These spiced maple pumpkin muffins are nicely dense, moist, not too sweet, and have the perfect balance of spice and pumpkin flavors.
Originally published October 25, 2010. Updated on 10/28/2023
Did you check out yesterday's recipe for pumpkin pancakes?
Well, as is generally the case when baking anything - short of a pumpkin pie- with a can of pumpkin puree, we ended up with leftover pumpkin.
In addition to being a great way to indulge in fall flavor, these delicious pumpkin muffins are the perfect way to use up some of that leftover pumpkin.
And so, here we are!
They have the perfect balance of warm spices and pumpkin flavor, great as a quick breakfast - and are sure to satisfy any pumpkin spice cravings this time of year!~
I’ve always loved using fruit (well - in this case - gourd!) in my delicious muffin recipes, as you may have noticed from such recipes as my:
Apple Blueberry Muffins
Cardamom Pear Streusel Muffins
Carrot Cake Muffins
Peach Cobbler Muffins
Pina Colada Muffins
Anyway... Yes - incorporating fruit / gourd puree into muffins is a great way to ensure great texture and moisture retention.
These easy pumpkin spice muffins are great on their own, warm or cold... but would also be fabulous with sweet cream cheese, or a bit of cream cheese frosting. (Pumpkin cupcakes, I guess!)
As regular-sized muffins, they’re great as not only as an easy, grab-and-go breakfast, but also as a relatively healthy snack during the fall season.
Anyway, let’s get to it!
Ingredients
This is an easy recipe with really basic ingredients. You shouldn’t have any difficulty finding any of the ingredients in your local grocery store
I have a few notes for you...
Pure Pumpkin Puree
You want to use actual pumpkin puree - whether as canned pumpkin, or fresh pumpkin puree you made yourself.
This is not the same thing as pumpkin pie filling, which is usually sold in the same area. “Pie filling” has additional fillers and such, and won’t work as well.
Plus? The actual pumpkin flavor will be diluted. Just go with the pure puree!
As a note - you won’t use a whole can of pumpkin for this easy pumpkin muffin recipe - see further down in this post for a bunch of recipe links to use up the rest of it!
Maple Syrup
Be sure to use actual maple syrup in this pumpkin muffins recipe. By that, I mean the boiled sap that’s drained from a tree - NOT pancake syrup.
It’s not the same thing!
Also: best to get the darkest maple syrup you can, as darker = more intensely flavoured.
Spices
I individually measure Ground Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, Ground Ginger, and Ground Nutmeg in this recipe, as my own pumpkin spice blend.
That said, you can use a premixed Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend, if you prefer - about 4 ½ - 5 teaspoons of it.
Butter & Milk
If you’d like to make this a dairy free muffin, you can swap the melted butter out for the same amount of oil - vegetable oil, coconut oil, canola oil, or even MCT oil.
I just wouldn’t necessarily recommend olive oil, as it can be pretty strongly flavoured.
In terms of milk, you can use whatever milk you’d like - whole milk, 2%, or plant based milk.
We usually use an unsweetened almond milk when making this pumpkin spice muffin recipe, as that’s what we tend to have on hand.
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you’ll need:
All purpose flour
Granulated sugar (Can sub brown sugar)
Large eggs
Vanilla extract
Baking powder
Salt
... I just don’t have anything to say about these simple ingredients :).
Pumpkin Muffin Variations
Part of what makes these the best pumpkin muffins is their versatility!
Make them as-is, or shake it up a bit with one or more of the following variations:
For pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, add 1-1 ½ cups of milk or dark chocolate chips to the dry ingredients mixture, after mixing it together.
Add 1 - 1 ½ cups of chopped nuts after mixing dry ingredients together, if you'd like. Walnuts and pecans work best with this healthy pumpkin muffins recipe, IMHO.
That’s Pearl Sugar - you can sprinkle some on the muffin batter just before putting them in the oven.
For that matter, you can sprinkle the tops of the muffins with Maple Sugar Flakes or Maple Sugar Pebbles.
Again, do this after scooping the batter, just before baking.
I’m ALL about the maple, this time of year!
The streusel topping I use in my Nutmeg Coffee Cake Muffins works well with these muffins.
I’ll usually swap the nutmeg out for cinnamon, or pumpkin spice.
How to Make Easy Pumpkin Muffins
Heat oven to 375, grease a standard 12 cavity muffin pan, or line muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.
Note: I like to use fall themed cupcake liners with this recipe. It feels festive!
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt, set aside.
Add pumpkin mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy.)
Note: I like to use an ice cream scoop / cookie scoop to spoon batter into the pan. Easy to portion out!
