Besides my grocery shopping obsession, I have a couple other little addictions.
One is the internet. Twitter specifically; I just love it! Also now that I’m finally getting an iPhone, (I can’t even talk about it), I’ll probably be bonkers obsessed with Instagram and every app that I’ll more than likely forget what it’s like to function as a real human being. I mean, it’s already tough enough for me to keep up with all of the new blogs I’ve been discovering online lately. My new favorite is A Beautiful Mess, a blog about everything from beauty and fashion, to crafts and photography. You totally need to check it out!
Another favorite is my friend Stephanie’s blog Frest Tart. Her unbelievably gorgeous food photography, recipes, and fun writing style immediately invites you in. Stephanie also photographs Andrew Zimmern’s recipes for Food & Wine Magazine which makes it even more fun to follow what she’s up to! Visit and tell her hello!
Something else that has been taking up a lot of my time lately? Baking! So you’ve probably noticed. Well, let me just inform you now that the sweet recipes will continue to live on this blog. I just can’t stop. I’ve always loved to bake but this is getting out of control. Seriously, did I need to make pumpkin muffins, cookies, AND apple crisp this weekend? Probably not. But you see, some days I find that there is nothing that I would rather do than bake my heart out; my stress seems to diminish while mixing batter and browning butter. Why yes, I am a weird human being, thank you.
Mmmmm now I’m thinking about brown butter. But wait… these muffins don’t actually have any butter OR oil in them! Whatttt?!?! I know, I must explain.
You guys know that I pretty much love everything in bread form; however, I realize that I can’t go around eating muffins from the bakery every morning! So, in an effort to diminish my morning carb cravings, I set out to create a guilt-free muffin that would be perfect for breakfast, an on-the-go snack and great for kids.
To keep the calories low, I used minimal sugar, unsweetened almond milk, egg whites, and applesauce. I also added in 1/2 of a ripe banana to keep the muffins extra moist and to add a bit of sweetness. You can make the recipe without the banana if you don’t have any on hand; they’ll still turn out great!
Imagine biting into a warm, moist and chewy pumpkin muffin with bits of sweetness from chocolate chips. And then all of a sudden your day gets really awesome. Muffin magic.
And there’s another reason why you’ll fall in love with them too…
They’re only 160 calories per muffin! I know it’s shocking, but I’ve included the nutritional information with the recipe below.
Omg… I know what you are thinking, and the answer is yes, we can totally butter these babies up!
AND BUTTER I DID. Hehe. I’m a little bit evil. Maybe in that really sweet kind of way?
Happy baking!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Low-fat Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup unsweetened all-natural applesauce
- 1 ripe banana, mashed
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, plus 2 tablespoons
- Extra oatmeal, for sprinkling on muffins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin cups with paper cups or spray with nonstick spray. If you use muffin cups, make sure to spray the inside of the cups.
- In a large bowl mix flour, oatmeal, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt together.
- In a separate bowl combine pumpkin, mashed banana, brown sugar, almond milk, egg and applesauce.
- Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
- Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full so that each is even. Sprinkle a tiny bit of oatmeal over each top of the muffins.
- Place into the oven and bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean.
- Muffins are best served warm. Reheat in the microwave for 20 seconds and spread with topping of your choice!
These look wonderful…just what I’ve been looking for for nutty mornings when my girls and I eat breakfast in the car!
Awesomeee. Only 160 calories per muffin? Beats those 300 calorie ones and I bet they taste better!
These look like this weekend’s brunch fare!!…Could I sub in white chocolate instead of the dark?…I love white and pumpkin or spice combos…Thanks for another winner…Pretty dang appetizing and healthy given the relatively low calorie/fat factors…Bravo!
White chocolate would be incredible! Or lots of blueberries! 🙂
i can’t wait to bake these muffins i’ve baked the bannana reeces bread last week and it lasted all but a few hours needless to say my family and i loved it thank you for all the great recipes keep’em com’n
Ahhh thanks Michael! Try my other banana bread recipes too! 🙂
Monique,
Talk about a good photographer! Your photos are outstanding. Can’t wait to try these muffins. Said it before, will say it again….love your blog! Love your passion for cooking, baking, food and writing! Superb!
Lori
Thank you so much, Lori!
These look amazing! So glad to have found your blog!!
I really believe in it. Your muffin magic. 🙂
I’d kiss anyone who’d make these for tomorrow’s breakfast. YummY!
Hahah me too! Thanks Lori!
These look absolutely incredible, beautiful photos! I’ll definitely be trying these 🙂
going to try this recipe….
Oatmeal meaning Quick Oats? Regular Oats? Does that matter? These look delicious.
Rolled oats. Traditional.
I’m obsessed with your quick breads! Made this last night when I was craving pumpkin bread–so nice to have a healthy and delicious option. I couldn’t find unsweetened applesauce (I’m in the UK), so i cut down the sugar some and skipped the chocolate chips. I also used actual oatmeal instead of dry oats. SO GOOD. Thank you!
