Perfectly moist, made in one bowl, spiced with all the cozy flavors of the season, these pumpkin muffins are heaven, an ideal fall morning breakfast or snack to pack on the go. 

Twelve just-baked pumpkin muffins on a cooling rack.

Inspired by this recipe for perfectly moist pumpkin bread, these muffins are equally delicious, exceptionally moist, and perfectly portable, making them ideal for packing on the go or quick fall morning breakfasts.

After many experiments, I found a formula that made my ideal muffin. As with the pumpkin bread, I use oil (as opposed to butter), which allows the batter to be mixed in one bowl with a whisk and spatula — no stand mixer required. To make the muffins more — wait for it — muffin-like as opposed to quick-bread like, I replaced the water with buttermilk, which makes for an especially moist texture. (If you don’t have buttermilk you can use regular milk or you can DIY… see recipe box for details).

Finally, in an effort to achieve a muffin with a domed top and nicely burnished hue, I played around using all sorts of combinations of baking soda and baking powder. Baking soda alone left a metallic taste. Baking powder alone yielded a pale, cone-shaped muffin top. A combination of both baking soda and baking powder created the perfect muffin top, nicely domed and beautifully caramelized with no metallic taste.

Finally finally: The key for making a truly irresistible muffin top? Turbinado sugar. I do this with these apple muffins, too.

Just-baked pumpkin muffins on a cooling rack.

How to Make One-Bowl Pumpkin Muffins, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients: Canned pumpkin, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, oil, eggs, and buttermilk (or regular milk).

The ingredients to make pumpkin muffins on a countertop.

Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl: eggs, oil, buttermilk, and pumpkin puree:

The wet ingredients to make pumpkin muffins in a large bowl.

Whisk until smooth.

The wet ingredients to make pumpkin muffins in a large bowl all whisked together.

Add the sugar, salt, spices, and leavenings.

The spices, sugar, salt, and leavening added a bowl of pumpkin muffin batter.

And whisk until smooth.

Pumpkin muffin batter after the spices, sugar, salt, and leavening have been added.

Finally, add the flour…

Flour added to the pumpkin muffin batter.

… and whisk until smooth.

Pumpkin muffin batter whisked together.

Divide the batter among 12 wells of a standard muffin tin:

A 12-well muffin tin filled with pumpkin muffin batter.

Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if you have it. Granulated sugar works if you don’t.

A 12-well muffin tin filled with pumpkin muffin batter topped with turbinado sugar.

Transfer to a 375ºF oven and bake for 18 to 21 minutes:

Just-baked pumpkin muffins still in their muffin tin.

Let them cool for 5 minutes in their pan before transfering them to a cooling rack:

Just-baked pumpkin muffins on a cooling rack.

Let them cool again, briefly before…

A pumpkin muffin on a plate.

… tucking in:

A halved pumpkin muffin on a plate.
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Twelve just-baked pumpkin muffins on a cooling rack.

One-Bowl Perfectly Moist Pumpkin Muffins

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Description

Perfectly moist, made in one bowl, spiced with all the cozy flavors of the season, these pumpkin muffins are heaven, a perfect treat for a fall morning or to pack as a snack on the go. 

Notes:

  • As always, for best results use a digital scale to measure. 
  • This is my favorite muffin tin. 
  • An ice cream scoop is helpful for portioning the batter. 
  • I love these muffin liners, too. 
  • Turbinado sugar makes for an especially delicious and appetizing muffin top. 
  • If you don’t have buttermilk, you can either simply use milk or you can DIY: Place 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Fill cup with milk (2% or whole) until it reaches the 1/3-cup line. Let stand for five minutes. Use as directed.
  • What to do with the leftover canned pumpkin? Make bread. 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (250 grams) canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
  • 2 eggs (about 120 grams)
  • 1/3 cup (85 grams) buttermilk, see notes above
  • 1/2 cup (115 grams) grapeseed oil, avocado oil or other neutral oil or olive oil
  • 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
  • 1.5 teaspoons (7 grams) baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon (3.5 grams) Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or half as much by volume fine sea salt or Morton kosher salt)
  • 1.5 teaspoon (3.5 grams) cinnamon
  • a few dashes of freshly grated nutmeg or 1/8 teaspoon
  • 1/4 teaspoon (0.5 grams) ginger
  • 1.5 cups (192 grams) all-purpose flour
  • turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 12-well muffin tin with muffin liners or grease with butter or non-stick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, oil, and buttermilk until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger until smooth. Finally whisk in the flour, switching to a spatula at the very end, stirring just until the flour is incorporated. 
  3. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this (see notes above). Sprinkle the batter with turbinado sugar, about 1/2 teaspoon per muffin. Alternatively, use granulated sugar. 
  4. Bake for 18 to 21 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins feel springy to the touch, or a toothpick inserted comes out clean, or an instant-read thermometer registers 210ºF or above. 
  5. Let the muffins cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Let cool again briefly before serving. 
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: Amerian