Yes, you read that right. Two ingredients -- no eggs, no oil, and no butter -- and about 5 minutes of prep! These easy Pumpkin Muffins are made with a box of spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin for a lighter way to satisfy your pumpkin spice cravings!
How to Make 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins | 1-Minute Video
Pumpkin Muffin Recipe
I definitely cannot take credit for this easy pumpkin muffin recipe, since it seems to be a fairly well-known way of "hacking" a boxed cake mix. That said, I’m still excited about these sweet, tasty treats that my boys have been enjoying since they were toddlers!
The healthy pumpkin muffins are a perfect breakfast, snack, or side dish with dinner, since they taste great and still manage to sneak in some extra veggies. Keep these two ingredients on hand, because you never know when a baking -- or muffin -- mood will strike!
Ingredients for Easy Pumpkin Muffins
That's right -- these are just about the easiest muffins you will ever make. After all, you only need 2 ingredients:
How to Make Pumpkin Muffins with a Cake Mix
First, combine the dry cake mix with the pumpkin puree. Do not add any other ingredients called for on the box.
I like to fold the batter together with a spatula first, and then I use an electric mixer to make sure that it's fluffy and completely combined. You can do this all by hand -- it just takes a bit longer.
That batter is thick!
Divide the batter evenly among 12 standard muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
What to Serve with Pumpkin Spice Muffins
If you’re serving the pumpkin muffins for breakfast or brunch, try pairing them with any of these other dishes:
- Sausage Hash Brown Casserole
- Overnight French Toast Casserole
- Fresh fruit salad
- Sally’s Easy Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- Ham, Cheddar and Broccoli Quiche or Quiche Lorraine
- Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
- Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole
- Crustless Quiche with Spinach
At dinnertime, the muffins go well with any of these entrées:
- Fried Chicken
- Shrimp and Grits
- Crock Pot Chicken and Gravy
- Slow Cooker Cowboy Pork and Beans
- Cornflake Chicken
- Crock Pot Ribs
- Pulled BBQ Chicken in the Crock Pot
- Crab Cakes
- Shrimp Creole
- Beef Barbecue
- Chili con Carne or “Good Luck” Southern Chili
- Smothered Pork Chops
- Southern Fried Catfish
- Fried Chicken Tenders
- Dutch Oven Pot Roast
- Sour Cream Chicken
- Apple Cider Pulled Pork
Storage -- Homemade Pumpkin Muffins
Stored in an airtight container, the muffins will keep at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freeze the extras! These 2 ingredient pumpkin muffins keep really well in the freezer, so stash some away for easy breakfasts or snacks throughout the fall. You can thaw them in the microwave or leave them to sit on the counter for an hour or so.
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Muffins
- To make pumpkin mini muffins, decrease the baking time to about 8-10 minutes.
- Use a box of yellow cake mix or chocolate cake mix instead of the spice cake mix. Since those flavors don't have spices, you may want to add a dash of pumpkin spice to the batter.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins: Add 1-2 cups of chocolate chips to the batter.
- Mix-In's: Get creative and make these your own! In addition to chocolate chips, other great add-in's include chopped pecans or walnuts, raisins or dried cranberries.
- Want to make cupcakes? Just dollop these pumpkin spice muffins with a bit of cream cheese frosting, or cover chocolate pumpkin muffins with chocolate frosting. The combinations are endless!
- Be sure to spray your muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper cups. If using the paper cups, I suggest giving the paper cups a little spritz with nonstick spray as well. Otherwise, these muffins may stick since they don't have fat in them.
More Pumpkin Recipes You'll Love
- The Best Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Dip
- Pumpkin Chili
- Pumpkin Dump Cake
- 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Gingerbread
- Easy Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (just plain pumpkin -- NOT the canned pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box spice cake mix
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or line with baking cups. If using paper liners, I suggest that you give the paper liners a little spritz of nonstick spray as well, just to prevent any sticking.
- In a large bowl, use a spatula to fold together pumpkin and dry cake mix. Then I like to use an electric mixer to make sure that the batter is fluffy and completely combined. It will be thick!
- Use a scoop to fill prepared muffin tins with batter.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes and then remove muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- These freeze really well, so store in an airtight container or a zip-top bag in the freezer and just thaw as necessary.
Video
Notes
- This is really just a method, which can be tailored any number of ways to suit your family’s tastes. My kids love the pumpkin spice flavor that you get with a spice cake mix, but you can also use a yellow cake mix or a chocolate cake mix instead.
