These vegan pumpkin power muffins are brimming with cozy fall flavor. They’re packed with energizing seeds, vitamin-rich pumpkin, and fiber-filled whole spelt flour. They’re just sweet enough to be desirable but not so sweet that they can’t be enjoyed for breakfast or as a healthy snack!
You know what’s seriously lacking around here? Muffin recipes!
How on earth in seven years of blogging have I only posted three muffin recipes (one of which was from another person’s cookbook)?
Perhaps it’s because long, long ago there was a time when I was a self-proclaimed hater of baking. (←Clearly, there also was a time when I didn’t know what white balance was. Avert your eyeballs with that one or risk being swept into a bit of a funk by the blueness of those photos.)
I bet that’s why.
Although maybe not, because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed baking for nearly four years now, and yet there’s hardly a muffin recipe to be found around these parts.
Tisk, tisk.
Let’s make up for lost time now, shall we? These vegan pumpkin power muffins will do the trick.
These festive, orange-hued beauties come together in a pinch and require a fairly short list of easy-to-find ingredients. Think: seeds, dried fruit, spelt flour, coconut sugar, etc.
To make them, you’ll start with a flax egg. Why? Because that’s what vegan bakers do.
Whisk together a bit of ground flaxseed and a splash of filtered water. Let the mixture rest for about five minutes, or until it thickens into a goopy consistency (←highly technical term).
Then, whisk in the remaining wet ingredients, including pumpkin purée, finely grated carrot, coconut sugar, virgin coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Once the wet mixture is ready to go, get to work on the dry ingredients.
To a large mixing bowl, add a bit of whole spelt flour, sunflower seeds, pepitas, dried cranberries or dried tart cherries, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt.
Then, give it all a good whisk…
Finally, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined.
Spelt flour has a much more delicate gluten structure than other glutenous flours, so be careful not to overmix or you could end up with dry, crumbly muffins instead of tender, fluffy ones.
The batter will be richly pumpkin-hued in color, thick, and fluffy.
Once the batter is ready to go, divide it evenly between 12 muffin liners.
Since this batter is on the thicker side, I find it’s easiest to use an ice cream scoop for this step, but feel free to go the ol’ double-spoon, scoop-and-slide method if you prefer.
Bake the muffins for just 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs at the tip.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for a bit and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
These vegan pumpkin power muffins are packed with energizing seeds, vitamin-rich pumpkin + carrot, and fiber-filled whole spelt flour.
They’re just sweet enough to be desirable but not so sweet that they can’t be enjoyed for breakfast or a healthy snack.
I hope you enjoy these fluffy fall muffins as much as I do!
If you make them, be sure to share a photo on Instagram and hashtag #blissfulbasil so I can see and share on my end, too!
Vegan Pumpkin Power Muffins
These vegan pumpkin power muffins are brimming with cozy fall flavor. They're packed with energizing seeds, vitamin-rich pumpkin, and fiber-filled whole spelt flour. They're just sweet enough to make them desirable but not so sweet that they can't be enjoyed for breakfast or healthy snack!
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2 tablespoons filtered water
- 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin purée
- 1/2 loosely packed cup finely grated carrot
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon melted virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, plus more for topping if desired
- 1/4 pepitas, plus more for topping if desired
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried tart cherries
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with parchment paper liners.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed and water. Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Then, whisk in the remaining wet ingredients (i.e., pumpkin purée, carrot, coconut sugar, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (i.e., spelt flour, sunflower seeds, pepitas, cranberries, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt).
Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and use a large wooden spoon to stir until just combined (read: no flour patches remain). Be careful not to overmix—spelt has a delicate gluten structure, so over-mixing can result in dry, crumbly muffins.
- Divide the batter equally among the 12 muffin liners. (Since the batter is quite thick and fluffy, an ice cream scoop is great for this job.)
- If desired, garnish the top of each with a light sprinkling of sunflower seeds and pepitas. Press down lightly to ensure they stick to the batter.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs at the tip.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
*Green or black sunflower seeds after baking? Fret not. Don't be surprised if the sunflower seeds inside the muffins turn a dark green or nearly black shade—this is a completely normal, natural reaction. Sunflower seeds contain chlorophyll, which reacts with baking soda when heated and turns green. But neither the flavor nor the nutritional properties are affected by this quirky color change!
These look incredible! Next week is pumpkin baking week for me so these will definitely be on my list, next to your pumpkin bars and falafel. I live for the flavours at this time of year, so exciting!
Do you think it would be possible to make them gluten free? Also, could you make them into a loaf?
Laura :) x
Thanks, Laura! I haven’t tested these with gluten-free flour, so I don’t recommend making the swap. As for the loaf, I’ll be sharing a similar sweet potato loaf in a few weeks (requires different ingredient amounts, baking time, etc.), so stay tuned for that recipe!
Ah I love that you posted a muffin recipe! The weather this time of year makes me want to bake up a storm and snuggle in while fall settles into the season.
You and me both, Abby!! Not sure if Milwaukee got the same rain storm that hit Chicago last weekend, but it was the greatest excuse to curl up inside and enjoy cozy things (e.g., movies, muffins, etc.). Fall always makes me fall in love with Chicago/the Midwest all over again—while it would be great to live somewhere sunnier year-round, there’s something magical about really feeling the change between seasons.
These – not only LOOK adorable – but sound wonderful! YUMMERS!
Thanks, Jennifer!
Ashley! These muffins look like they are LOADED with great ingredients for the perfect power snack! Love the wholesome ingredients and can’t wait to whip up a batch.
Hi, these look great! For the carrot, is it 1/2 of a carrot, or 1/2 cup of loosely packed finely grated carrot? Thanks!
Oops I see the word “cup” now. I can’t wait to try it!!
Just made these for a weekend brunch and they were fantastic! Amazing fall flavors, and the muffins were light and airy but substantial at the same time. Love this recipe, will definitely make it again!
Your blog has become such a staple Ashley – thank you for your creativity and passion for cruelty-free food!
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed the muffins, Kate! Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback as well as your kindness—warms my heart and fuels creativity.
I’m thrilled that you posted another muffin recipe. I’ve been making your banana muffins over and over and love that I can change it up now. Healthy muffins are one of my favorite breakfast treats with a warm drink, especially when it turns colder.
Just made these and they were sublime! Stayed moist and delicious also for days after. I didn’t have pumpkin seeds so I just added pecans and a handful of chocolate chips to the batter and left the tops bare. Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Katherine! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts and adjustments—very helpful for me and other readers, too. Happy baking to you!
Made these muffins last week and they are now my go to pre-workout snack for early mornings when I have little time to eat breakfast. Have got a whole batch in the freezer and I just take them out as needed. Thanks for sharing!
Happy to hear you’re enjoying the muffins, Ashleigh! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your experience—means so much. Have a beautiful weekend!
I love your site and hope you will start testing more baking recipes with a gluten free alternative— so many celiacs are vegan,!! It helps to have the original creator test the gf flours, because you know how to balance the other ingredients — it often doesn’t work to simply sub in a gf flour or blend…
Thanks, Michele! The vast majority (about 95 percent or more) of my baked good recipes are gluten-free, but I occasionally use lower gluten flours like spelt, too (especially for quick breads). And I agree: I never recommend substituting other flours without having first tested them myself-GF vegan baking is much too temperamental!
Yum, these were great. Lots of good pumpkin flavor and loved the crunch from the seeds.
So glad you enjoyed them, Bethany! Thanks for taking time out of your day to let me know. Happy baking to you!