Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

These healthy pumpkin muffins are not only super delicious and low in calorie (less than 100kcal!) but are bursting with vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants. I use pumpkin puree in this recipe which is low in calories and packed with vitamin A, which is great for our vision.

You can make these muffins with cranberries (or even chocolate chips) and can top with pumpkin seeds or a healthy frosting or icing (see below). You can make these muffins higher in protein by swapping the flour for 120g of flour and 25g of whey protein .. they are serious comfort food without all the calories!

P.S. These muffins are perfect for Halloween and can be decorated with black icing to create spiders or a web for a spooky finish!

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Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

• 190g (1 cup) pumpkin puree*
• 150g (1.5 cups) wholemeal/spelt flour*
• 80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil OR 1 tbsp (15ml) oil plus 60g (1/3 cup) sugar free apple puree**
• 170g or 250ml (1 cup) of sugar, xylitol OR Sukrin***
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Optional: 75g (3/4 cup) dried cranberry seeds plus pumpkin seeds for decorating
• Frosting: 100g extra light cream cheese and 10 dates plus hot water****

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees C
2. Whisk together your pumpkin, baking soda, salt, spices, sugar or xylitol, eggs, oil & apple puree if using
3. Then add in your flour and baking powder gradually
4. Add in your dried cranberries (if using) and divide between 12 muffin cases
5. Sprinkle your muffins with pumpkin seeds (or leave plain if using the frosting) & bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until cooked
6. Allow to cool
7. FROSTING: Make date puree by blending dates and hot water to make a paste before mixing it into the extra light cream cheese. Add to your pumpkin muffins, allow to set and enjoy!

Notes

*You can get canned pumpkin and spelt flour from Amazon . To make a protein muffin use 120g spelt flour & 25g whey protein – if you use the protein powder you may need to reduce the baking time of this recipe by 5 minutes.

**I use the apple puree from the baby aisle!

***I used Sukrin Gold (a calorie free alternative to brown sugar)

****An alternative to the frosting is to use sugar-free icing sugar – I used Sukrin!

 

ROASTED PUMPKIN PUREE - To make your own pumpkin puree simply ¼ your pumpkin and lay the sections faced down in a baking tray with a little water. Bake at 175 degrees C or 350F for 45 minutes then scoop out the insides and blend.

ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS - Simply wash and dry the seeds then bake at 190 degrees C for 30-40 minutes shaking occasionally (add olive oil/salt if needed).

*This blog post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer page for more information and for my policy on using protein powders in recipes, gluten-free foods/baking and vegetarian/vegan recipes.