These deliciously moist gluten-free Pumpkin Pie Muffins are my younger son’s favorite. When he was little, he ate so much pumpkin and winter squash that he turned a slightly orange hue from all of the beta-carotene. Luckily, his skin tone returned to normal!
Low-Carb Pumpkin Pie Muffins
I love cooking with pumpkin because it’s low-carb and full of healthy nutrients. Given that this recipe also uses almond flour, which is far lower in carbohydrates than wheat flour, this is a fantastic low-carb muffin recipe. If you’re following a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet, you’ll want to take a look at my Keto Diet Recipes page. All of those recipes are sugar-free.
- 1½ cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- ½ cup honey or agave nectar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup roasted pumpkin, well packed
- In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice
- In a vitamix puree oil, honey, eggs, and pumpkin until smooth
- Stir wet ingredients into dry
- Place paper liners in muffin pan
- Scoop batter into paper liners
- Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes
- Cool for 2-3 hours
- Serve
Gluen-Free Child-Friendly Muffins
These muffins are easy to make and will fill your kitchen with the wonderful smell of autumn. They are very moist on the inside. Beware of little children who gobble them up, leaving the wrappers strewn around your house! Not such a bad problem to have considering how nourishing these treats are.
Low-Carb Pumpkin Recipes
Here are some low-carb pumpkin recipes for you!
Shannon says
Our dietician has recommended these for our daughter as a healthy snack, but to use olive oil. How can I increase the olive oil and decrease the honey? Thanks so much!
Elana says
Shannon, I haven’t tried that so not sure, if you do experiment I hope you’ll let me know if it works :-)
Saira says
Elana, thank you so much for your incredible work and this blog. It’s my go to for any baked goods. I made these last night and they came out perfectly. I’m wondering how I should store them, I’m the fridge or can they be left out a few days? I’m worried about mold but also am sure they wouldn’t be as tasty if cold. Would appreciate any guidance- and thank you again!!! There are tons of blogs out there with nice recipes but this is the absolute best!!!
Elana says
Saira, thanks for your lovely comment! I leave these out overnight after I bake them and then store in a sealed container in the fridge. If I want them warm I cut them in half and briefly “toast” in a cast iron skillet. Happy to hear that for baked goods I’m your go-to blog :-)
Nina says
I made these over the weekend and they were delish ! Definitely a keeper!
Elana says
Thanks Nina!
Cindy says
Elana, thank you for sharing your amazing website and recipes! I have Celiac and Interstitial Cystitis so finding recipes I can have is very challenging. I purchased two of your books and I’m having fun trying all the wonderful recipes. Thanks to you I’m now able to eat foods I thought I’d never be able to eat again. I have even referred others with Celiac or IC to your website. I tried the Pumpkin Pie Muffin recipe and it is AMAZING!!!! I used roasted pumpkin (with your helpful instructions) and doubled the recipe which made 24 muffins. I omitted the ginger and nutmeg and cut down a bit on the cinnamon, so as not to upset my IC. For extra flavor I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I spread a little Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread on a muffin and it was delicious. You are an angel to share your recipes and help so many people.
Elana says
Cindy, your comment is so sweet and it made my day :-)
Melissia says
Just out of the oven with these. Used 1 cup pumpkin purée and honey. I got 12 regular sized muffins. At 38 minutes I started to smell a faint burnt odor. I pulled them out and the tops were burning. They stuck to the paper muffin cups and when I got one out, the bottoms were also burned. The middle is delicious. I suppose I can cut off all the tops and bottoms and just eat the middles.
Elana says
Hi Melissa, I think you’ll have much better results if you use freshly baked pumpkin (or squash) as indicated in the recipe. Pumpkin puree is a lot more watery than freshly baked pumpkin :-)
Denise says
Try using parchment cupcake papers. It won’t stick to that.
Deborah says
Use parchment paper muffin liners, nothing will stick. An amazing product, you can purchase at any grocery store.
Elana says
Deborah, thanks for pointing that out! Melissia, if you click on the green text in step 4 of the recipe that says “paper liners” you will see the exact type that I use and can get them online :-)
Debra says
Would coconut oil be a comparable substitute for palm/grapeseed oil?
Julie says
Yes I have made these with coconut oil.
Annie says
I wanted to cut down on the sweetness so I used half yancon syrup and 1/2 honey. Yummy.
Elana says
Annie, thanks!
Nicholas says
Too bad some of these ingredients aren’t widely available. I’ve had to drive to a few different stores trying to find ingredients for different paleo meals.
Elana says
Nicholas, I totally agree! That’s why I order all of these special ingredients online. Saves time, gas, and much cheaper :-)
Lindsey Davis says
These are phenomenal! I used brown rice syrup, sunflower oil, and canned organic pumpkin. I’m in love ????
Elana says
Lindsey, thanks for letting me know these are phenomenal!
Kathy says
Can I use Coconut Flour instead of Almond Flour? If so, what would be amount of Coconut Flour? Thank you
Rachel says
I would like to know too, but since I can’t wait, I’m just going to experiment right now- will let you know how it comes out!
Elana says
Kathy and Rachel, for more on that please go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-baking-almond-flour-vs-coconut-flour/
Enjoy!
Elana
Wendy says
Wonderful muffins! When I first made them tonight, I didn’t have a full cup of pumpkin, so I added a banana, and they came out great!
Elana says
Wendy, thanks for letting me know these muffins are wonderful :-)
Emily says
Hi Elana
Is it poss to substitute the vegan shortening/grape seed oil for mild olive oil or coconut oil?
Please let me know.
Thanks
Emily
Noel says
I use coconut oil every time, and it works great.
Michele says
I just made these. I ate one right out of the oven with butter – they are very good. I used canned organic pumpkin – it is a lot stiffer than any other commercial product, more akin to fresh roasted. I also used avocado oil and Bob’s Red Mill flour, which I sifted to make it a little finer. My Honeyville almond flour is still in the mail. I’m looking forward to trying all of your muffin recipes and improvising some of my own from the basic recipe.
Elana says
Michele, thanks for letting me know these are very good!
Sarah says
I just made these today and they turned out great! I used 1/4 cup agave and 1/4 cup honey (due to limited supply in my house) and they are moist and delicious (with a hint of sweet)! They bring about all the warm, comforting feelings of fall that I am used to having but miss since I went dairy and grain free. I even had a small plate of baked Cinnamon apples to pair on the side. Yum! Thank you Elana for your wonderful recipes!
Elana says
Sarah, thanks for letting me know these turned out great!
Heather Y says
I’ve made these a couple times now, and they are delicious! I just made some tonight, and doubled the recipe which made 18 muffins for me. I used fresh roasted butternut squash puree (I use it in place of everything that calls for pumpkin!) melted coconut oil instead of grapeseed, a little over 1/2 cup of honey for a double batch, and in place of half of the eggs, I added 1/2 a mashed banana and a little extra squash puree. Thanks for your great recipes, Elana, I love your site!
Elana says
Heather, I’m so happy to hear these are delicious!
Brittany says
These looked so good I had to try them! I made a few changes to the recipe based on what I had on hand. I used canned pumpkin instead of fresh, coconut oil instead of grapeseed and omitted the cloves. I also didn’t realize this said it makes 8 muffins, so I made 11 small ones, so I only needed to bake them about 30 minutes, instead of 40. I haven’t got to cool them yet, but I gobbled up a hot one and it’s very moist and delicious from what I can tell! Thank you so much for the recipe
Amystampin says
I tried this recipie and had troubles with the agave smelling like it’s burning. I hadn’t used agave in several years since I found I didn’t like baking with it. I am new to grain free and cane sugar free. I have been gluten free for almost 3 years. A friend recommended your site for good info and recipies. I have done searches and your website and awesome creations kept coming up. I thought I would see if you have tried using any other sweeteners with this recipie with any luck.
Noel says
I always use honey. Almond flour can burn quickly once it gets to a certain point.
Jennifer says
For anyone wondering if canned pumpkin will work in this recipe, I used a 15oz can of pumpkin and doubled the other ingredients. It made 2 dozen muffins. Mine came out great! Elana does have some other recipes on here that use coconut flour that specifically say NOT to use canned pumpkin, but since this one doesn’t say that I gave the canned a try. I’m sure fresh baked would be even better, but hey….it’s May. I wouldn’t try canned in those other recipes though. I can’t afford to waste ingredients.
Nancy P says
These are delicious! I used half oat flour, and coconut oil. Wow! I also made 12 smaller muffins, baked 20 minutes.
Ayesha says
I have made this recipe twice. The first time I did it with pumpkin but I tried it with sweet potato the next time and it was so good.
Jennifer says
Ooooh….I’m sooo gonna try that! :D Thanks!
Alessandra says
Hi there!
I just wanted to say that I have been making many of your recipes over time and find them absolutely AMAZING.
This one in particular is actually THE MOST AMAZING MUFFIN I HAVE EVER MADE since going gluten, dairy, sugar-free. :)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!
For those of you wondering about the texture/ingredients. I used organic canned pumpkin (1 cup), substituted the grapeseed oil for extra virgin olive oil, and kept everything else the same. They ARE very MOIST! but if you let them cool COMPLETELY before eating, they hold together well and are ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! :)
Definitely try these!!!!!!!
Corrina says
OMG!!! I was craving some bread specificly pumpkin bread. I had to chang up your recipe a bit but the results are AMAZING!
I used 2/3 can of organic pumpkin(fresh isnt avail this time of yesr here)
1tsp of pumpkin pie spice plus a couple dashes of cinnamon
coconut oil in place of the grapeseed oil
Honey in place of the agave
1/8 cup of organic cane sugar instead of the stevia
baked at 350* for 35min
again OMG!!! Thank you so much
Jenni says
FYI I calculated 238 calories per muffin w/ coconut oil substitute and canned pumpkin.
Lisa says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I followed it for the most part, but subbed maple syrup and coconut sugar for the agave and used butter and coconut oil for the oil, and also chocolate chips. They are fantastic, and I will definitely repeat this recipe. Thank you!!
Gayle says
wow wow wow
just made these muffins and they turned out great. I used a whole can of pumpkin and Bob’s red mill almond flour. Thanks for the recipes!
Kat says
Just made these tonight – they were delicious! I didn’t have almond flour, so used 1 cup quinoa flour and 1/2 cup brown rice flour, and it turned out great! Also used 1 cup canned pumpkin. Thanks for the great recipe!
Lindiwe says
I will be trying these out. Thank you!
Jen says
I made these yesterday and subbed coconut oil for the grapeseed oil, as well as honey for the agave. I also used canned, organic pumpkin (what I had on-hand). They turned out absolutely deeeee-lish!!! Thank you, Elana, for all that you do. :-)
Nicole T says
I just made these today and they turned out great! I did use organic canned pumpkin and added some fresh scraped vanilla bean (I’m a vanilla freak) and they came out perfect! I like moist baked goods so that’s one reason I loved these but I didn’t think they were too moist at all. I might try with an almond/coconut flour combo and see what happens :)
Jamie says
My 2year old just licked the screen of my iPad :) preheating the oven now
Jennifer says
:) haha
Amber says
I love all the recipes I have tried so far and I don’t even have any dietary restrictions! My roommate, on the otherhand, is celiac and definitely appreciates everything I bake for her.
My only question is how full should my cups be before they go into the oven? I like to experiment with different sizes and cupcake/muffin recipes rarely say how full they need to be so I never know how much room they need to expand.
Thanks!
ana says
Thanks so much. I looked these up and I’m making these tonight.I’m so excited
Love your easy healthy recipes
Kathy says
THese Muffins were amazing! My boys and hubby were delighted to try them. Gobbled up fast. I added a touch of your cream cheese frosting.
I never roasted a pumpkin before, and it made such a difference in using roasted compared to canned in this recipe. We also made the bars, trying canned and then roasted, the roasted was much richer, moist, textured.
Lovely, lovely recipe. Thank you!
We also made the bread, very good.
Rachel says
I just tried making these with a few adjustments, they turned out very moist but lacked in flavor! I think upping the spices would help!
Elisha Garza says
Hi, I love your recipes! I am helping my mother who has rheumatoid arthritis and is on a grain free, dairy free diet. Do you reccommend another binder other than eggs for this recipe?
Thank you,
Elisha
Kat says
2 Tbsp Flax seed in 6 Tbsp water (mix together in a separate container and let sit until it starts thickening) will work in place of 2 eggs. I use this a lot in baking and it works out great!
Bonnie says
Can anyone help me please? I made these and they were great, except that they stuck to the paper liners. My husband and I love them and I would like to make them again, so any help would be wonderful. Thank you!
Rachel says
I think they probably stuck due to lack of oil/fat in the recipe. You could try spraying the muffin liners with non-cook spray, or baking them directly in a greased muffin tin! Hope that helps :)
Nicole T says
I use silcone muffin cups and they didn’t stick at all (sprayed them with coconut spray too).
lymore says
i live in israel, so for some reason, pumpkin season is the middle of summer for us! anyway, i made these muffins today with a few substitutions and they came out amazingly delish. i switched out the grapeseed oil for coconut oil and the agave nectar for 1/4 raw honey and 1/4 cup date syrup. so good. my boyfriend, who is usually anti anything gluten free, just because, ate these up (i didn’t tell him they were gluten free til afterwards) :)
sarah says
These were fantastic. We were looking for something different for breakfast. These fit the bill. We’re also looking forward to whipping up some of these to pack in our lunches. YUM.
Paula says
I used molasses for the sweetening and they tasted like gingerbread and they were delicious!
Paula says
about 10
Stephanie says
I didn’t know not to use Bob’s Redmill almond flour, but since I had already bought it I just doubled the amount called for and they turned out great!! I’ll be buying the almond flour you recommend from now on. It’s more convenient to get at my local store, but not cost effective if I have to double all the recipes.
Charlotte says
I made several substitutions here and they came out just fine:
1. I used Bob’s Red Mill almond meal, and ground it a bit finer before hand in my food processor. (I agree that BRM almond meal as-is is too coarse.)
2. I used coconut oil instead of grapeseed oil.
3. Instead of agave (which does horrible things to my blood sugar) I used one full dropper of Vanilla Creme Stevia and an extra tablespoon of pumpkin.
That makes these Primal/Paleo friendly, (added) sugar free, and nice and fluffy. The batter looked and felt like normal quickbread batter, though I might have added more pumpkin if it was too dry or a tiny bit of coconut flour if it was too wet.
I would make these again with the same substitutions.
Syd says
These muffins were great! I made them this evening and they are delish! I also made the pumpkin ginger soup (although I didn’t have ginger, so I replaced it with curry) AND the pumpkin pie icecream.. YUM!!!
I also roasted a pumpkin and got 16 cups of puree out of it. I LOVE your recipes! Thanks so much for your awesome recipes and inspiration!
– Syd from Halifax.
Bunny says
Fyi- trader joes canned pumpkin does not contain BPA. The only cans at that store that DO contain BPA are tomatoes. Everything else is fine.
(my husband is a manager, and he asked the buyer about this when we became concerned about the chemicals leeching. We keep canned foods to a minimum anyway, by I do like the convenience of canned beans and pumpkin)
Kandi Barrell says
Elana thank you I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to find your website. I’m very excited to try many of your almond flour recipes including these pumpkin pie muffins.
One question, is it possible to substitute the oil to olive or flaxseed oil?
I’m suffering from inflammation caused by an auto-immune disease and have decided to follow an anti-inflammation eating plan. Grapeseed oil have very strong inflammation properties while oil olive and flaxseed are strongly anti-inflammatory.
Thanks!!
Athena says
I made these today with roasted pumpkin. I added 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. At 35 minutes baking time they were a little burnt. I’d probably cook for 20 – 25 minutes next time, which there will be for sure as these were excellent.
Heidi says
I made these with canned organic pumpkin and they were wonderful. Family loved them and no one realized they were gluten free. My other favorite is the carrot cupcakes. I make them frequently. Thanks for the great recipes!
kk says
This looks delicious. Is there anyway I could substitute the eggs (maybe with flax gel?) Or how about coconut sugar / stevia in lieu of agave?
emily says
Wow delicious! My muffins were starting to burn at just 34 minutes – and my oven tends to run a little slow. I am at sea level, wonder if the elevation makes a difference?
Otherwise, great recipe!
Kristin says
Ours came out a good bit darker than your pictures shows, but they are
DELICIOUS! Even my 4 year-old loves them! Thanks for such a GREAT recipe! I thought I was going to have to miss out on one of my fall favorites… I love that there are options available =)
kitchenanthropologist says
These are so so yummy my husband and I have both already had seconds and they aren’t fully cooled yet. I did not have almond flour so I used 1 cup of fine millet flour and 1/2 cup of almond meal used 3/4 canned pumpkin and a small mashed yam for sweetness and used 1/4 cup agave and a 1/4 cup of erythrital sugar substitute to reduce glycemic impact and they turned out perfectly !!
Thanks Elena for a new fall fave. I am 6 months pregnant and suspect I might be craving these :-)
Heather says
I just made these and LOVED them! I replaced the agave with some coconut nectar and xylitol to lower the sugar content and they were so good! My son has been asking when I can make them again. I love fall! Please post more fall recipes. Thank you!
Alissa Skelton says
Elana,
This recipe looks wonderful. I would really like to make pumpkin bread instead of muffins. Will this recipe work in a bread pan, too?
Thanks!
Alissa
Charlene says
I made some substitutions – used what I had on hand. Normally I wouldn’t comment on a recipe I didn’t follow exactly, but I think this recipe lends itself well to substitutions. White Sugar instead of Agave, Brown Rice Flour with some potato flour instead of Almond & canned pumpkin instead of fresh. Added 1/2 tsp baking powder. Produced a stiff batter that rose nicely & muffin stayed together well. Thanks for sharing :)
Suzanne says
These are amazing. I did make some modifications and was glad they still turned out. I used almond meal, reduced the oil to 2 tsp, used 1/4 cup of coconut sugar and 3/8 tsp of stevia instead of agave, and increased the pumpkin to 1 1/4 cups. They’re delicious.
Mindy says
Hi,
I love your website and recipes. I have modified your pumpkin muffin recipe and made up a sunflower seed nut butter, oatmeal and dairy free chocolate chip muffin. I freeze them individually and add them to my boys lunches for a morning snack. They love them! Thanks for these great gluten free recipes!
Deja says
I love these muffins and I”ve made them about 5 times! I need to say that it only takes 20 min to bake ( I learned that after the 1st time when they came out burnt) and it makes 12 regular size muffins. I’m not sure why but that is what happens. Thank you for the yumminess!
Kristina Rhoades says
Thank you, thank you for this delicious recipe! I’ve only been gluten-free a short while and I also have a lot to learn in baking. I made these for my parents and husband at Thanksgiving and they LOVED them! Thank you for such a yummy and healthy new dessert! I will make them over and over!
And – thank you for the link to the Almond Flour – I ordered some and it is wonderful! I also made your Thanksgiving rolls and they were great as well!
Deja says
It’s much cheaper to make your own almond flour! I buy slivered blanched almonds at Trader Joes and use the food processor to make them into flour! WAY CHEAPER!
jamie says
GAH I just read someone else’s comment about making it with YAMS!! OH MY I’ve gotta try that next….
jamie says
These are the best muffins EVER. Thank you so much for the recipe. It is such an adaptable recipe- I have made them with pecan flour, walnut flour, almond flour of course, coconut nectar, organic palm sugar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, a tad of molasses, vanilla, cardamom, a little ground flax seed added, chopped nuts maybe, sweet potato, pumpkin, or squash. I have not had a ‘bad’ batch yet. Once while using organic winter squash that was frozen it was too watery and I just added some more almond flour and a teensie bit more baking soda and they still came out great.
Danielle says
Thanks for the Recipe. living in Germany makes for some obstacles when searching for ingredients. but theses were so simple to make after carving my jack-o-lantern.
Jen says
I decided to make something pumpkin this past weekend for a friend’s birthday party. Your Pumpkin Bars were posted fairly recently and looked good, but I thought I would see what other pumpkin goodies you have.
I compared the Pumpkin Pie Muffins and Pumpkin Bars recipes side by side and noticed they both use the same number of eggs and amount of sweetener, but the muffins use more pumpkin and more almond flour…. and therefore the recipe produces more batter, right?
Since this was for a party, I wanted to make more than an 8″ x 8″ dish, so I combined the two recipes to make Pumpkin Pie Bars in my cute red 8.5″ x 11.5″ pan from IKEA.
There were fantastical!! And a big hit at the party! Thanks!
Sabrina says
These were absolutely delicious and my three children, ages 2-7, devoured the entire
batch in a day. Since I have an aversion to ginger and cloves, I omitted these and used
a quarter tsp of powdered cardamom instead. I think it tasted wonderful! I used 4 tbsps
of coconut oil instead of grapeseed (a much healthier oil, in my opinion) and baked at
325 for 20 minutes. This is the perfect fall indulgence!
Amy says
Yum… big hit, great flavor and texture. I added a bit of vanilla and left out the ginger, great snack to put in the kids’ lunches (and a breakfast snack for mom and dad). Thanks Elana for another winner!
Noe says
Elana, I just made these and they are just like pumpkin pie in muffin form! I just had one but might be moving onto number 2 and 3…and 4 and 5…
I can’t wait to take them to a pumpkin carving party tonight and show my friends how great gluten-free actually is.
Dori says
Can you make this into a pumpkin bread in two loaves instead of muffins? Any changes I’d need to make?
Darlene says
I absolutely loooove your pumpkin muffins! I almost ate the whole muffin tray after I baked them! I think these and the chocolate orange coconut clusters will be my halloween treats this year! Thanks for all your great recipes. They go well with Paleo/Primal eating!
amanda says
i was feeling very fall inspired last night and made this. we only have bob’s red mill almond flour, and can’t really afford to buy anything else at the moment, so i used 1 cup of that and 1/2 cup of potato starch to lighten up the batter a little bit. i also used ener-g egg replacer. anywho, it turned out delicious (i made a loaf instead of muffins). i had left over pumpkin and made a simple pumpkin butter that is amazing with the bread. yum!
sas says
Amanda, I’m curious about the recipe for the pumpkin butter? (mouth watering) Thanks.
Bethanie Lundgren says
Baking these now! Put in an extra 1/4 cup of Almond Meal. Also, used 2tsps of pumpkin pie spice for the other spices called for and added a 1/2 cup of CoCo Perfection dark chocolate baking chips. My batter made 10 regular sized muffins. Can’t wait to try one!
Kelly says
Just made these muffins an hour ago- really great recipe. My supermarket didn’t have the almond flour- they only had gluten-free all purpose so I used that instead- seems to work just fine!
Also- there was apparently a shortage of pumpkins this summer (at least here in WI) so there was no canned pumpkin, AND no pie pumpkins! I actually had to make do with a small regular jack-o-lantern pumpkin at my supermarket. I chose the smallest one I could find, baked it as Elena recommended, and added some agave nectar and pumpkin pie spices when I was done! Lot of work for only a cup of pureed pumpkin, but it worked out nicely.
The only other change I made was sprinkling raw chopped pecans on the top before baking- to be quite honest I feel the nuts really made this go from an ‘ok’ muffin, to a pretty damned good one! Next time I make this I’ll be putting chopped pecans in the mix as well as on top- they really add that something extra!
Oh- and instead of making 8 regular sized muffins, I made six jumbo ones out of this mix, and the batter amount came out perfectly. I also used foil jumbo cupcake liners, and they came away so smoothly- no sticking!
All in all- great recipe, though I’d add some pecans or other nuts like I did!
theresa says
Can I sub raw honey for the agave and if so would it be ratio to ratio and if I were to sub pumpkin pie filling do I just do one cup or do I need more since it is less condensed then homemade pumpkin puree?
Noel says
I use local honey for these regularly. I use 3/4 cup for a double batch. We eat them every day!!! I really need to branch out. : )
And BTW I’m now cutting the baking soda by half. They’re not as light, but still very good.
Thanks, Elana, for this yummy staple!
alyssa says
Can I make the pumpkin muffins without Baking Soda, as the Gaps diet requires?
THANK U!
Alyssa
Noel says
I just tried a batch without baking soda.
They were more dense, less moist, a little less flavorful, but my kids still enjoyed them.
I think you could try it and adjust spices and sweetener to taste. Definitely worth it in my opinion since baking options are limited without baking soda. We avoid it too.
I’m still loving these muffins!!!
I make them with coconut oil and honey, fyi.
And butternut squash and acorn squash work just as well as pumpkin.
I cook the squash and freeze it in 2 cup quantities to make a double recipe.
: )
Noel
Julia says
This was my first attempt with almond flour, and I am sooo pleased :) Thanks for making gf baking so simple!
Michele says
Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes! This one is an instant hit. I didn’t have any pumpkins available, so I used garnet yams, baked in the oven (I use yams/sweet potatoes, pumpkin and butternut squash interchangeably based on availability). I am diabetic, so I replaced the agave nectar with an extra 1/2 cup of yam, 1tbs of molasses, and liquid stevia to taste*. My 8 year old son loves these (for him, I used thrice the amount of cinnamon). :-)
According to nutritiondata.com, this substitution combo makes 1/6 of the recipe a glycemic load of 6, if yams are used, but only a glycemic load of 3 if pumpkin is used! Pretty awesome & so delicious!
Jer says
These are my favorite gf muffins and I make them often! They make the whole house smell like the holidays and they’re super tasty. I usually make them with just 3 tablespoons of agave though since I’m trying to cut back on the sugar. Excellent recipe! ps. Love your cookbook Elana. The chocolate cream pie is to die for! I made one for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a huge hit – even among the gluten eaters!
Noel says
I have to add a thumbs-up for the chocolate pie also. We’ve made it several times, and everyone loved it. Great as a chocolate “moose” in ramekins too — and frozen as fudge-cicles! : )
Noel says
Yum!!!
I added 1/2 cup extra almond flour, and they were very moist and delicious. Also cut my baking time to 25 – 30 min.
Delicious way to use fresh pumpkin!
Thank you!
: )
Noel
still wondering if ingredient and baking time variations are needed due to altitude and/or humidity differences
Katie says
I just made these last night with a bit less than a cup of canned pumpkin. They were phenomenal! In fact, my husband and I already finished the batch. I may have to make more tonight, and will definitely be making them for Thanksgiving next week! Thank you.
Lydia says
I just have these in the oven now. My boyfriend can’t eat eggs so I substituted the eggs with 2 T ground flax seeds, 1 1/2 t Ener-G egg replacer and 5 T water. I’ll let you know how they come out! The batter tasted delicious…
JoAnn says
Just made a slightly different version of pumpkin muffins…I used both coconut and almond flours, and canned pumpkin (I’m going to try fresh soon!) and the muffins are very moist and tender but spongy, almost like cake. I’ll post the recipe on my blog, My Experiment in Gluten Free Living:
http://autoimmunediseasesgfliving.blogspot.com/
Great picture Elana! You’re an inspiration to so many!
Danielle Foster says
I’m making these today and can hardly wait to get them into the oven. The sooner they bake, the sooner I eat :)
Thanks for all the wonderful, CLEAN recipes Elana. I think you’re fabulous!
Rachel says
Hi Elana –
I love your site and all of your recipes! I try to soak all grains & nuts before using them to make the nutrients more available. Do you have any suggestions on how I can modify your almond flour recips to include soaking of the flour?
Thanks!
Katie says
I made this recipe tonight and they are yummy! Must say roasting and taking the skin off the pumpkin was sort of a pain. Looking forward to your tips on doing this…I probably did something wrong.
They are just the thing for a cozy fall!
Thanks Elana!
jessica says
Elana has a great post on how to roast pumpkin:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/how-to-roast-a-pumpkin-in-10-steps/
Cathy says
I’ve noticed that if I roast a pumpkin and it hasn’t roasted long enough, its really hard to remove the skin. Also, make sure you are using a sugar pumpkin and not a jack o lantern type of pumpkin.
emily says
These taste delicious but I followed the recipe to a T and as some people have mentioned, they were a little too wet & dense. Can I substitute some of the Almond Meal for another kind of gluten-free flour, maybe coconut? Or do I simply need to add more Almond Meal?
Also I’m curious if sifting the almond meal will produce fluffier results?
brenda lin says
I am from Australia and we use pumpkin in savoury dishes more than sweet dishes. We roast pumpkin or steam it and eat with main meal. We also use it a lot in soups and casseroles. A really great versatile vegetable. For the almond meal, I grind my own almonds when I need to use almond meal. This means it is very fresh and not oxidised from being ground for a long time. I use a bamix which has its own grinding container like a coffee grinder.
alexandra says
hi elana! i made these for thanksgiving coming up this weekend and i ended up having to make multiple batches because they keep disappearing! they are delicious and everyone who has managed to snag one absolutely loves them, awesome recipe, perfect for the season :)
Amy S says
Tried these today but used Penzey’s Pumpkin Pie Spice. I doubled, but used 3 eggs, 1/2 tsp stevia, under 1/2 C honey, EVOO and added baking powder. Also used 15 oz can pumpkin. I baked them for 45 minutes and they probably needed another 5, but were still good. Light texture and very moist. Did NOT need to cool for 2 hours, more like 30 minutes. It will need a bit more stevia or honey and spices, but were still very good.
steph says
These are tasty! I added sunflower seeds and chocolate chips. I also made smaller muffins (the batter yielded about 14) and only baked them for 20 minutes.
