Mona's One Bowl Pumpkin Muffins
These One Bowl Pumpkin Muffins from my Bestie, Mona, are the perfect cozy treat for fall!
Made with wholesome ingredients like pumpkin purée, almond flour, and warm spices, these muffins are easy to whip up in one bowl.
They’re gluten-free, naturally sweetened, and use nourishing fats like ghee or sesame oil.
Perfect for a comforting breakfast or snack, these muffins bring warmth and balance to your day. Enjoy them fresh or reheated with a dollop of ghee!
WHy this recipe is good for us:
1. Pumpkin Purée 🧡
Ayurvedic Qualities: Pumpkin is sweet, slightly astringent, and has a cooling energy (virya), making it ideal for calming Pitta and Vata doshas. In fall, Vata energy can become easily imbalanced, leading to dryness, anxiety, and feeling scattered. Pumpkin helps to ground and nourish, providing a natural antidote to these tendencies. Benefits:
Grounding and Nourishing: Its sweet taste (madhura rasa) and high water content make pumpkin wonderfully grounding, which helps counteract Vata's airy and light qualities during fall.
Rich in Fiber: Pumpkin also has a fair amount of fiber, which helps support healthy digestion and maintains regularity—important as Vata can lead to digestive irregularities if left unchecked.
2. Ghee or Sesame Oil 🥄
Ayurvedic Qualities: Ghee is slightly cooling and deeply nourishing, whereas sesame oil is warming, making both excellent for balancing Vata during the colder fall months.
Benefits:
Deep Nourishment: Ghee, often called “liquid gold” in Ayurveda, is tridoshic, which means it can help balance all three doshas when used appropriately. It nourishes the tissues, boosts immunity (ojas), and supports digestive fire (agni) without overheating the body. Its unctuous quality helps counteract Vata’s dryness, which becomes more prevalent during fall.
Mind-Boosting Qualities: Ghee is a medhya—a tonic for the brain—which helps support cognitive functions like memory, focus, and clarity. It's excellent for maintaining calmness and mental stability, particularly during Vata season, which can lead to mental instability or scattered thinking.
Sesame Oil Benefits: If you choose sesame oil, it brings warmth, which helps combat Vata's cold qualities, especially as the weather cools. It also nourishes the deeper tissues and strengthens bones, which is particularly supportive during the fall.
3. Pumpkin Spice Blend (Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, etc.) 🍂
Ayurvedic Qualities: The spices in a typical pumpkin spice blend—like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg—are warming, pungent (katu rasa), and aromatic. They help balance both Vata and Kapha, while mildly increasing Pitta in a beneficial way. Benefits:
Warming Effect: Fall is Vata season, characterized by cold, dry, and windy qualities. Warming spices like cinnamon and ginger counteract these effects, bringing warmth and improved circulation.
Improves Digestion: Ginger and cinnamon help boost digestive fire (agni), which can sometimes get sluggish as the weather cools down. These spices stimulate digestion, reduce bloating, and prevent gas—keeping Vata in check.
Mood Elevating: Nutmeg and cinnamon also have calming and mildly sedative properties, which help settle the mind and bring comfort. Perfect for those cozy fall evenings when you want to wind down.
Mona's One Bowl Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 ripe banana
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
1/3 cup granulated sugar (I use coconut sugar)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup oil (sesame or ghee work well)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I use big grain sea salt)
2 tsp pumpkin spice blend
1/2 cup liquid (oat milk, almond milk, or even water)
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Then add:
1 cup almond flour
1 1/4 cup oats (use gluten-free if needed)
Optional Add-Ins: Nuts (pecans or walnuts), dried fruit (cranberries or raisins), or even chocolate chips for a treat.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-muffin tin with parchment paper liners.
Bake for 27-35 minutes. Muffins are done when a gentle tap leaves them firm. Cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then rotate them on their sides for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a rack.
These are amazing fresh, but equally delightful reheated with a little ghee. A perfect companion to a cup of chai or ginger tea.
