Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

These gluten free chocolate chip pumpkin muffins are the perfect fall treat.  They are so moist and fluffy, sweet but not too sweet, make a great dessert, but are also healthy enough to eat for breakfast!  They are made with real pumpkin, gluten free flour, and coconut sugar making them healthier than your usual muffin.

Pumpkin lovers where you at?!  This is definitely my new FAVORITE recipe.  I can not tell you just how moist and fluffy these muffins are.  They are literal muffin perfection.  They’ve got a great pumpkin flavor but its not a sickly overpowering pumpkin spice level, plus lots of chocolate chips because what isn’t better with chocolate?! One bite and I promise you, you’ll understand.  We can’t stop making these in our house and you will know why!

If you want to try some other great pumpkin recipes be sure to check out my chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, my pumpkin spice pecan butter blondies, my pumpkin pie milkshake if it is still warm where you live, or for some savory options try my pumpkin sloppy joes or my pumpkin chili!

Ingredients You’ll Need for your Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins:

• Gluten free all purpose flour – this is the flour I used for the recipe.  I have not tested any other flours so I can’t say for sure if a sub will work, but if you are not gluten free you can probably use regular all purpose flour, and then you can try oat flour if you are gluten free but don’t have any gf all purpose, I think that would be your best bet for another gluten free flour.
• Pumpkin puree – gotta use real pumpkin for the pumpkin flavor baby!
• Coconut sugar – I swapped most of the sugar in this recipe to coconut sugar to make it low in refined sugar.
• Brown sugar – I still used just a little bit of brown sugar for this recipe because I love the moisture it adds. You can sub this for more coconut sugar if you prefer a refined sugar free muffin.
• Eggs – Eggs are used as a binder which is especially important when using gluten free flours.
• Coconut oil – serving as the fat of our muffins, this helps give us a moist fluffy texture.  You can also sub this for butter or vegan butter.
• Pumpkin pie spice – I think this one is self explanatory 😛
• Salt – salt is the hidden hero behind all baked goods.  It adds depth to the other flavors in the recipe to really create that chef’s kiss.
• Baking soda – to help these muffins rise!
• Chocolate chips – I used mini dark chocolate chips for mine but you can use any you like!

Tips for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

• Oven temperature – you will see in the instructions I start with the oven at 425F and then midway through cooking lower it to 375F.  I promise there is a reason!  Starting the temperature high helps the outside of the muffins bake which gives them a good rise.  Then lowering the temperature allows the inside to bake through.  It gets you the perfectly risen but also fully baked through muffin so the outside isn’t burnt but the inside isn’t doughy.  Trust me!
• Don’t open the oven when you change the temperature.  That will mess with the internal temperature of the oven.  Simply drop the temperature on the oven when your first timer goes off!
• Don’t over mix the batter – this is a big one for muffins.  It will mess with your texture and make them more cakey or cause them to bake unevenly. 
• For the sugar – I used a mix of coconut and brown sugar to both lessen the amount of refined sugar, but also retain some good moisture that the brown sugar contains.  You can use all brown sugar if you’d like, and you can also probably get away with swapping it all out for coconut sugar if you prefer.

How to Tell When Your Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins Are Done

Gluten-free batter holds onto moisture way longer than regular wheat batter, so “firm to the touch” can fool you. Once you’re about 10 minutes into that second, lower-temperature bake, slide a toothpick into the center of a middle muffin. You want a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Wet batter means they need a few more minutes. A totally clean toothpick usually means you went a minute or two too long.

Let the muffin tin rest on the counter for about 5 minutes so the muffins can finish setting, then move them to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way. Don’t skip the wire rack. If they cool all the way in the pan, the trapped steam has nowhere to go and you get gummy bottoms.

Gluten-Free Baking Swaps and Substitutions

The flour. Use a cup-for-cup gluten-free all purpose flour blend that already has xanthan gum in it (Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 is the easiest to find). If your blend doesn’t include xanthan gum, add 1/2 teaspoon, or the muffins will crumble the second you peel the liner off. Almond flour won’t work as a straight swap here, it’s too heavy and too oily for this batter.

Egg-free. Two flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed plus 6 tablespoons water, rested 10 minutes) will get you close to vegan pumpkin muffins. They bake up denser, so let them cool completely before you pull one apart.

Dairy-free. These already are, as long as your chocolate chips are. Check the bag, plenty of “dark” chips still sneak in milk fat. If your batter looks thick and you want to loosen it, add oat milk or another non-dairy milk a tablespoon at a time.

Baking soda, not baking powder. I get this question a lot. The soda is reacting with the acidity in the pumpkin and coconut sugar, and that’s what gives you the big domed top with the 425F start. Swap in baking powder 1:1 and you’ll get flat muffins.

How to Store Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

Let them cool completely first. Warm muffins in a sealed container equals soggy muffins. Then store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. I lay a paper towel in the bottom and another on top to catch condensation.

In the fridge they’ll keep about a week, though they firm up in there.

The freezer is my favorite move. Freeze them in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Pull one out the night before, or microwave a frozen muffin for 30 to 40 seconds. A toaster oven at 300F for about 10 minutes gets the outside crisp again if you’ve got the patience.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffin FAQ

Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin puree?

Nope, and this is the mistake I see most. Pumpkin pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, so it throws off both the sugar and the spices here. Grab the can that says pure pumpkin puree, where the ingredient list is just pumpkin. One cup is a little over half a standard 15 ounce can, so plan on using the rest for something else. My roundup of 20 sweet and savory gluten-free pumpkin recipes has plenty of ideas.

I don’t have pumpkin pie spice. What can I use?

Mix your own. For the 2 teaspoons this recipe calls for, use 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves if you have them.

Can I make these as mini muffins?

Yes. Same 425F start, but drop to 375F after 5 minutes and start checking at 8. You’ll get about 30 minis, and they make a great quick snack for kids’ lunchboxes.

Are these actually healthy?

Healthier than a bakery muffin, definitely. Real pumpkin puree brings fiber and vitamin A, the eggs add protein, and swapping most of the sugar for coconut sugar keeps the refined sugar low. They’re still muffins with chocolate chips in them, though. I’d call them a good breakfast, not a health food.

And that’s it!  If you have any other questions that I didn’t address and you are confused on, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and ask, I am here to help!  You can leave a comment at the bottom of this post or shoot me a DM on Instagram and I will get back to you shortly.

In addition to the listed ingredients, you will need:

• two bowls
• a standing mixer or electric hand mixer
• a muffin pan
• muffin cup liners or cooking spray to grease your pan with

Enjoy!

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If you try this recipe please leave a rating and a review in a comment below! It would mean the world to me 🙂 If you remake on Instagram please also tag me at @passmeaspoon when you share so I can see your creation!

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