These two-ingredient pumpkin muffins only require a box of spice cake mix, a can of pumpkin, and about 5 minutes of prep! With no eggs, no oil, and no butter, they’re a lighter way to satisfy your pumpkin spice craving.
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These were delicious! Thanks so much for this easy recipe. I experimented a bit and added some chopped up pecans and that was delicious as well. I now have an easy, quick go to last minute healthier treat when my grandsons pop in.
– Linda
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cake Mix | 1-Minute Video
Directions
I definitely cannot take credit for these easy pumpkin spice muffins, since the recipe seems to be a fairly well-known way of “hacking” a boxed cake mix. That said, I’m still excited about the sweet 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.
- Combine the dry cake mix with the canned pumpkin puree. Do not add any other ingredients called for on the box.
- Fold the pumpkin mixture together with a spatula first, and then use an electric mixer to make sure that it’s fluffy and completely combined. You whisk or stir all of this together by hand — it just takes a bit longer. The batter will be thick!
- Divide the batter evenly among 12 standard muffin cups. 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.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- How to Store: keep the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- How to Freeze: let the muffins cool completely. Wrap tightly or store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- How to Reheat: thaw frozen muffins on the counter overnight. Warm individual muffins in the microwave for 10-30 seconds.
Yumm “O”, what a hit. Easy to make and quick, and Gluten Free in my case. It worked beautifully. Thank you for thinking outside the Cake box!
– Mary
More Easy Pumpkin Recipes to Try
Easy One-Bowl Pumpkin Bread
3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Easy Pumpkin Muffins
30 minutes mins
Pumpkin Cornbread
45 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
2-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cake Mix
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (just plain pumpkin — NOT the canned pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box spice cake mix (I like Duncan Hines brand)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°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! You can do this all by hand, but it will just take longer.
- Use a scoop to fill prepared muffin pan 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Pumpkin Spice Muffins Recipe Variations
- For 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 pie spice or ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to the batter.
- Mix-In’s: Get creative and make these your own! Add 1-2 cups of chocolate chips, chopped pecans or walnuts, raisins, or dried cranberries. For a bakery-style finish, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with sparkling sugar before baking.
- For pumpkin cupcakes, dollop these pumpkin spice muffins with a bit of cream cheese frosting, or cover chocolate pumpkin muffins with chocolate frosting. The combinations are endless!
This post was originally published in February, 2013. It was updated in September, 2024.
This recipe sounds delicious but I just want to make sure I’m reading it correctly. I’m a bit stumped on step three. Do I follow the cake mix instructions and make the cake batter and then mix the cake batter with the pumpkin or do I just mix the contents of the cake box in powder form with the pumpkin to form a batter? Thank you for taking the time to reply 🙂
Hi, Crystal! Thanks so much for your note! I know it sounds odd, but trust me — these turn out great! You do NOT follow any of the instructions on the box of cake mix. Instead, just mix the contents of the cake box in powder form with the pumpkin to form a batter. After a bit of folding the ingredients together with a spatula, I promise that you will end up with a batter. 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to clarify. My son is a very picky eater and I think he will love these muffins 🙂
You’re welcome, Crystal! I actually just made another batch of these this morning to send to preschool for snack time with the other kids. They’re always popular. 🙂 I will say, though — make sure that you whisk your dry cake mix powder before adding the pumpkin…that will just help to break up any big clumps of mix so that the batter is smooth throughout. Enjoy!
Finally got around to making these. Absolutely delicious and both husband and kid approved. Will be making these for my daughter’s preschool class. Thanks so much!!!
That’s awesome!! So glad that you liked them! I take them to my son’s preschool class as well and they are always a huge hit!
Yumm “O”, what a hit. Easy to make and quick, and Gluten Free in my case. It worked beautifully. Thank you for thinking outside the Cake box
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed them, Mary. Thank you!
Just made these 2 ingredient muffins. They are so delicious I will definitely keep the makings for them on hand through the fall/winter season’s! They don’t rise very much but are super moist.
Thanks, Norma! So glad that you enjoyed them!
I just made them too! They’re wonderful!
I must confess, I was concerned about them perhaps not rising enough, ( as another person had observed, so, I DID add one egg. They rose, were light AND Moist!
I also made a homemade light, cream cheese frosting. They are PERFECT!
I added a little box of raisins (dried cranberries) and a about a teaspoon of golden raisins to batter.
