Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

October 02, 2019

The glittery streusel topping on these healthy pumpkin muffins adds the perfect crunch, and the moist interior is pumpkin-spiced heaven.

These healthy pumpkin muffins are pretty much the best fall use of a muffin wrapper that there is. (In our humble opinion, of course!) There’s the tender interior, perfectly moist with pumpkin puree and infused with pumpkin pie spice. Then there’s the streusel topping: oats and glittery turbinado sugar. It makes a satisfying crunch, and every bite is just the right sweet and spice. Even better? Each one is less than 200 calories. We served them to some guests and they could not stop talking about them! (Also, our son Larson was a 100% fan.) It made us realize: it was time to share this recipe.

What makes these healthy muffins?

We admit: healthy muffins is a bit of an oxymoron. Most muffins are just glorified cupcakes. RIght? So we’ve made it a goal to make some healthy muffin alternatives. We think muffins should be full of nutrient-filled ingredients, and easy on the stomach. They should be something you wouldn’t be embarrassed to feed your 2-year-old for breakfast or snack. But at the same time, they have to be sweet enough to be a bit of a treat. Trust us, we’ve made healthy muffins that are barely sweetened, and they don’t go over well!

These healthy pumpkin muffins are a result of that balance: they’re healthy-ish enough to be deemed healthy, but not so virtuous that you only want one bite. Here’s what makes these have a healthy spin. Keep in mind, muffins of any kind are not a health food!

Under 200 calories. Our main goal for these to be considered healthy was that they should be under 200 calories.
Just sweet enough. These babies have just enough sugar: and with the streusel topping, perhaps a little more than our normal muffin. The muffins themselves are sweetened with maple syrup, which gives a gentler sweetness than refined sugar.
Nutrient-dense ingredients. Along with butter and sugar, these muffins are balanced out with heart-healthy oats, apple sauce and nutritious pumpkin puree.

Tips for how to make healthy pumpkin muffins

Did we convince you yet? These truly are one of our favorites of this fall baking season. (Except for this vegan pumpkin bread, of course!) As you go about making these muffins, here are a few tips on the process:

Pumpkin spice. In this recipe we used our pumpkin pie spice recipe, but of course you could use a store-bought version as well!
Turbinado sugar. Turbinado sugar is raw sugar. It has large crystals and a caramel-y flavor that’s a bit more complex than refined sugar, which is more processed. You’ll need to find turbinado sugar for the crunchy topping: other sugar just isn’t quite the same! It’s available at mainstream grocery stores. If you can’t find it, substitute brown sugar.
Maple syrup. The muffin interior is sweetened all with maple syrup. We used maple often in our desserts (and our cocktail recipes, interestingly enough!).

How to store muffins

Last note on muffins before we get to the recipe. What’s the best way to store these healthy pumpkin muffins with struesel topping? It’s a great question, because the texture of the streusel can easily be lost depending on the storage method. Here’s our recommendation:

1 day: To store for 1 day, leave the muffins on a cooling rack and cover with a clean, dry dish towel. This way, the crunchy streusel topping will stay in tact.
Up to 4 days: To store for up to 4 days, place a paper towel in the bottom of a sealed container, then place the muffins in and place a paper towel on top. The paper towels will absorb the moisture that rises to the top of the muffins, which will help to retain the crunchy topping.
Longer than 4 days: For any longer than 4 days, freeze these healthy pumpkin muffins in a sealable container and store up to 3 months.

This healthy pumpkin muffins recipe is…

Vegetarian.