by 
Pumpkin Apple Muffins combine pumpkin puree, fresh grated apple, and warm fall spices in a tender muffin topped with a cinnamon streusel. They’re an easy fall breakfast or snack and a great way to use both pumpkin and fresh apples.
Jump to:
Pumpkin muffins with fresh apples
Pumpkin and apple work really well together in these muffins. The pumpkin adds flavor and helps create a tender texture, while the grated apple adds little bits of fresh apple throughout each muffin. If you enjoy baking with apples, my Banana Apple Muffins are another easy option.
A cinnamon streusel topping adds a sweet, slightly crunchy finish. During pumpkin season, I also make these Pumpkin Muffins when I want to keep the focus entirely on pumpkin and warm spices.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review
These muffins are so delicious! I love the apple and pumpkin combination. The streusel topping is perfect! ~ Jill
Key ingredients
- Pumpkin puree – Use plain canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Apple – Peel and grate a fresh apple. The grated apple distributes throughout the batter so you get apple in every muffin.
- Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves add the warm fall flavors.
- Brown sugar – Used in both the muffins and the streusel topping.
- Butter – Use softened butter for the muffin batter and cold butter for the streusel.
How to make pumpkin apple muffins
In this section, I share step-by-step photos, cooking methods, techniques, and a general overview. For detailed instructions, temperatures, and timing, check the printable recipe card below.
- Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt.
- In another bowl, combine eggs, oil, and pumpkin.
- Add the apples and pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and combine.
Make the streusel topping
- Mix streusel topping until small crumbs are formed.
- Place muffin batter in greased muffin tins and top with streusel.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Cool muffins on a baking rack before eating.
Recipe Tips
- Mix the batter just until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing can make the muffins less tender.
- Grate the apple just before adding it to the batter. There’s no need to squeeze out the juice.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups so the muffins bake at the same rate.
- Begin checking the muffins at 20 minutes. They’re done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a baking rack.
Storing muffins
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days.
For longer storage, place the muffins in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
More muffin recipes
I make muffins throughout the year, and there are plenty more to try. My Oatmeal Banana Muffins are a longtime reader favorite, while Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins have a crumb topping and plenty of blueberries. For a brighter flavor, try these Raspberry Lemon Muffins.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my muffin recipes here!
Pumpkin Apple Muffins
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Grater
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup grated apple (peeled and cored apple)
Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 Tablespoons butter (melted)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.2 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin and vegetable oil.2 eggs, 1 cup pumpkin puree, ½ cup vegetable oil
- Combine pumpkin mixture with flour mixture.
- Fold in grated apples.1 cup grated apple
- Scoop mixture into muffin tins lined with paper liners or sprayed with a non-stick spray.
Topping
- Combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and melted butter together. Mixture will be lumpy, but all flour should be incorporated into mixture.½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup flour, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons butter
- Sprinkle topping on top of muffin batter.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
- Allow muffins to cool slightly before removing from pan. Continue cooling muffins on a baking rack.
Notes
- Fully preheat your oven - I use a separate oven thermometer in my oven to make certain my oven has reached the proper temperature. My preheat light often turns off before the oven has reached full temperature so I always give it extra time.
- Do not overmix batter. Just stir until everything is mixed in. Over stirring can cause tough muffins.
- Use an ice cream scoop for even sized muffins. Plus it makes putting the batter in the tins easy peasy!
- The topping is optional and can be left off, if desired
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
This recipe was originally published in October 2019. The images and post have been updated.
Pam R says
This is the BEST pumpkin muffin I have ever made! I have always cooked up fresh pumpkin after Halloween and thus have it available year round for baking. I have tried many muffin recipes, but this is hands down the one I will be making from now on.
Kathy says
Yay!!! Thanks so much for the amazing review! So glad you love the muffins. They are a favorite in our house too!
Jacqueline says
I never comment on recipes but this one was so good, I just had to say thanks! I used a heaping teaspoon of pumpkin spice blend instead of the spices in recipe. Fantastic.
Kathy says
Thanks so much! 🙂 I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and I'm so glad you enjoy the muffins!
Courtney says
Great recipe that turned out delicious even with my addition of frozen spinach (for my toddlers sake). And THANK YOU for including the measurements with the actual instructions. A small thing that is just so helpful.
Kathy says
I'm glad you enjoyed the muffins. Spinach is certainly an interesting addition.
Debby Rabin says
I'm actually looking for direction. It says it makes 15 muffins but has a link to a standard tin, with room for 12.
Kathy says
Hi Debby,
This recipe does make 15 muffins. You'll need to use two muffin tins or bake two batches, one with 12 and then another with 3. Most muffin tins come with just 12.
I hope you enjoy the muffins,
Kathy
Harmonie says
Great recipe, but a lot of sugar in the original recipe. I didn't add any sugar and sweetened with 1/3 cup of maple syrup. The muffins turned out great! Thank you for sharing.
Kathy says
Thanks for your suggestion. 🙂
Elaine says
Hi! Thank you for this recipe. Based on earlier comments I made a few adjustments too. I used 1 c. Whole wheat flour + 1 1/2 c. AP flour, 1 c. coconut sugar (instead of the 1 1/2 c. White sugar), also doubled the nutmeg & ginger, omitted the sugar topping and replaced it with pumpkin seeds.
They were so yummy!
