Pumpkin Muffins Recipe: Perfectly Moist and Easy to Make

Simply Pumpkin Muffins

Some pumpkin muffin recipes taste like dessert wearing a breakfast costume. This one does not. These muffins come out soft, gently spiced, and sweetened just enough to feel right at seven in the morning with a cup of coffee, or at three in the afternoon when the kids come through the door looking for something.

The recipe is adapted from a pumpkin crumb cake muffin I have been baking for years, but I pulled the sugar back so the pumpkin and the spice can speak for themselves.

That small change turned a once a year treat into something I bake all season long, from the first cool morning in September to the last lazy weekend before the holidays.

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There is no mixer involved. If you can hold a whisk, you can make these muffins. You need two bowls, a muffin pan, and about 45 minutes from start to finish, with 15 minutes of that being prep and roughly 21 minutes in the oven.

The batter comes together thick and scoopable rather than pourable, and that is exactly what you want. Thick batter holds tall muffin tops. A full batch gives you 12 muffins, and if you like chocolate with your pumpkin, one optional cup of semi sweet chocolate chips folded in at the end turns these into something the whole street will smell.

I usually bake a batch on Sunday and they carry us through the week. Warm from the oven with a little butter melting into the crumb, they are hard to beat.

Here’s Why You’ll Love My Simple Pumpkin Muffins

I have tested plenty of pumpkin muffin recipes over the years, and most of them ask for more effort than the payoff deserves. This one uses basic pantry ingredients, a whisk, and two bowls. That is the whole story.

Here is what keeps me coming back to this recipe every fall:

• They stay soft for days. The oil and the pumpkin puree keep the crumb tender, so a muffin on Thursday still tastes like something worth eating.
• The spice is warm, not shy. Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and a little ground ginger give you that deep autumn flavor in every bite.
• No mixer, no creaming, no waiting around. You whisk the wet and the dry ingredients separately, combine them, and scoop.
• They are not overly sweet. Pulling back the sugar from the original crumb cake version makes these feel like an anytime muffin instead of a cupcake in disguise.
• They work with what you already have. Any dairy or nondairy milk works here, so the muffins are dairy free if you pour in a dairy free milk.

If you keep a jar of homemade pumpkin pie spice in the cabinet, use it here. The blend already carries cinnamon and ginger, and the extra cinnamon and ground ginger in this recipe simply push the flavor a little further. Nothing about the result tastes muddy or flat.

One thing I learned the hard way: pumpkin pie filling is not pumpkin puree. The cans look almost identical, and pie filling will quietly change both the sweetness and the texture of your muffins.

My husband, who swears he does not like pumpkin desserts, ate two before dinner and asked whether there were more. That is the best review I can give a muffin.

Grab These 11 Ingredients:

Everything on this list is a grocery store staple. The only item you might need to buy on purpose is the pumpkin, and even that lives on the baking aisle all year round.

Now, a quick word on each one, because a few of them matter more than you might expect.

All purpose flour. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Scooping straight from the bag packs the cup and gives you a dry, heavy muffin.

If you want a heartier bake, you can replace half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. The muffins come out a little denser, and honestly I like that version with a strong cup of coffee.

Baking soda. This is the only leavener in the recipe. Baking powder is not needed. Baking soda reacts with the natural acidity in the pumpkin and gives you the rise.

Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and ginger. Yes, pumpkin pie spice already contains cinnamon and ginger. Use all three anyway. The blend brings the round warmth, the extra cinnamon sharpens it, and the small amount of ground ginger adds a gentle bite that keeps the flavor from tasting flat.

If you mix your own pumpkin pie spice at home, this is the recipe to use it in.

Canned pumpkin puree. You need 1 and 1/2 cups, about 340g, which is most of a 15 ounce can. Read the label carefully and buy pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling has sugar and spices added, and it will throw off both the sweetness and the texture. Any leftover puree freezes well in a small container.

Vegetable oil. Oil keeps these muffins moist for days in a way that melted butter does not. Melted coconut oil works as a substitute if that is what you keep on hand.