- Want to make pumpkin mini muffins? Use the same instructions, but bake the batter in a mini muffin tin for about 8-10 minutes.
- Want to make cupcakes? Just dollop these pumpkin spice muffins with a bit of cream cheese frosting, or cover chocolate muffins with chocolate frosting. The combinations are endless!
- Be sure to spray your muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper cups. If using the paper cups, I suggest giving the paper cups a little spritz with nonstick spray as well. Otherwise, these muffins may stick since they don't have fat in them.
- Freeze the extras! These two ingredient pumpkin muffins keep really well in the freezer, so stash some away for easy breakfasts or snacks throughout the fall. You can thaw them in the microwave or leave them to sit on the counter for an hour or so.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in February, 2013. It was updated in September, 2018.
JANET BIRTWISTLE
I'd like to add raisins but also some oatmeal would that work?
Blair
Hi, Janet! The raisins will definitely work well. I'm not sure about the oatmeal -- maybe just sprinkle some on top of the muffins before baking? I worry that adding extra dry ingredients may dry out the batter, but I haven't tested it to know for sure. 🙂
Vinnie
I added some liquefied Coconut oil to each paper cup and put the leftover partial Tbsp into the batter and stirred with the rubber spatula and baked the 12 muffins aT 375° for 18 minutes and the muffins came out beautifully so there is a bit of flexibility there and the mix I used was a Duncan Hines perfectly moist "Signature" spice cake and If I make this again I'll experiment by adding some Chocolate chips or dried Cranberries
Blair
Sounds great, Vinnie! Thanks for sharing your adjustments, too! I know you'll love them with the extra add-ins as well. 🙂
Sally
I have been making these for years and I add a bag of cinnamon chips to spice cake mix, really good. I also made devils food cake mix with a bag of choclate chips. Both are great!
Blair
YUM! I bet the cinnamon chips are delicious, Sally! 🙂
Catharine
Can this recipe be made with Namaste gluten free Spice Cake Mix ??
Blair
Hi, Catharine! I'm not sure -- I'm not familiar with that brand, and I've never tried a gluten free cake mix. If it's otherwise comparable to a regular cake mix as far as the ingredients and baking instructions go, I would think it should work. 🙂
Randolph Kotaki
Brilliant blog...
Bitsey Webb
Thought I bought a spice cake mix but bought a carrot cake mix instead. The muffins were delicious even though I used the wrong mix. On top of that, my house smelled like a bakery !! Thank you for this versatile recipe.
Blair Lonergan
Oh, that's great to know, Bitsey! I bet they were delicious. Thanks for your note!
Mindi
Think you can mix in cream cheese for cream cheese muffins?
Blair Lonergan
Yes, I think that would probably work fine! Let me know if you give it a shot. 🙂
Denise
These are so easy and delicious! They are very moist which I like but my husband thought they were a little too moist almost doughy. But you can tell by looking at them they are fully cooked. Wondering if adding a little flour might help this or maybe just a little less pumpkin? I used a small 15 oz can of pumpkin puree.
Blair Lonergan
Hi, Denise! Yes, you could try either of those options. The moist almost doughy texture is a result of no added fat (like oil or butter) and a lot of moisture from the pumpkin. So again, you could try adding flour or reducing the pumpkin to see how that changes the texture. You might also try adding an egg or two to the mix. I know some folks have done that...
Glad that you enjoyed them -- especially given how quick and easy they are! 🙂
Debra Davis
I have tried just pumpkin and cake mix. I prefer to add two eggs to the batter. They rise higher and are less dense.
Denise Frederick
I thought better too dry so I added 1 medium egg & baked 20 minutes. Loved them! Can't wait to try other suggestions on previous posts.
Kim
They are so yummy but the tops are crazy sticky even though toothpick comes out clean. What am I doing wrong?
Blair Lonergan
I don't know, Kim. I haven't had that issue. Is your house really humid? I notice that baked goods sometimes get sticky in the summer when my house is particularly humid. Other than that, I can't think of a reason that they would be sticky. You might try sprinkling the tops with coarse sugar, just to give them some good texture and maybe avoid some of the stickiness.
Becky Hansen
I saw another 2-ingredient pumpkin spice muffin recipe that added 1 c water to the pumpkin before mixing in the cake mix. They are delicious! Not dense at all. I love them! Thanks for posting!
Blair Lonergan
Thanks, Becky!