Note: Bake time may vary based on the material your pan is made from. For best results, keep an eye on it, take it out as soon as it passes the toothpick test!
Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.
Leftovers
Once cooled to room temperature, leftover muffins can be transferred to an airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to 5 days or so.
Alternately, arranging them on a plate and completely covering them with plastic wrap is another option.
More Pumpkin Recipes
When fall is here, is there anything better than indulging in some pumpkin goodies? We’re down for all things pumpkin, whether for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or a random Tuesday!
Here are our favourite ways to use the gourd!
Baked Pumpkin Custard
Copycat Pumpkin Spice Latte
Easy Pumpkin Martini
Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes
How to Carve a Pumpkin Like a Pro
How to Make Pumpkin Mead
Maple Pumpkin Spice Bagels
Maple Pumpkin Buns with Maple Glaze
Pumpkin Spice Nanaimo Bars
Quick Pumpkin Bread
Traditional Pumpkin Mousse
... and from my other blogs:
Gluten Free Maple Pumpkin Pie
Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread
Gluten Free Mini Pumpkin Donuts
Gluten-Free Sopaipillas Pasadas
Keto Pumpkin Fat Bombs
Keto Pumpkin Bars
Homemade Pumpkin Chai Latte
Pumpkin Chia Pudding
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!
Easy Pumpkin Spice Muffins Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 3 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
- 2 Large Eggs lightly beaten
- ¾ cup Milk
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup
- ¼ cup Melted Butter Can use vegetable oil instead
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F, grease a muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt, set aside.
- In a blender, process pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, maple syrup, butter/oil and vanilla until smooth. Add pumpkin mixture all at once to the bowl of dry ingredents. Stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy.)
- Divide batter among 12 prepared muffin cups.
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.
- Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.
Nutrition
Michael
Great muffins with really nice flavor and texture. I just had a couple of these for breakfast this morning.
Ginger
I was looking for a maple pumpkin muffin recipe that didn't involve whole wheat flour (not everyone is a fan) or LOTS of sugar. This was perfect for Thanksgiving morning when the big meal was set for the evening. Thanks!
Nancy Peatman
What size is the pumpkin purée can?
Marie Porter
You need a cup of puree. If your can has more, you just have leftover pumpkin for something else.
Connie
These Muffins absolutely Uh-may-zin 👍👍 .. .. quick question, Did you you use Pure Maplr Syrup, or just the regular pancake syrup❓
Marie Porter
Maple syrup!
Deb
Excellent muffins for breakfast, snack or before bed. To the person who asked if real maple syrup is used or pancake syrup.............without a doubt, only use the real deal. If you've tried real maple syrup, the table syrup will make you gag!
Crystal
What size of pumpkin puree?
Marie Porter
1 cup
Catherine
Nice recipe, not too sweet. I used pumpkin pie spice and extra cinnamon. Turned out great!
Sheila
I used maple flavouring instead of vanilla.
Freya Petersen
I live in Ontario Canada and I made these the other day and I made a maple praline sauce for the top for afterwards just to let you know I bake muffins all the time. 375 is way too hot to cook a muffin tin. I make mine into mini muffins and it makes 48 from your recipe. But 375 was too hot I baked mine at 350 for 14 minutes on the second tray that I put in and they came out perfect the first tray was a little overdone. Thanks for a great recipe I did tweak it up a bit with different spices to make them more pumpkin tasting.
L'ill mom
I used only 1/2 cup of sugar, 3/4c of Bran and 2c of raisins that I soaked in chai tea. Absolutely amazing .full of fantastic flavour and more flavour .
Wendy
Is there a replacement for the Maple Syrup?
Recipe sounds great. I’d like to try it but I don’t have Maple Syrup.
Marie Porter
You can use liquid honey instead.
Betty
Can I use almond flour in place of all purpose flour?
Marie Porter
I wouldn't recommend it.
Jerry
Uhh what size muffin tins you using,lol,because I yielded 18!
Marie Porter
Just regular size! Did you fill them to a smaller amount than pictured?
L. Newson
Instead of using cloves, cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg, separately. Could I use pumpkin pie spice? If so, how much should I use?
Marie Porter
Sure, just use the same amount as the total of the other spices.
Sue C
Can you use oat flour or whole wheat flour? I can't eat white flour.
Marie Porter
I haven't tried it, but you could probably do 50/50 with those two flours. I wouldn't use just one of them, you'd really have to tinker with the other ingredients - especially moisture.
Audrey Steier
Love this recipe! Fills the house with a wonderful spice aroma. My husband likes them and he isnt a pumpkin fan! You can also make this gluten free.