Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Fall is here! And, this whole grain pumpkin muffins recipe is SO moist and delicious, you will want to add it to your fall/winter breakfast menu for sure!

In our house, fall and winter is our baking season, you will most every day, find something fresh from the oven sitting on our counter.

Whole Grains Vs. Refined Grains – What’s The Difference?

Refined Grains

• Refined Grains strip bran and germ layers.
• Refined Grains are stripped out of most of its fiber, healthy fats, and many vitamins and minerals. 
• Refined grains are generally “enriched.” Enriched flour is flour sprayed with vitamins and other nutrients to replace the nutritional value lost when the bran and germ were removed.

Whole Grains

• Whole Grains retain all three layers of the grain; the bran, germ, and endosperm. 
• Whole Grains are high in fiber
• Whole Grains are loaded with essential vitamins that support a healthy metabolism, and brain health, and can help regulate blood sugar levels.
• Whole Grains are gentle on the digestive system.

It is incredible what switching to whole grains did for my children and our family. It’s of course not a cure-all, but when you don’t remove the bran and germ or strip the grains of its fiber and healthy fats, along with the vitamins and minerals the whole grain offers, your whole wheat will actually cause you to have better health. Read full post here: 19 Health Benefits Of Switching To Whole Grains

Applesauce Substitute

Before we, get into this recipe, a really popular thing to do these days is substitute oil with applesauce.

If you are substituting your oil with apple sauce it is simply a 1:1 ratio. Its SUPER simple and many times no one is the wiser for it.

Pumpkin or Butternut Squash

Ok, sit down for this one…

Did you know that a lot of “Pumpkin Puree” is actually and could be any of the following kinds of squash..

• Butternut Squash
• Hubbard Squash
• Boston Squash
• Golden Delicious
  

That is right! All this time we thought we were enjoying “pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin spice everything” when in reality we are sipping on a “squash coffee, squash muffins, squash everything!” Doesn’t sound as catchy right? lol!

That is probably why we just keep slapping the Pumpkin Puree label on there, it sells!

Not to be discouraged though…

Here’s the good news about your pumpkin puree intruder

Yes! You can use squash as a substitute for anything pumpkin.

My personal favorite is butternut squash. Back story, I hated cooking with butternut squash. We always had SO much of it, and I didn’t know how to use it! That is, until I found this out..

How to prepare a pumpkin or squash for puree

Oh, this is like the simplest task to do, lucky us! Who doesn’t love simple, budget friendly, whole food meals?

You will need one butternut squash or one pumpkin.

• One butternut squash or one pumpkin
• One good size shallow baking dish
• 1-2 cups hot water depending on size of pumpkin or squash
• A lid to cover top for steaming purposes or aluminum foil

Directions

1. You will preheat your oven to 350’F.
2. Slice Pumpkin or Squash in half.
3. Clean out seeds.
4. Place halves face down in baking dish.
5. Dump your hot water in and seal with lid or aluminum foil
6. Place in oven and bake for 40 min or until fork can easily poke through.
7. After it comes out, let cook for 20-30 minutes.
8. I have done this two ways. You can either gently remove the skin from the back, and toss the squash or pumpkin into the blender… Or you can carefully turn the halves over and gently scrape the meat out with a spoon. Then blend it.

That is it! Now you can use it in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree!

Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup avocado oil or apple sauce
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 3/4 cup pure raw dehydrated cane sugar
• 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree or squash puree
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups whole grain flour of choice

Directions:

1. Mix oil, eggs, sugars, pumpkin or squash puree, in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients. Pumpkin spice, salt, baking powder, and whole grain flour.
3. Pour dry ingredients into wet and combine with wire whisk until almost finished mixing, then finish folding in with a spatula or wooden spoon until fully combined.
4. Oil cup cake pan.
5. Fill cupcake holders about 2/3 of the way
6. Place in preheated oven and bake for 22 minutes or until fully cooked.

You can make this whole grain pumpkin muffins recipe ahead…

We often will make our muffins the day before we use them, so that they are ready for breakfast… Some muffins are definitely better made fresh the day of use.

However, these ones are SO super yummy next morning muffins. It makes it SO much easier to have them ready for when the morning comes and you are needing to feed all the hungry people in your home.

Cast Iron Muffin Pan

We for years had gotten away from non-stick pans and have used way more steel and cast iron for our cooking.. Unfortunately, the muffin pans have been last to go. I always use them with muffin paper but, we wanted to get away from using the non-stick all together.

Well, I found a cast iron muffin pan, and it makes my heart happy! It works SO good. I plan to grab another one as soon as I can. It’s amazing though and lives up to the cast iron standard.

If you are looking for a cast iron muffin pan, you can shop that cast iron muffin pan here. Be sure to check out the post below!

19 Health Benefits Of Switching To Whole Grains

WHOLE GRAIN MAPLE PECAN MUFFINS

BEST EASY HEALTHY BACON CHEDDAR DROP BISCUITS

BEST CHEESY SAUTÉED SPINACH CRUSTLESS QUICHE

Only one life to offer,

Andrea