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Wonderfully moist from the pumpkin puree and rich with the distinctive taste of hazelnut, these Flourless Nutella Pumpkin Muffins are loaded with chocolatey goodness. With such a sweet and decadent flavor, these naturally gluten-free muffins are perfect when you’re in the mood for a satisfying and healthy breakfast.
Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins With Nutella
These flourless Nutella muffins feature a base of real pumpkin puree, making them a sweet and surprisingly healthy breakfast or snack that everyone is sure to love. Because there’s no flour anywhere in the recipe, they’re also naturally gluten-free. They make a great healthy option for breakfast or snacks on the go.
Packed with whole grains and even a few veggies, these muffins make for a chocolatey treat you can enjoy guilt-free any time of day. I love making them fun-size so that I don’t have to save any half-eaten muffins if my eye ends up being bigger than my stomach – plus, they’re super cute! I always like to keep some in the freezer so they’re ready whenever I need something quick.
What You’ll Need
These muffins are full of fresh and healthy ingredients. Scroll down to find exact amounts for everything you’ll need in the recipe card.
- Pumpkin Puree: Make sure you don’t substitute this with pumpkin pie filling.
- Nutella: Or another chocolate hazelnut spread of your choice.
- Vanilla Extract
- Egg
- Oat Flour: Certified gluten free, if needed.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Buy it packaged or mix it yourself using 3 parts cinnamon to 2 parts each of ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder: Yes, you’ll need both!
- Salt
- Old-Fashioned Oats: Don’t use quick oats or steel-cut oats. Make sure you learn about gluten free oats and get the ones you need.
- Chocolate Chips
How to Make Flourless Nutella Pumpkin Muffins
These muffins are a breeze to make. In less than half an hour, you’ll be pulling a tin of fresh, hot muffins out of the oven.
Prep Your Materials: Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine the Wet Ingredients: Use a hand or stand mixer to beat together the pumpkin puree, Nutella, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Once those are combined, beat in the egg for a minute.
Add the Dry Ingredients: Add the oat flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients. Blend everything until it just combined.
Add the Oats and Chocolate: Stir in the old-fashioned oats and mini chocolate chips.
Cook: Divide the batter between the 24 muffin cups in the mini muffin pan. Bake the muffins at 350°F for 20-24 minutes, or until the tops turn golden brown and spring back when you touch them with your fingertip.
Let Cool and Serve: Cool the muffins in the tins for several minutes before transferring them to a wire rack so they can cool completely before you serve them.
Tips for Success
This simple recipe has never given me any trouble. Follow these steps to make your own baking session go just as smoothly!
- Buy or Make Oat Flour: You can purchase certified gluten free oat flour. Or grab some GF oats from your pantry and pulse in a blender or food processor to form a powder.
- Spoon and Level Method: Instead of scooping the oat flour directly out of the bag, try scooping it into the measuring cup with a spoon and then leveling it off. This will ensure that you don’t use too much flour, which would make the muffins come out dense.
- Homemade Puree: When you make pumpkin puree from scratch at home, it tends to have more liquid than the kind that comes out of a can. If you’re using homemade puree, try to strain some of the water out before you add it.
- Don’t Use Pie Filling: Make sure you read the label on the can carefully to avoid grabbing pumpkin pie filling by mistake. This is not pure pumpkin, so it can mess up the chemical process that gives these muffins their moist texture and rich flavor.
Variation Ideas
I adore the tender sweetness of these muffins exactly the way they are, but sometimes it’s fun to shake things up. Here are some quick and easy ideas if you feel like getting creative.
- Use Another Nut Butter: If you’re not a big fan of hazelnut, you can try using peanut or almond butter instead. Make sure not to use the natural kind though, since those tend to be thinner and can mess up the consistency of your muffins.
- Add Raisins: If you think chocolate chips will make these muffins a little too chocolate-rich for you, try mixing in raisins instead.
- Use a Different Flour: To keep things gluten-free, almond flour can be used to replace oat flour at a 1:1 ratio. Just make sure you don’t use all-purpose flour, since it can’t be substituted 1:1 the way almond flour can.
- Adjust the Spice: Another way you can make these muffins your own is by changing the ratio of the spices. Since pumpkin spice is made from a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves, you can experiment with adding these spices in different ratios until you find what works just right for you.
How to Store Homemade Muffins
These muffins last for up to 3 days at room temperature or 4 days in the fridge. Seal them in an airtight container and line it with paper towels. This will trap the moisture so it doesn’t sink back into the muffins and make them soggy.
Can I Freeze These Pumpkin Muffins?
I love freezing these Nutella pumpkin muffins! They’re the perfect make-ahead breakfast or snack option. They keep their taste and texture in the freezer for up to 3 months, as long as they’re kept in an airtight, freezer-safe container or tightly wrapped in plastic. I like to wrap them individually for larger muffins or in groups of 3 or 4 for mini muffins so they’re easy to grab out of the freezer and stick in the fridge to thaw.
Things You’ll Need
Flourless Nutella Pumpkin Muffins
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling)
- ½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread such as Nutella
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup oat flour, certified gluten free, if needed (buy oat flour or pulse oats in a blender or food processor to form a powder)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats, certified gluten free, if needed
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together the pumpkin puree, Nutella, and vanilla extract. Then beat in the egg for 1 minutes.
- Add the oat flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients. Blend until just combined.
- Stir in the old fashioned oats and mini chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between 24 muffin cups in the pan.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown and they spring back when you touch them.
- Cool in the pans for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- To Store: Keep up to 3 days at room temperature or 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container lined with paper towels.
- To Freeze: Freeze up to 3 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container or tightly wrapped in plastic.
Did you make this?
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You are very fortunate to have such a loving family. Thanks for participating this week.
I am very lucky!
These muffins look KILLER! I’ve never put chocolate and pumpkin together, but sounds amazing.
I only tried it a few years ago and I am hooked!
Hi Brianne, I also added two ripe mashed bananas with an additional 1/4 cup of sugar. The results were delicious and my family loved it. I would make this again. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe 🙂
Oh good, so happy you liked them!
These are perfect for handing out as they run to catch the bus in the morning or to hand them when they walk in the door starving after school
Exactly!
Hope your little guy is feeling better by now. These muffins sound like great comfort food to me.
Yes he is, thanks Cindy!
Brianne, you’ve had so much on your plate lately, I don’t know how you keep up with everything! You’re truly superwoman. I hope the little dude feels better ASAP. In the meantime, indulge in these gorgeous, delicious Nutella pumpkin muffins! Who says you can’t have chocolate for breakfast?
You know, I just do my best! Thanks Nancy!
What a perfect little snack. Love the flavor combo!
Yes, the boys love snacking on these!
now this combo of pumpkin and nutella sound unbelievable!!! pinning for later!!
It’s surprising and delicious! The nutty flavor is so nice with pumpkin.
What a yummy way to add more veggies to one’s diet! I hope your little guy is feeling better and can enjoy a couple of these winners!
Thanks Liz! Yes, he is much better!
My mother is Nutella obsessed, and I like the addition of oatmael! I’ll be passing on this recipe to her, and I’m certain to be trying one this week.
Nutella obsession is a common affliction 🙂