These gluten-free pumpkin muffins bake up tall, soft, and bakery-style with a crisp cinnamon streusel topping. They're naturally vegan and packed with warm spices.
While allergy-friendly, this version is no less delicious than the original, and I guarantee no one will know the difference unless you tell them.
These vegan gluten-free pumpkin muffins were inspired by reader requests for a nut-free version of my well-loved Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins. This festive alternative is most fitting to the Fall pumpkin season, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.
This recipe was based on my Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread, but altered to conveniently make 6 round-top muffins that are vegan in addition to gluten-free. Everything from the ingredient proportions to the baking time were tested to make the perfect pumpkin muffin.
For more pumpkin recipes, try favorites like my Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Pie and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Donut Holes, or browse all my gluten-free pumpkin recipes.
If you're new to gluten-free, many readers love my How to go Gluten Free guide and Printable Gluten Free Grocery List.
How to make it (with photos)
Ingredient Notes + Substitutions
These vegan gluten-free pumpkin muffins are made with common pantry staple ingredients.
Pumpkin Puree
A 100% pumpkin puree with a thick texture is best for this recipe. I use and like Libby's brand canned pumpkin puree for all of my pumpkin recipes. Pumpkin puree with a thick texture helps to keep the muffins light and fluffy, which is especially important in vegan baking.
Choose only pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, since the filling has sugar, spices, and other additives that were not accounted for in this recipe.
All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
Choose a gluten-free flour with xanthan gum or guar gum that's labeled "all purpose", "measure for measure", or "1-for-1". I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour and like that it can be bought in 25 pound bags at a discounted price.
If your gluten-free flour blend does not include xanthan gum or guar gum, add ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of GF flour.
Oil
To keep the muffins ultra moist, I recommend a neutral oil like vegetable oil or avocado oil. You can substitute an equal amount of vegan butter or coconut oil. If using one of these substitutes, be sure to melt it first before adding it to the batter.
Coconut Oil or Vegan Butter
While the muffin texture is best with a liquid oil, either coconut oil or vegan butter is needed to make the streusel topping. Coconut oil makes the crispest streusel but vegan butter works very well also.
More Ingredient Notes
- almond milk - I used unsweetened almond milk when making this recipe, but you can substitute any plant-based milk or even dairy milk if it's part of your diet.
- vinegar - Adding just a little apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar helps gluten-free and vegan muffins rise since it interacts with the baking soda to make even more bubbles. You can omit it entirely, but the muffins will be a little more dense.
- pumpkin pie spice - Use a premade version or try my Homemade Pumpkin Spice Recipe with ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice.
You also need sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, gluten-free baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar to make this recipe.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients with quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Learn how to make vegan gluten-free pumpkin muffins with these easy step-by-step photos.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line or grease 6 cups of a muffin pan. Be sure to grease the top of the muffin pan so the muffin tops don't stick.
- Wet Ingredients: To a 2 cup liquid measuring cup or small mixing bowl, add the vegan milk, vinegar, oil, sugar, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Whisk to mix thoroughly.
- Dry Ingredients: To a medium mixing bowl, add the gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk together well.
- Batter: Add the wet ingredients to the mixture of dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. It is ok if there are small pea-sized lumps of flour. Be sure to scrape down the bowl. Distribute the batter evenly between the 6 muffin cups. The cups will be very full.
- Streusel: In a small mixing bowl add the 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of gluten-free flour. Whisk together. Then add the melted coconut butter and mix with a fork until you get a nice streusel crumb. Evenly distribute the streusel over the muffins.
- Bake: Bake on a center oven rack at 425 degrees F for 7 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs. Let cool completely before eating.
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📖 Recipe
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins (vegan)
Ingredients
Pumpkin Muffins
- â…“ cup unsweetened almond milk or other plant milk (79 ml)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or avocado oil
- â…” cup granulated sugar , use organic to ensure vegan friendliness (120 grams)
- ½ 15-ounce can pumpkin puree , this is equivalent to just more than ¾ cup pumpkin puree (212 grams)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose gluten-free flour with xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder like Rumford or Clabber Girl brands
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ teaspoons pumpkin pie spie
Streusel Topping
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar , use organic to ensure vegan friendliness (36 grams)
- 3 tablespoons gluten-free all purpose flour (26 grams)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or vegan butter, melted
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line or grease 6 cups of a muffin pan. Be sure to grease the top of the muffin pan so the muffin tops don't stick.
- Wet Ingredients: To a 2 cup liquid measuring cup or small mixing bowl, add the vegan milk, vinegar, oil, sugar, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Whisk to mix thoroughly.
- Dry Ingredients: To a medium mixing bowl, add the gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk together well.
- Batter: Add the wet ingredients to the mixture of dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. It is ok if there are small pea-sized lumps of flour. Be sure to scrape down the bowl. Distribute the batter evenly between the 6 muffin cups. The cups will be very full.
- Streusel: In a small mixing bowl add the 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of gluten-free flour. Whisk together. Then add the melted coconut butter and mix with a fork until you get a nice streusel crumb. Evenly distribute the streusel over the muffins.
- Bake: Bake on a center oven rack at 425 degrees F for 7 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs. Let cool completely before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
Expert Tips
Make incredible vegan gluten-free pumpkin muffins on the first try with these expert tips!
Choose a thick pumpkin puree.
A thick pumpkin puree helps to add structure to this recipe, almost like a vegan egg replacement. Libby's brand has a great thick pumpkin puree. This review of canned pumpkin purees from the Food Network is helpful if you're looking for a quality alternative brand.
Include the streusel.
This recipe was designed to include the streusel, so the pumpkin muffin base is naturally made a little less sweet to balance it out.
Recipe FAQ's
Here I answered some frequently asked questions about this vegan gluten-free pumpkin muffins recipe. Don't see your question? Leave it in the comments at the end of this post and I'll answer within two business days.
Store leftover gluten-free vegan pumpkin muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They can also be kept at a cool room temperature for up to 2 days.
Baking muffins at a high temperature initially is a bakery trick to help them rise and have high round tops. It also creates that light and fluffy texture. This initial rise is called "oven spring" and is the most important part of the rise cycle since the binders (like egg, flour, and starch) have not yet activated enough to restrict the movement of the batter.
You can add vegan chocolate chips to the batter and bake for the same amount of time. I prefer mini chocolate chips. Be careful to not over-mix the batter to maintain a traditional muffin crumb.
More gluten-free vegan pumpkin recipes
Looking for more vegan gluten-free pumpkin recipes? Check these out:
For more gluten-free muffin recipes, try favorites like my gluten-free blueberry muffins, gluten-free chocolate chip muffins, and gluten-free lemon poppyseed muffins.
Vivi says
This was a wonderful recipe and the gluten-free pumpkin muffins really did taste like they came from a bakery. I loved that they were vegan as written. We also make the vegan variation of the gluten-free pumpkin bread and they are very similar. These are just a bit more portable!