Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
These muffins are perfect for any pumpkin lover! They’re supremely moist and tender with lots of cozy pumpkin and warm spice flavors, and the rich chocolate chips make them taste even more irresistible! Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (Do not leave them out at room temperature for more than 24 hours!)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (75g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- 1 cup (244g) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix!)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tbsp (8g) ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp liquid stevia
- 6 tbsp (90mL) water, room temperature
- ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using liners, then line 12 muffin cups with liners and coat them with cooking spray.)
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, pumpkin, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a third bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and liquid stevia. Stir in the water. Stir in the oat mixture, mixing until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in 2 ½ tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Gently press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 26-29 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's extremely important to measure your oats and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either will make your muffins turn out dry. This is especially true of the oats because they act like sponges and soak up lots of moisture from the batter.
IMPORTANT MIXING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in dense, tough, or gummy muffins. Use a whisk where explicitly instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
OATS NOTES: Instant oats are also known as “quick-cooking” or “one-minute” oats. They’re smaller and thinner than old-fashioned rolled oats. You can usually find them in canisters right next to the old-fashioned rolled oats at the grocery store.
In a pinch, you can make your own out of old-fashioned oats. To do so, add ¾ cup (75g) of old-fashioned rolled oats to a blender or food processor, and pulse until they’re ⅛ to ¼ of their original size.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour.
SPICES NOTE: I prefer making my own homemade pumpkin spice blend. However, if you prefer, you can substitute 4 ½ teaspoons of store-bought pumpkin spice for the cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
EGG WHITE NOTES: The muffins require 2 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the muffins maintain their shape and texture while cooling. Without both egg whites, the muffins may collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.
If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 2 whole eggs AND reduce the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.
STEVIA NOTES: I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) I buy mine online here because that’s the best price I’ve found.
However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the muffins, substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar AND reduce the milk to 7 tablespoons (105mL). You may also substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150mL) pure maple syrup, honey, or agave AND omit the milk instead. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions (especially the option with maple syrup, honey, or agave!) as well.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
GLUTEN FREE OPTION: Use certified gluten-free instant oats (like these!). For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 1 cups (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.