Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Everyone needs a good pumpkin muffin recipe and this one happens to be vegan friendly and loaded with chocolate chips! Whole grain, oil-free and lower in sugar compared to your traditional muffins.

I *finally* re-created my original pumpkin muffin recipe, but added chocolate chips and wrote up a vegan / egg-free version for you.

I make these pumpkin muffins all. the. time! This recipe was due for a little facelift as it hasn’t been re-photographed since 2016. And it’s officially pumpkin season, so there’s that.

These vegan pumpkin muffins are adapted from my Raspberry Pumpkin Muffins – which is essentially the same recipe but made with no eggs and we’re adding chocolate chips.

Because who doesn’t want chocolate chips with their pumpkin baked goods, right?

The Best Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Just like most muffin recipes, this one is pretty simple and takes about 30 minutes. Perfect to whip up for weekend mornings, stress baking, or procasti-baking.

Pro・cras・ti・bake・ing (verb)

when you bake because you’re procrastinating other items on your To Do list.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this, no?

Either way, here’s what you need.

Simple Ingredients for Pumpkin Muffins

Mostly pantry ingredients are needed for these healthy pumpkin muffins but I’ll share a few tips on other ingredients you could use if needed.

• canned pumpkin – This one is obvious, no? Make sure you’re getting canned pumpkin, and not pumpkin pie mix. You may notice Libby’s canned pumpkin is a deeper orange color compared to off-brands or even organic brands. Just in case you’re looking for that deep orange color, I’ve found the most consistency with Libby’s.
• maple syrup – Honey would also work here if not strictly vegan. I do not recommend getting rid of the maple syrup as it affects the rest of the wet to dry ratios.
• granulated sugar – Use brown sugar, cane sugar, or coconut sugar here. It just needs to be a dry sweetener. You could also sub something like Swerve or a dry stevia blend, but I am not as familiar with subbing those types of sweeteners.
• vanilla – always vanilla!
• flaxseed meal – this is what you’ll use to create your vegan “egg.” It’s just 1 TBSP flaxseed meal mixed with 3 TBSP water; let sit for 3-5 minutes until it gels up.
• non-dairy milk + apple cider vinegar – Use oat, soy or hemp if nut-free. Or feel free to use coconut, almond or cashew. Mixing milke with apple cider vinegar will create a homemade “buttermilk” which is used to react with the leavening agents.
• whole grain flour – I recommend whole wheat pastry flour for the best, softest texture. You can also sub half whole wheat, half all-purpose. Or all whole wheat white flour. More notes on that in recipe card.
• baking powder & baking soda – both used to get the right amount of rise from the muffin.
• salt – flavor enhancer/balancer.
• pumpkin spice – you can use store bought or make it using this simple recipe that uses just 4 ingredients!
• mini dairy-free chocolate chips – I like mini chocolate chips here so the big chips don’t sink to the bottom of the muffin tin.

How to make muffins with no oil

You may notice this pumpkin muffin recipe calls for no oil. We’re using an entire cup of pumpkin, which helps keeps these muffins soft and moist.

Step 1 – prepare vegan “egg”

First prepare the vegan egg by mixing the flaxseed meal with water – let this sit for about 5 minutes while you start the oven, prepare the muffin pan and get out the rest of your ingredients.

Step 2 – prepare non-dairy “buttermilk”

Next add the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) to measuring cup and let rest while you move on to the next steps.

Step 3 – dry ingredients

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice and set aside.

Step 4 – wet ingredients

Start to whisk together the wet ingredients starting with the pumpkin, maple syrup and sugar. Then add vanilla and the flaxseed-water mixture (which should look like gel at this point) and stir until combined.

Step 5 – combine

Now begin to add about 1/2 cup of the dry ingredients, and slowly adding some of the milk – gently stirring and alternating between the flour and the milk until the batter is *just* about combined. Dry flour spots are okay here, because now you’ll fold in the mini chocolate chips and stir until the batter is fully mixed.

TIP: I like to use a cookie scoop for distributing the batter into the muffin pan – fill each muffin cavity about 3/4 full.

Step 6 – Bake!

Bake the muffins at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then drop temperature down to 350ºF and continue baking for about 11-14 minutes.

BAKING HACK: The initial high heat creates those perfect little muffin tops!

Personally, I love these muffins paired with a little bit of almond or cashew butter.

Better yet? Use my Pumpkin Spice Cashew Peanut Butter!

Let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

How to Make…

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins made with whole grain flour, sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar, studded with chocolate chips. Vegan friendly using flaxseed meal – recipe can be adapted to incorporate eggs too!

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes

• Yield: 12 muffins 1x
• Scale: 1x2x3x

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Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar*
• 1 TBSP flaxseed meal + 3 TBSP water
• 3/4 cup non-dairy milk (oat, cashew, etc.) + 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat white flour***
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice**** (or 2 tsp ground cinnamon if you want less “spicy”)
• 1/2 cup mini dairy-free chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with silicone liners. (Or you may grease pan.)
2. In a measuring cup add 3/4 cup of milk +1 TBS of apple cider vinegar, set aside for about 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl add canned pumpkin, maple syrup, and coconut sugar. Whisk until evenly combined then add flaxseed “egg” and vanilla. Whisk until evenly combined. Pour in milk and gently stir to combine.
4. Add in whole wheat white flour, and sprinkle in baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice evenly over ingredients in bowl (you can also combine all dry ingredients in separate bowl, then add to wet). Using large spatula, gently combine until all dry ingredients are almost incorporated (some dry flour spots okay), then fold in mini chocolate chips. Batter will be somewhat thick. Avoid over-mixing the batter or you’ll end up with tough muffins.
5. Evenly distribute batter into prepared muffin pan, filling 3/4 full (I use my cookie scoop, and it’s about 1.5 scoops). Bake muffins at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350ºF and continue baking for an additional 12-15 minutes, or until inserted toothpick in center of muffin comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before gently removing.
6. TIP: if greasing pan, I use a butter knife to remove from pan. Transfer to wire rack and allow muffins to cool completely before storing. Muffins are best enjoyed within 3 days, but can be wrapped and frozen for 1-2 months.

Recipes Notes:

**If not vegan or egg-free, just substitute flaxseed meal for 1 large egg.

***All whole wheat pastry flour, OR half whole wheat/half all-purpose may be subbed 

You can make Homemade Pumpkin Spice using this simple recipe that uses just 4 ingredients!

TO MAKE MINI MUFFINS: Grease or line mini muffin pan and fill cavities almost full. Bake at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes; tops may rise over slightly. Insert toothpick in middle, toothpick should come out clean when done

Approx. nutrition info based on regular-sized (12) muffins

Nutrition Information:

• Serving Size: 1 muffin
• Calories: 127
• Sugar: 11
• Sodium: 192
• Fat: 1
• Saturated Fat: 0
• Unsaturated Fat: 0
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 27
• Fiber: 1
• Protein: 3
• Cholesterol: 0

Category: Snacks Method: Oven Cuisine: American
Keywords: healthy pumpkin muffins, vegan pumpkin muffins, best pumpkin muffins
Author: Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen