Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

These Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Muffins are seriously moist, subtly spiced, and super satisfying. They’re the perfect healthy dessert, snack, breakfast or brunch for autumn.

Why you’ll love these Pumpkin Muffins:

• they’re seriously moist
• they’re perfectly dense
• they’re warmly spiced
• they’re sweet and nutty
• they’re secretly healthy 
• they’re filling and satisfying
• they’re a good source of protein and fibre
• they’re nutritious
• they’re undetectably vegan and gluten-free
• they’re refined sugar free
• they’re nut-free optional
• they’re easy to make
• they’re ready in just 35 minutes
• they’re made in one bowl!

Substitutions you can make to this recipe:

• you can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil
• you can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc
• you can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, date syrup etc
• you can substitute the ground walnuts with ground almonds (almond meal)
• for a nut-free version: substitute the ground walnuts with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (1/4 cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 1/4 cup) ground walnuts
• you can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free
• you can use either shop-bought pumpkin purée or make our own
• the pumpkin purée can be substituted with sweet potato or butternut squash purée
• the mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice) can be omitted or substituted with cinnamon.

Ways you can jazz up this recipe:

• you can top these with chopped pecan nuts, flaked almonds or coconut flakes before baking
• you can add chocolate chips, raisins or dried cranberries to the batter.

Tips for making these Pumpkin Muffins

• Make sure to use the right amount of baking powder – 4 teaspoons! Use too little baking powder and your sponge will be too fluffy, too much and it’ll have a bitter taste.
• The vinegar is crucial as it’s acidic, which means it reacts with the alkali bicarbonate of soda to create a bubbly batter and fluffy sponge.
• Make the ground walnuts but pulsing the walnuts in a food processor until they form a fine powder.
• Make sure to use an all-purpose shop-bought gluten-free flour blend (or a homemade gluten-free flour blend), as opposed to just using any type of gluten-free flour you can find (such as almond flour, coconut flour, buckwheat flour etc).

Equipment you’ll need to make these Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Muffins:

• glass mixing bowl – for mixing together the muffin batter
• food processor – for grinding up the walnuts into a powder
• measuring jug – for measuring out the plant-based milk
• muffin/cupcake tin – for baking the muffins

How long do these Pumpkin Muffins keep for?

These muffins keep well covered in the fridge for up to a few days. They’re easily transportable and freeze well too. You can reheat them in the oven or an oven toaster if you like.

More gluten-free vegan muffin recipes:

• Carrot Muffins
• Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins
• Chocolate Muffins
• Cornbread Muffins
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Apple Muffins
• Blueberry Muffins

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

These Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Muffins are seriously moist, subtly spiced, and super satisfying. 

4.31 from 13 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free pumpkin muffins, healthy pumpkin muffins, vegan pumpkin muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 209kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

• 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• 150 ml (2/3 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• 225 g (1 cup) pumpkin purée
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• 150 g (1 1/4 cup) ground walnuts (or use walnuts ground up into a powder in a food processor)*
• 150 g (1 1/4 cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder ensure gluten-free if necessary
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda baking soda
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice to taste (pumpkin pie spice, or a mixture of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if not using any other oil)
• Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the pumpkin purée, vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground walnuts
• Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice
• Transfer the mixture between muffin cases in a muffin tin
• Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry
• Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean
• These muffins keep in the fridge for a few days. They can be reheated in the oven or an oven toaster if you like

Notes

*You can alternatively use ground almonds/almond meal or almond flour

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

Amount Per Serving

Calories 209 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 5g25%

Sodium 43mg2%

Potassium 258mg7%

Carbohydrates 21g7%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 2918IU58%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 114mg11%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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