Healthy Liv

Easy, Nutritious Recipes to Fuel an Active Lifestyle

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • Health & Fitness
  • College
  • Links

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

You are here: Home / Healthy Recipes / The Best Healthy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

October 19, 2019 11 Comments

The Best Healthy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Jump to Recipe

These gluten-free pumpkin muffins are made with oats and naturally sweetened! They’re my new favorite baked good for fall, and you’d never know they’re gluten-free.

Healthy flourless chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

I’ve baked 5 (five!) different batches of oat flour pumpkin muffins in the past three weeks. So, at this point, I’ve tried a LOT of muffins. And so have most of my friends here in Winston-Salem– they’re my always enthusiastic, very honest taste-testers!

As I’ve gradually begun baking more with almond flour and oat flour and using sweeteners like honey, coconut sugar, and maple syrup, I decided I wanted to develop the perfect naturally-sweetened, gluten-free pumpkin muffin recipe. (I shared my favorite recipe for whole-wheat pumpkin bread a couple of years ago, which I also still love.)

I started out by trying a couple of gluten-free pumpkin muffin recipes and combined what I liked about each one to create the perfect flourless pumpkin muffins.Healthy flourless chocolate chip pumpkin muffin batter

I love the final version of these flourless chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for a few reasons:

• Texture: These have the perfect texture of a typical pumpkin muffin!

I’ve tried quite a few gluten-free baked good recipes in the past that tasted good but the texture was just…off. Either they were slightly gummy, or they were dry and crumbly.

During some of my recipe testing, I tried batches with maple syrup instead of coconut sugar or using almond butter (rather than coconut oil) like some healthy baked good recipes call for, which made for some denser muffins.

In this final flourless muffin recipe, just the right amounts of coconut oil, pumpkin, and oat flour (plus being careful not to over-mix the batter once you combine the dry and liquid ingredients) contribute to a great texture.

• Easy-to-find ingredients: I tried to use mostly ingredients that you would have on hand in your kitchen.Baking healthy flourless chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

• Oat flour: I love using oat flour for gluten-free baking since it’s easy to make your own flour by just blending up old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats! (You can even blend steel-cut oats if that’s what you have and your blender is powerful enough.)

I may also give the “perfect almond flour pumpkin muffin recipe” a shot after I recover from this round of pumpkin muffin baking, but I do appreciate that oat flour is an inexpensive gluten-free baking option!

• Coconut sugar: This is the only ingredient that’s a little less common (although I’ve actually bought it at Target!). I used coconut sugar as an unrefined sweetener option, but you can also easily substitute an equal amount of regular granulated white sugar.

I tested these muffins with refined white sugar, as well, and didn’t notice much of a taste difference, although refined (non-coconut) sugar is slightly sweeter.

I also tested a batch of these muffins with maple syrup, but I liked the texture of the coconut sugar/regular sugar better here.A pan of healthy flourless chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

• Lots of pumpkin spice: I add a bit more pumpkin pie spice than a some recipes call for. Pumpkin is surprisingly bland on its own, and the spices are what make it ah-mazing. So, I’m generous with the cinnamon and nutmeg, but not too heavy-handed. 

• CHOCOLATE CHIPS: Or as one of my good friends likes to say, “choccys.” I recommend either semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.

If you’re trying to keep these on the low sugar side, you can omit the chocolate chips in the batter and only sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of each muffin. Or you can skip the chocolate chips altogether (sob) and add chopped walnuts or pecans instead!

• Optional addition: In one of my test batches, I added one well-mashed banana (and reduced the pumpkin to just 1 cup) because I think a perfectly spotty banana adds a great texture

Healthy flourless chocolate chip pumpkin muffinsI hope you LOVE these gluten-free pumpkin muffins as much as I do!

The best healthy flourless chocolate chip pumpkin muffin recipe

If you try these gluten-free pumpkin muffins, feel free to let me know in a comment with a star rating or take a photo and tag me @livbane on Instagram!