Sounds perfect, Priscilla!
I love this recipe, but make a couple of adjustments. I add 1/2 tsp nutmeg and half a bag of mini chocolate chips. Easy and delicious! Let me know if you like these additions.
Yum! Thank you for the feedback, Rachel. We’ll have to try your version as well!
Crystal, only use the box of cake mix and the can of pumpkin, no other ingredients. These are delicious and super easy. I make them every year during the fall season. I am getting ready to make them and decided to see if any of this particular recipes had a suggestion of adding chopped pecans.. I feel reasonably sure it would be ok. My skepticism is to keep the pecans from sinking to the bottom of the muffins, I would normally shake the pecan pieces in a very small amount of flour and sift out the flour for a slight coating to prevent them from going to the bottom of the muffins. My only fear is the tiny amount to flour making the muffins a little dry.
Hi, Jackie! I think the pecans would be delicious. If you chop the pecans pretty small, I bet they won’t sink to the bottom. Also, if you decide to use the traditional flour method, I bet the muffins would be okay. Let me know how they turn out! 🙂
Try sifting a bit of the cake mix onto the chopped pecans instead of the flour.
Yes — that would work, too! 🙂
Good morning from Clovis, New Mexico. I saw your recipe on Google and I’m going to try it with a Gluten Free cake mix and pumpkin. Yummy. Thank you for a fast and easy recipe.
Welcome, Mary! We’re so happy you’re here and hope you enjoy the recipe.
I’m going to make these muffins tonight. After 10 plus years, do you recommend adding an egg to the recipe? Also I want this to be “spicy” like pumpkin pie. Should I add more pumpkin pie spice? Thank you so much for the recipe!
Very good. I had some Hersheys cinnamon baking chips in mine, yum.
Thank you, Diane. I’m so glad that you enjoyed them!
Can you use carrot cake mix instead of spice cake
Yes! Any cake mix will work, Jackie. It will just change the taste of the muffins. 🙂
I make this all the time with carrot cake and pumpkin. This is a good fall treat.
Sounds delicious! I’ll have to try that combo next! 🙂
If I want to make standard size muffins how long should I bake them ? How long for jumbo muffins?
Hi, Rebecca! For the standard size muffins, I would bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. I’ve never made the jumbo muffins, but I imagine that you will just need to add a few minutes to the regular baking time. So start with 400 degrees for 23 or 24 minutes, check them, and leave them in longer if necessary. Enjoy!
I thought the temperature for a standard muffin was 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Has the recipe changed?
Hey, Kerry! Sorry for that confusion — she was asking about the old version of the recipe, which was mini muffins. The instructions above are for the standard size muffins (18-20 minutes at 375). The post was just updated since her old comment! 🙂
Got it, thanks!
I made six jumbo muffins. I baked them at 350 for 35 minutes. I kept using a toothpick to see when they were done.
Thanks, Jim!
Have you ever tried adding Craisins or nuts this recipe? I think a little texture variety might enhance the muffin. Just not sure about quantity or how will it affect the baking time.
We have! It turns out great. Add as little or as much as you’d like. It shouldn’t impact the baking time. Hope this helps!
Can I use banana and cake mix and make muffins with just yellow cake mix..??? Thanks
Hi, Carol! I’m not sure — I haven’t tried it. I would think it should work, but the banana might not have quite as much water content as the pumpkin. You may find that you need to add some milk or other liquid to the mix once you mix it together. Just be careful not to make it too wet, or you’ll end up with mushy, gummy banana muffins. 🙂 If using yellow cake mix, you might want to add some extra seasoning like cinnamon or nutmeg, too. Let me know if you give it a try!
Can I use a bundt pan for these and what oven temp and time?
Hi, Vikki! I honestly don’t know, since I haven’t tested the recipe in a bundt pan. In general, I would go with a standard cake mix instruction. So, I would try baking the bundt cake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes – 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
Do you think this recipe would work to make little Whoopi pies?(2″)
Hi, Lillian! Yes, I think it would probably work. They would be like little muffin tops! 🙂 Let me know if you give it a shot!
This isn’t 2 ingredients. Boxed Cake Mix has your basic dry ingredients in the box like flour, baking powder/soda, salt, sugar, etc…
I think it just implies you NEED 2 INGREDIENTS, (1)A CAKE MIX AND (2)A CAN OF PUMPKIN. Clearly that’s what she means. If I say just add butter, I’m not saying all the ingredients in butter.