Jer says
ps… I just got your cookbook. After making these muffins, I was sold!
Jer says
I made this recipe last night and I must say I was pleasantly surprised! I’ve had some bum luck with some gf recipes, and I thought the simplicity of the ingredients here would be iffy. I used canned pumpkin and made mini muffins, so I shortened the cooking time to just over 30 mins. The recipe made 24 mini muffins. I think next time I’ll try zucchini!!!
elana says
Jenna,
Thanks for your comment and happy birthday!
Elana
Jenna says
These muffins were my first recipe by Elana to try! I made them this weekend and am so excited about the way they turned out! I was so sad during Thanksgiving watching everyone else eat Pumpkin Pie and Spice Cake (an old-time favorite) when I couldn’t have any. I have not had anything this good for the last 3 1/2 years since I became sick and unable to eat flour and sugar. These muffins are moist and taste like something I am not allowed to have but they don’t affect me at all!! I used Trader Joe’s pureed Sweet Potato (because I didn’t have Pumpkin in the house), used 2 egg whites and one whole egg instead of 2 whole eggs, doubled the cinnamon (because I am an addict of it!:D) and added some chopped pecans! They are such a special treat for me! Thank you so much Elana! My next attempt will be the Carrot cake for my birthday that is coming up in February!
elana says
Beth -Great question. You may also want to start a category in the forums regarding this product.
Denise -Check out my crust recipe; It doesn’t have any eggs in it…
Laura -Glad that you are enjoying the recipes. There will be a recipe for pizza crust in my forthcoming cookbook. It’s in my publisher’s hands now.
Sarah -You are welcome!
Sarah P says
I started making these right after you posted the recipe. I think I’ve made them three or four times since then, and think I might just be addicted! I use the Trader Joe’s almond meal as well, and found the first batch to be a bit dense (but still mighty tastey). This last batch I substituted 1/2 cup brown rice flour for the almond, and beat the egg whites with a bit of cream of tarter until they were fluffy then folded them into the remaining ingredients. As usual, I couldn’t keep my paws off of them. Thanks for the great recipe Elana!
Cathy says
I know this is an old comment, but Sarah if you are still out there, why did you add cream of tartar to your egg whites before you beat them? I know that beating egg whites separately then adding them is a great way to lighten up a heavy recipe, but I’ve never heard of adding cream of tartar.
Laura says
In response to Beth’s comment, I made these yesterday with TJ’s almond flour, and they turned out great! I didn’t add much- maybe 1/4 C at most. I also added a little applesauce to the batter and used slightly more than 1 C pumpkin, so they would probably turn out well with the 1 1/2 C called for if you follow everything else exactly.
Thanks so much for all the wonderful recipes, Elana! I have only been on a gluten-free, sugar-free diet for a little over 2 weeks now, and your website has been so helpful in providing recipes and helping me to know what ingredients to use! I especially appreciate the simplicity, as I am cooking only for myself and hate to buy a lot of expensive ingredients that will go bad before I can use them up!
On a completely different note, do you have any good recipes for pizza crust?
Denise says
Elana, I have to eat an alkaline diet for health reasons, can’t have eggs,or dairy. Do you have any suggestions for pumpkin pie? I think I can figure out the filling, but the crust, is still an enigma to me, please help, as I’d like to make one for Thanksgiving. Thanks, love your recipies.
beth says
Hi.
I’m planning to make these for my child’s class snack (she attends Pasadena Waldorf). I’m using Trader Joe’s almond flour. Anyone know how much more i need to use?
Thanks,
Beth
elana says
Julia,
Thanks for your comment and for letting us know about your successful experiments. What great ideas you have!
Elana
Tom says
I tried making these muffins and the middle was all gooey
Jennifer says
Well mine were delicious. Perhaps you didn’t pack the flour enough?
Julia says
Yum!!! I made these last night, and what a treat. As with your carrot cake, Elana, I soaked my almonds overnight, then removed the skins and blended them in my food processor. They still remained somewhat coarse, but worked beautifully. I replaced half of the almond flour with brown rice flour, and that also worked great. I don’t have any problems with rice and it makes the recipe quite a bit cheaper as well.
elana says
Kitchen Goddess,
Thanks, I like your version of these as bars with frosting! Yum.
Elana
elana says
Jenn,
Thanks for your comment. I store my almond flour in glass jars in the freezer. It keeps for up to a year this way (in my experience). Not sure how long it keeps out at room temp.
From what I’ve heard BPA leaches from cans into food; I’m not sure if there’s a special can for organic foods, that would be great if there was!
Elana
Kitchen Goddess says
Here’s my write up:
http://culinarytravelsofakitchengoddess.wordpress.com/2008/10/24/autumn-leaves/
Jenn says
Hi Elana
Love your recipe ideas. I was wondering how do you store almond flour? How long does it keep. I bought some from my local grocer 6 months ago and I am wondering if it is still good?
Lastly, Do you know if even the organic pumpkin in cans contain that harmful chemical?
Best
Jen
elana says
Sophie -Thanks, my children are calling it a pumpkin “obsession,” though as long as they’re eating it I’m happy!
Sophie says
I really like how you used the fresh pumpkin! I have a pumpkin sitting on my shelf (it’s intended for pies) and I wasn’t sure how to cook it up. These muffins sound heavenly and now I know what I want to do with that pumpkin! I really like this pumpkin theme I’m seeing :).
elana says
Christianne – So great to hear from you, I hope you are well. I’m glad you enjoyed the muffins and I like the way you increased the ginger!
C -Thanks for letting us know about the canned pumpkin, glad it worked out :-)
C says
I tried these with canned pumpkin – delish! Interestingly, mine were dry at the mix stage, so I added orange juice until I got a smoother batter. They are moist, but a truly yummy mini muffin treat.
