Fluffy, easy, and mouth-watering almond flour pumpkin muffins

Tired of dense, flat muffins with disappointing flavor? I’ve learned many tricks for baking with almond flour so you can now enjoy light, fluffy, and perfectly spiced almond flour pumpkin muffins! This easy, gluten-free grab-and-go breakfast or snack is made in only 5 minutes and includes a sweet, nutty streusel crumble on top!

Gluten-Free Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins

Fortunately, grain free muffin recipes are generally very quick and easy to make. Like this almond flour pumpkin muffin recipe, they require simple ingredients and come together in one bowl.

Unfortunately, I’ve found many muffin recipes made with almond flour to have a disappointing texture. The crumb was dense, heavy, and oversaturated with liquid, since both almond flour and pumpkin contain a lot of moisture.

Therefore, I experimented with pumpkin streusel muffins using some tricks learned when creating easy almond flour zucchini muffins. Both recipes had to counteract moisture to yield fluffy results. Using a similar technique, blotting extra moisture from the pumpkin was the first step for improved results.

The second easy trick was to boost the amount of baking powder in the muffins. I first tested the recipe with a combination of baking powder and baking soda, which did an okay job. When I replaced those with 2 teaspoons of baking powder it dramatically improved the results!

If you want to learn more about improving almond flour muffin recipes, go the baking tips section. Read on to discover delicious gluten-free pumpkin muffins mix-in ideas, an easy dairy-free adaptation for the streusel topping, low carb modifications, and more!

Ingredient Notes

Homemade pumpkin almond flour recipes have a simple list of ingredients, but the improved texture comes from the easy baking hacks! These gluten-free, grain-free muffins are also naturally dairy-free with a swap of coconut oil in the crumble topping.

• Almond flour – Use blanched almond flour, which is more finely ground. If making homemade almond flour, follow the tips in the linked post for fluffy results. Be sure to use flour, versus almond meal, which will be heavier and make a coarser texture.
• Brown Sugar – You may reduce the sugar to ⅓ cup or use an equivalent amount of coconut sugar. For a low carb muffins, replace with a sugar-free brown sugar sweetener.
• Oil – Use any preferred oil, such as vegetable, canola, or coconut oil.
• Canned pumpkin – Be sure to use pumpkin puree, rather than pumpkin pie filling, which will not work for this recipe. I find Libby’s canned pumpkin to yield the best results because it is thicker with less moisture.
• Pumpkin spices – For a shortcut use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. If you would like to make your own, add 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ginger, and 1/8 tsp ground cloves.

how to make Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. For the almond streusel, in a small bowl combine all the ingredients. For the best taste I recommend using melted butter, but if you need a dairy-free muffin recipe, you can replace it with an equal amount of coconut oil.
3. To achieve a fluffy texture, first some of the moisture has to be removed from the canned pumpkin. Spread the canned pumpkin in a thin layer on a plate. Lay a paper towel over the top and press gently to soak up moisture. Discard the paper towel and repeat with a new paper towels, about 3-4 more times, or until the paper towels soaks up less moisture.
4. Now it’s time to combine all the ingredients. First whisk together the slightly dried pumpkin, eggs, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Then stir in the dry ingredients – almond flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt.
5. Divide into the prepared muffin tins, filling ⅔ full. Sprinkle tops with the streusel.
6. Bake on the middle rack for 26-30 minutes, or until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. It’s better to error on the side of slightly overbaking with almond flour to make sure all the moisture has evaporated.
7. Cool in muffin tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Tips For Fluffy Almond Flour Muffins

1. The first trick is to use an accurate amount of flour. See the measuring tips above to see just how easy it is to get the “wrong” results! Almond flour is heavier and compresses, so this is crucial!
2. Almond flour contains a lot of moisture from its natural oils, so fat and liquid have to be cut in other places. I generally use less oil in almond flour baking recipes and cut back any other liquids I can, like blotting the pumpkin, not adding milk, using granulated sugars instead of honey or pure maple syrup.
3. Muffins or breads baked with almond flour also require more eggs. This not only helps bind the crumb, but also helps with lift when baked.
4. Add additional baking powder, or baking soda if an acidic ingredient is included. This is especially helpful when you want a fluffy crumb, like in almond flour chocolate cake. For baked goods that need more chew and less lift, like chocolate chip almond flour blondies, less baking powder is used or a little bit of baking soda.

Low Carb Modifications

Pumpkin almond flour muffins naturally have fewer carbs than if you were to use regular or gluten-free flour, but the brown sugar does add carbohydrates.

To make this recipe low carb and Keto-friendly recipe, replace the brown sugar with a sugar substitute or low carb sweetener.

Some good options are: monk fruit, erythritol, splenda, or coconut sugar for a Paleo pumpkin muffin. Use a granulated sugar substitute, versus honey or pure maple syrup.

REcommended Mix-ins

Enhance homemade muffins by choosing one of these suggested mix-ins. To keep the muffin batter to mix-ins balance, add approximately 1 cup total, any combination. Adding additional ingredients will also extend the batter to make slightly more muffins.

• Chopped nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, or macadamias.
• Dried fruits, such as cranberries, cherries, figs, dates, currants, or raisins.
• Chocolate, butterscotch, or white chocolate chips (read label to make sure they are gluten free) – 1 cup
• Shredded coconut
• Pepitas

Storage and Freezing

Once they have completely cooled store in an airtight container up to 2 days at room temperature. They may also be stored in the fridge up to 4 days.

For optimal freshness and longer storage, I freeze to pull out as needed. Wrap the muffins in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container up to 3 months.