Freshly grated apples, pumpkin puree, and a cozy blend of spices fill these pumpkin apple muffins with all the fall flavors you can imagine. The delicious strudel topping makes every bite completely heavenly!
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Pin RecipeIf you had to pick just one food that really captured the essence of fall, these pumpkin apple muffins are it. I mean, apple and pumpkin together—they’re perfect for those of us who just can’t choose between the two!
These muffins are soft, fluffy, and flavorful and they and only take about 15 minutes to put together. Sounds like it’s time to tie on your apron and start baking the best pumpkin apple muffins you have ever had!
Cozy Pumpkin Apple Muffin Recipe
My one-bowl pumpkin apple muffins are surprisingly easy to make. The whole recipe can be broken down into two parts: the muffin and the strudel topping.
To make the muffin batter, you simply whisk all the wet ingredients together and then stir in the dries. I like to use grated apples rather than apple chunks, as they keep the muffins moist while also adding sweet apple flavor to every bite.
Making the crumble topping is just as easy as making the batter. All the ingredients are mixed together in a small bowl, then sprinkled on top of the muffins before baking. It only takes about 24 minutes for these effortless muffins to bake, and the smell coming out of your oven will be simply divine. You’ll to want to eat one of these delicious pumpkin apple muffins fresh out of the oven!
For more fall muffin ideas, try my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins, or Apple Cinnamon Muffins.
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Ingredients for Pumpkin Apple Muffins
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Eggs
- Pumpkin puree – Make sure you buy a can of pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has spices and sweeteners added, which you do not want for this recipe. You can also try making your own homemade pumpkin puree using sugar pumpkins. However, I find that a simple can of puree works perfectly!
- Melted butter – Use unsalted butter for this recipe, as there is already the perfect amount of salt added to the recipe.
- Vegetable oil – I like to use butter and oil to give the muffins the perfect texture and also a lot of flavor. You can also use melted coconut oil in place of vegetable oil to add a slightly tropical taste to these yummy muffins.
- Vanilla extract
- Flour
- Brown sugar – I prefer to use dark brown sugar, which has a more intense flavor than light brown sugar. However, both will work! You will need brown sugar for both the crumble topping and the muffins.
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Salt
- Apple – Honeycrisp, Gala and Granny Smith apples are my favorite types to use for baking. Firm, slightly tart, slightly sweet apples are best!
Variations
Here are a few recipe variations and ingredient substitutes that will work well.
- Replace the ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg with 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Pumpkin spice is a quick and easy way to add all those fall flavors with just one spice.
- Turn these regular-sized muffins into mini muffins. Scoop about two tablespoons of batter into a paper-lined mini muffin tin and only bake for 18-20 minutes. Bite-sized muffins are great for snacking or for breakfast on the go.
- Use half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour to make the muffins a little healthier with added whole grains. Healthy muffins are always a good idea!
- Replace the brown sugar with honey or maple syrup for a more natural sweetener. One cup of syrup or honey will work to make the pumpkin apple streusel muffin batter. These thicker sweeteners will also help make extra moist muffins.
- Add 3/4 cup of chocolate chips to the muffin batter to make amazing pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
How to Make Pumpkin Apple Muffins
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place paper cupcake liners in a 12-cup muffin pan and set aside.
- Whisk the wet ingredients: Add the eggs, pumpkin puree, butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Whisk everything together until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients: Add the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture and whisk to make a thick batter.
- Add the apples: Grate the apple directly into the bowl. You can peel the apple or keep the skin on. Since the apple is grated, the peel won’t be noticeable.
- Make the crumble: Add all of the ingredients for the crumble topping to a small bowl and mix together.
- Scoop and bake: Scoop the batter into the paper muffin liners, filling them about ¾ of the way to the top. Sprinkle each muffin with about a tablespoon of crumble topping. Bake muffins for 24 minutes.
- Cool: Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack or enjoy them right away!
Quick Tip
I like to use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop with a spring lever to scoop my batter into the paper liners. This helps portion the batter perfectly and neatly.
How to Store Pumpkin Muffins
Once your pumpkin muffins are baked and cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. You can also place the airtight container in the fridge to keep the muffins fresh for about a week.
These apple pumpkin muffins do freeze well. I like to put them in a gallon-sized freezer bag and freeze them for up to three months. Thaw the muffins at room temperature and they will be as good as the day they were baked!
FAQs
These muffins are full of pumpkin puree and fresh apples, two ingredients that have lots of vitamins and minerals. However, there is sugar added to the muffins so keep that in mind if you are on a low carb diet or trying to watch your calorie intake.
These pumpkin muffins do not need to be refrigerated. They will last at room temperature for about 3-4 days. You can choose to refrigerate them if you would like the muffins to last longer.
Pumpkin muffins can be rubbery if there was not enough leavener used, if you try to substitute butter for applesauce, or if they are not baked long enough. Follow my recipe exactly and use baking soda that is fresh and not expired. Your muffins will turn out fluffy and light!
More Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin Apple Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 ½ cup flour
- 1 ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 apple, grated
Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with paper muffin liners. Set aside for now.
- Whisk the eggs, oil, melted butter, vanilla and pumpkin in a large bowl until smooth.2 eggs, ¼ cup melted butter, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup pumpkin puree
- Add the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the bowl and whisk into a smooth batter.2 ½ cup flour, 1 ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Stir in the grated apples.1 apple, grated
- Scoop the batter into the lined cupcake tray, filling each cup about ¾ way to the top.
- In a small bowl, make the topping by mix together the brown sugar, flour and butter. Mix into a crumble then sprinkle the topping onto each muffin. Each muffin will get about a ½ tablespoon of crumble.½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup flour, 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Bake the muffins for 24 minutes. The tops will be golden brown and spring back to the touch.
- Let the muffins cool in the tray for 5 minutes then move them to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm!
