In sharing this pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe, I am sharing quite possibly one of my current favorite dessert recipes of all time. I do go through food phases, but I cannot get over how insanely good these are.

The recipe was inspired by Little Bird Organic’s Spiced Banana Date Loaf. My cousin introduced me to the Banana Date Loaf, and after making it several times I wondered whether I could transform the recipe framework into pumpkin muffins.

After a bit of experimentation (and a few modifications), I found that YES the recipe framework worked absolutely perfectly for pumpkin muffins. I got so excited by this that I actually made a quadruple batch of the muffins.

Needless to say, I could not eat all 48 of the muffins in one day (though I was wishing I could). Luckily, I found that these muffins freeze really well. I placed them all in Snapware glass containers and stacked the containers in the freezer. After that, I took two muffins out of the freezer each night after dinner and popped them right into the microwave for about 30 seconds. The. BEST. Dessert.

This recipe has really broadened my perspectives regarding vegan baking, gluten-free baking, and sugar-free baking. Prior to making these muffins, I only had a handful of previous experiences using buckwheat flour in baking. One such previous experience was with my Light and Fluffy Buckwheat Blueberry Pancake recipe.

As I’ve continued to experiment with gluten-free baking, I’ve found just how delicious it really can be! Buckwheat flour is more than just a flour substitute, it’s a whole new style of baking. If you’d like to read more about buckwheat flour, check out my blog post, Getting Started With Buckwheat Bakes!

I truly love the flavor that the buckwheat flour, almond flour, and quinoa flour give these delicious muffins ♡ I hope you can enjoy these spiced pumpkin muffins as much as I do!

WHAT YOU’LL LOVE ABOUT THIS RECIPE

♡ EVERY SINGLE BITE (seriously)... I actually prefer eating these muffins with a fork because I can take smaller bites and savor each morsel.

♡ GLUTEN-FREE: Almond flour, quinoa flour, and buckwheat flour! Absolutely no gluten in these muffins.

♡ VEGAN: This recipe uses chia seeds as a binder in place of eggs, and it uses baking powder and baking soda to help the muffins rise. The result… a completely vegan muffin! There are also several different options for vegan chocolate chips that will complete the veganness of these muffins :) Brands that you might consider trying include: Lieber’s Vegan Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Enjoy Life Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, or Chatfields Semi-Sweet Vegan Baking Chips.

♡ DAIRY-FREE: Almond milk is the tasty dairy-free milk in this recipe! Make sure your chocolate chips are also dairy-free if you’re concerned about this!

♡ They’re super HEALTHY! These muffins are high in fiber, healthy fats, and protein. So many super foods and seeds all in one place!! Chia seeds, buckwheat, quinoa, and more! Extra virgin olive oil is the source of fat in this bake!

♡ The GINGER & CINNAMON: Who doesn’t love some spiced pumpkin bread?? The combo of ginger and cinnamon results in a deliciously autumn / halloween tasting bread. It’s SO good!

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST VEGAN PUMPKIN MUFFINS

1) Use FINELY GROUND almond flour! I once decided to make these muffins using almond flour that I ground myself. I thought it might be really yummy if I left the almond flour a little bit chunky for texture. I was so mistaken. The almond chunks got soggy in the oven and I hated the resulting texture and taste. Ever since then, I’ve been a huge believer in the finely ground almond flour for this recipe. I love the smoothness of the muffin, with just a tiny bit of crunch in the quinoa.

2) Add the full amount of dates. I have made several batches of these muffins with adjusted amounts of dates to see if the muffins still taste good with less sweetness. I’ve found that the 320 grams of dates per batch is the PERFECT amount (for my taste). If the muffins aren’t sweet enough, I just don’t find them enjoyable (which is really a shame).

3) DARK or SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE: I’ve made these muffins with milk chocolate before, and it’s too sweet. AND, it also isn’t dairy free. I super recommend making them with either dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips due to both the delicious taste and greater health benefits of darker chocolate.

SERVING IDEAS

My favorite way to eat these vegan pumpkin muffins is PLAIN! That being said, they're also super delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream too!

STORAGE

I’ve found that these muffins freeze really well. I usually place them all in Snapware glass containers and stack the containers in the freezer.

Whenever I want to reheat a muffin, I take one out of the freezer and put it into the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until the muffin is warm and soft!

