Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins: Easy, Dairy-Free Recipe with Oat Flour for Fall Baking Bliss

Embrace the cozy flavors of fall with these gluten-free, dairy-free pumpkin muffins made with heart-healthy oat flour—perfect for anyone craving a guilt-free treat!

If you’re obsessed with all things pumpkin, you’ll have to try these gluten-free, dairy free pumpkin muffins made with oat flour. This super simple recipe will satisfy your love for pumpkin, and are the perfect, budget-friendly snack.

I have a confession: I DO NOT love pumpkin spice lattes. I don’t know why, I just really don’t. I do, however, love other delicious pumpkin treats. I’m only slightly basic.

I recently tried some pumpkin muffins and they were amazing, but they were not gluten-free, so I could only have a little bit. I loved the flavor of them however, so I knew I needed to recreate them.

What Makes these Gluten-Free Muffins Great

I made a couple non-traditional swaps to my gluten-free pumpkin muffins including the flour and fat I used to create my recipe. Simple changes in this recipe made it so I couldn’t even tell they weren’t made in a conventional way. Oat flour not only makes these muffins gluten-free but also adds a boost of fiber and nutrients!

Ingredients in Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins with Oat Flour

Just a few traditional baking swaps make these gluten-free pumpkin muffins a treat that everyone can enjoy.

Old-Fashioned Oats for Flour

Instead of regular flour, or even buying gluten-free flour, I used my food processor (similar to this one) and made flour from old-fashioned oats. Since my food processor is small, I made my oat flour in batches by scooping ½ cup into the processor, and pulsing until fine. It didn’t create a super uniform consistency, but it worked well in the for these pumpkin muffins.

I like using oats for a swap for flour because they are extremely gentle on my stomach. They are a complex carbohydrate and take longer for my body to break down so I don’t have a huge sugar spike when I consume baked goods. Because these gluten-free oat flour pumpkin muffins cut down on sugar spikes, I like to use these when I meal plan and prep either as a quick breakfast or mid-morning snack.

Looking for meal-prep and meal planning ideas? Check out these posts:

How to Meal Prep and Plan for Your Busy Schedule

How to Meal Plan to Stretch Your Budget

Use Coconut Oil for Dairy-Free Pumpkin Muffins

I also used coconut oil instead of butter or vegetable oil to make these gluten-free pumpkin muffins also dairy-free pumpkin muffins. I actually normally just use butter in my recipes because I LOVE using butter, but I actually found coconut oil in my cupboard and said, “hell yes, let’s do this!” (That’s literally what I said to myself.) Avoiding butter also helps to make this recipe dairy-free so great for those who are lactose intolerant and needing to make dairy-free snacks.

Coconut oil is considered a superfood and can help your body in so many ways. One key component of coconut oil is fatty acids which help burn fat, and provide a quick source of energy for the brain. Coconut oil is also known to kill bacteria and harmful pathogens. 

Pumpkin

This pumpkin muffin recipe calls for a can of pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling. While most people love pumpkin in the fall, it’s actually a super food with amazing benefits that make me want to eat it year round.

Pumpkin is packed with antioxidants that can help repair skin damage as well as potentially lower your risk of cancer and help your eyes. Pumpkin also contains vitamins that can improve your immunity.

Optional: Protein Powder

I did experiment with this recipe some and I actually swapped a half a cup of protein powder (I use this plant based protein) for half a cup of oat flour. The muffins were fluffier, but they also flopped when they cooled. Either way they were good!

How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins with Oat Flour

These gluten-free pumpkin muffins with oat flour come together very quickly. Here are the step-by-step directions to making these pumpkin muffins!

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners, or grease with our favorite fat or oil.
2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
3. Add wet ingredients, and with a hand mixer, mix until all ingredients are combined.
4. Using a ⅓ cup, scoop batter into muffin tin holes.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into muffin and removed is free of batter.
6. Allow to cool. Enjoy.

How Long Can you Store Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins?

These delicious gluten-free and dairy-free treats will last up to two weeks if stored well in an air-tight container. But they're so delicious they probably won't last that long!

These moist pumpkin muffins can also be frozen and stored up to three months in the freezer.

Can I Add Any Ingredients to Oat Flour Muffins?

These pumpkin muffins are great made just as the recipe states, but they are also great with some additional add-ins.

Adding chopped nuts or chocolate chips to these pumpkin treats tastes delicious--I recommend adding one cup of your intended addition, and stirring in gently.

Hope you enjoy these gluten-free, dairy-free pumpkin muffins as much as I do! What are your favorite pumpkin recipes?

Looking for other snack recipes? Check out these crunchy peanut protein balls.

📖 Recipe