These paleo pumpkin muffins with cinnamon streusel are everything I love about fall baking! Moist, sweetly spiced pumpkin muffins are topped with the perfect streusel plus an optional maple icing! They’re a kid favorite and happen to be gluten-free, grain free, and have a tested dairy free option.
Let the fall baking obsession begin! As if I could hold back any longer – I mean it’s August 27 and it also happens to be the Monday before the Saturday that is Sept 1.
So, what I’m saying is that it’s almost fall and I’m more than ready to break out the pumpkin and go to town on some muffins – these paleo pumpkin muffins with a gloriously sweet/spiced cinnamon streusel.
And, because it’s the first pumpkin recipe of the season for me (and because I’ve been a little icing-happy lately) I even drizzled them with a gooey sweet maple icing – optional, of course, if you want to keep them less sweet. I will say the muffins are sweet enough even without the icing – I just couldn’t help myself though!
The muffin recipe itself is loosely based on my simple paleo pumpkin bread, which has been a favorite among readers for a couple of years.
I used a combination of 3 flours – blanched almond, arrowroot (tapioca can be used too) and just a bit of coconut flour.
Although using 3 flours can seem like a lot/obnoxious/annoying/unnecessary, I find that most of my favorite baking recipes use a combination in order to get great texture and rise, and make them more like traditional white-flour muffins. You can shop the exact flours I use below the recipe – I buy everything on Amazon.
Ah yes – there’s that icing again! In order to achieve a light colored icing, I used organic confectioner sugar – which is not paleo.
However, if you have a food processor, you can easily make your own powdered sugar with either maple sugar or coconut sugar – which makes icing the same way traditional powdered sugar does! If you want to make your own but also want it lighter in color, I recommend using maple sugar.
Using coconut sugar will be delicious, but the icing itself will be brown. To be honest, I only used the white stuff for the photos – my personal preference would be to make my own with maple sugar.
As for the streusel topping, you also have a couple of options in terms of ingredients. If you include grass-fed butter in your diet, that will be the best option to use for the streusel.
If not, you can use COLD ghee or coconut oil. Coconut oil will give the topping a finer crumb, and it will be softer than when using butter.
Whether you’re making these paleo pumpkin muffins for an easy snack or serving them to a crowd at brunch, I’m sure you and anyone who tries one will fall in love at first bite!
They’re moist but not mushy, not too dense, have tons of pumpkin spice flavor and just the right amount of sweetness.
Let’s get our aprons on (I’m totally clumsy) and our ovens preheated and let’s get get ready to make gluten free, grain free and paleo muffin magic. In a fall baking paradise! Too much? I know, pumpkin season just gets me way too excited – let’s go!
Paleo Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel {GF, DF}
Paleo Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup organic pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup organic coconut milk full fat
- 1/3 cup organic coconut sugar or maple sugar
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot
- 1 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch fine grain sea salt
Streusel:
- 2/3 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup grass fed butter or ghee or coconut oil, solid and chilled
Maple icing**(optional)
- 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar or make your own with maple sugar*
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the streusel first:
-
In a medium bowl, use a pastry blender or fork to combine the cold butter or ghee (or coconut oil) with the almond flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and sea salt. Blend until a crumbly mixture forms, then refrigerate until ready to use.
Muffins:
-
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin pan with 12 parchment liners.
-
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, maple syrup, coconut milk, and vanilla, until very smooth and well combined
-
In a separate bowl, blend the 3 flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice until well combined, then stir this into the wet mixture, beating by hand until smooth and well combined.
-
Fill the liners 3/4 of the way with batter (it will make enough for 12-14 depending on how high you fill them)
-
Top each muffin generously with the chilled streusel, then bake in the preheated oven for 22 minutes or until they rise and a toothpick inserted near the center of one comes out clean.
-
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
-
If making the icing, stir together all ingredients in a small bowl until very smooth. You might need more or less sugar to get a “drizzle” consistency. Drizzle icing over completely cooled muffins before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*To make your owned paleo powdered sugar, blend maple sugar or coconut sugar in a food processor until you achieve a powdery consistency/texture.
**This will make more than what you need
Nutrition
Shop Products and Ingredients:
Want More Paleo Pumpkin Baking Recipes? Try One of These!
Paleo Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips {Nut Free}
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Paleo + Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cinnamon Frosting
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Skillet Cookie with Salted Caramel
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting The Paleo Running Momma!
Such an amazing fall recipe 🙂 Definitely a nice change up from the constant pumpkin. Turned the recipe into a cake and it turned out great!
My absolute FAVORITE recipe!! So, so yummy!!
Perfect consistency! The texture of the muffin is perfect and the streusel sticks on top so well. Great flavor 🙂
These are the BEST muffins! I made a dozen two nights ago and there are only 2 left. My husband loves them, and that’s a win for me!!!
Mouth full of water after watching this images message from
Wikipedia editors for hire
My kids absolutely loved these muffins. As we are limiting sugar intake, I substituted the sugar and maple syrup for 1/4 cup of maple syrup…delicious!!! We did not do the streusel topping but these muffins are incredible for a school snack!!
So moist and delicious pumpkin muffins. I was tempted to eat another one but I resisted. I didn’t add the streusel and thought they had the right amount of sweetness. Your recipes have been excellent. Thank you 😊 so much.
Perfect recipe, as usual! I even subbed puréed sweet potato, and used vanilla almond milk instead of coconut, and it worked well. Thanks for your wonderful recipes.
Since discovering this recipe, I make it every two weeks without fail and freeze them. I allow myself one per day and have never been happier with my Paleo breakfasts. Thank you so much!
Warning these are highly addictive!! Thanks for this great recipe Michele – it was very easy to adapt to my preferences.
I too sifted my flours & spices together -( used 1/2 t of baking soda, 1/2 t baking powder & 1t of xanthan gum) and I also used 3T of Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener in place of the 1/3 cup of coconut sugar – plus added 1T of coconut oil as someone else suggested.
I used my unsweetened ( Good Karma )Flax milk because that is what I had on hand instead of the full fat coconut milk. Flour measurements stayed the same except I opted to skip the streusel topping and instead sprinkle the tops with honey roasted slivered almonds and cinnamon sugar. Baked for 20 minutes in my convection oven and came out perfect. ( I’m at a high altitude)
Also cut the icing recipe in half to lightly drizzle the tops.
Will definitely make again this fall & try adding some dried cranberry bits to the batter- maybe even some white chocolate chips on the tops if using for a dessert!