Soft, fluffy, and moist these Vegan Date Crumble Pumpkin Muffins are topped with spiced dates and nuts for extra deliciousness. Made with pumpkin puree, whole wheat flour, and no refined sugar these muffins make a great healthy snack option.
Yay, it's Friday! How has everybody's week been? It's been busy around here. As usual there is always so much to do in a day and never enough time to do it all. When life gets busy, I love having healthy snacks around for the kids (and us) to grab for a quick bite. Muffins are one of our favorites, but many have so much sugar they're really more like cupcakes.
This recipe is actually an old recipe (from my first blog) that desperately needed some updated photos. The old photos were pretty bad and definitely didn't do these muffins justice. And since it's time for all things pumpkin and it's beginning to cool off some here, it's the perfect time to crank up the oven and bake up a fresh batch.
what's in it
These Vegan Date & Nut Crumble Pumpkin Muffins are much healthier than traditional muffins. They're made with pumpkin puree, whole wheat flour, and sweetened with just enough coconut sugar and maple syrup so they're not overly sweet. The spiced date and nut crumble adds more flavor and some crunch to make this one satisfying muffin.
While gathering up ingredients to prepare the batter I had to the idea to add the date and nut topping. The old version had a cinnamon sugar sprinkled over the tops and although tasty, it didn't add anything nutritionally. The spiced dates and nuts add great flavor and texture while giving these muffins a bigger nutritional punch.
health benefits of dates
Dates are a good source of fiber and various minerals like calcium, iron, and potassium and contain vitamins B6, riboflavin, and vitamins A and K. The sweet caramel like flavor and chewiness of dates goes so well with the subtle pumpkin flavor too.
variations
Toasted walnuts are delicious so I like adding them to our muffins, but I think pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds would also work well if nuts are not an option for your family.
Just look at that texture! Perfectly soft and fluffy with delicious pumpkin flavor, these muffins are a real treat.
If you try the recipe, let me know how it turns out! Leave a comment below or snap a pic and tag it @weelittlevegans on Instagram so I’ll be sure to see it!
- 2 flax eggs See notes
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup almond milk or water
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 5 medjool dates, seeds removed and chopped
- heaping ¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped Pumpkin seeds can be substituted.
- ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
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Chop dates into ¼" inch pieces and combine with chopped nuts in a bowl.
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Add pumpkin pie spice and mix to thoroughly coat the dates and nuts. Break up any large clumps. Set aside.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place liners into muffin pan. Set aside.
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Prepare flax eggs and set aside.
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In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
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In another bowl combine flax eggs, pumpkin puree, almond milk or water, coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar, and vanilla.
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Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just to combine to avoid tough muffins.
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Spoon batter into muffin pan wells and top with date and nut mixture. Press crumble lightly into muffin batter.
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Bake for 22 - 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Allow to cool for a few minutes and then remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!