These yummy gluten free pumpkin muffins fit right in with my recent ‘pumpkin everything’ theme…pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin cornbread …yes, I’m in full-on pumpkin mode!
I’ve been playing with some pumpkin breads in the midst of all this pumpkin-ing, and I revisited my Pumpkin Muffins recipe from my first cookbook, Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating. I hardly ever do this — revisit old recipes without changes — because I can never leave recipes alone (even my own!). But a reader had mentioned that she tried that recipe recently, so I thought I would too.
Boy was I happy I did! Moist, fragrant, gorgeous harvest orange and not too sweet. Perfect for these cool autumn mornings!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown sugar OR coconut palm sugar (unrefined, more nutritious & lower GI)
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbs.) shortening (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks or Coconut Oil)
- 1 egg OR egg substitute (1 Tbs. flaxseed meal steeped in 3 Tbs. very warm water – let stand until viscous)
- 3/4 cup pumpkin purée
- 1 1/4 cup gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
- 2 Tbs. flaxseed meal (optional, but healthy & nice flavor addition) OR gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 1 Tbs. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup milk, dairy or non-dairy (soy, almond or coconut milk beverage)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins or chocolate chips (optional)
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
- sugar + cinnamon mixture to sprinkle on tops (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F (static) or 325 F (convection).
Line with papers or lightly oil 12 muffin cups.
Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg or egg substitute and pumpkin. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the pumpkin mixture, alternating with milk. Beat until fully incorporated. Fold in berries and/or nuts, if using.
Scoop into prepared muffin tins — the batter will be thick, so smooth the tops with a rubber spatula before baking. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture, if using. Bake for 16-18 minutes, checking with a toothpick to see that they are done before removing to cool on a wire rack.
Makes 12 muffins.
I made these tonight and attempted to make them a bit lower in carbs. I split the flour amount with almond flour and used coconut oil so they’re also vegan. OMG, DELICIOUS! Thanks Jules. You nailed the pumpkin muffin recipe!! I could eat a million of these.
So happy you loved them Tamara, and thanks for letting me know your modifications – I’m always curious to try new twists on favorite recipes! Happy baking!
~jules
I am travelling right now but can’t wait to get home and try these great looking muffins. I too love the more natural looking colour of the muffin. I am so happy there are so many sites like yours and others to help make the gluten free lifestyles more simplified.
I love this recipe! Made this and cooked them as cake balls in my Baby Cakes cake pop maker. Works great! Cooked for 5 minutes. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.
I am having such fun with all of your products… my problem is I live alone and freeze portions all of the time.. My freezer is getting full unless I start eating more.. oh my what is a girl to do? I think I am going to have making gift boxes for my older grands…
Sounds like a great problem to have! Your neighbors will love you!!! But the gift box idea is a good one too. Decisions, decisions!
Hi Darleen,thanks a lot for this great recipe. i will keep in mind.
one question, what kind of gluten-free flour did you use??
I purchased the muffin mix but don’t care for blueberries. What other ingredients could I add to this mix? Also if I were to add bananas, how many bananas would you recommend and would you recommend them being mashed up? thanks so much.
Hi Darlene, the muffin mix directions specify adding 1 cup of bananas which is approximately 2 mashed bananas. You can add anything you like to these, or nothing at all. Adding no berries means that they are banana muffins. Alternatively, you could add any other berries, chocolate chips, raisins … anything you like. Enjoy!
What am I doing wrong? Muffins look great coming out of the oven, but always collapse! We love these though! I leave out the pumpkin pie spice (too spicy for my kids) and sub 1.5 tsp cinnamon. Leave out nuts and cranberries and put in choc chips. A favorite around here! I also make them sugar free with xylitol instead of sugar. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Christine, I’m so glad you love the muffins even though they tend to collapse for you. Taste, not appearance, is KING!
