The BEST Pumpkin Muffins
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This is truly the BEST Pumpkin Muffins recipe — they’ve been carefully tested to be soft, fluffy, moist, and loaded with fall flavor! My recipe is easy (no mixer or pastry cutter needed!) and takes just 10 minutes to prep. Recipe includes a how-to video.
Top-Rated Pumpkin Muffins
These easy pumpkin muffins are every bit as delectable as my pumpkin cupcakes, but slightly more suitable for breakfast! With their buttery streusel topping and their moist and flavorful pumpkin-y centers, they rival my banana muffins in terms of favorite muffins ever.
The streusel is what takes these muffins from delicious to irresistible. It’s buttery and crisp against the super soft and moist pumpkin muffin interior. The best part? Instead of using cold butter and working it into the sugar and flour with a pastry cutter, my recipe uses a simpler method with melted butter. It’s not only easier, but it also lends itself to a more buttery streusel–yum!
What you’ll love about my recipe:
- Only 10 minutes to prep!
- Uses simple ingredients with incredibly moist and tender results.
- No mixer or pastry cutter needed.
- Includes an easy (optional) 2-ingredient glaze!
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients in my pumpkin muffin recipe:
- Sugar. I like to use both white and brown sugar. The brown sugar adds subtle molasses tones that really complement the pumpkin and the spiced fall flavors.
- Butter. Let your butter cool after melting, otherwise it will melt your sugars, yielding flat, sub-par results.
- Canned pumpkin. Make sure you use pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling, which has other additives that can keep your muffins from tasting as they should.
- Milk. Since it’s such a small amount, really any kind will work. I use whole milk.
- Pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can always whip up a batch of my homemade pumpkin spice!
SAM’S TIP: These pumpkin muffins would look so nice in my parchment paper muffin liners! They’re extremely easy to make and have a pretty and professional look.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins
- Stir the sugars, eggs, pumpkin puree, and milk into the (cooled) melted butter until combined.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually fold them into the wet ingredients. With muffins, it’s important that you don’t over-mix the batter, so do this step by hand (with a spatula) and be gentle. Don’t use an electric mixer here (!) and stir until just-combined.
- Evenly portion your batter into a lined muffin tin and set this aside while you prepare your streusel.
- Whisk together the flour, sugars, and cinnamon.
- Pour melted butter over the mixture and toss with a fork until clumps form.
- Sprinkle the streusel over your prepared muffins and bake for 17-19 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool before topping with vanilla glaze (if using).
SAM’S TIP: The key to good streusel is a mixture that’s nice and clumpy, so don’t break up the clumps that form as you stir in your butter. If you over-work your streusel, you’ll end up with a paste rather than the crumbly topping that we’re aiming for.
Frequently Asked Questions
These will be fine at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days. They could be refrigerated, but the fridge tends to dry out muffins and so I don’t recommend it.
Yes! Your bake time will be different though (less time for mini, likely about 14 minutes, and more time for jumbo), so keep an eye on them.
You could, but I’d recommend making my pumpkin bread instead. It’s meant to be baked in a loaf pan and has a perfectly dense crumb that’s designed to be sliced without crumbling (which might happen if you use this recipe!).
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
The Best Pumpkin Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin pan
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled at least 10 minutes
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten (room temperature preferred)
- 1 cup (240 g) canned pumpkin puree¹
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, (click the link for instructions to make your own pumpkin spice)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Streusel Topping²
- 1 ¼ cup (156 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar tightly packed
- ⅓ cup (66 g) sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons (85 g) salted butter³, melted and cooled until no longer warm to the touch
Glaze (optional)
- ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners (or lightly grease and flour). Set aside.
- Combine melted, cooled butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl and stir well.¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- Stir in eggs. Add pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla extract and stir well.2 large eggs, 1 cup (240 g) canned pumpkin puree¹, 2 Tablespoons milk, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon until well-combined.1 ¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Add your dry ingredients into your wet and gently stir until just combined, taking care to not overmix the batter.
- Evenly divide muffin batter into prepared muffin tins (filling each ¾ full). Set aside while you prepare your streusel.
Streusel
- Prepare your streusel by whisking together flour, sugars and cinnamon.1 ¼ cup (156 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar tightly packed, ⅓ cup (66 g) sugar, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pour the melted butter into the mixture and, using a fork, stir until crumbles form. Don't overwork the streusel or you'll end up with a paste, you want it to be nice and clumpy!6 Tablespoons (85 g) salted butter³
- Using your hands, evenly divide streusel over muffin batter, piling the streusel over the batter and gently pressing the topping into the batter.
