These skinny pumpkin quinoa muffins are made without any oils, eggs, dairy or gluten. Plus, they're naturally sweetened and seriously delicious!
Oh how I adore breakfast. It's my favorite meal of the day and allows for so much creativity. I love being able to whip up a filling smoothie, or a creamy bowl of quinoa flakes, or crunchy homemade granola. There are so many options and directions you can take, it makes the experience fun, and (most of the time) delicious.
Breakfast to me needs to have three components: fast, easy, nutritious.
Even though I work from home and run my own business, mornings are still hectic and I don't have the patience to cook an incredibly elaborate breakfast for myself. So…fast and easy is key.
Healthy is something that happens at every meal, but in particular, at breakfast. I like to make sure that my breakfasts are balanced – a good blend of fats, carbs and proteins – and incorporate fruits and veggies.
If you follow me on Instagram, then you've probably seen my most recent breakfast obsession: banana ice cream bowls. In like a hundred different flavors. With a bajillion different toppings. (although you'll notice I'm partial to a certain few)
But the weather is getting colder, and we're refraining from turning the heat on for as long as possible, so some mornings our apartment can feel more like an ice box. Banana ice cream isn't what my body wants or craves on days like this.
Instead, I find myself reaching for my quinoa flakes and oats.
Typically, that selection would mean porridge, but not today. Today it means pumpkin quinoa muffins.
These pumpkin quinoa muffins are probably one of the best muffins you'll ever find. There's no oil, very little sugar (and the sugar that is inside is unrefined), no eggs, no dairy, no gluten, no gums and no refined starches.
What they do have? Loads of protein, fiber and tons of pumpkin flavor.
The base of these muffins is a simple blend of homemade oat flour, quinoa flakes and blanched almond flour. This combo makes them super moist and tender.
From there, the sweeteners: banana, coconut sugar and pure maple syrup. Then it's just organic pumpkin, a flax egg, a dash of plant-based milk and some spices.
I'm telling you, you're going to be head over heels for these muffins once you try them.
What's so great about muffins is that they're not only a really nourishing and hearty breakfast, but they're also super portable. You can toss one (or two!) in your bag on your way out the door, with a little packet or container of nut butter, and still have a healthy breakfast.
And if you have access to a toaster oven at your office, these are delicious slightly reheated.
Luckily for me, Matt's not a big muffin fan, so these babies have been my breakfast and snack all week long. I just had one again this morning (smothered in homemade pecan butter and hemp seeds) and mmmm it was the best way to start the day!
More Delicious Quinoa Muffin Recipes to try:
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Quinoa Muffins
- Skinny Spiced Coconut Yogurt Quinoa Muffins
- Chai Spiced Oat & Quinoa Flour Muffins
- Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Quinoa Muffins
Skinny Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup mashed banana 1 large, 2 small
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 1/4 cup oat flour oats ground in a blender
- 1/2 cup quinoa flakes
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or 1 teaspoon extract
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.
- Combine the flax and water and set aside to gel while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients (minus vanilla extract if using) in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat together banana, pumpkin, milk and syrup. Whisk in flax egg and pour wet ingredients into dry. Stir to thoroughly combine (the batter will be kind of thick, but still stirable and soft).
- Fill each cup 3/4 of the way full. Add water to the ones that are unused. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with pumpkin seeds and quinoa flakes if desired.
- Bake on the center rack for 23 - 25 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. If desired, reheat in the toaster oven or in the microwave.
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