As for the collapsing though, I suspect it’s the xylitol sub you are using. When creaming the butter or shortening and sugar in a recipe like this, it gives body to the recipe and adds air which will help the muffins to keep their shape. You could try adding a bit more flour to see if that could compensate, and bake smaller muffins (mini muffins) so that they are definitely cooked all the way through before removing from the oven. OR … you could stick with what you already love, and not worry about what they look like! 
Thank you so much! I do cook them in mini pans, because the regular size muffins collapse to almost nothing, and do not bake all the way through. Interesting note about the xylitol! I will try adding a bit more flour next time. Thanks for the tip, and awesome recipes!
Great, Christine – hope it helps!
Can you use another gf all purpose flour mix and add xanthum gum?
Hi Audie, all gluten-free flour blends are different, so results will definitely differ. I don’t know how they will turn out with another mix, since I only use mine in my baking because I know it will work and I won’t have wasted my efforts on a flour that is too heavy or has a funky aftertaste or is gritty. If you have another mix you’re looking to use up, feel free to try it in my recipe – it might work fine, but if you aren’t happy with the results, I’d recommend trying it again with my blend so you know how good it can be! If you want to know more about what makes my flour different, click on the blue box on the right side of this page.
This sounded like a great recipe since my husband is gluten intolerant but when I made them they fell apart they were too soggy please help I followed the recipe
Michelle – what kind of gluten-free flour did you use?
Hi Jules, for these muffins, can I use evaporated skim milk for the dairy? I have made your pumpkin loaf from the Nearly Normal cook book (love it!) and have some evaporated milk left over. Would like to use it up. Thanks for your help and advice.
As long as it’s reconstituted, it should work ok in this recipe. Having a bit more body to the milk would be a better result, but I’m hopeful that the pumpkin will help to fill in the gaps!
I totally understand wanting to use up ingredients!
What can I iuse in place of the shortening?
Jules – Can I use the pumpkin pie filling from the store instead of the “pumpkin puree”? Thank you.
Deanne, I haven’t tried using the pie filling instead of puree, but another reader shared with me that she used the pie filling and it worked beautifully! Let me know how it goes if you try it!
1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice? What brand?
I ask because McCormick pumpkin pie spice is NOT gluten free. I did a Google search and didn’t find any safe GF pumpkin pie spice blends. Help please.
Texas Lyme Mom – I have done a lot of research and contacting companies and at this point I believe that McCormick pumpkin pie spice IS gluten-free and I have been using it without problems myself. Here’s another article on it from Shauna Ahern as well. After contacting Frontier Coop, they informed me that all of their spices will be in a dedicated GF facility soon, so look out for that as well!
Can I substitute babana instead of pumpkin?
Olivia – yes, banana or applesauce in place of the pumpkin would work and would provide a totally different taste!
Just made these scrumptious muffins for my family for breakfast. They are simple, healthy, and quick. I highly recommend you try them. I put mini chocolate chips, raisins and chopped nuts – yum.
After my previous disasters I made the muffins with the gf flour mix, updated my baking powder, checked the oven temp and finally no soggy muffins on the inside–now how can I make them light and fluffy and crumbly? Thanks
Hello,
The recipe looks yummy. Is there a way to make these without the sugar? I mean completely without the sugar. I use a teeny bit of liquid stevia, but mostly prefer things completely sugar free (including free of sugar substitutes.
Maria
Can Jules Blueberry Muffin mix (sans blueberries) be adapted for the pumpkin muffins?
Marilyn, I think you’re talking about the 1.1lb bag of my All Purpose Flour with the blueberry muffin recipe on it? If that’s correct, just use that as the flour called for in this recipe – you should have plenty!
These look wonderful, but more like a cinnamon apple. Usually everything is so orange with pumpkin. I like the way these look.
Charlotte – so glad these look appealing to you. No fake orange or over-done pumpkin! Just enough to impart the pumpkin flavor and the cranberries add another layer of flavor. I’m really pleased with this recipe – I hope you get a chance to try it for yourself!