- Bake on 375F (190C) for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Allow muffins to cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Glaze
- If desired, make glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over cooled pumpkin muffins½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar, 2-3 teaspoons milk
Notes
¹Pumpkin Puree
Make sure you buy puree that is 100% pumpkin and NOT “Pumpkin Pie Filling”, which contains other ingredients.²Streusel topping
These pumpkin muffins can be made without the streusel topping, they may just need a minute or two less in the oven. A few people have commented that the streusel recipe made more than they needed for their muffins. The amount listed is exactly as much as I use and as is shown in the photos and in the video, but feel free to reduce the amount in half if you don’t like a lot of streusel.³Salted vs unsalted butter
If you don’t have salted butter on hand, just use unsalted and add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients for the streusel.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Muffins may also be tightly wrapped and frozen for several months.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I originally published this recipe 10/3/2018. Post updated with new pictures and more notes, recipe is the same.
Best pumpkin muffins I’ve ever had! I will definitely make them again!
Easy to make with simple ingredients. Minimal work with maximum taste. I’ll definitely make this recipe again!
The streusel topping is the best part of the muffin. While the muffin it self is very light and fluffy, I think the batter needs a bit more salt and vanilla.
Best pumpkin muffins. My kids keep asking me to make them
I posted yesterday not sure why it’s gone. I made these gluten and sugar free. They came out perfectly. I made 6 extra large muffins. I cooked untopped 18 minutes at 360. Then I topped with streusel and cooked 8 minutes and then rotated my pan to prevent burning the crumble and cooked 10 minutes for a total of 36 minutes at 360. They were perfectly cooked. Also I made half the topping because it was too much for 6 six jumbo muffins.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Jill! All comments have to be approved to prevent inappropriate comments from being published. You should see it on the site now. 🙂
Dear Sam,
My family and I are absolutely in love with these pumpkin muffins! As always, thanks for detailed instructions. Since your recipes help understand how each and every ingredient works, I risked and tried making them dairy- and gluten-free for my sister who can’t eat gluten and dairy. It turned out PERFECT!
Here’s what I substituted:
1. Flour in muffin batter for Dr. Oetker’s gluten-free muffin mix. It already comes with sugar and baking powder, so I didn’t add those here.
2. Unsalted butter for coconut oil.
3. Salted butter in crumbs for vegan spread.
4. Flour in crumbs for buckwheat-rice baking mix which includes cornstarch and something gluten-replacing.
5. Also, I made pumpkin puree from scratch using Butternut pumpkin.
6. And I also used your recipe for homemade pumpkin spice 🥰🥰🥰
7. Oh, and milk in batter and glaze was replaced with coconut-rice milk.
So, I’m just writing to let you know your ideas are so awesome I want literally everyone to enjoy them!💘
I was wondering if you could make these lower sugar like your blueberry and chocolate chip muffins
Hi Regina! I haven’t personally tried it so I can’t say for sure how it would work.
Just made these Pumpkin Muffins.♥️♥️♥️♥️They are fantastic. These came out absolutely perfect. Nice and moist the texture is perfect. Will be making these again. Will be my new go to recipe. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Hello. Thank you for this recipe. I just made these today. They are fantastic and definitely worth the work involved. The streusel topping is awesome and I would have iced them, if I had more powder sugar. Everything I try from this site is always wonderful and I highly recommend it. SugarSpunRun is one of my go-to sites that I trust will come out perfect every time.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Made these on a Saturday morning as a treat and these turned out AMAZING! Super easy recipe to follow, had all the ingredients on hand and it came together quickly! I always use a vanilla bean paste instead of the extract so that’s the only thing I tweaked. I have officially added these to my recipe book. I can’t wait to make these again – thanks for sharing your incredible recipe!!
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a major hit at all 3 events i brought them to. I recommend doubling the recipe for sure. Such a big hit, I’ve been told to make them for Christmas as well.
I’m so glad everyone has enjoyed them so much, Hannah! 🙂
Very delicious, moist, flavorful, and festive! My new go to recipe!
I made this recipe but used fresh pumpkin that I needed to use. It was so delicious especially the streusel topping. Definitely a winner so moist! Than you for sharing.
Can this recipe be doubled?
Sure thing! 🙂
Absolutely the best pumpkin muffins I’ve ever recipe I’ve ever tasted.
Great recipe!
Do you have the adjusted time and temp for a loaf instead of muffins?
Hi Emily! I would recommend using my pumpkin bread for a loaf pan instead of this recipe. 🙂
Hi! Can I make these into mini muffins? How will the baking time change?
Hi Meghan! The bake time would be reduced, but honestly I haven’t personally done it so I don’t know for sure how long they would take. I would be sure to keep an eye on them and use the toothpick test to make sure they are done. 🙂
You need a book! I’ve tricked so many people into thinking I’m a great baker because of your recipes 😂 Blindly tried this recipe this weekend for a get together and everyone agreed these are THE BEST pumpkin muffins
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Marjie! I am working on a cookbook, it’s just taking a bit longer than anticipated. 🙂
if I make half the muffins without the topping would it change the cooking time?
Hi Janet! I would start checking them a few minutes sooner. 🙂