Hi Monique, what's the purpose of adding applesauce? It's not easy to find in my country so, what can I use instead of It?
Applesauce keeps the muffin moist without adding oils. I would try a nonfat yogurt instead!
Also, you could also use a whole banana instead of half in place of the apple sauce. I think it would work out similar. 🙂
Thanks a lot Monique
These are wonderful!!!! I will make these all the time.
I'm making these for Friday's meetings 🙂
Yippee!!! Sounds fantastic!
Yumm
Look great! Let me know how they turn out!
Hi! I’m making these on sunday but I cant find pumpkin spice! Can I use cinammon or nutmeg as a substitute? If not, what can I use? Thanks!
Yes. Here’s a conversion for you: http://southernfood.about.com/cs/pumpkins/ht/pumpkin_spices.htm
These are awesome and easy to make. A big hit in our house.
Do you think this recipe would work well with whole wheat flour?
I made these today on a bitterly cold Iowa day…only 3 lonely degrees…and so glad I did! These are wonderful! I am impressed at the healthy ingredients, the simplicity of mixing, and the yummy goodness. I didn’t have mini-chips, so used the regular size. Thanks so much for sharing!
yummy!
So delicious….I added 1/2 of mixed pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. It's a keeper!
Thx Ginny. We try to eat healthy & desserts haven't been on the menu. J would love this – the choc chips.
Didn't add the choco chips but one could add raisins…that's what I'm doing next time….something was missing 1st round.
Sounds great but the first question that I thought of is…are we talking oatmeal made or rolled oats like the quaker kind raw and undooked? thanks sounds like a great healthy-ish recipe my toddler might love..thanks a lot.
Rolled oats, uncooked.
Thank you so much for posting this. Just what I am looking for with pumpkin muffins!
I just made these muffins using skim milk instead of the almond milk and a whole egg instead of two egg whites. They look so perfect and taste great, too. I will definitely make these again and again! Thanks.
These are wonderful and moist! These are my substitutions based on what I had on hand: 2% milk, 1 egg instead of 2 whites, banana instead of applesauce, gingerbread spice instead of pumpkin spice, quick oats instead of rolled oats. frozen pumpkin puree (Halloween jack o’lantern, quartered and cooked in oven for hours, mashed and frozen in 1 cup Ziploc) instead of canned. It made 24 mini-muffins (about 14 minutes) and 6 normal muffins (about 20 minutes). We skipped the sprinkles of oatmeal on top and added a few more chocolate chips on each. I’ll be making these again! Thanks!
I was skeptical, but these are actually really good! I even used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose (about 1 c.) an they came out really moist and delicious.
Would these work without the egg whites? If not, is there a good replacement?
use ener-g egg replacer
Liliana Freeman LOL…I should have just called you! 😉
I just made these, and I have a new favorite recipe! They are moist and delicious and I'm trying hard not to devour them! Thank you for a recipe that doesn't kill my diet, and doesn't taste like cardboard.
Just made these, trying to find healthy breakfast items for my husband. They are so good!!!!! Thank you for sharing!!
Love this recipe. I added white chocolate chips to them…DIVINE!
I just made these today, and WOW! The only thing I changed was I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose for the flour. (So 3/4 C each). I also added 1/2 C of chopped walnuts. Mine yielded 15 muffins. I’m not sure if I made them smaller or what, but it worked beautifully either way! Thank you so much for sharing! I will definitely be keeping this recipe. So delicious! 🙂
Is there any way for this recipe to turn out without using any flour (nut flour or otherwise)? I cannot have ANY flour products, and with fall coming on, I’ve been dying for a muffin. Perhaps if I sub in more oats?? I suck at cooking/baking, so any advice would be great!
Yes, maybe try ‘oat flour’?
I filled the muffin tins full & crushed pecans and mixed with rolled oats to sprinkle on top of the muffins. Then, with 5 minutes left on the oven, I sprinkled with white sugar. It gave them a very big, "bakery-esque" look. 🙂
I just made these to bring to a Viennese Table pot luck night tomorrow. I made them mini muffin size so there's more of them to go around. And you know women, mini muffins, if they're good, they feel because they're small they can have a few. Ah, tricking the psyche 🙂
I made these tonight with a few tweaks: 1/2 whole wheat flour, no banana (mine aren’t ripe), one egg rather than two egg whites, and no chocolate chips because I completely forgot them. They came out well but not quite sweet enough/a touch bland. Definitely do not skip the chocolate chips! I think next time I’ll include the banana as well, and maybe even add some berries to brighten up the flavor. Great chewy texture though and a recipe worth repeating — thanks!
I made it with whole wheat flour but add 1cup instead of half cup chocolate chips. Delicious !!! Kids and adults loved it!
Made these today. They came easily out of foil muffin cups. I subbed a half cup of the flour with oat flour. My five-year old loved them, and I did too! Thanks! Oh, if anyone cares, these total 5 Weight Watchers points+.
