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These aren't your average pumpkin muffins. While fluffy, flavorful, and perfectly spiced, they are also naturally sweetened, dairy-free, and made with whole wheat flour.
If my family had to pick just one muffin to eat for the rest of our lives, we ALL would choose THESE whole wheat pumpkin muffins. They deliver soft, bakery-style results with wholesome ingredients and minimal prep.
Kristen's Keys for Perfect Pumpkin Muffins
This pumpkin muffin recipe proves you CAN have it all! Dairy-free, refined sugar free, and 100% whole grains--and the very best pumpkin muffin you have ever had. But in order to achieve perfection, there are a few key things to keep in mind.
- Use the right pumpkin. Stick with canned 100% pumpkin or well-drained homemade pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling has added sweeteners and spices.
- The whole wheat flour is interchangeable. This pumpkin muffin recipe is so forgiving. You can use whole wheat flour, whole white wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or even a 1:1 gluten-free flour.
- Go for coconut. Using both canned coconut milk and melted coconut oil adds rich, nutty undertones that enhance the flavor of the pumpkin--without tasting like coconut. Plus it keeps these muffins dairy-free.
5-Star Reader Review
My favorite pumpkin muffin recipe! I've made it dozens of times with various milks, add-ins, and spices. They ALWAYS turn out amazing! --Rachel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How to Make Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
Think of this step-by-step section as me in the kitchen helping you make fluffy, tender, delicious pumpkin muffins.
- Sift dry ingredients together. While you could certainly just whisk the dry ingredients together, I do find sifting the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices best. That will ensure no unpleasant clumps of baking soda or baking powder.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree with the honey, coconut milk, egg, vanilla, and melted (and cooled) coconut oil.
- Combine. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, until just incorporated.
Don't Overmix
Stir just until the flour JUST disappears. Overmixing will activate the gluten, resulting in dense muffins.
- Fill Muffin Cups. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup or ice cream scoop to portion out the matter into a greased or lined muffin tin. This will ensure the muffins bake evenly.
- Bake. To keep these muffins soft and tender, bake until just set and toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out dry.
No Toothpick? Simply lightly touch the top of the muffin. It should spring back and not stick to your fingers.
Recipe Modifications
- No Honey? Feel free to swap honey for pure maple syrup.
- Egg-Free: Combine 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water and use in place of the egg.
- Chocolate Lover? Add ½ cup chocolate chips to the dry ingredients for the best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.
- No Coconut Milk? Sub with your favorite non-dairy milk or regular milk if you aren't dairy-free.
- Coconut Oil Substitution: Use canola oil or if not dairy-free, melted and cooled butter.
Note on Yield and Storage
As written, this recipe yields 12 glorious, fluffy whole wheat pumpkin muffins. And as true for moist, whole wheat baked goods, storing in the fridge is key to preventing mold growth.
- Yield: This recipe calls for 1 cup of pumpkin puree, which is half of one 15 ounce can. While I strongly recommend doubling the recipe, as these pumpkin muffins are just so irresistibly good and they freeze exceptionally well, you can also opt to make another recipe calling for pumpkin puree. Maybe pumpkin pasta for something new and unexpected or compliment your muffin with a Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte?
- Storage: Cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
More Baked Goods with Pumpkin
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
Video
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup coconut milk, or almond milk
- 1 cup 100% pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted, and cooled
- ½ cup honey, or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease well with oil.
- Over a large mixing bowl, sift 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon ground ginger Whisk to combine ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup coconut milk, 1 cup 100% pumpkin puree, 1 large egg, ½ cup coconut oil, ½ cup honey, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract together until well combined.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold together gently, until just combined. Do not over-mix as this will result in dense muffins.
- Measure about ¼ cup into each muffin cup, until each muffin cup is about ¾ of the way full.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes in the muffin tin on a cooling rack. After 10 minutes, carefully remove the muffins from the tin and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Fabulous! Can you make these oil free?
Hi Katie! I have replaced the coconut oil with all applesauce and they were pretty dense (but still tasty.) I actually prefer to use half the oil and half applesauce (so 1/4 cup of each for 1 batch). It works with minimal difference.
Can you make this into bread?
Hi Bob! The proportions would need to be changed. I have a recipe for Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread with Cream cheese filling, that you may like. You can omit the filling if you like.
This recipe was delicious I feel it could have used a little more spice but I really like this type of spice. Next time I think I'd add some grated ginger but overall this was an awesome recipe. I ended up doubling it to avoid having leftover pumpkin and coconut milk and I used butter because I already had some at room temperature. I missed the note about melting the butter and ended up throwing it in at a very soft room temperature which led to a lot of clumps so I put the whisk attachment on the hand mixer and beat the butter as small as I could before adding the dry ingredients. This led to small pockets of butter being found throughout the muffins and I imagine it would be the same with coconut oil, but that's not really a bad thing, finding a little pocket of butter was great.
These were a great way to use my garden pumpkins & they were excellent tasty muffins. I used coconut oil from a can, melted it, cooled it a little & dumped it into the liquids. I got a few big chunks of hardened oil almost immediately, I tried to break up the larger chunks and continued. Tried one, seems ok, not sure how the rest will b. Any explanations as to why I had this problem?
It sounds like your batter may have been cold when you added the oil, which will cause the warm oil to immediately harden. I would be sure everything else is at room temp to prevent this from happening. Glad you enjoyed the flavor.