Whip up the fluffiest Vegan Cinnamon Crunch Pumpkin Muffins in just 30 minutes! With whole wheat flour, they are great for breakfast or for a midday treat with a cup of coffee. They're not too sweet and perfect for fall snacking.
Ingredients Details & Possible Substitutions for Cinnamon Crunch Pumpkin Muffins
Chia seeds mixed with water provide a vegan "egg" to help bind this recipe. Ground flax can also be used!
A neutral oil such as avocado also helps bind the flour in this recipe - refined coconut oil or canola oil are easy swaps.
This recipe uses an entire can (15 oz) of pumpkin puree - nothing leftover! Pumpkin is a natural binding agent, making it a great player in plant-based baking (which of course does not rely on eggs).
Turbinado sugar plays two parts: it lends a subtle crunch and sweetness to the base of the muffins while also providing a pretty sparkle for their tops.
All purpose flour and whole wheat flour provide most of the structure here, but can be substituted for one another as needed. Keep in mind that whole wheat flour absorbs more water, so it's not a direct cup-for-cup swap.
A combination of baking soda and baking powder provides structure and lift.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt invokes traditional fall flavors - perfectly cozy and delicious.
How to Get Vegan Muffins to Rise
As mentioned above, pumpkin acts as a natural binding agent in this recipe, without eggs. To keep things from being too dense, baking soda and baking powder both help with rising.
A trick that is more of a cheat than anything is to overfill the muffin tin itself (or at least add more batter than you normally would. In this recipe I suggest only using 9 of the 12 tins on a standard muffin pan - this ensure bakery-level rise from each muffin.
More Easy Muffin Recipes to Try
Bakery-Style Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Love pumpkin? Try these other baked goods next!
Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Cinnamon Frosting
Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes (not really a baked good, but sort of)
Cinnamon Crunch Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 TBS chia seeds or 2 TBS ground flaxseeds + 5 TBS water, set aside
- ½ cup neutral oil like avocado
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- ⅔ cup raw turbinado sugar
- 1 TBS molasses or one TBS brown sugar, optional
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour or 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup dried cranberries optional
- For topping: 1 TBS turbinado sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and oil a muffin tin. In a small bowl, combine chia "egg," neutral oil, pumpkin, turbinado sugar, and optional molasses/brown sugar. Mix to combine and set aside.
- In a larger bowl, mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Sprinkle in dried cranberries if using.
- Carefully pour wet mixture into dry, mixing until there are no dry spots (do not mix too much though, as this will develop gluten in the flour which will make the muffins tough). Spoon muffin batter into 9 of the tins.
- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mix on top of all muffins and bake for 18-22 minutes, until a knife stuck in the center comes out dry. Let muffins cool slightly in the pan, then remove to cool completely. Store in a sealed container on the counter for 3 days (they will soften a bit as they sit, but remain moist).
Video
Nutrition
Sue0523 says
So delicious and so simple. Maybe its my tin, but the recipe as written made 12 nice sized muffins - perfect breakfast for the week!
Emily says
That's great feedback to hear - thank you for rating!!
Susannah says
Delicious, and perfect for snacking on our road trip; love these!
Emily says
Thank you for making + rating!!
Cindy says
These are my new favorite vegan pumpkin muffins - thank you so much!
Emily says
Thanks for trying them, Cindy!!
SWH says
These are soooo delicious and the perfect post yoga snack! So easy, too!
Emily says
Thank you so much for trying them and commenting!!