These were delicious! Thanks so much for this easy recipe. I experimented a bit and added some chopped up pecans and that was delicious as well. I now have an easy, quick go to last minute healthier treat when my grandsons pop in.
Thanks, Linda! I’m so glad that you like them. The pecans sounds like a delicious addition!
You only need 2 things to make the muffins!
These are so easy to make and delicious! New mid morning go to.
Yay! Thanks, Jaymee!
Can i use any other can of filling like cherry?
Hi, Megan! I honestly don’t know. I’ve never tried it with cherry pie filling. It might work with a yellow cake mix, though! Just make sure that you’re using about 15 ounces — often the pie fillings come in larger size cans, so you wouldn’t need all of it. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Can I use sweet potato puree?
You could also have a bowl of cinnamon and sugar ready so that when they come out of the oven you can roll them in the mixture. I bet that would be fantastic! & now I’m going to have to try it lol
That sounds amazing, Shasta!!! Dip them in melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar! 🙂
I make these often and add brown sugar to the top before baking. No butter, I just kind of pat the brown sugar in to the muffin tops and then bake. They are a big hit wherever I take them. ????
I just love how simple they are!
I love that idea, Lindsay! Thank you! 🙂
What would the oven temp.and minutes be for cupcake tin?
Hi, Tami! That’s what I’ve used here — a cupcake tin is the same as a muffin tin, so the cooking time and temp will be the same. Enjoy!
Thank you Blair
Do you think this recipe would work to make little Whoopi pies?(2″)
Do they need to be stored in the refrigerator? If so how long will they last in the refrigerator?
Can they be stored at room temperature? If so, how long will they last?
Hi, Rhonda! No, they do not need to be refrigerated. The muffins will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2-4 days. To keep them longer, store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I have been making them for years. I add raisins and pecans. They are delicious.
Perfect additions! Thank you!
I have made these several times & add chocolate chips to the mix….the kids love them!
YUM! Love that combo, Crystal! Thank you! 🙂
These are easy and delicious!! If I were to make a loaf how long would you suggest baking and at what temp? Thanks.!
Hi, Lisa! I typically bake my pumpkin bread at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes (but add extra time if you’re using a light or ceramic pan). It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
You will likely have more batter than you need for 1 loaf of pumpkin bread, so you might have two loaves, or 1 loaf and some muffins. I’ve never tried using this particular recipe for pumpkin bread, so I don’t know exactly how much you’ll get out of one box. Enjoy! 🙂
I just made these and found that they take longer to bake than the recipe calls for. – I baked a bath at 350 degrees for 13 minutes and another at 375 for 10 minutes but the middle of the muffins seem to be a bit too soft – or is it that they are just moist?
They’re definitely moist, but you want them cooked through all of the way in the center. Depending on the type of muffin tins, the temp of your oven, whether or not you use silicone liners, etc. the baking time may vary. Just use a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin to know when they’re done. The toothpick should come out clean. 🙂
These were so easy and SO DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks, Daniella!
I’ve made these many times in the past and I LOVE them. I’m wondering if I could add some of my protein powder to these as well? Any insights on how to go about doing that?
Hi, Ellie! I’m so glad that you like the muffins! I’ve never experimented with adding protein powder, so I have no idea how it would impact the taste and texture of the muffins. I would just start adding it really slowly. For instance, add 2 tablespoons or 1/4 cup and see how it works. If you’re pleased with the result and you want to add more the next time, you can gradually step it up. They will be a bit drier the more that you add, so I wouldn’t go crazy with it. 🙂
I added around a 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt. It adds protein and a little moistness. I may add more next time I’ll let you know how it turns out.
So should I add an egg for moisture?
Hi, Stacy! No, I’ve never added eggs and these muffins stay really moist (thanks to the pumpkin). 🙂 Of course, if you want to add an egg, it won’t hurt. In addition to their nutritional value, eggs can provide structure, leavening, richness, color, and flavor to baked products — they just won’t make the muffins more moist.
I love these I do bake mine on 350 for 18 mins and I always add dark chocolate chips I always add 2 eggs even tho I don’t need to. They are super moist and have become a hit for girls coffee get together. Thanks for a great idea
Sounds perfect! Thanks, Barbara!