Vegan Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Glaze
These are the best vegan pumpkin muffins. So incredibly moist and perfectly spiced. Topped with a crunchy pecan glaze.
Now that it’s officially October, are you ready for pumpkin-everything season? These vegan pumpkin muffins are great for fall– just the right amount of pumpkin spice, very moist and topped with a sweet icing with chopped pecans.
Amazing for brunch, thank-you gifts, Thanksgiving or Christmas, or just to eat on a chilly October morning.
Which is exactly how I like to have them. Baking muffins with my kids and then enjoying them under a cozy blanket and reading. If you love pumpkin flavor, then you’ve gotta make these vegan pumpkin muffins.
See below for more details or scroll down to the full recipe.
Ingredient Notes and Substitution Options
- Flours: I like both whole-wheat and all-purpose flour for extra protein and fiber. If you just have all-purpose flour, you can use that. I don’t recommend all whole-wheat as these muffins will be too dense and not as soft.
- Pumpkin Puree: I think canned pumpkin puree is just as great as any homemade version and who wants to spend time making your own pumpkin puree? Make sure it’s 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Spices: If you have pumpkin pie spice, you can just use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg. For a warmer muffin, you can also use a little ground ginger or cloves- about 1/4 teaspoon.
- Milk: I prefer oat milk for baking, but you can also use soy milk or other non-dairy milk.
- Pecans: I prefer pecans, but you can also use walnuts for both the muffins and the topping. I’ve done both and it works! Really depends on what’s more accessible and what you prefer.
- Sugar: You can substitute brown sugar if you’d like, but I haven’t tested this recipe with any other sugars, like coconut sugar or maple syrup, and can’t say if they will work.
Tips for Success
I prefer to separate wet and dry ingredients for any muffin or bread recipe for a few reasons. The first is that sifting the dry ingredients together makes sure that your baking powder and spices are evenly distributed throughout the batter. This is very important when it comes to an even rise and to avoid lumps in your muffins.
Plus– who has ever taken a bite of a muffin and gotten a mouthful of baking powder? Yuck! For this reason, I don’t usually like 1 bowl recipes.
Separating the ingredients also helps to prevent overmixing, which is the death of good, fluffy muffins! Whisking the dry ingredients before adding any wet helps to ensure that the gluten is not overdeveloped.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the secret to moist muffins?
There are two secrets to making the best vegan pumpkin muffins. One, keep your wet and dry ingredients separate before mixing as this prevents muffins from becoming gummy and overmixed. And, using pumpkin and oil! I much prefer oil over butter as it makes for a softer muffin, along with the pumpkin puree. This is also why I call for making a DIY vegan buttermilk with the milk and vinegar. You can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. This helps to soften the gluten in the flour, making for a moister muffin.
Do you have to add the pecans and cranberries?
You don’t! I like these with the added cranberries and pecans for texture, but that’s optional. You can omit if you’d like. Same with the frosting, though it makes for a nice bakery-style muffin. You can add in chocolate chips if you want a pumpkin chocolate muffin!
Why don’t these muffins use flax eggs?
You don’t need any flaxseed eggs or other vegan egg replacements in this recipe! That’s because the vegan buttermilk and pumpkin help take the place of typical eggs.
Can you make these gluten-free?
I haven’t tested this specific recipe as a gluten-free muffin recipe, but you should be able to use any gluten-free flour blend, like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 ratio gluten-free flour or a similar flour.
What Muffin Pan Do You Use?
With two young kids, we make a lot of muffins in my house (try my applesauce muffins or pistachio muffins next!) and can’t say enough good things about using a silicone muffin pan.
For years I used this metal one and while I really like it for a classic muffin look, it can be more of a pain to remove the muffins. I recently switched to this silicone one and really like how easy the muffins can be removed once they are done cooling!
Can You Freeze These Muffins?
Yes, you can freeze these vegan pumpkin muffins! Place them in the freezer to individually freeze, then place in an airtight freezer bag or container.
To enjoy, thaw and then warm slightly, then add the glaze. I don’t recommend adding the glaze before freezing as the pecans will fall off as the muffins freeze.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Healthy Pumpkin Waffles
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
- Vegan Pumpkin Chili
More Muffin Recipes
- Gingerbread Muffins
- Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
- Oatmeal Cranberry Muffins
- Honey Pear Muffins
- Pumpkin MuffinsÂ
I hope you enjoy these vegan pumpkin muffins like we like to do– on a lazy Sunday morning breakfast, along with a huge, steaming mug of pumpkin coffee. It’s fall, ya’ll! Cheers to pumpkin season!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Vegan Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup oat milk or soy milk
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon canola, vegetable, avocado or other neutral oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Pecan Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons soy milk
- Pecan pieces, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line or grease a muffin tin.
- In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy milk and vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, whisk in the vegetable oil, maple syrup and pumpkin puree.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine into a batter. Fold in cranberries and pecans.
- Spoon the batter into lined tins about 2/3 full. Bake for 17-19 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Let cool slightly, then remove from pan and let cool in cooling rack.
Make the Pecan Glaze
- Place powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of soy milk at a time until smooth and desired consistency, it should be a thick icing.
- Drizzle icing on warm muffins and top with pecan pieces.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2013, and updated in 2024.
These are absolutely delicious! I love the mix of whole wheat and AP flour for a more earthy flavor and texture. They had a perfect amount of sweetness that was enough but not overpowering. Will definitely make these many more times.
Made these for a fall picnic and they came out so good. Moist and delicious. The fact that they’re vegan is an added bonus. Will definitely make again. Great recipe!
me too! I’ve made these a few times over the past few weeks, I just can’t get enough! Also makes a great bread if you don’t want muffins!
Can you use fresh cranberries?
Love you site.
Hi Glenda, that should work, though they will likely be more tart as fresh cranberries are not as sweet as dried. Thanks!
These are the BEST pumpkin muffins! We make them almost monthly this time of year.
Hi Elle, I think almond milk would be a find substitution for both the bread and the glaze!
Cranberries and pumpkins… these are two things that go hand in hand together! I have been really cooking/baking more pumpkins lately.
I especially love roasting them. It makes the entire kitchen smell delicious and not to mention that its super high in vitamin A. If I am extra ambitious, I think I will try making my own pumpkin puree for this recipe.
I might skip the glaze though, because I am trying to cut back on sugar. However, your glaze recipe is really tempting because using soy milk for the glaze does sound really interesting.
I’ve never tried it. Do you think it would work with almond milk?
Mouthwatering muffins…come to me! Love a bit of cranberries, pumpkins and the crunchiness from the pecans!
🙂 me too! I’ve made these a few times over the past few weeks, I just can’t get enough! Also makes a great bread if you don’t want muffins!
These sound perfect for those lazy weekend mornings you described. I love relaxing on the weekends with a long breakfast/brunch. It just makes me feel so refreshed and reminds me it’s good to slow down sometimes.