Kathy says
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your adjustments! 🙂
Patricia says
Had left over pumpkin purée and came across this recipe. Delicious! Moist, and crumble topping made it extra special. Made it twice this week as my neighbors are my first batch 😂. A keeper for sure.p
Kathy says
Thanks so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed them and how nice of you to share with your neighbors! 🙂
Sadie says
Was looking for an apple & pumpkin recipe specifically and this hit this spot. Thank you!
I feel bad leaving reviews on recipes because I never follow them exactly, so my review isn’t really for the recipe written. I do, however, find it helpful to read what changes others have made so I can adjust to my preferences.
Here’s my adaptations for this recipe: Used 1 cup of ground oats + 1.5 cups of white flour; only 1 cup of sugar; doubled the spices & added a pinch of ground cloves; added a splash of vanilla; subbed flax eggs; added a mashed ripe banana & reduced the oil. Also didn’t add the optional topping.
Verdict: the batter was thick, but scoop-able. Cook time for 12 regular size muffins was around 28 mins. Flavour was nice, and muffins were plenty sweet. These are dense muffins, just the way I like them - don’t expect light and fluffy. Mind you, that could have partially been due to me using oats.
On a side note, I find recipes written in ‘cups’ instead of actual weight measurements are inconvenient to follow and less accurate, so adjustments are often needed anyway. Not sure why so many recipe creators aren’t using this widely accepted standard.
Kathy says
Hi Sadie,
Thanks so much for your comment and letting us know your changes. Nothing wrong with that! 🙂 Most of my recipes have a conversion built in so you can change from cups to metrics. It looks like I still need to update this recipe so that's available. I'll do that right now!
Thanks,
Kathy 🙂
Naomi Potgieter says
Bake the pumpkin and apples muffins came out very nice.
Thank you from South Africa
Kathy says
Glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Jaylee says
I omitted the nutmeg & ginger and instead added in 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. They turned out super delicious and were a big hit with my family. I’ll definitely be making these again!
Kathy says
Awesome! Thanks so much!
Jen says
There wasn't enough spice for me in these and they took 32 minutes to cook in my oven... I I use melted butter rather than vegetable oil. I would make these again with a dash of vanilla and a bit more spices maybe add a bit of pumpkin pie spice. Thank you for the base recipe 🙂 the topping was perfect!
Kathy says
Thanks for your comment. 32 minutes sounds like a long time. Did you make larger sized muffins?
Darlene says
I notice there is no baking powder in the recipe, reason?
Kathy says
The baking soda acts as the leavening agent in these muffins.
imelda says
These are a winner!! Like other commenters I used a scant 1c of sugar only, and swapped in a 1/2c of whole wheat flour, and used apple sauce instead of most of the oil. Added a bit of water too when the mixture looked to try, but I didn't have quite a full cup of shredded apple so that may explain it.
Delish!
Kathy says
Thanks! I appreciate all your tips too! 🙂
Kayla says
I used oat flour instead of regular flour and I only used 1 cup of sugar. They turned out great. Next time I will decrease the sugar to 3/4 cup. I can’t taste the pumpkin in the muffins but that is a good thing because my husband would not eat them if he knew it was in there.
Kathy says
LOL!!! So funny that you've got him to eat the muffins! 🙂 Thanks for your tips about the sugar!
Barbie says
Are the apples suppose to be drained?
Kathy says
Hi Barbie,
Use freshly grated apples. There should be minimal juice that comes off the apples when grating. It can be added right to the batter.
Enjoy,
Kathy
Alida says
I added a little almond milk to the batter to make it a little less dry and I made this into a loaf and baked it for like 50-60 minutes. Came out delicious! Thank you for the recipe!:)
Kathy says
Hi Alida,
I'm glad to hear this worked well as a loaf!
Thank you,
Kathy
Katrina Tindall says
I think there is a mistake in the ratios. 2 1/2 c of flour is too much. Should it be 1 1/2 c. I had to add a 3rd egg as the batter was just too thick.
Kathy says
Hi Katrina,
Be careful when measuring your flour and make certain it isn't too compact. Also, add the grated apple right away, it adds a lot of moisture. The recipe has been tested by myself and others several times with positive results.
Thank you,
Kathy
Intisar says
Do you think it would work to substitute butter in for the oil? I am working with a nutritionist to help my daughter who is underweight, and sneaking fats and calcium into her muffins is a win. 🙂
Kathy says
Hi,
Yes, That shouldn't be any problem at all!
Enjoy - 🙂
Anna says
I just made these tonight and they turned out really well! Unfortunately I'd misplaced my grater, so I used my peeler instead to make thin slices and then chop. I think they turned out really well despite the small mishap! I did not add the additional topping due to time constraints but to me the apple and pumpkin flavors were well balanced, I'll definitely be saving more or your recipes! 😊
Kathy says
Thank you and it sounds like you made everything work! Sometimes we have to adapt and you did that exactly! 🙂
DEBORAH says
Can this made into a loaf? If so, how long would you bake it for? Sounds delicious anxious to try
Kathy says
Hi Deborah,
I have not made this into a loaf. However, I think it should work by baking it at the same temperature for 45-50 minutes. Let me know how it works out.
Kathy 🙂
Sarah says
Have you made these with any other flour? Interested in gluten free and keto options of almond or coconut flour. The ratios are slightly different so was hoping you had
Kathy says
Hi Sarah,
I've only made these with a regular, all-purpose flour. I have made other recipes with a 1:1 gluten free flour (like Bob's Red Mill) and I think you could substitute that for the regular flour in this recipe.
Kathy