These Gluten Free Pumpkin Oat and Nut Muffins are PACKED with healthy nutrients. They’re dense and filling, and even though they’re small, you’ll only need to eat one to feel satisfied, which makes them the perfect grab-and-go breakfast. They’re semi-sweet and full of texture from the chopped walnuts.
A word of advice: don’t go into these muffins expecting a fluffy, super sweet muffin. Think of them more like an energy bar in muffin form. That’s not to say they aren’t delicious- they are super yummy. But with only half a cup of sugar in the whole batch (honey or maple syrup can also be used) and a ton of chopped walnuts in every bite, they are crunchy, dense, and only slightly sweet.
This recipe was inspired by oatmeal. It seems that at any given point in October or November, I always have a small amount of canned pumpkin leftover from a recipe that I somehow need to use up. I usually make oatmeal with it by mixing together some oats, a spoonful of the pumpkin, walnuts, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt, microwaving it, and adding in some maple syrup. Oh boy- it’s delicious (and if you need to use up some pumpkin, I recommend you try it!).
These muffins use almost the exact same ingredients as the oatmeal- oats, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts (pecans can also be used). If I weren’t on a “baby budget” right now, I’d have sweetened them with maple syrup, but I used brown sugar instead.
It’s like oatmeal, in muffin form, to go!
Speak of oats- this recipe requires oat flour. You can buy oat flour at many stores, but if you want to, you can also make your own very easily. Just put some oats in a food processor and blend until powdery. Boom. Done. It couldn’t be easier.
The star ingredients of these muffins are pumpkin, oats, and walnuts, all of which pack a high nutritional punch. They’re full of fiber from the oats, full of protein and healthy fats from the nuts, and full of vegetables from the pumpkin. You can feel great about eating one of these for breakfast or sending your kids off to school with one for a breakfast on-the-go.
I used butter and brown sugar when I made this recipe, but if you want to make these muffins even healthier, you can swap out the butter for coconut oil and the sugar for honey or maple syrup.
Other Pumpkin Recipes- sweet and savory!
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
- Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Fettuccini Alfredo
- Pumpkin Oatmeal
- Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
- Dark Chocolate and Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
- Pumpkin Pudding from Scratch
Recipe for Gluten Free Pumpkin Oat and Nut Muffins below!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Oat and Nut Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter melted (or coconut oil)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (honey or maple syrup can also be used)
- 15 oz. canned pumpkin puree (about 1.5 cups)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with liners.
- Whisk together melted butter (4 tablespoons), two eggs, and brown sugar (1/2 cup).
- Add the canned pumpkin puree (15 oz.) and milk (1/2 cup) and whisk until smooth.
- Add the baking powder (1 teaspoon), baking soda (1 teaspoon), kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon), and cinnamon (1 teaspoon) and whisk until incorporated.
- Stir in the oat flour (2 1/4 cups) with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts (1 cup).
- Distribute batter evenly in muffin pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating.
Notes
- If you have a gluten sensitivity, make sure to use certified gluten free oat flour (oats are naturally gluten free, but are often processed in the same plant as gluten products and can become contaminated).
- Freeze muffins in an airtight container or bag for up to six months. Microwave for 20-30 seconds when you are ready to eat, or let it defrost by itself for a couple of hours.
- I make my own oat flour and chop my own walnuts (separately) in my food processor. Just add the oats and process until a powdery consistency. Add the walnuts and pulse a few times until finely chopped in consistency.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Whitney
These are fabulous. I made these as is with a few changes because of what I had on hand. The changes were rice milk, coconut sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, chocolate chips dairy free, flaxseed eggs, ginger instead of cinnamon. They came out amazing. To die for. Thank you for this recipe. Love pumpkin, walnuts and oats
Elizabeth Lindemann
SO happy you liked them!
Annette
I am vegan and do not eat eggs, is there an egg substitute?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Great question! You can make a chia “egg” in place of the regular egg. Just mix 2 tablespoons chia seeds with 1/3 cup of water and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. The seeds will gel together and act in a similar way to baking that the egg does. You can also do this with ground flaxseed. Here’s a vegan muffin recipe that may help you further. Hope that helps! https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/maple-banana-oat-and-nut-muffins-vegan/
Sonya
Thanks for the great gluten free recipe! For those who like a sweeter muffin, these are wonderful with a little honey butter
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh yummmm, the honey butter with these muffins sounds incredible! Glad you liked the recipe :-)
Caroline
I made these during the recent snow days, and they were amazing, even a few days later!! (I stored them in the fridge to keep them fresh.) I made of the batch half plain, half with dried raisins and cranberries; both were awesome. They looked a little odd, but once people had a bite, they LOVED them! Can’t wait to make them again :)
Elizabeth
Haha I agree about them looking odd! They were hard to photograph lol. So glad you liked them, and thanks for the comment!
Tess
Fantastic. I made it with the maple syrup option and added 2 teaspoons of brown sugar along with some golden raisins. Love.
Elizabeth
Thanks! So happy you liked them!
Linda
Thanks for that. I used left over squash and pecans. Delicious!
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it! What a great way to use up leftover squash.
Mar
Wonderful recipe! Just what I was looking for. I added a little maple syrup (the “fake” kind) and a little extra oat flour, otherwise followed the recipe. These will most likely be made again in this home:)
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them!
Heather
Excellent! I added flax and hemp seeds to the oats in the food processor. I also added raisins, roasted sunflower seeds and used just a little agave along with avacado oil instead of butter. DELICIOUS!
Elizabeth
So happy you liked them! Thanks for the comment :-)
Kristina
Can you make a chia or flax egg for the egg?
Elizabeth
I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why not!