VEGAN PUMPKIN MUFFINS INGREDIENTS

- Pure Pumpkin: Pure, canned pumpkin creates a lovely smooth texture and moistness in these muffins. One of my favorites to purchase is the Libby’s Pure Pumpkin.

- Dates: Dates are high in fiber and a natural source of sweetness. While they may seem scary at first, when they’re blended up, you can hardly tell that it’s not refined sugar sweetening these muffins. Dates also help contribute to the moistness of the muffins. Dates can be stored in the refrigerator for months! You can even purchase pre-pitted dates so all you have to do is throw them into the blender.

- Almond Milk: Tasty dairy-free milk in this recipe! Try out the Almond Breeze Almond Milk!

- Vanilla

- Chia Seeds: These awesome little seeds are high in healthy fats and fiber!

- Olive Oil: This is a MUCH healthier alternative to butter. This isn’t one of those healthy tricks that end up tasting worse! Olive oil is associated with many health benefits including decreased inflammation, protection against cancer, and lower risk of heart disease. Be sure to buy extra virgn olive oil if you want to maximize the health benefits of this oil!

- Salt: Flavor enhancing!

- Almond Flour: This Blue Diamond Almond Flour flour is finely ground and gluten-free! Texture and flavor are delicious!

- Quinoa: Grind toasted quinoa to make toasted quinoa flour! Excellent texture and nutty flavor :) You might consider trying out the Whole Foods Organic White Quinoa.

- Buckwheat Flour: Check out my blog post, Getting Started With Buckwheat Bakes to learn more about buckwheat flour. A great brand is the Bob’s Red Mill Organic Buckwheat Flour.

- Cinnamon & Ginger: Pumpkin, SPICE, and everything nice ♡

- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Crucial to help the muffins rise!

- Chocolate Chips: If you want your pumpkin muffins to be COMPLETELY vegan, you should consider trying out vegan chocolate chips. There are a number of different brands to try, including: Lieber’s Vegan Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Enjoy Life Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, or Chatfields Semi-Sweet Vegan Baking Chips.

HOW TO…

Start out by cutting each date in half and removing the seed. You’ll also want to be on the lookout for any stem-type thing on the dates. Some of them will have one and some of them will not. Place the pitted dates into a container and set aside.

I’ve found that it is really challenging to measure dates in cups because they have an unusual size and shape. As a result, ½ cup of dates might mean differing amounts to different people and situations, depending on the sizes and shapes of the dates.

My solution to this is to weigh the dates in order to get precisely the amount that I want. This recipe uses 320 grams of dates. If you don’t have a baking scale, you may want to consider purchasing one. They are fairly inexpensive on Amazon. Here’s a link to the one I have from Greater Goods.

Once you’ve measured out 320 grams of pitted dates, pour the dates into a blender. I use my Vitamix blender for this step and I’ve never had a single problem with it.

Add the almond milk, vanilla, and olive oil to the blender with the dates. Blend until smooth. You may have to scrape the sides of the blender with a spatula to make sure that all of the dates are blended.

Once this mixture is smooth, add the pumpkin and chia seeds. Blend for 10-15 seconds, or until the pumpkin is thoroughly mixed in. Transfer the blended wet ingredients to a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, measure out ½ cup of white quinoa into a skillet over medium heat. Heat the quinoa, stirring occasionally and cook for 5-7 minutes. You want the quinoa to turn a nice golden brown color, BUT be careful not to let it burn. Once the quinoa is getting more golden looking, remove it from the heat and pour into a clean blender.

Blend the quinoa for about 30 seconds, or until it’s starting to become a powder. I almost never blend my quinoa until it’s a fine powder because I like the added texture that the whole quinoa grains add to my muffins.

It is now time to begin adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Measure out the almond flour, buckwheat flour, and blended (toasted) quinoa. Pour each into the mixing bowl with the blended pumpkin mixture.

Next, add in the cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well combined. There should not be any flour chunks in the batter.

Once the mixture is combined, add the chocolate chips. Mix well.

Divide the batter evenly into 12 muffins. I ALWAYS use Silicone Muffin Pans when I’m making muffins. I absolutely LOVE how easy these are to clean, as well as the fact that they cut down on paper waste.

Once the muffin batter is evenly divided into 12 muffins, transfer the muffin pan to an oven heated to 375 degrees F. Cook the muffins for 22-27 minutes.

Remove the muffins from the silicon pans and serve! These taste amazing fresh (with the warm, gooey chocolate chips inside), BUT they also taste amazing reheated! You can’t go wrong with this recipe!

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