Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

Simple Ingredients

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

• canned pumpkin – 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 liquid sweetener 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 use vanilla when baking muffins.
• 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 milk 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 and sweetness 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

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.

Here are some of the steps for you to browse through. The full recipe card is at the end of the post with amounts and more directions.

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.

Prepare vegan “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.

Mix dry ingredients

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

Mix 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.

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.

And 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!

More Pumpkin Muffin Recipes

• Easy Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
• Chai Zucchini Pumpkin Muffins
• Raspberry Pumpkin Muffins