Granulated sugar and brown sugar. The two work as a team. Granulated sugar brings clean sweetness while brown sugar brings moisture and a deeper flavor. Light or dark brown sugar both work, though dark brown sugar pushes the molasses note a little further.

Eggs. Two large eggs hold everything together and help the muffins rise.

Milk. Any dairy or nondairy milk works, so use what is in your fridge. I once replaced the milk with orange juice and the muffins came out too citrusy for my taste, but swapping in a small amount of orange juice for part of the milk is possible if you enjoy that combination. If you go that route, keep it modest.

Chocolate chips. Optional and completely up to you. One cup of semi sweet chocolate chips folded in at the end makes the chocolate chip version that disappears fastest at my house.

Mixing and Baking the Pumpkin Muffins

This part takes almost no time at all, as long as you start the oven first.

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12 count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line it with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and salt together until combined. Set it aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, and milk together until combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk everything together just until combined and no flour pockets remain. Fold in the chocolate chips if you are using them.
5. Spoon the batter into the liners, filling them all the way to the top.
6. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for another 16 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total oven time is about 21 to 22 minutes.
7. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan before enjoying them.

Notice how thick that batter gets. It should mound on a spoon rather than pour. That is normal, and it is exactly what you want, because thick batter is what builds a tall muffin top.

The temperature trick is the part people ask me about most. Starting at 425°F gives the muffins an immediate burst of heat, which sets the edges and pushes the tops up fast.

After five minutes you drop the oven to 350°F so the insides can bake through without the outside burning. It is the same idea behind bakery style muffin tops, and it works in a home oven.

Two small habits make a real difference. First, do not overmix once the wet and the dry ingredients meet. Stop as soon as there are no flour pockets left. Second, fill the liners all the way to the top. If you leave them two thirds full, you will get short, flat muffins and you will wonder what went wrong.

If you want that sparkly, crunchy bakery finish, sprinkle coarse sugar over the batter before the pan goes into the oven. It adds a light crackle on top and takes about ten seconds.

Once the muffins are cool, cover them tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week. They also freeze well for up to 3 months.

I freeze them in a single layer first and then move them into a bag so they do not stick together. A minute or two in the microwave brings one right back to that warm from the oven feeling.

For mini muffins, skip the temperature change and bake at 350°F the entire time for 11 to 13 minutes. Same batter, smaller pan, faster reward.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate and pumpkin are a better pair than most people expect. The chocolate softens the spice just enough, and the pumpkin keeps everything moist and tender.

To make them, fold 1 cup (about 180g) semi sweet chocolate chips into the batter right before you spoon it into the 12 count muffin pan. That is the only change. Everything else, including the 425°F start and the drop to 350°F, stays exactly the same.

A few notes from my own batches. Mini chocolate chips spread more evenly through the batter, while regular chips give you bigger pockets of melted chocolate. Dark chocolate chips make the muffins taste a little less sweet, which I like in the morning.

Tossing the chips in a teaspoon of flour first helps keep them from sinking, though with batter this thick they usually stay put anyway.

If chocolate is not your thing, the same folding technique works with other add ins. Chopped pecans or walnuts add crunch, and dried cranberries bring a tart note that plays nicely against the spice. Use about a cup of whichever you choose and fold it in the same way, just before the batter goes into the pan.

One last tip from my kitchen: a warm muffin and a cold glass of milk is the combination my family votes for every single time.

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Easy Pumpkin Muffins

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Simply Pumpkin Muffins Some pumpkin muffin recipes taste like dessert wearing a breakfast costume. This one does not.

• Total Time: 45 min
• Yield: 12 muffins 1x

Ingredients

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1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed light or dark
1 and 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk, dairy or nondairy
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

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Instructions

1-Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C): Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners.
2-In a large bowl, whisk the flour,: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
3-In a medium bowl, whisk the oil,: In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then whisk everything together just until combined and no flour pockets remain. Fold in the chocolate chips, if using.
4-Spoon the batter into liners, filling them: Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top.
5-Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then,: Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21-22 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan before enjoying.
6-Cover tightly and store at room temperature: Cover tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.

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• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 21 min
• Method: bake