Tender, soft, and perfectly sweet, these delicious pumpkin muffins are brimming with autumn spices and topped with a crunchy pecan streusel topping. If you love the taste of pumpkin, these beautiful muffins are an absolute must-bake!
I also have a great recipe for gluten-free blueberry muffins, and my gluten-free zucchini bread is a fantastic treat for the fall season.
***
It’s late September in Brno; the air is getting cooler, the sky is darkening, the leaves are just starting to turn, and pumpkins are everywhere. They spookily adorn windows and driveways, they feature heavily in restaurant meals like soups and curries, and of course, pumpkin is the star of the quintessential autumn beverage—the overly frothy, way too expensive, sickeningly sweet (though weirdly impossible to resist) Pumpkin Spice Latte.
And honestly, I fully and unashamedly embrace the seasonal pumpkin craze. I think pumpkins are just swell; they look adorable, their seeds taste amazing when roasted, they’re great fun to carve up, and most importantly, pumpkins provide vast culinary delight. The flesh of a pumpkin is incredibly flavorful, and they work wonderfully well in a variety of sweet and savory dishes.
If you’re a fellow pumpkin enthusiast, then you’re going to absolutely love the taste of my gluten-free pumpkin muffins. They are just gourd-geous. The muffin itself is wonderfully moist, with a rich pumpkin flavor, and is loaded with fragrant autumn spices. The streusel topping adds a lovely texture, and the crunchy pecans taste delicious in combination with the pumpkin and spices.
If streusel topping is not your thing, don’t worry, I have some alternative ideas for toppings in the recipe notes below. These muffins are too good to miss, so let’s get baking!
What you will need
First, gather your ingredients. Make sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix for this recipe. I used pumpkin puree from a can, but fresh pumpkin will also work just fine.
- gluten-free plain flour (I used Doves Farm Freee)
- caster sugar
- brown sugar
- baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon
- ground cloves
- nutmeg
- eggs
- pumpkin puree
- sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
- vanilla extract
- Demerara sugar (for the topping)
- butter (for the topping)
- pecans (for the topping)
How to make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
First, prepare the (optional) streusel topping. If you wish, toast the pecans in advance before roughly chopping them and adding them to the mixture. I toasted mine at 170⁰ C fan for about 7 minutes.
Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and toasted chopped pecans in a small bowl and give it a quick stir. Then pour in the melted butter. Mix with a fork until the mixture resembles crumbly nuggets.
If you prefer not to use the streusel, here are some alternative ideas for toppings:
- toasted chopped pecans
- candied maple pecans (great recipe here from Cupcake Jemma)
- demerara sugar and cinnamon
And of course, another option is to forego any sort of topping and just eat the pumpkin muffins on their own. They will still taste fabulous!
When the streusel topping is done and set aside, it’s time for the muffin batter. Preheat the oven to 375⁰ F/ 190⁰ C / 170⁰ C fan. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, white and brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, add the eggs, oil, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Whisk until combined (no need to beat).
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined (a few streaks of flour are fine). Take a moment to enjoy the glorious color of the batter.
Spoon or scoop the batter into the muffin liners, no more than ¾ full. Using your fingers, sprinkle a small amount of streusel topping on each muffin. For heaven’s sake, do use all of it!
The muffins are ready for baking! Bake them for 24-28 minutes until a toothpick through the center comes out clean.
These gluten-free pumpkin muffins can be eaten at room temperature, or slightly warm. Enjoy them plain, or sliced in half with a dollop of nut butter, or even with a little cream cheese spread on top. A sweet, scrumptious treat for the autumn season!
Tips for success!
- I recommend weighing your ingredients for better accuracy. Since I bought a kitchen scale, I find it so much easier and faster than measuring by cups.
- Muffins require minimal mixing: a whisk and a wooden spoon will do just fine to combine your ingredients. There’s no need to use a stand mixer or electic mixer, as this will only add unnecessary air to the batter.
- Be careful not to overfill your muffin liners—they should be no more than ¾ full. If you have leftover batter, then you can bake extra muffins!
Gluten-free pumpkin muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 262g gluten-free plain flour (1 ¾ cups) -I used Doves Farm Freee I used Doves Farm Freee
- 150g caster sugar
- 70g brown sugar (½ cup packed)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 375g pumpkin puree (1 ½ cups)
- 110 ml sunflower oil (½ cup) or other neutral oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the streusel topping (optional):
- 45g gluten-free all-purpose flour (5 tbsp)
- 25g demerara sugar (2 tbsp) or other crunchy brown sugar
- 28g melted butter (2 tbsp)
- 35g chopped pecans (¼ cup)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
For the streusel topping (optional):
- Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and toasted chopped pecans in a small bowl and give it a quick stir.
- Pour in the melted butter. Mix with a fork until the mixture resembles crumbly nuggets.
For the muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 375⁰ F/ 190⁰ C / 170⁰ C fan. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
- Make the (optional) streusel topping and set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, white and brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- In a separate bowl, add the eggs, oil, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Whisk until combined (no need to beat).
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Spoon or scoop the batter into the muffin liners, no more than ¾ full. Sprinkle a small amount of streusel topping on each muffin.
- Bake for 24-28 minutes, until a toothpick through the center comes out clean.
Notes
- Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Depending on your gluten-free flour blend and the size of your eggs, you may have some leftover batter (I had enough for 2 extra muffins). So you have an extra muffin tin, go ahead and bake them!
- To freeze, wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap, and place them in a ziplock bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Servings 12
Serving Size 1 muffin
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 304
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 13.8g22%
- Saturated Fat 2.6g13%
- Cholesterol 32mg11%
- Sodium 226mg10%
- Potassium 90mg3%
- Total Carbohydrate 44.4g15%
- Dietary Fiber 1.7g7%
- Sugars 21.7g
- Protein 2.9g6%
- Calcium 1 mg
- Iron 4 mg
- Vitamin D 19 IU
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
This nutritional information is based on the brands and ingredients I used for this recipe. They may not be 100% accurate for you. Please check your nutrition labels for more precise information.