Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins with pecans are great for breakfast or as a side at Thanksgiving. Perfect for the Fall season!
Grab an extra can of pumpkin puree at the store and make our Pumpkin Spice Muffins – only 4 ingredients! No butter, oil, or eggs. They’re like a miracle muffin.
Easy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe with Cranberries
I recently read that there is an expected shortage of canned pureed pumpkin this year. Whether this is actually true, remains to be seen, but naturally, I panicked. An immediate trip to the market was in order, where I purchased 10 cans. I love pumpkin pie, but I won’t be feeding enough people this Thanksgiving to make 10 of them. So, I focused my efforts on another marvelous baked good – muffins.
These Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins totally jive with the season, loaded with pumpkin, cranberries, and pecans. Sweet, but not overly so, moist with great flavor and texture combo. And easy peasy prep. All around good.
Ingredients Needed
You only new a handful of pantry items to make these easy pumpkin muffins.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- All-purpose flour – Spooned and leveled for accurate measuring.
- Granulated sugar – For sweetness.
- Baking powder – Helps the muffins rise.
- Ground cinnamon and ground ginger – For warm aromatics and flavor.
- Salt – Just a pinch to elevate the other flavors.
- Canned pumpkin puree – Not pumpkin pie filling. And you’ll just need 1 cup, not the entire can.
- Canola oil – For necessary moisture.
- Eggs – Provides structure to the batter.
- Dried cranberries – Adds a sweet tart component, color, and texture.
- Finely chopped pecans – We love the nutty flavor and textural crunch that pecans add.
Recipe Variations
- Try a different nut and chips. Walnuts or almonds can easily replace the pecans. Or if you don’t like nuts, simply omit them.
- Add chocolate or butterscotch chips. You can’t go wrong with adding in a little handful of chocolate or butterscotch chips.
- Use fresh cranberries. Instead of dried cranberries, fresh can be used.
How to Make Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
All you need is one bowl and ten minutes of prep to make these pumpkin muffins with cranberries.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Prepare the muffin tins. Line muffin tins with paper wrappers.
- Make the batter. Stir together all of the ingredients until incorporated and smooth.
- Fill muffin well. Fill each muffin slot to the top.
- Bake. Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Serve. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before peeling back the wrappers. Serve warm or room temperature and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
- Storing leftovers. These cranberry pumpkin muffins are best served the same day, but will remain somewhat soft at room temperature for a couple days. Or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. I recommend gently re-warming them in the microwave.
- To freeze. Allow to cool completely and place in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. They freeze well up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before serving.
More Pumpkin Recipes:
- Pumpkin Scones
- Pumpkin Pecan Crescent Rolls
- Edible Pumpkin Cookie Dough
- Mini Pumpkin Pies
- Pumpkin Pancakes
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (just 1 cup, not the entire can)
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 regular-sized muffin cups with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- Stir in the pumpkin, oil, eggs, cranberries and pecans just until moistened (do not over mix!)
- Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, to the top.
- Bake 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let rest 10 minutes and enjoy!
Love this recipe! So do my 88 year old parents
These are fantastic! Light and just sweet enough, and with so few calories, I could eat a dozen. My wife only let me have two, though. Mean ol’ wife. LOL.
such great muffins and so easy to make!
I love anything to do with cranberries. More in love with the low calorie count!
Dawn – I love that you came back. I’m actually thinking of altering the next batch (and oh yes, there will be another batch), where I use plain yogurt instead of the oil. Or maybe 50/50. See what that does to the flavor and texture. Not that these babies need altering…
Promise I am not cyber stalker – but….I made these too. They were a hit. I was worried they were going to be on the dry side so I whipped up cinnamon cream cheese spread-just in case. Pleased to report – not necessary.
ooo.. sounds savory with a touch of sweetness from the cranberries- nice choice! I didnt know puree pumpkin exists in cans!
Looks so yummy and healthy too. I’ll have to try this soon.
Your muffins sound delicious. Great combo of flavors!
Made a double batch – loved them. Also made your pumpkin pancakes with the extra pumpkin puree. My daughter added chocolate chips, but me?…straight up with warm maple syrup. Mmmm
They have pumpkins, cranberries and pecans in them. Add Turkey and potatoes to the batter and these could BE thanksgiving dinner on their own. ;)
I have been hearing about this shortage for a long time but have not actually seen any decrease in the amount of canned pumpkin. Nonetheless, I too stocked up. I have four cans sitting on my bookshelf. Well, now 3 because I made these. Cranberries, pumpkin, and pecans are made for each other!
Love a good muffin. Portable and just he energy boost I need in the morning. This one seems like a really good in between (not to sugary, but not ultra healthy), and perfect for Thanksgiving as Helen mentioned. I have to learn not to over mix the batter. Mine always turn out too hard. What’s the trick???
Amy, I am sooo happy for your family to have Nana for a visit! It’s lovely that she’s there before the holidays so that you can all really enjoy your time together. Have fun!
I’ve made these a few times – I do add in butterscotch chips which takes them up a level or 2!
These are awesome. Really, really awesome.
I did a test run and loved these. I’m adding these to my Thanksgiving menu. What a great replacement (or addition) for regular bread that I usually serve.
This is another winner from this recipe page. I decided to have just half a muffin for dessert. However, at 11:30 pm, I couldn’t resist eating the other half…and 2 more muffins!
I think the pumpkin people start this stuff up to drive up sales!
The muffins look delish, I love cranberries in muffins and quickbreads.
There are so many uses for pumpkin there is no such thing as an excess!