Spiced Gluten Free Dairy Free Pumpkin Muffins
There's nothing like a delicious gluten free dairy free pumpkin muffin to say 'hello Fall!'
You know what makes every recipe better this time of year? PUMPKIN! It’s a treat for the taste buds that makes every muffin, bread, loaf and even drink, taste better. It's an ingredient that's perfect for baking with as it contributes to a fluffy and moist texture.
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⭐Gluten Free Dairy Free Pumpkin Muffins at a Glance
On it's own, pumpkin is loaded with good-for-you nutrients. A high dose of vitamin A and fiber and a good serving of vitamin C means pumpkin is certainly beneficial to your diet.
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For anyone watching their sugar intake, this pumpkin muffin recipe has been edited and re-worked to get the least amount of sugar possible without sacrificing the taste.
You'll also love:
- The recipe is dairy free as written
- It uses convenient pumpkin pie spice
- It takes about 15 minutes to prep
- They'll be enough pumpkin leftover for these pumpkin pancakes, these pumpkin cookies, and this pumpkin bread
🧾Ingredients & Substitutions
The simple ingredients list and any acceptable substitutions for these gluten-free pumpkin muffins:
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend - The gluten free flour mix this recipe has been tested with is here. I would not recommend a single flour like almond flour or oat flour in this recipe as it has been developed using a flour blend. Other blends like Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur may work but they have not been thoroughly tested. Note: Xanthan gum or guar gum are not needed in this recipe and most blends contain one or the other. It can make the muffins more dense.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - The pumpkin pie spice gives these muffins their characteristic pumpkin spice flavor. There is no substitute and it should not be omitted.
- Baking Soda - There is no substitute for the baking soda.
- Salt - There is no substitute for the salt, however it can be cut down if you are needing a low salt option.
- Granulated Sugar - The white sugar lends the much needed hint of sweet in these muffins. Coconut sugar or Swerve granulated sweetener may be substituted. Brown sugar does not have the texture needed for this pumpkin muffin recipe.
- Pumpkin Puree - Be sure to use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. There is no substitute for the pumpkin in this recipe.
- Eggs - If you need an egg substitute, JUST egg or a chia egg or flax eggs would work well. Also check out these vegan pumpkin muffins for another option.
- Vegetable Oil - Oil is needed to add fat content to the batter. Melted coconut oil, canola oil or even olive oil would work equally well.
- Almond Milk - Coconut milk, oat milk, or any non-dairy milk would work well as a substitute.
- Vanilla Extract - There is no substitute for the vanilla extract.
- Powdered Sugar - The powdered sugar is for sprinkling on top of the muffins and can be omitted.
These ingredients can be found in my Amazon store.
Exact measurements and steps for making these gluten-free muffins are in the recipe card below.
📖Step by Step to GF Pumpkin Muffins
STEP ONE: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
STEP TWO: Mix the wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
STEP THREE: Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well blended, about 30 seconds.
STEP FOUR: Set the batter aside to rest for 30 minutes to hydrate the starches and flours.
STEP FIVE: Spray 9 muffin cups with cooking spray and portion batter using a measuring cup or ice cream scoop.
STEP SIX: Bake the muffins at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin tests done.
Storing
These muffins store really well at room temperature, in a sealed airtight container for up to 3 days. Any longer than that and they'll need to be frozen. Freeze muffins in a freezer bag. They can be defrosted in the microwave for 30 seconds-1 minute. Find more information on storing gluten free breads so they don't dry out here.
Variations for Pumpkin Muffins
This pumpkin muffin is a crowd-pleaser as-is, but these additions or variations are also delicious:
1.Add some chocolate chips to the batter for a lovely chocolate flavor.
2. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with cinnamon sugar instead of the dusting of powdered sugar.
3. Use muffin liners for a true, on-the-go snack since the paper liner can act as a crumb catcher as well.
4. Or, use up any leftover pumpkin puree in other gluten-free pumpkin recipes like gluten-free pumpkin cookies or gluten-free pumpkin bread.
Tools & Equipment Needed
These tools will make these gluten free pumpkin muffins super easy to prep:
- Digital scale
- Large bowl
- Medium bowl
- Plastic whisk
- Muffin pan
- Ice cream scoop
Tip for Tools: Have you ever struggled with portioning out muffin batter? What seemed like an easy thing makes a huge mess on your counter? I hope I'm not the only one!
