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These Paleo Pumpkin Spice Muffins are easy to make, naturally sweetened with maple syrup, high in fibre and free of gluten, grains, and dairy. They’re moist on the inside, soft on the outside and will make your entire house smell terrific. Have them in the morning, afternoon or as an after-dinner treat.
What You Need for Paleo Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Canned Pumpkin
You can definitely carve a pumpkin, remove the seeds, roast it until tender and then blend it to form a purée. Or, you can buy a can of pumpkin purée and make your life that much easier. My only word of advice is to select a canned pumpkin that is 100% pumpkin purée. Many brands will sneak in sweeteners and preservatives that are unnecessary.
Paleo Flours
To keep things gluten-free and grain-free, I use a combination of almond flour and coconut flour. I like to combine these two flours for two reasons:
- Almond flour is expensive so combining it with a different alternative flour will save you money.
- Coconut flour is more dense than almond flour and I find that it gives the muffins more structure.
If you have a nut allergy or dislike the flavour of coconut, read my note below on substitutions.
Coconut Milk
Using a full-fat coconut milk will add some richness and texture to the paleo pumpkin spice muffins. It’s important to use a brand of coconut milk that tastes good to you, otherwise there’s a chance you won’t like the muffins. My personal favourite brands are Aroy D and Savoy.
Pumpkin Spice
I typically prefer to make my own spice blends because it’s more affordable and I can control the amount of certain ingredients, like sodium. In this case, however, I actually like to buy a pre-made pumpkin spice blend. The reason is because I rarely use some of the key ingredients in pumpkin spice, namely ground clove, so I don’t want to buy an entire package or jar of it only to have it sit in my cupboard for a year.
Just be sure to purchase a pumpkin spice blend that is free of sweeteners and additives.
Natural Sweetener
Rather than use refined sugar, I like to sweeten the muffins with an all-natural maple syrup. The flavours pair great with the warmth of the pumpkin spice. If you don’t have maple syrup, you can use honey.
Almond Butter
For some extra protein and healthy fat, I like to add some almond butter to the muffin mix. It’s the same trick I use in my Paleo Banana Bread recipe.
Can I Substitute Another Gluten-Free Flour?
If you are not concerned with keeping things Paleo and grain-free, you can substitute your favourite all-purpose, gluten-free flour. Or, you can use regular white flour.
The measurements should stay roughly the same for the dry ingredients, but the wet ingredients may slightly change to accommodate the less dense flour mixture. So, if you are going to use a different flour or combination of flours, add the liquids, like the eggs and coconut milk, slowly and in stages until the batter reaches the correct consistency, which should be like a very soft cookie dough.
Paleo Pumpkin Spice Muffins, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup almond butter
- 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and place a rack in the center position.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until combined and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, almond butter, coconut milk and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and gently fold the ingredients together with a spatula until combined.
- Line a 12-cup muffin tray with parchment paper cups. Using a spoon or ice cream scooper, evenly distribute the muffin mix. Gently tap the tray against your cutting board or counter to release any air pockets. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake until you can insert a cake tester into the center of each muffin and it comes out clean, around 30 minutes.
- Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before serving. They can be stored, covered, in a refrigerator for up to 5 days.
About the Author
Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
I noticed the salt was in the instructions. Thanks!
Thank you for spotting that! The typo is now fixed 🙂