Clean Eating Pumpkin Muffins

The smell of warm, comforting Pumpkin muffins cooking is enough take the chill off the coldest Fall day, and these Clean eating pumpkin muffins do exactly that. A healthier take on this delicious Fall treat, these muffins have no refined sugar in them and instead rely on natural sweeteners. Give them a go, the kids go crackers for them!

Kid Friendly Pumpkin Muffins

We all know that muffins and kids were made for each other. A match made in heaven if you like. And as a parent, you can put certain foods in a muffin that the kids wouldn't be quite so willing to eat if they, well, weren't in a muffin! In this house, pumpkin is one of those foods.

Pumpkin is a sweet vegetable which means it's great for baking and hiding inside muffins. Being orange, the color is pretty perfect for giving muffins that warm, golden, glowing look that's just so appealing and I can tell you, not once have the kids ever questioned these yummy Fall treats. They're gone in a flash, in fact they're one of the most popular muffins I make.

I don't disguise the name, they're not given a neutral name so the kids 'don't know' but somehow they make no connection between the pumpkin I have, before now, presented to them on their dinner plates and these beautiful muffins they see on the counter top. And that's fine by me!

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

Being a healthy sort of muffin made with pumpkin, these are also a great treat to bake for Halloween. I mean, any muffin can be jazzed up and decorated but these just fit. Use some Halloween muffin liners like these, and print off the muffin toppers and you've got a guilt free Halloween snack.

The muffin toppers couldn't be easier. I just print them off and attach a cocktail stick to the back of each one and stick it in the muffin. There you have it, you've made themed Halloween muffins. And extra Mom points if you let the kids cut out the toppers out and don't go back later to neaten up the edges. Just me?

Pumpkin Puree vs Canned Pumpkin

Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing. Exactly the same thing. However, there are a few things to look out for if you're using canned pumpkin puree. You want to make sure the ingredients are one ingredient only, and that's..pumpkin. You can buy canned pumpkin puree that's called 'pumpkin pie mix' and this is usually pureed pumpkin with added sugars and spices, so you want to avoid this one.

Check the labels if you're using canned pumpkin, lots are fine, like this Organic pureed pumpkin, but some are not. So just be aware!

What Can I Use If I Don't Have Pumpkin Puree?

If you don't have/can't get/don't want to use pureed pumpkin, there are substitutes that work just as well. All Winter squash can be roasted and pureed for this recipe. The quantities remain the same.

You can also use sweet potato. In this case I would roast the sweet potato whole and then scoop out the flesh and puree that. Again, the amounts stay the same. Using sweet potato will give you slightly heavier, denser muffins than using a squash, but the flavor will still be there, so bear this in mind if you're going to use potato.

How To Make Pureed Pumpkin

Making pureed pumpkin is really easy. First of all, halve your pumpkin. This is easiest done from one side right next to the stalk. I don't try and cut the stalk, it's too tough. One your pumpkin is in 2 halves, scoop out the seeds.

Next, you want to roast your pumpkin. I do this on a low heat to make sure the pumpkin cook through and is really soft, and doesn't burn or crisp up while cooking. When the pumpkin is cooked, let it cool and then just scoop out the flesh, add it to your blender and whizz it up until you have a very smooth, lump free pumpkin puree. Job done :)

Ingredients

Pureed Pumpkin

I like to use freshly roasted pumpkin to make my puree but you can use canned if you prefer. It certainly saves time and washing up!

Ripe Bananas and Maple Syrup

I use ripe banana and Maple syrup to help give these muffins an unrefined, healthy boost of sweetness. Make sure your banana is very, very ripe as this is when they're at their sweetest.

Vanilla Paste

I've used vanilla paste since I came across it and haven't used extract since. Both work, but I find the vanilla paste has a more mellow flavor.

Flour

As an alternative to the usual white flour you often fins in muffins, I use Clean Einkorn flour. It's really good for baking and is a much better for you flour than the usual selection. This Wholemeal Einkorn ticks all the right boxes!

More Clean Eating Muffins

• Banana lentil muffins
• Healthy carrot cake muffins
• Clean eating choc chip muffins
• Gingerbread muffins

How To Make Clean Eating Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Pumpkin Cooked, pureed
• ¼ Cup Banana Ripe, mashed
• 3 Eggs Lightly beaten
• 4 tbsp Maple syrup
• ½ cup Butter Melted
• 1 tsp Vanilla paste
• 1 ½ Cups Wholemeal Flour
• ½ tsp Baking powder
• ½ tsp Baking soda
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground Ginger

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F or 180C
• Prepare a 12 hole muffin tray with liners or oil to prevent sticking.
• Mix all the wet ingredients together until just blended.
• Mix all dry ingredients together in separate bowl
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient mixture.
• Stir until just combined.
• Spoon evenly into muffin tray and bake for 15 - 20 min. This will depend on your oven.
• Muffins need to be slightly golden.

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe (To Print)

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