Print Pin
5 from 2 votes

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

These gluten-free pumpkin muffins are made with oats and naturally sweetened! They're my new favorite baked good for fall, and you'd never know they're gluten-free.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 210kcal
Author: Liv

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups finely-ground oat flour*
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar (can sub regular white granulated sugar)
  • 4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (can sub cinnamon if needed)
  • 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/4 cup plain canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup milk or almond milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 6 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips (save some or use extra to sprinkle on top)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, stir together oat flour, coconut sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.
  • In a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.
  • Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients, and stir until almost combined, then drizzle in melted coconut oil and add chocolate chips, stirring until just combined.
  • Spray muffin cups with cooking spray and distribute batter evenly. Sprinkle each muffin with a few chocolate chips. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out almost clean.
  • Store leftover muffins in an air-tight container for up to two days for optimal freshness or freeze for up to 3 months. I think these taste best warm or at room temperature!

Notes

*To make 1 3/4 cups oat flour, blend a heaping 1 3/4 quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats until as smooth as possible, with a texture resembling flour.
Oats are naturally gluten-free, but be sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you have a serious gluten intolerance and want to make sure your oats haven't been processed in facilities that also process wheat. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 210kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g

Sharing is easy!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
3-Minute Peanut Butter Egg White Oatmeal

Comments

  1. Misty says

    October 19, 2019 at 10:51 am

    I am going to make these today! Happy 5 year anniversary today to your blog!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      October 19, 2019 at 7:20 pm

      You’ll have to report back and let me know what you think! And thank you 🙂

      Reply
  2. Sherezada says

    October 19, 2019 at 12:10 pm

    Hello, can I substitute with Almond or Coconut flour?

    Reply
    • Liv says

      October 19, 2019 at 7:20 pm

      The textures of those are pretty different from oat flour, so I’d recommend finding an almond or coconut flour-specific recipe! I hope to work on an almond flour recipe in the future, but I bet there are some good ones online already, also 🙂

      Reply
  3. Carol Eiseman says

    October 19, 2019 at 5:10 pm

    How does the pumpkin purée differ from pumpkin pie filling? Would both work?

    Reply
    • Liv says

      October 19, 2019 at 6:44 pm

      Canned pumpkin pie filling is made specifically to go inside of a pumpkin pie and has sugar and spices already added to it! Canned pumpkin puree is just plain pumpkin and what pumpkin baked goods like muffins or pumpkin bread typically call for 🙂 I’d stick with plain pumpkin puree so your muffins end up just sweet enough and spiced just right!

      Reply
  4. Carol Eiseman says

    October 19, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    We are looking forward to having these muffins for Halloween.

    Reply
  5. Misty says

    October 27, 2019 at 5:28 pm

    I just made these for the second time as part of my meal prep for the week. They are moist enough to be delicious and dense enough to be very filling of good for you ingredients. The coconut sugar and chocolate chips make them just sweet enough to curb my sweet tooth so that I am not craving the bad for you stuff all day 🙂 I used paper liners which make them easy to grab and go. I am excited for the week!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      October 28, 2019 at 7:10 pm

      I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed these healthier muffins!! Love that you make them as part of your meal prep! 😀

      Reply
  6. Misty says

    October 27, 2019 at 5:30 pm

    5 stars
    see above

    Reply
  7. Sofia Graf says

    August 20, 2022 at 3:41 am

    5 stars
    I have baked chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, but I have used pure grass-fed ghee instead of coconut oil. It was an easy baking with ghee and the muffins were extremely flavorful. You can also try the muffins with ghee baking and you will be benefited with ghee benefits and ghee food safety of high smoke point.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rating




Hi, I’m Liv! I originally started blogging to share easy meals I made in my college dorm kitchen. Years later, as an attorney now, my goal is still to share delicious, approachable recipes with simple ingredients. You can most often find me running, eating ice cream, and making a mess in my kitchen. More...

Want new posts in your inbox?

Copyright Healthy Liv © 2023 · Fun WordPress Theme On Genesis Framework · privacy policy