Healthy Pumpkin Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

Made with pumpkin spice, honey, chocolate chips and oats, these figure-friendly moist healthy pumpkin muffins are great as a grab n’ go breakfast or an afternoon snack. One bite and you’ll be in pumpkin heaven. 

I know what you are thinking. Yet another pumpkin recipe. America has been obsessed with pumpkin flavors in recent years and this year is no exception. Starbucks even dropped their pumpkin spice lattes back in August this year in 90-degree humidity, and the lattes still sold out. When will the barrage of pumpkin spiced things end? Unfortunately (or fortunately for you pumpkin lovers) I think it has just begun. 

And I admit I fell into that trap a few weeks ago, experimenting with a healthier version of a pumpkin muffin for a quick grab n’ go breakfast. I wanted a quick and energizing fix with more protein and fiber and less fat and sugar, something that won’t break the scale. This healthy pumpkin recipe combines oats with whole wheat flour. Adding more pumpkin puree helps the muffins develop a moist texture. The dry ingredients balanced the pumpkin, honey and chocolate chips nicely. The muffins were a huge hit and resulted in me making another whole batch later that same week.

So I realize the words ‘healthy’ and ‘chocolate chips’ probably should not be in the same sentence, but I could not think of a way to compromise my love of chocolate. You could leave the chocolate chips out and increase the amount of honey and sugar, but why in the world would you do that? A small portion won’t make a difference, am I right?

5 Expert Tips on Making the Perfect Pumpkin Muffin

Mix ingredients until just incorporated. The worst thing you can possibly do is to overmix your batter. It will create unpleasantly dense and dry muffins. Mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately prevents overworking your batter. Your final batter should be thick and lumpy.

Use room temperature eggs. By using room temperature eggs, you get a more evenly and well incorporated batter.

Use an ice scream scooper. I commonly use an ice scream scooper or a soup ladle to spoon out even portions, so I am not left with muffins of various sizes.

Rotate your pan halfway through baking. No ovens are alike and they all heat differently. Placing your pan on the center rack and turning your pan half way through ensures even baking and nice golden brown muffin tops.

Let your muffins cool. Resist eating them right away. I know it’s easier said than done, but it will be worth it. If you remove the muffins from their liners too early, they will stick to the paper and fall apart. Wait till they cool completely.

Out of the oven, the muffins smell divine, are warm and moist and the chocolate is gooey. You will be in pumpkin heaven. Please come over and have some. No seriously, just stop by. We have reached our pumpkin quota for the month.

5 from 2 votes

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Healthy Pumpkin Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

Made with pumpkin spice, honey and oats, these figure-friendly moist pumpkin oat chocolate chip muffins are great as a grab n’ go breakfast or an afternoon snack. One bite and you’ll be in pumpkin heaven. 

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword muffins, pumpkin

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 12 Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 T. honey or maple syrup
• 3 T. canola or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Grease a metal 12-muffin pan or line it with paper liners. Preheat your oven to 350˚F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the old-fashioned oats, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, honey and oil.
3. Gradually whisk in the liquid mixture with the dry ingredients. Add in the chocolate chips. Mix until just incorporated. The batter should be a bit lumpy. Do not over mix.
4. With an ice scream or cookie scoop, fill each muffin liner until just full. Typically muffins should only be filled two-thirds of the way, but these muffins will not rise as much as other ones do.
5. Sprinkle over each muffin with some oats for a decorative touch. Place your muffins on the center rack, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Rotate your pan at the 10 minute mark and continue baking. Cool completely before turning them out.

Recipe Notes

Muffins freeze well, so you can enjoy them later. Wrap them up tightly in plastic wrap and they should last well up to 1-3 months. Set them out on the counter for a few hours to thaw.