Craving pumpkin spice? These Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins are a delicious and portable breakfast or snack option. They can be prepared in advance so they make the perfect breakfast for busy mornings! {Gluten-free, Vegetarian & Dairy-free}
Elysia’s Recipe Recap
If your mornings tend to be hectic (ours sure are!), these healthy pumpkin oatmeal muffins can be a lifesaver. They’re quick to prep, bake in about 20 minutes, and make the perfect grab-and-go breakfast or snack. You can whip up a big batch, freeze the extras, and always have a wholesome option on hand.
Lower in sugar, flourless, and packed with fiber-rich oats, they keep everyone satisfied until lunchtime – and it’s exactly why we always like to keep our freezer stocked!
For more healthy fall recipes that use up that extra pumpkin puree, be sure to try my Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies and Banana Pumpkin Bars too!
Ingredient Notes
- Oats: Rolled oats are best since they provide a chewier texture. You can sub in quick oats if desired, however the texture won’t be as chewy. If you require a gluten-free option, be sure to use certified GF oats.
- Seasonings: Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt add all the extra flavor you need. Feel free to substitute pumpkin pie spice or add nutmeg, ginger or cloves.
- Baking Powder: To help the muffins rise.
- Chocolate chips: No muffin is complete without some chocolate chips! I prefer to use dark, but white or milk will also work well. Use dairy-free chocolate chips if required.
- Egg: To bind the ingredients together. You can also replace the egg with a flax or chia egg.
- Applesauce: To naturally sweeten the muffins and add some moisture.
- Pumpkin puree: A pumpkin muffin isn’t complete without some pumpkin puree! Use a pure pumpkin puree with no added spices or sugar (not pumpkin pie filling)! You can use canned or fresh pumpkin puree.
- Maple syrup and vanilla extract: Along with the applesauce, these sweeten and flavor the muffins. Use pure maple syrup, or you can substitute honey instead if you prefer.
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins with Oatmeal
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a regular sized muffin tin with cooking spray or line with silicone muffin liners.
- Add all of the dry ingredients including the rolled oats, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl and mix together.
- In another medium-sized bowl, beat the egg, and add the unsweetened applesauce, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Evenly distribute the muffin batter into each of the twelve muffin cups into each of the twelve muffin cups using a spoon or ice cream scoop, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until inserted toothpick poked into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing oatmeal muffin cups from muffin pan.
Scroll to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Tips for the best pumpkin muffins
- I recommend allowing the oatmeal muffins to cool for at least 15-20 minutes as they will firm up during this time, making it easier to remove them from the pan.
- For even easier removal of these muffins from the tin, I recommend using silicone baking cups.
- If you’re already making one batch, I recommend making a double batch and freeze the extras. They make a great grab and go breakfast or snack!
Storage Guidelines
Refrigerator: Once cooled, you can store these muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.
To freeze: Once the muffins are done baking, allow them to fully cool to room temperature. Next, you can package them up in a large ziplock bag or in individual snack bags or saran wrap to make them super convenient if you’re taking them to go. They can also be stored in an air-tight container separated by parchment paper for up to 3 months.
To thaw out: Simply leave in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for several hours. You can also pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds or so to make them warm and get that chocolate all nice and melted.
Recipe FAQs
If you don’t have rolled oats (AKA large flake oats or old-fashioned oats) on hand or prefer the taste of quick cooking oats, you can sub in the quick oats instead. There won’t be as much texture or chewiness as with the rolled oats, but it should still turn out just fine. If required, you can also sub in gluten-free rolled oats to ensure there is no cross contamination with gluten.
Steel cut oats, however, are not a suitable replacement since they’re too hard and chewy and require a longer cooking time. For best results with this recipe, stick to the rolled or quick oats.
If you have an intolerance to eggs or want to make this recipe vegan, you can certainly make it without the egg. The solution? Use chia seeds or ground flaxseed as an egg replacement.
To make a chia or flax egg, simply combine 3 tablespoons of water with one tablespoon of chia seeds or ground flax seed. Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes to thicken up and then add it to the bowl with the wet ingredients as a replacement for the egg.