So if are like me and don't have your muffin scooper handy, here's a trick to improvise... use a large spoon and a rubber spatula. Scoop the batter with the spoon and scrape it out with the spatula - leaves virtually no mess and the spatula allows you to get all the batter out of the bowl and into the pan.
The tools can be found in my Amazon store.
💭Pro Tips
The prep and baking of these amazing muffins is the way a muffin should be – they come together quickly, bake fast and are ready to eat in no time. No sifting required! The perfect size, the perfect flavor... these pumpkin muffins are a true delight. For the very best results, follow these tips:
Use room temperature ingredients
It's especially important to bring all the ingredients to room temperature before mixing. The reason why this is essential is because warm ingredients incorporate with other ingredients better than cold ingredients do.
Measure by weight where weight is given
Measuring by weight is a more accurate measurement than cups (more on that in this post about measuring flours). And accuracy is very important in gluten free baking. A good rule of thumb is if weight is given, pull out your digital scale and measure by weight.
Blend the batter completely
Don't be afraid to mix the batter. Unlike it's gluten loaded counterparts, gluten free batters don't get tough with extra mixing. So mix this batter well!
Let the batter rest for 30 minutes
Most gluten free baked goods, like this cassava bread, these peanut butter brownies and even this cranberry bread needs a rest time. This allows the flours and starches to fully hydrate which results in a better textured bread or baked good. Check out our masterclass for more info on this.
FAQs & Troubleshooting
This recipe can be doubled for more muffins. Just make sure to use a large enough bowl to handle the batter.
This recipe has not been tested with another flour mix. It may work, but I can't say for certain if the muffin texture will be the same.
Absolutely! Dairy can be used.
As if there weren't enough reasons to love pumpkin, here's one more... pumpkin keeps baked good moist, which means even the most stubborn recipes (cough, cough, gluten free breads) stay tender for days.
Store these beauties in a plastic bag on the counter for up to 3 days (if they last that long).
Did you make and love this recipe? Give it your review and 
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Recipe
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
Method
- Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the gluten free flour mix, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Mix with a whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, almond milk and vanilla; beat until just blended.
- Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture all at once and mix just until combined.
- Set the batter aside to rest to 30 minutes.
- Using a muffin scooper, or a large spoon, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Check them using the wooden toothpick test to test for a clean toothpick.
- Serve muffins with a sprinkle of powdered sugar..
Video
Notes
- Ingredients should be at room temperature.
- Measure ingredients by weight where weight is given.
- Use a whisk for quickly and easily mixing the dry ingredients.
- The rest time is very important! All the batter to rest the full 30 minutes before portioning into the muffin cups.
- A spatula makes portioning the muffin batter easy and less messy.
- Recipe makes 9 muffins.
- Watch the bake time as it could be anywhere from 20 - 25 minutes.
Recipe updated 8/28/2022 with better directions and updated pictures. Then again on 11/30/2023.
Craving more pumpkin recipes? Check out these tasty options!
And don't miss these gluten free baking tips:
- Alternatives for Xanthan Gum in Gluten Free Baking
- Substitutes for Xanthan Gum
- Guide to Gluten Free Flour Substitutes
Original pictures (resized):
Very tasty. My guys think so too. I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend.
Any way to get these to rise more?
Hi Joel,
So they won't be high rising. If you're using all the batter to fill each muffin cup, they'll rise to about the top of the cup.
Hope that helps!
This yeast pumpkin bread will rise more, here's the link: https://zestforbaking.com/gluten-free-pumpkin-yeast-bread-dairy-free-option
Hope that helps!
~Christine
would I be able to substitute yogurt for whole milk or cream
Hi Leeanne,
Thanks for asking - that's a possibility. I haven't tested it with yogurt though so I can't say for certain. It should work just fine though - let me know if you try it!
~Christine
These are absolutely divine. One would never say they are GR. Thank you. Will definitely make these again. All the ingredients were perfect.
Thank you for the great feedback Sheila - glad you enjoyed them 🙂
~Christine
These came out really good! I have to replace the egg too which can throw a recipe off but they were yummy! A bit dense but that’s nothing new for me with GF baking.
Thanks Rebecca, glad you liked them!
Glad you were able to sub the egg!
~Christine