These pumpkin streusel muffins are soft, moist, and full of pumpkin spice, and they're incredibly easy to make thanks to a boxed spice cake mix. The cake mix and canned pumpkin create tender, flavorful muffins with minimal effort, finished with a buttery crumb topping and an optional vanilla glaze.
Looking for more pumpkin inspiration? I've rounded up my favorite 21 Best Pumpkin Recipes for Fall →, including pumpkin cookies, muffins, breads, pies, and more.
If you love easy baking shortcuts, this is one of my favorite fall muffin recipes. You only need a handful of ingredients for the muffin batter, and there's no need to measure out flour, sugar, baking soda, or other dry ingredients.
The spice cake mix already contains the perfect blend of warm spices, while canned pumpkin adds moisture and pumpkin flavor. Add the homemade streusel topping and a little vanilla glaze, and these easy pumpkin muffins taste much more complicated than they actually are.
One batch makes 18–20 muffins, making them perfect for breakfast, snacks, school lunches, fall gatherings, or Thanksgiving morning.
Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Crumb Muffins
- Made with spice cake mix. The boxed cake mix does most of the work, making these muffins incredibly easy.
- Full of pumpkin flavor. Canned pumpkin adds moisture and classic fall flavor.
- Soft and tender. The pumpkin keeps these muffins moist without needing oil or butter in the batter.
- Buttery crumb topping. The pumpkin-spiced streusel gives every muffin a delicious crunchy topping.
- Easy fall breakfast. The batter comes together in just a few minutes.
- No mixer required. Simply stir the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Makes 18–20 muffins. Perfect for sharing or keeping on hand for breakfast and snacks.
- Optional vanilla glaze. The glaze adds a little extra sweetness, but the muffins are delicious without it.
Why Use Spice Cake Mix for Pumpkin Muffins?
Using a spice cake mix is an easy shortcut for homemade pumpkin muffins.
Instead of measuring flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and other spices, the cake mix already includes the dry ingredients and warm spice flavor. All you need to do is combine the cake mix with canned pumpkin, an egg, milk, and optional walnuts. The result is a soft, moist pumpkin muffin with very little prep work.
It's the same easy cake mix shortcut I use in my 3-ingredient pumpkin cookies, and it's one of my favorite ways to make quick pumpkin desserts in the fall.
What Makes These Pumpkin Muffins So Good?
The combination of spice cake mix and pumpkin puree gives these muffins a soft, tender texture and plenty of pumpkin-spice flavor. But the streusel is what really makes them special.
The topping is made with flour, brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and melted butter. It bakes into a buttery, slightly crisp crumb topping that pairs perfectly with the soft pumpkin muffin underneath. I also like adding a simple vanilla glaze after the muffins cool. It's completely optional, but it makes these feel a little more like a bakery-style pumpkin muffin.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Crumb Muffins
- Why Use Spice Cake Mix for Pumpkin Muffins?
- What Makes These Pumpkin Muffins So Good?
- Tips for Making Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- Ingredients
- How To Make Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- What to Serve With Pumpkin Crumb Muffins
- Pumpkin Crumb Muffin FAQs
- More Muffin Recipes To Make
- Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Tips for Making Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices and will change the recipe.
- Don't overmix. Stir the muffin batter just until the ingredients are combined.
- Use a cookie scoop. A cookie scoop makes it easy to divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
- Don't skip the streusel. The buttery pumpkin-spice topping is one of the best parts of these muffins.
- The glaze is optional. They're delicious with or without it.
- Use any brand of spice cake mix. I've made these with different brands and they all work well.
- Leave out the nuts if you prefer. Walnuts are my favorite, but pecans would also be delicious.
- Make them ahead. These muffins stay moist for several days when stored in an airtight container.
Ingredients
Muffin Batter
- Spice cake mix: One box, whatever brand you'd like.
- Canned pumpkin puree: 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Egg: For richness and texture.
- Milk: Milk adds richness, but you can also use water.
- Chopped nuts: This is optional, and you can use whatever kind of nuts you'd like. Walnuts are my favorite for pumpkin muffins and bread.
Streusel Topping
- All-purpose flour
- Pumpkin pie spice: This really takes the streusel up a notch. I don't always flavor my streusel for muffins, but I think it truly makes these pumpkin muffins shine.
- Brown sugar and white sugar: I use both. The brown sugar gives the streusel a rich, caramel flavor, and the white sugar provides the streusel with its crunch.
- Butter: Melted butter, salted or unsalted (I prefer salted butter always).
Vanilla Glaze
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Step 1: Combine spice cake mix, canned pumpkin, egg, milk, and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir.
Step 2: Prepare a muffin pan by lining it with paper liners or spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. Divide batter between 18-20 muffin cups.
Step 3: Combine the topping mixture ingredients in a small bowl. Add a small spoonful of topping over each muffin.
Step 4: Bake muffins in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients. Allow muffins to cool for 15 minutes. Drizzle muffins with glaze.
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature.
What to Serve With Pumpkin Crumb Muffins
These muffins are delicious with:
- Hot apple cider
- Milk
- Fresh fruit
I love serving them warm with a little butter for breakfast.
Pumpkin Crumb Muffin FAQs
No pumpkin pie spice mix? No problem! Make your own by combining 3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons nutmeg, and 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves.
Absolutely. Let the muffins cool completely, then freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days.
Yes! Chocolate chips are a delicious addition if you'd like a sweeter muffin. Fold about one cup into the batter before filling the muffin cups.
You can, but the flavor will be different. Spice cake mix is what gives these pumpkin muffins their warm cinnamon-and-spice flavor. If you use yellow cake mix, you may want to add additional pumpkin pie spice to the batter.
More Muffin Recipes To Make
MADE THIS RECIPE AND LOVED IT? 💛 Please leave a STAR rating and COMMENT below! Post it to Facebook or Pinterest to easily share with friends!
Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
Muffin Batter
- 1 box spice cake mix
- 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup chopped walnuts optional
Topping
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ cup melted butter
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Combine spice cake mix, canned pumpkin, egg, milk and walnuts in a large mixing bowl.
- Prepare a muffin tin by lining it with paper liners or spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.Divide batter between 18-20 muffin cups.
- Combine topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Add a small spoonful of topping over each muffin.
- Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Combine glaze ingredients.
- Allow muffins to cool for 15 minutes. Drizzle muffins with glaze.
Leave a Reply