Cake Mix Pumpkin Muffins

Name: Cake Mix Pumpkin Muffins
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 23 min
Ingredients: 2 medium eggs; 1 box white cake mix ((15.25 ounces)); ⅔ cup dark chocolate chips; 1¼ tsp gingerbread seasoning; 1 can canned pumpkin ((15 ounces))

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These 3-step decadent Cake Mix Pumpkin Muffins are so scrumptious! They require 5-ingredients and take only a few minutes to whip up. Enjoy them as is, or dressed them up with streusel topping or cream cheese frosting drizzle! Be sure to try my pumpkin bread recipe too!

a plate full of cake mix pumpkin muffins

August was zucchini month. Why do I call it that? Well, I bombarded my readers with zucchini recipes: Zucchini Blueberry Muffins, Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Flowers, and Zucchini Stew.

So, if August was zucchini month, can you guess what October is? Yup, you guessed it, pumpkin month! I'm kicking off October with these amazing Cake Mix Pumpkin Muffins. Yes, you can enjoy them any time of the year, but especially in fall, my favorite time of the year! 🎃

Why This Recipe Works

One of the best things about Cake Mix Pumpkin Muffins is that they're so easy to prepare. Can you believe they only require five ingredients? You can even leave out the eggs and make it a 4-ingredient recipe! Or leave out the chocolate chips and make them a 3-ingredient recipe.

However, if you want to exert a little extra effort, you can dress these babies up with some delicious streusel topping, or pumpkin-colored cream cheese frosting drizzle! But they're seriously delicious no matter which way you prepare them!

Oh, and hey, did I mention that they are only 154 calories each? You're welcome!

What Goes Into This Recipe

Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions

Cake Mix — Although this recipe calls for white cake mix, you can experiment with other flavors too. Yellowcake mix would be a great substitute!
Eggs — This recipe calls for 2 eggs. If you're out of eggs, the recipe will also work without the eggs added.
Gingerbread Spice — Besides gingerbread spice, you can use pumpkin spice, or a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger.
Chocolate Chips — Dark chocolate tastes wonderful with any pumpkin baked goods. However, you can also use white chocolate chips, semi-sweet, or butterscotch chips.
Pumpkin — Make sure to use pure canned pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie mix. The latter has spices already added to it and is sweetened.

How to make Cake Mix Pumpkin Muffins

Step 1 | Prepare Muffin Pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray or line with muffin liners. This recipe makes 18 muffins.

Pro Tip: You may need to spray the paper liners because there's no oil added to the batter, which means they tend to stick to the paper liners.

Step 2 | Mix Ingredients

Whisk eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Sift cake mix over the eggs. Add gingerbread spice and chocolate chips. Using a rubber spatula, mix to combine. Fold in the entire can of pumpkin. Mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Step 3 | Bake

Fill muffin liners with ¼ cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before eating.

Pro Tip: Since you'll be making 18 muffins, prepare both pans (12-count and 6-count), if you have them, to make sure you didn't overfill or underfill the individual cups.

streusel cake mix pumpkin muffins in a pan

Now it's time to grab a hot cup of coffee and dig in!!!

a plate of cake mix pumpkin muffins with a half eaten one on top

Optional Toppings

Streusel Topping

Enjoy these Can Mix Muffins just the way they are, or top some of them with streusel topping before baking. What I like to do is leave six muffins as is, add streusel to six, and cream cheese frosting-drizzle to the remaining six. That way you have a variety.

Here's what you need to make the streusel topping:

2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon quick oats
pinch of cinnamon

Cut butter into the other ingredient either with a fork or with your hands. Distribute streusel evenly between 6 muffins, then follow baking instructions.

Cream Cheese Frosting-Drizzle

Mix ½ cup of cream cheese frosting with a tablespoon of half and half or milk. Whisk until smooth. Add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring as needed until you achieve pumpkiny color. Yes, I looked it up, "pumpkiny" is a word! 😬
2. Drizzle the cooled Cake Mix Pumpkin Muffins with the thinned frosting with a fork.

Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips

How do you store pumpkin muffins?

Muffins can be stored in gallon-sized ziplock bags. Be sure to remove the excess air. They can either be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature. If adding frosting, the muffins should be stored in the refrigerator because the frosting needs to set.

What does pumpkin replace in baking?

Pumpkin can replace both the oil and the eggs in certain baking recipes. In this particular recipe, the pumpkin is being used to replace the oil. Technically, the eggs can be left out of this recipe, but I still like adding them to improve structure and add richness to the muffins. Not to mention, eggs add protein!

What can you substitute for gingerbread seasoning?

Pumpkin pie spice would be a perfect substitution for gingerbread seasoning. You can also make your own spice mix with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and freshly grated nutmeg.

Can you freeze pumpkin muffins?

Yes, you can freeze pumpkin muffins. Store muffins in freezer bags, making sure to remove excess air. To defrost them, either microwave the muffins for 30 seconds or allow them to come to room temperature naturally.

You don't need to use a mixer to incorporate the ingredients. Simply hand-mix them in a bowl.
You can make this recipe without the eggs. Just follow the recipe instructions and omit the eggs.
Nuts are a wonderful addition to cake mix pumpkin muffins. You can either mix in ½ cup of crushed walnuts, or sprinkle them over the batter before baking.
The recipe makes 18 cupcakes. I recommend trying the optional toppings so you have six plain, six with streusel topping, and six with cream cheese-frosting drizzle.

cake mix pumpkin muffins covered with icing

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