Optional Add-Ins
These delicious pumpkin oatmeal muffins certainly have a ton of flavor on their own, but you can always switch up the ingredients to incorporate different flavors and textures, or to meet your dietary needs.
Try any of the following add-ins:
- Pumpkin seeds
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped walnuts
- Chopped pecans
- Sliced almonds
- Hemp hearts
- White chocolate chips
Serving Suggestions
Serve these muffins warm, cold or at room temperature.
You can also top them with a bit of almond butter or peanut butter or serve them along with some Greek yogurt, a smoothie (try this banana smoothie without yogurt), some creamy scrambled eggs or some fruit for a balanced breakfast or snack.
They also taste delicious with this pumpkin iced coffee recipe or turmeric latte with almond milk!
More Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Pie Spice Pancakes
- Pumpkin Pie without Evaporated Milk
- No Bake Pumpkin Balls
- Pumpkin French Toast Sticks Recipe
- Pumpkin Flax Seed Granola
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats (sub in gluten-free oats if necessary)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips (can use dairy-free if necessary)
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup 100% pure pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a regular sized muffin tin with cooking spray or line with silicone baking cups.
- Add all of the dry ingredients including the rolled oats, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl and mix together.
- In another medium-sized bowl, beat the egg and add the pumpkin puree, unsweetened applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Evenly distribute the mixture into each of the twelve muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days or the freezer for up to three months.
Notes
- Use pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is loaded with added sugar and we’re looking to minimize added sugar in this recipe. The two look very similar, so be sure to read the label on the front of the can and double check the nutrition facts table. If the sugar content is really high, chances are it’s pumpkin pie filling.
- I recommend allowing the muffins to cool for at least 15-20 minutes as they will firm up during this time, making it easier to remove them from the pan.
- For even easier removal of these muffins from the tin, I recommend baking these muffins in silicone baking cups.
- I suggest making up a double batch of these muffins and freezing them. They make a great grab and go breakfast or snack!
- Feel free to play around with additional add-ins. I just added chocolate chips but you can definitely add nuts, seeds, or dried fruit as well to switch it up.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in September 2019 and was updated in October 2023 to include more helpful tips and photos. The text, formatting and some photos were updated again in December 2025.
Recipe adapted from Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal
how many points do you think a muffin would be on WW? thanks so much!
I calculated each serving to be about 2 points. Hope that helps!
Would this recipe have to be altered if you wanted to add protein powder to it?
I haven’t personally tried adding protein powder to it, but depending on the amount/type of protein powder you use, you may have to increase the amount of liquid slightly so that the batter doesn’t end up being too dry. I find that plant-based protein powders tend to have a higher absorption and would probably require a bit more liquid compared to a whey-based protein powder. Keep me posted on how it goes if you try it out!
I realized I intended to make a different recipe that requires 2 eggs. Already measured it out. Didn’t have pumpkin spice so I used ginger, cloves, all spice, nutmeg & cloves. Didn’t have applesauce so I used extra pumpkin purée. Added mini chocolate chips & pecans. The batter was Thick going in but they came out quite good. Will definitely make again.
So happy you enjoyed the muffins! Love how you improvised despite not having all of the ingredients :) Thanks so much for taking the time to report back and leave a review!
Could I sub sweet potato for the pumpkin puree?
I haven’t tried these muffins with sweet potato, but I’m sure it would be fine since sweet potato has a similar consistency to the pumpkin puree! Let me know how it goes if you decide to try it out!
Can they be given to my 8 month old baby?
Definitely! You may wish to leave out the chocolate chips and optional add-ins (i.e. nuts, seeds, and dried cranberries as they are a choking hazard) in your baby’s portion and reduce the maple syrup and salt to decrease the amount of added sugar and sodium, but other than that, they are baby-friendly!
Thank you so much for your reply! I will try this recipe!
These muffins look amazing! Perfect for weekend brunch!
Thanks so much Natalie! They would definitely make a great brunch :)