Celebrate the arrival of autumn with these Vegan Pumpkin Streusel Muffins. These cozy, spiced muffins are perfect for brisk fall mornings.
Everyone knows that fall is the season of pumpkin spice, but this year I wanted to come up with a baked good that was different than the standard vegan pumpkin muffins or vegan pumpkin bread. These pumpkin streusel muffins absolutely hit the spot!
With a fluffy, pumpkin-rich dough and a sweet, crumbly streusel topping, this is a perfect fall recipe. Enjoy with a cup of coffee on a brisk autumn morning or with a mug of tea while you watch your favorite spooky movies. These will be part of our seasonal rotation every year now, so definitely give them a try!
Ingredients for Vegan Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- All-Purpose Flour.
- Brown Sugar (packed): Adds sweetness and a hint of caramel flavor to the muffins.
- Granulated Sugar: Provides additional sweetness and contributes to the texture of the muffins.
- Spices (Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Ginger): This spice blend (aka homemade pumpkin pie spice) adds warm, spicy, and aromatic flavors to the muffins, complementing the pumpkin.
- Salt: To balance out the sweetness.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Our leavening agents.
- Pumpkin Purée: The main flavor and moisture source, imparting a rich pumpkin taste. If using canned, make sure you pick up pumpkin purée (rather than pumpkin pie filling, which contains other ingredients).
- Vanilla Extract.
- Plant Milk: Any non-dairy milk, such as almond, soy, or oat milk.
- Vegetable Oil or Vegan Butter: Provides moisture and fat to the muffins, contributing to their texture and flavor. If using vegan butter, melt it and allow it to cool slightly before adding.
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Make the Batter
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) and prepare a muffin tray by greasing it or lining it with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Create a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add in the wet ingredients: pumpkin purée, vanilla extract, milk, and vegetable oil (or melted vegan butter). Mix until just combined.
Make the Streusel
- Prepare the streusel topping by combining the following ingredients in a separate bowl: all-purpose flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vegan butter that has been melted and cooled. Blend the ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs.
Bake
- Scoop the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 full.
- Top each muffin with a heaping tablespoon of the streusel topping. Gently press the streusel mixture into the batter to help it adhere.
- Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (220°C) to give the muffins a nice rise. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C).
- Continue baking for an additional 15-17 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown around the edges. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin; it should come out with just a few moist crumbs attached.
Cool and Glaze
- Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes to set. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the muffins are fully cooled, prepare the glaze. In a separate bowl, whisk together sifted powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. If needed, add water 1 teaspoon at a time to the glaze to achieve your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the streusel-topped muffins and your delicious pumpkin muffins are now ready to be enjoyed!
Sarah’s Recipe Tips
- Properly measure your flour: Fluff up the flour before scooping it into your measuring cup and level it off with a flat edge for an accurate measurement. This ensures your muffins have the right texture and consistency. Packing the flour too firmly in the measuring cup will result in overly dense, dry muffins.
- Don’t over-mix the batter: When combining the wet and dry ingredients, be careful not to over-mix the batter, which can lead to tough and dense muffins. Stir just until the ingredients are incorporated; it’s okay if there are a few small lumps.
- Cool muffins completely before icing: The muffins should be totally cooled before you drizzle on the glaze, to keep it from melting off.
Recipe FAQ
I only have pumpkin pie spice on hand. What do I do?!
If you don’t have the individual spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger) on hand but you have pumpkin pie spice, use 1 tablespoon in this recipe.
Can these vegan pumpkin muffins be made gluten-free?
While I’ve never tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, usually the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour works well for turning recipes gluten-free.
Storing Vegan Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- Leftovers: Muffins are best enjoyed the day they are made, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days at room temperature, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. We like to pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before eating.
- Freezer: Freeze leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Make sure the muffins are fully cooled before placing in the freezer. Frozen muffins can be defrosted in the refrigerator overnight, or in the microwave (30-60 seconds depending on the power of your microwave).
More Fall Vegan Recipes
Vegan Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Celebrate the arrival of autumn with these Vegan Pumpkin Streusel Muffins. These cozy, spiced muffins are perfect for brisk fall mornings.
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Servings: 16 muffins
Ingredients
Dry Mixture
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Wet Mixture
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin purée (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup plant milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or vegan butter, melted and cooled
Streusel Topping
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter melted and cooled
Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon plant milk
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease or line a muffin tray with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, white and brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Create a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the wet ingredients: pumpkin purée, vanilla extract, milk, and vegetable oil (or melted vegan butter). Mix until just combined.
- Scoop batter into lined or greased muffin tin. Cups should be about 3/4 full.
- In a separate bowl, mix all ingredients for the streusel topping (all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted and cooled vegan butter). Mix the ingredients until they resembled coarse crumbs.
- Top each muffin with a heaping tablespoon of streusel topping. Gently press the mixture into the batter to help it adhere.
- Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 375°F and bake for an additional 15-17 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs attached.
- Allow to cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once muffins are fully cooled, prepare the glaze. Whisk together sifted powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until completely smooth. If needed, add water 1 teaspoon at a time to thin out the mixture. Drizzle the glaze over the streusel topping, and your pumpkin muffins are ready to enjoy!
Storage
- Muffins are best enjoyed the day they are made, but they can be stored in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week.
- Freeze leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Make sure the muffins are fully cooled before placing in the freezer. Frozen muffins can be defrosted in the refrigerator overnight, or in the microwave (30-60 seconds depending on the power of your microwave).
Notes
Oil: Use a neutral-tasting vegetable oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, refined coconut oil, sunflower oil, etc.
Pumpkin pie spice: If you don’t have the individual spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger) on hand but you have pumpkin pie spice, use 1 tablespoon in this recipe.
Did you make this recipe?We’d love for you to leave a review on the website! You can also share a photo on IG and tag @sarahsvegankitchen_ or #sarahsvegankitchen.
Hello Sarah! I wanted to know if you knew the measurement for pumpkin spice… these look amazing but that’s all I have on hand.
Just made these so I could test them out for thanksgiving and they are so good!!!! Everything came out perfect, the muffin texture, the crumble topping and the glaze! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe Sarah!
Had to come back for the rating! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I went a little overboard with my girlfriend at the pumpkin patch this year and we had 4 extra pumpkins we didn’t carve. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to use some of the puree I made out of the whole pumpkins for this recipe. However, I didn’t have any muffin tins, so I used this recipe to make it into a loaf, which meant lowering the oven temp (400 F and then 350 F) and cooking for almost an hour. It turned out so moist and had the perfect sweetness. I brought it to a little gathering last night and no one could resist having only one piece, and everyone wanted a piece for the next day. Needless to say I only brought home a quarter of a piece to have today. BIG HIT. Thank you! I’m going to try making the gluten free version next for my girlfriend 🙂
Lovely muffin recipe! Very moist and the crumbly, iced top is special and coffee cake like. I used whole wheat flour in the muffin and added pecans with great results. Your recipes are really creative and delicious… a great source of inspiration for plant based, home cooks!