Christianne says
OOOO Elana,
Your mouthwatering picture had me run into the kitchen immediately. In the last 2 days I made 2 batches of these muffins (which is quite a lot in a 2 people household) because THEY ARE OUR NEW FAVORITE!! I love baking pumpkin in the oven because it feels so cosy, autumny and smells lovely. (I do that often as a veggie side dish: toss butternut slices in a little olive oil with fresh rosemary, sometimes grilling a minute in the end)
but especially love the sweet pumpkin treats…
I added 1/2 a teaspoon ground ginger (allways looking for ways to sneak in one of my favorite flavours) and they were WONDERFUL! Thank you so much for your great ideas! xox Christianne
elana says
Kitchen Goddess -Thanks so much for commenting! Great to hear from you again. I haven’t cooked with rice flour for more than a decade, so I’m probably not the best one to ask about this substitution. You could try it out and let us know your results, or you may like to post this question in the forums and someone over there might be better able to answer it. Again, thanks for all of your comments and for letting us know about your substitutions. Your icing sounds delicious!
Shirley -Thanks for leaving your tips and the amazing pumpkin bar recipe; I can’t wait to try that one. I am completely in pumpkin mode this week :-)
Karis -Thanks for letting us in all of your recipe renovations. And thanks for your kind words.
Kitchen Goddess says
I did make it with 1/2 rice flour to 1/2 ground almonds – looks and smells wonderful. I topped it with a maple & lemon icing too. Don’t know how it tastes yet as I’m taking it with me to work later, I’ll blog about it soon enough though.
Kitchen Goddess says
Instead of making muffins I’ve turned this into a loaf cake, it’s in the oven now and the kitchen smells gorgeous. Thanks Elana :)
Karis says
These pumpkin muffins are amazingly delicious–it’s so nice to take one (or three!) to my 7:30am classes without starting myself on a sugar crash for the day. Thank you!
I love your recipes; I’ve been meaning to post for a while. I wanted to pass on that, with great results, I consistently do the following:
-sub in melted butter and/or coconut oil for the grapeseed soil. In the chocolate chip cookies, the coconut oil lends great flavor!
-use Trader Joe’s (unblanched) almond meal. I always have to increase the amount “almond flour” called for, but as long as I add flour until the batter resembles what it should (cookie dough, muffin batter, etc), the results have been perfect.
I also frequently halve your recipes, or add in yummies like shredded coconut, all to excellent ends. I do believe that these things–the option to half, sub, alter, add and still get an exceptional product–are the hallmarks of great recipes!
Thanks again, your chocolate chip cookies, banana bread and now this one are all part of my regular baking routine.
Shirley says
Since everyone is posting recipes (I love that!), I just thought I’d add info on the baked goods I mentioned.
First, for the crustless pumpkin pie, use your favorite recipe for pumpkin pie and add 1/4 cup GF flour. I use a mix of rice flour and cornstarch, but for those who only use almond flour, I think it would work. (Note: One of the reasons I am here is that I want to eat healthier and use more almond flour, agave, etc.) I used this trick to make other pies crustless, too, like coconut and chocolate. NOBODY misses the crust. The pies are really wonderful.
The pumpkin bar recipe I use is from celiac.com and uses sugar and GF flour (rice flour and cornstarch for us), but I believe non-sugar sweetener could be used and almond flour. I am sure you could figure it out, Elana! These bars are thin and tasty. They really need no topping although the original recipe called for frosting.
Pumpkin Bars
Gluten-Free Bar Ingredients:
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup pumpkin
½ cup oil
1/6 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup GF flour*
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon each: ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon
Gluten-Free Bar Directions:
Beat egg. Add other wet ingredients and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Bake in a greased glass 9” x 13” pan about 30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Bars will be lightly browned. They are very thin and moist. Let cool.
*I make up flour ahead of time using 3 parts Asian white rice flour and 2 parts Argo cornstarch. Measure out flour as needed for recipe. No xanthan gum is necessary.
Note: When I use fresh baked pumpkin and it’s watery, I just use 2/3 cup of pumpkin and NO water. Works great!
Kitchen Goddess says
Hi Elana I’m sorry for not commenting here as much as I should although I have kept reading – promise :)
Just wondering if I could use half rice flour and half ground almonds instead? The muffins sound so fabulous.
elana says
~M -Those gingerbread pancakes sound amazing!
Jessica -Thanks, they make 8 and I’ve added the yield to the above recipe.
Hannah -If you make them with chips, please stop by and let us know how they were.
Ruth -I try to avoid canned food as it contains Bisphenol-A, an endocrine disrupting substance that has been linked to cancer. I will do a post for you in the next week or two on how to roast winter squash (including pumpkins).
Kimberly -I don’t think these would work with canned pumpkin; if you do experiment with it, please let us know how it turns out.
Shirley -Thanks for your comment; your pies sound delicious and I’m very curious about your pumpkin bar recipe. Maybe if you have a chance you could leave it for us.
andrew -You are very welcome :-)
chana -Oh my goodness, this recipe looks amazing, can’t wait to make it for Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for sharing it with us all.
Alchemille -Thanks so much for your comment. I’m not sure how they will turn out with canned pumpkin puree, it is somewhat wetter than the roasted pumpkin. If you make the muffins with the puree I hope you will let us know if they turned out ok. Yes, I am in the process “finalizing” a cookbook for Ten Speed Press, it is a very fun project!
Kelly -Thanks so much for sharing your butternut pudding recipe; it sounds so delicious!
Heather -Thanks for leaving us the link to your lovely pumpkin spice cake. Your other treat sounds amazing as well.
Robyn -I don’t have a vegan cream cheese filling. I do have recipes for regular cream cheese frosting and a vegan coconut frosting. I think the coconut frosting might be good on these muffins.
Sandra -I made these several times before posting them here and they were moist though held together very well. They are just a tad more moist than a regular muffin. A few factors might have come into play with the batch you made:
Thanks for your frank and honest comment, I really appreciate it as I want to give you (and everyone else) great recipes that work.
