious!
They are my go to muffins!
I add some Enjoy Life chocolate chip and they are divine 😋🩷
I made them once for my friend who is a professional baker and she was impressed! She couldn’t believe they were vegan and how good they turned out with all the simple ingredients. She asked for the recipe!
Thanks Nora!!! 😊
(I’m already making them for the 2nd time this week 😉😳😉)
You bet, Aga! Thank YOU for sharing the recipe with your friend, and your positive review and comments! Happy muffin baking!
I made these today. They came out perfectly. Absolutely delicious!
These turned out great. I used 1 cup sugar only + unsweetened vanilla almond milk + walnuts and vegan maple flavored marshmallows to the top!
Thank you for this wonderful and easy recipe. Just made these muffins and they are so delicious. I used fresh pumpkin ,made puree yesterday and it worked great. Also reduced the sugar to 170g, which is still sweet enough for me.
Taste was great and maybe I messed up somewhere but they didn’t rise, they left a well in the middle after baking and cooling
Everyone who eats these say they are the best pumpkin muffins they’ve ever had. It doesn’t get a better compliment than that!
Thank you for sharing that fabulous feedback, Jane! I appreciate your great review!
Awesome recipe!! I substituted chick pea flour and applesauce (for the oil) and added ground flax and raisins. I also used only 1/2 cup of sugar and they turned out perfectly!! Next time i’m going to try to substitute all of the sugar with dates. I baked them for 25 minutes in silicone muffin pan and they are perfect!!
Hi Kylie. I’m so glad the muffins turned out great with your subs! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Nora,
I just made theses muffins with gluten-free flour and they turned out perfectly. They taste like pumpkin pie. Yummy!
Yummy these are really good and very moist! I used light olive oil and these were very tasty! Such an easy recipe too
Will be making them again..thanks Nora!
You are welcome, Vivian! One of my fall favorites! Thank you for sharing your terrific review and feedback! Happy baking!
Mmmm these muffins are delicious and the recipe was very forgiving! I had to use a mix of white and brown sugar as I ran out of brown, only used a cup of sugar, used 1/4 cup less of pumpkin as I made some PSLs before and used gluten free flour! Mine were perfect at 22 mins. Delicious! Thank you!
Hi Kirsten. How great that your baking experience with the muffins was successful and delicious! Thanks for sharing your feedback and review!
Addendum to notannaf of 10/15
Used half of the sugar called for. Ran out of brown sugar, so made my own by mixing granulated sugar and molasses. These are wonderful. Absolutely making them again to share over the holidays.
I added a serving of non flavored protein powder, chocolate chips and created a hemp seed and raw pumpkin seed with coconut oil streusel topping. Yum! We just turned vegan and I needed to bake some treats before we head out on a fall break camping trip. This recipe checked all the required boxes. It made 18 muffins which means my husband and son can enjoy a few this week before camping!
Your muffins sound delicious, Teri! Your ideas are great! Thank you for sharing them, as well as your fabulous review! Enjoy your camping trip!
Only downside was I had to get out an extra tray!
I doubled the recipe and got 24 regular muffins and 18 minis!!
These were so delicious! My batter came out a little thicker than what was shown in the video, but they turned out amazing despite my concerns lol. I also added a dash of vanilla extract. For add ins I did 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. My muffins unfortunately did stick to the wrappers so next time I’ll probably either spray them better or omit them. Do you know if this recipe can be used for a loaf? Thank you!
Hi Cierra. I’m glad you loved the flavor of the muffins! I tried making the muffins into a loaf and it did not work for some reason! I would recommend making this recipe instead: Vegan Pumpkin Bread. You will have much better results! Thank you for your fabulous review!
Love this recipe, it’s a keeper for sure. They freeze beautifully also that is if there any left. Good way to get veggies into kids or adults that aren’t keen on pumpkin as it transforms them. Thankyou for your great recipes
You are welcome, Faye! I’m glad the muffins are loved at your place! Thank you for your fabulous feedback and review! I appreciate you using my recipes!
Would this recipe work in a (baked) donut pan?
It might work, but I’ve never tried it!
Soft and delicious! Easy to make. Thanks for the recipe.
These muffins are insanely delicious! And ridiculously easy! And I’m so stoked to make a recipe that uses the whole darn can of pumpkin too! The texture is so perfect. Lite, airy, cakey, melty. Perfect . I used a 6 jumbo muffin tin and baked for 25 mins and they came out perfect . Thanks so much for another winner !
You are so welcome, Rani! Pumpkin anything is my cup of tea! Thanks for sharing g your awesome feedback and review, and I’m glad you loved the muffins!