Cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins are the perfect fall breakfast, snack, or even dessert. We love the swirl of cinnamon sugar in each muffin as an added bonus of spiced sweetness. While most muffins are full of added sugars, we omit a good amount in an effort to keep the sugar content fairly low. We also use low-fat Greek yogurt to give these cinnamon pumpkin muffins moisture and protein!
Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins Recipe
There are a few reasons we love these pumpkin muffins. The smell of cinnamon and pumpkin wafting from the oven is hard to beat. This cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffin recipe makes your kitchen smell amazing and you will want to eat them as soon as they're ready. Also, muffins make a great meal prep recipe because they're already portioned out so you can grab one or two on your way out of the door on a crisp fall morning. And we've tweaked our recipe to be lower in sugar and fat than most muffins. Plus, pumpkin is full of vitamins A and C, fiber, potassium, and iron. What more could you want?!
Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Muffins Ingredient Highlights
- White whole wheat flour - we love white whole wheat flour because you're getting the benefits of whole wheat flour (fiber, B vitamins) but not a heavy "wheaty" taste. You could sub all-purpose flour or all whole wheat!
- Pumpkin puree - using pumpkin puree gives these muffins a strong pumpkin flavor that instantly makes you feel like it's fall. Pumpkin puree should be just pumpkin, nothing else (pumpkin pie filling has spices and sweetener added to it).
- Greek yogurt - this provides moisture to the recipe, as well as some protein. You could use vanilla Greek yogurt but we opted for plain to keep the sugar content down. Just be sure to use Greek yogurt as opposed to regular yogurt to get the nutrition benefits!
- Maple syrup or honey - the amount of sweetener in the actual muffins is fairly low; however, the cinnamon sugar swirl adds sweetness so you won't even notice!
- Canola oil - you could sub any neutral flavored or complementary flavored oil here, like walnut oil, avocado oil, or even olive oil (just not extra virgin).
- Nuts - we're fans of adding chopped nuts to our muffins and breads because it adds texture but you can definitely leave these out! We love pecans or walnuts in these pumpkin muffins.
- Cinnamon sugar swirl - this is simply a mix of granulated sugar and cinnamon. If you want to cut down on added sugar even more, you can omit this altogether!
Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins Recipe FAQ
There are a few ways to improve the nutritional quality of muffins but we started by swapping AP flour for white whole wheat flour, cutting back on fat and using a small amount of oil and low-fat Greek yogurt, and cutting back on the sugar content.
An easy way is to not overmix. This is super important when making muffins! You want to mix the batter until the ingredients are JUST combined and most big lumps are gone (it's okay to have small lumps!).
Of course! These cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins actually freeze really well and we suggest freezing if you won't eat them all within 3-5 days. They're easy to pop in the microwave and reheat for ~30 seconds before enjoying!
Other Recipes You May Like
- Oven Roasted Butternut Squash
- Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe - lower in sugar!
- Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Dip
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte - also lower in sugar than coffee shop versions!
- Espresso Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins
Rate & Review
If you made our cinnamon sugar pumpkin muffins, please rate and review our recipe below! We would love to hear your feedback. Also snap a photo and tag us on insta @theperfectpearr so we can see your creation!
PrintCinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 14 muffins 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the cinnamon sugar swirl:
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
For the muffins:
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose or whole wheat flour)
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ⅓ cup real maple syrup or honey
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup skim milk, room temperature
- ¾ cup crushed walnuts or pecans
Instructions
For the swirl:
- In a small bowl, whisk sugar and spices until fully combined (be sure to scrape the bottom!). Set aside.
For the muffins:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare muffin tin by lining with paper liners and spraying with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, yogurt, egg, syrup or honey, oil, vanilla, and milk. Mix.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, and mix until just combined.* Stir in nuts.
- Fill each muffin tin with 2 Tbsp batter, then sprinkle 2 Tbsp cinnamon sugar mixture. Scoop another 2 Tbsp batter on top. Sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar if desired.
- Bake 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool and enjoy!
Notes
*Be careful not to overmix muffin batter! This will cause the muffins to be tough and dry. You want to mix it until ingredients are just combined.
- Muffins will keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze for up to 2 months.
- These are a great grab-and-go breakfast, snack, or even dessert! We love having one or two with a bowl of vanilla Greek yogurt for some extra protein.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 173
- Sugar: 15
- Sodium: 191
- Fat: 5
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Unsaturated Fat: 2
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 28
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 4
- Cholesterol: 14
Keywords: cinnamon swirl pumpkin muffins, pumpkin muffins, meal prep breakfast recipe, healthy pumpkin muffins recipe, pumpkin muffins recipe, fall recipes, fall breakfast ideas
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Kim says
Great recipe, especially during fall! Thanks for sharing.
Lauren says
I could not agree more! Plus it's easy to meal prep 🙂
Chelsea says
These freeze really well! Easy to thaw overnight and have for breakfast.
Lauren says
Exactly! I'm a big fan of easy recipes that can be prepped/made ahead of time and these muffins are just that.