Can you substitute anything for the banana. Family really doesn’t like them cooked
Applesauce!
Made this recipe twice. Love it! Today, I made it again sans the brown sugar and Almond Milk (since I didn't have any on hand, used 2% milk instead). They turned out wonderful without the added sugar. I saved this recipe and will use again. Thanks!
I want to make 24 for work, would you recommend just doubling the recipe OR making one batch and then making another?
Hi Laura! I think you could double the recipe and be just fine. 🙂
Hi!
Just made those yesterday and they are AMAZING. Everyone loved them and when I told them it was only 160 calories…I made their day hahaha.
Got a question though; how long can you keep them before they get mouldy?
Thanks!
A few days if tightly wrapped. Otherwise you can stick them in the fridge or freezer!
I just made these as a treat for myself (so I don’t eat tonight’s leftover Halloween candy) and they are FABULOUS! (In case anyone is wondering, regular dairy skim milk works fine.) Thanks so much!
Made these – delicious! Even used 1/2 whole wheat flour for more fiber. Didn’t have almond milk so just used 1% milk. They keep me full between breakfast and lunch. NICE!
These are very good! I just made a batch today, and I already know there’ll be many more batches to come 🙂 I ate 3 muffins a little after they came out of the oven! I lack self control LOL. I made a few changes, though. I did half AP flour and half whole wheat flour. I used 2% milk instead of Almond. And I added some white chocolate chips on top, instead of the additional oats. These are really really good, and I’d recommend them to anyone! FYI, For my personal preference, I would have added a tiny bit more sugar in if I would have used Almond milk instead of the 2%, because unsweetened Almond milk has less sugar than 2% and I would want the muffin slightly sweeter. Really great recipe, though, and I will make again for sure!
I have celiac disease but I’m dying to try these muffins! Would almond flour/meal be an alright substitute or should I just go for a gluten free baking mix?
Great question. Can you do quinoa flour and toast it first?
These look to die for!
I followed the recipe to the dot and baked for 27 minutes… and even though they poked clean, they seemed doughy to me. Exactly what do you mean when you say “slightly beaten” egg whites? The only thing that occurs to me is that we have different definitions. Thanks!
I baked these last night but subbed in pecans instead of the chocolate chips and an extra half of a banana instead of the other 1/2 cup of pumpkin…they paired so well with my veggie & bacon soup! Thank you for such a great recipe! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or Dessert!
Thank you.
Delicious, thanks for the recipe. Though I wouldn’t exactly call them “healthy”.
I substitute the brown sugar with black strap molasses and wheat flour for instead of white flour and didn’t add the applesauce , Added my own homemade pumpkin purée almost 2 cups was said to be equivalent to 15 ounce can . came out delicious
Ok. So mine came out quite dense. Any ideas why? Are they supposed to be dense?
This is the second time in a week I’m baking these for my horde of grandsons who care nothing about “healthy” and everything about TASTE. The recipe was easy and adapted well to substitutions I needed to make based on ingredients on hand and dietary requirements. I didn’t have applesause so I used 1 whole banana, put in 2 whole eggs instead of the egg ( I hate wasting the egg yolks), and reduced the amount of wheat flour to 1/3 and used gluten-free substitutes.
Hi Carol! So glad the grandsons like these, and that you found some substitutions that worked out 🙂
Love these! My husband loves them too.
So happy to hear that!
I’ve made these 6 times in the past two years. They”re a hit at work and at home. I like them best warmed up. I can’t believe this big muffin has less than 175 calories.
Thanks for the great recipe1
Delicious! The perfect snack 🙂
Hey! Can I use stevia to replace the sugar?
Hi! I don’t typically bake with sugar-free sweeteners so I’m not sure how it will affect the taste & texture.
Just made these. I didn’t have chocolate chips so tt wasn’t on the sweet side but that must have to do with the fact that I didn’t have apple sauce and substituted grated yellow apple. I also think the apple was tart. If you’re looking for a sweet pumpkin muffin, this probably isn’t it or just add more brown sugar/maple syrup.
This is definitely more healthy than most which is what I appreciate. Thanks Monique!
The grated apple likely changed the flavor a bit but I’m glad you enjoyed regardless!
These are so yummy! I love that there are multiple healthy ingredients like pumpkin, banana, applesauce, and oats, yet still have the texture of a delicious muffin. Will be making these again!
I also wanted to add that these are very kid friendly…my kids devoured them! And it calls for one egg in the recipe and then in the directions it mentions “egg whites”…I just used one egg, yolk and white – turned out great!
Absolutely! And thanks for the catch – updated 🙂 glad you and the kiddos enjoyed!
These smelled so good in my oven! I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 gluten free flour instead of regular flour and it worked. I think regular flour would be a little lighter and fluffier. The gluten free flour does change it a bit (the rice flour in the mix gives it a bit of a gluey texture) but it’s still pretty fluffy and delicious. This might be my new favorite pumpkin muffin recipe!