Gluten Free & Paleo Pumpkin Pie Muffins
These gluten free (and paleo!) pumpkin muffins are incredibly moist and tender, with a melt-in-your-mouth, creamy crumb that tastes like pumpkin pie (warning: they will make your house smell like HEAVEN). As opposed to the overly sweetened “cakes” that often disguise themselves as breakfast muffins, these nutritious beauties are naturally sweetened and grain free. The easy batter gets made right in a food processor or high speed blender (meaning no mixing bowls!!)—if you don’t have one see the Tips below. A sprinkle of chopped pecans and flaky sea salt lend a lovely crunch (and a delicious salty-sweet flavor), but they’re both optional. While it might seem like a lot of ingredients, you probably have almost everything in your pantry!
Servings: 12 muffins
Equipment
- High Speed Blender or Food Processor
- Muffin Tins
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (362g) canned pumpkin puree
- ⅔ cup (220g) maple syrup (or you can use honey)
- ¼ cup (48g) virgin coconut oil, melted
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups (345g) almond flour
- 2 tablespoons (13g) coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Toppings (optional)
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
Blend the wet ingredients
- In a high speed blender (such as a Vitamix) or food processor, combine the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Blend until smooth. Scrape the sides.
Add the dry ingredients
- Sprinkle the almond flour, coconut flour and baking powder over the wet ingredients in the blender or processor. Blend, stopping and stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until there are no more lumps (don’t over-blend the batter).
Divide into muffin cups and bake
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups—the cups should be rather full (you will have some leftover batter—feel free to squeak out an extra muffin or two if you have another tin!). Sprinkle with the chopped pecans and flaky sea salt, if using.
- Bake, rotating the pan(s) halfway through, or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 33-35 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan(s) for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. For the best flavor and texture, let the muffins cool completely before serving (but if you can’t wait, I get it).
- Serve the muffins on their own or slather them with some softened butter. SO GOOD!
Notes
Storage: The muffins can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. You can eat them cold straight out of the fridge (they will be a bit richer in the center, like pumpkin pie) or reheat them in a toaster oven.
Tips:
- This batter gets made in a high speed blender or food processor, meaning there’s no mixing bowls required! However, if you don't have a high speed blender or food processor you can use electric hand beaters instead. In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients and beat on medium-high until completely combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and beat until smooth.
- I always recommend baking with a kitchen scale, which not only makes things much easier, but also much more accurate (especially when using gluten free flours). If you use measuring cups, be sure to spoon the almond flour into the cups so it’s not too tightly packed.
- This pumpkin pie muffin batter only needs 2 tablespoons of coconut flour, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but which makes a big difference in terms of texture (coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid, so a little goes a long way).
- I recommend using light colored muffin tins, as dark tins can cause the muffins to darken too quickly (if using dark tins, check them early).
- An ice cream scoop makes it easy to divide the batter among the muffin cups.
- If you like these muffins, be sure to try this Paleo Pumpkin Bread Recipe!