Whole Wheat Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins
Deliciously spiced and just sweet enough, these Whole Wheat Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins are made with nothing but wholesome ingredients and contain no refined sugar whatsoever. Bet you’ll have a hard time believing that when you bite into one – they’re just way too good to be that healthy!
You all know how much I love me a good muffin, right? How much I’m OBSESSED with a good muffin and can’t be trusted in the same room with one? And how I love to come up with all kinds of muffin recipes? And how up until now, my ultimate favorite has always been Bran Muffins?
Well let me tell you, this new Whole Wheat Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins recipe may very well have outranked them all!
Everything about these muffins is just perfect: from their texture to their flavor profile to their ease of preparation (well, once the butternut squash puree is done and out of the way, at least)… Not to mention the fact that they are made with nothing but wholesome ingredients AND that they contain no refined sugar whatsoever.
I don’ think that I would change a single thing about them… except maybe add a few nuts or raisins to the batter, and use bran instead of oats (cuz you know, bran muffins!)
But honestly, these guys they’re a solid 9.5 out of 10 as they stand now. I hope you find them just as good!
To make these butternut squash muffins, you’re obviously going to need some butternut squash puree. Personally, I find that the easiest way to make it is to roast the butternut squash in the oven (follow the instructions in the post, although you might want to hold the black pepper this time… or not!) and then let it cool, scoop out the flesh and puree it up in a food processor. I find my compact Ninja Food Prep Food Processor works perfectly well for this!
Since you’re going to want to let that puree chill completely before you use it, it might be a good idea to make it the previous day. You will need 1-1/2 cup of puree to make the recipe; while this may seem like a small amount, don’t let that deceive you… you will be needing all of a small to medium butternut squash.
Now, say you didn’t have time to make that puree, couldn’t be bothered making it, or squash wasn’t currently in season but you still desperately wanted to make these butternut squash muffins? Don’t despair. You could easily substitute canned pumpkin puree and you’d get very similar results. Just be sure to use the real stuff, NOT the sugar laden pie filling.
Once that butternut squash puree has been dealt with, (that was the hardest part, by the way) preheat your oven to 400°F and grease (I used ghee to grease mine) and lightly flour a 12 cup muffin pan. Or, line those cups with parchment paper liners.
Next, in a large bowl, combine the butternut squash puree, date paste, buttermilk, molasses and egg. Pour in the melted coconut oil last, right when you are ready to start mixing, to avoid it clumping up when it comes in contact with the cold ingredients.
Mix well with a whisk, until evenly combined, and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices and mix well with a whisk until well combined.
Add those dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, all at once.
Now mix everything delicately with a rubber spatula until just incorporated, no more. Overmixing the batter would make for tough muffins…
Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Here’s a tip for you: a size 8 (4oz) spring-loaded ice cream scoop works perfectly well for that! It’s like the PERFECT size, seriously! If you happen to have one in your drawers, now would be a really good time to take it out.
Bake your muffins in the preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes, until the domes are nicely rounded and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about a minute then carefully lift them from the cups and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely; store your muffins in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Whole Wheat Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1-1/2 cups cold butternut squash puree* , (or canned pumpkin puree)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup date paste
- 2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F; grease (I used ghee to grease mine) and lightly flour a 12 cup muffin pan (or line with parchment paper liners)
- In a large bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and mix well with a whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk until well combined; add to wet ingredients and mix delicately with a rubber spatula until just incorporated, no more.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. A size 8 (4oz) spring-loaded ice cream scoop works perfectly well for that!
- Bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes, until the domes nicely rounded and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about a minute then carefully lift them from the cups and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely; store your muffins in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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4 Comments on “Whole Wheat Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins”
Are you sure it is 1 Tablespoon of baking soda? I followed your recipe except used homemade buttermilk and a 1/3 cup of sugar instead of date paste. There is definitely aftertaste of baking soda.
I am terribly sorry, Laurann, looks like I managed to completely miss your comment… you are right, though, this should totally be 1 tsp, not 1 tbsp! I made the correction in the card… and really hope that you were still able to eat the muffins despite the aftertaste!
Definitely should not be 1 tbl of baking soda. Unfortunately I saw the other comment too late.. I should have known, even while measuring the baking soda I checked the recipe again. Too bad because I roasted my own butternut squash and made my own date paste as well. Too bad.
I am so sorry Margot you are right, this should totally be 1 tsp, not 1 tbsp! How is it that I managed to miss that first comment, too? I’ll make the correction in the card right away. Hopefully you’re still able to eat those muffins…