Also, did you bake up this recipe using coconut flour? If so, just wondering how did they taste? I was quite tempted to do the same myself. Thanks again for stopping by :-)
Paula says
Mine were a little soft in the middle. I actually thought they fell.(they were sunken in the middle) I used an egg replacer and canned pumpkin. I think I need to use real eggs. My daughter used canned pumpkin and they turned out perfect but she used real eggs.
Christina says
you said Bob’s Red Mill does not work in your recipes, sadly I just bought some and was excited to try these pumpkin muffins tonight. So glad I read your comment while I was roasting my pumpkin, but hadn’t yet started the batter. Can you recommend some brands that work with your recipes, as there are a lot that look amazing that I want to try. Would Bobs work for anything on your site or mainly just this recipe?
Sandra says
I am enjoying Elana’s Pantry and many of the recipes, however the Pumpkin Muffins are over moist to the point of being soggy despite careful attention to cooking temp and time. In my opinion there is simply too much wet ingredients and nowhere for them to be absorbed as almond flour is not very absorbent. This recipe works much better with coconut flour.
sandrita mason says
I agree with the comment about too much of the ‘wet’ ingredients in some gluten-free muffin recipes. I’ve been trying the muffin recipes from a new book, BABYCAKES, and the amount of oil listed (1/4 cup) produced something that looked like soup rather than batter. I baked a couple of batches of pumpkin and corn muffins anyway. The muffins are tasty enough but mighty oily and gummy.
Kathy says
I was so anxious to try the Pumpkin Pie Muffins recipe since I am new to gluten-free baking and this was the first time I tried a recipe with the almond flour the recipe calls for. I followed this recipe closely and did not question the baking time the recipe shows of 40-45 min. at 350 degrees. The recipe filled a small 12-muffin pan.
I set the timer for 40 min. and visually checked the muffins at 25 min. and saw they were burned almost black. My oven has a thermometer in it and it showed the oven temperature to be at 350 degrees as the recipe called for. And, at a 25 min. baking time, even regular pumpkin muffins would not have been so burned (on the middle rack of the oven). I know that about regular muffins, because I have made them frequently. As the muffins cooled they shrunk to almost hockey puck size. They were moist on the inside, but very dark (burned) on the outside.
Is the oven temperature of 350 degrees correct? And, should the baking time shown on this website be corrected to 20 min.?
Robyn Baldwin says
Hi Elana,
These look fabulous – pumpkin is one of my son’s favorite flavors. By chance do you have a vegan cream cheese filling recipe? Our local coffee house has a pumpkin muffin with cream cheese filling. This would make a perfect gluten free version.
Robyn
Heather says
I love pumpkin, especially fresh pumpkin.
I recently made a Pumpkin Spice Cake. You can find the recipe here:
http://www.lifeglutenfree.com/mama_baby_gluten_free/2008/09/pumpkin-spice-bread.html
Also, the other day I baked an organic pumpkin that I bought from my local farmers market. I scraped some out into a bowl and added coconut oil, honey and spices and stirred them together. It was a nice treat!
Kelly says
I love this photograph Elana! It’s so beautiful! The muffins sound scrumptious as well, I can’t wait to try them. Perhaps while my Mom is visiting this week.
Here is an autumn recipe I just posted on my blog:
Butternut Pudding:
My favorite way to cook butternut and acorn squash is to put them on a tray in the oven, at 400 degrees, for about one hour or until they are soft. You don’t poke or slice them; just put them in whole. It’s so easy.
After they are cool the skin peels right off and you can scoop out the seeds.
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Add to blender:
2 cups of cooked butternut squash
2 tbs ghee
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup honey or agave
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup coconut milk
Puree
Pour into greased dish and bake for 50 minutes or until just set.
Alchemille says
I love pumpkins…This is one of the many reasons I love and look forward to the Fall ;).
These muffins surely do look delicious and will give me the opportunity to use that big can of pumpkin puree I didn’t know what to do with…
Elana, do you plan on publishing a cookbook?
You have so many recipes to browse through and there aren’t currently much SCD cookbooks to choose from.
chana says
Love your site and recipes. You are such an inspiration! I’m sharing a cranberry pecan bread I’ve adapted that presents beautifully and tastes great too.
This recipe yields 1 full size loaf pan.
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup agave
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon rind
1 cup fresh cranberries
3/4 cup pecans
Mix flour, baking powder, salt.
Add oil, agave, eggs, vanilla and lemon rind.
Mix well.
Fold in cranberries and nuts.
Pour into loaf pan (I line with baking paper)
Bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour.
Cool before slicing.
Enjoy
andrew abraham says
Great idea for using pumpkins… I will try your recipe for thanksgiving…On the dessert menu will be your Pumpkin pie muffins…
Thanks for the idea
Andy
http://www.recipebuddys.com
Shirley says
So far I’ve baked two small pumpkins and used the fresh pumpkin to make a crustless pumpkin pie and several batches of pumpkin bars to share with family and friends. All very yummy and appreciated. And, the heat from the oven is appreciated now that it’s gotten colder–love that! Will have to try these muffins–thanks for the recipe. Muffins are such great comfort food.
Kimberly says
Is it possible to use canned pumpkin in these, instead of fresh, and if so, how much would you use?
Nicole T says
Yep–I used canned organic pumpkin (1 cup) and they turned out great!
Ruth says
Fresh baked pumpkins? Doesn’t pumpkin filling come in cans?? (How does one bake pumpkin??)
Hannah says
This picture is great! Muffins sound great, I love pumpkin or squash with sausage and greens, and I love pumpkin with chocolate so I might be adding some chips to these. Thanks for a beautiful recipe.
Jessica says
Sounds delicious! How many muffins does this recipe make? Thanks!
Jennifer says
It makes a dozen regular size muffins.
~M says
Hi Elana!
There’s something about fall that makes me crave these warming spices! Today, I woke up and decided that I craved gingerbread pancakes. I found a recipe and de-glutenized them with the help of some coconut flour. Both my husband and brother thought they rocked, too!
These muffins look fabulous too! We enjoy pretty much any recipe with winter squash!
Wendy Sensing says
Would love to get that recipe if you get a chance to post it! Thanks, wsensing