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These 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins are soft, warmly spiced, and just pumpkiny enough without being heavy or fussy. No eggs, no oil, and no extra measuring—just pumpkin puree and spice cake mix. You’re going to love how easy they are.
Why You’ll Love It
- Only two ingredients — pumpkin puree and spice cake mix are all you need.
- One-bowl batter — no eggs, oil, or extra measuring required.
- Warm fall flavor — the spice cake mix handles all the seasoning.
- Makes a full dozen — perfect for breakfast, snacks, or lunch boxes.
Ingredient Notes
The biggest thing here: use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has sugar and spices already mixed in, and it is not what you want for this particular little kitchen shortcut. Plain canned pumpkin is easy, dependable, and I’m not above it. Homemade puree can work too, but only if it’s thick and not watery. Personally, when the recipe is called two-ingredient muffins, I am not roasting pumpkins beforehand. Let’s not get carried away.
For the cake mix, spice cake is the whole point. Any regular boxed spice cake mix should do the job. I usually grab whatever brand is on sale, because I have yet to meet a spice cake mix worth getting snobbish about. Do not add the eggs, oil, or water listed on the back of the box. That feels wrong the first time, I know. Ignore it anyway.
The batter is thick. Very thick. Like, “did I forget something?” thick. You didn’t. If you prefer a less dense muffin, you can stir in anywhere from 1/2 cup to 1 cup water, but I usually make them as written because that thick, almost cake-like texture is the point. Then again, I complain they’re dense and keep making them the same way. Human nature, I suppose.
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree — plain puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 box spice cake mix — dry mix only; ignore every instruction printed on the box, bless its heart
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. If you don’t have liners, grease the pan well with nonstick spray or Butter. I’ve done both. The unlined ones have those nice craggy edges, but they can stick if you get lazy with the spray—and I say that from experience.
Put the dry spice cake mix and the entire can of pumpkin puree into a large bowl. That’s it. No eggs. No oil. No water unless you’ve decided you want a lighter muffin. There isn’t another ingredient hiding behind the flour can.
Beat the mixture with an electric mixer just until it’s well combined. A sturdy whisk will work if you want a little arm workout, but the batter is thick enough that I don’t recommend doing it before you’ve had coffee. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. You want no dry streaks of cake mix hanging around in there.
Divide the batter among the muffin liners, filling each one about three-quarters full. A cookie scoop makes this much less messy, though I have used two spoons and a questionable amount of patience. Smooth the tops gently with the back of a spoon. They will not level themselves out much in the oven, so don’t skip that part unless you enjoy lopsided muffins. No judgment. I’ve served worse.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Start checking at 18 minutes. Ovens have moods, especially mine; it runs hot on the right side for reasons no adequate explanation has ever been found.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Or mostly completely. Warm pumpkin muffins are very hard to leave alone, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. Just be careful with the paper liner because the bottoms stay hot longer than you think. Ask my poor fingertips.
Variations
If you want to add chocolate chips, chopped pecans, walnuts, or raisins, go right ahead. Chocolate chips turn them into “pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes,” which is a very effective sales pitch if you have picky eaters. I like pecans, especially when there’s a little chill in the air and the leaves have started collecting in the gutters again.
You can also swap the spice cake mix for yellow cake mix or chocolate cake mix. Yellow cake mix gives you a milder pumpkin muffin, while chocolate makes something more like a snack cake—surprisingly good, actually. Fresh cranberries can be too tart and too wet.
For mini muffins, use a lined mini muffin pan and bake them for about 8 to 10 minutes. They’re dangerous that way because you can eat four before realizing you’ve eaten four. Or six. Depends on the afternoon.
And if you want to turn these into cupcakes, add frosting after they’ve cooled. Cream cheese frosting is the obvious choice, cinnamon cream cheese frosting is even better, and chocolate frosting is for people who understand joy.
Storage & Reheating
Keep cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. If your kitchen is warm, or if you’re like me and tend to forget things on the counter until they become a science project, store them in the refrigerator instead. They’ll keep there for up to a week.
They’re perfectly fine cold, though I like to warm one in the microwave for maybe 10 or 15 seconds. Not too long, or the paper liner gets oddly steamy and the muffin turns a little rubbery.
For freezing, place the fully cooled muffins in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator for about 24 hours when you’re ready to eat them. I usually freeze a few in the back of the freezer, then rediscover them when I’m looking for Chicken broth. It’s like a tiny pumpkin surprise.
Final Notes
There is something very reassuring about a recipe that doesn’t ask much of you. Two ingredients. One bowl. A dozen muffins cooling on the counter while the house smells warm and spicy and, for a minute anyway, nobody needs anything.
Every fall, once the weather turns damp and the mornings get that grayish look, a can of pumpkin and a box of spice cake mix are all it takes. Sometimes these are breakfast. Sometimes they’re dessert. Sometimes a few get wrapped up for later, and sometimes the last one stays right where it is.
Not because it’s profound. Mostly because it’s easy—and because easy can be awfully nice.
2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree plain puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 box spice cake mix dry mix only; do not add the eggs, oil, or water listed on the box
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, or grease the pan well with nonstick spray or Butter if not using liners.
- Add the dry spice cake mix and the entire can of pumpkin puree to a large bowl, without adding eggs, oil, or water.
- Beat with an electric mixer just until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until no dry streaks of cake mix remain.
- Divide the thick batter among the muffin liners, filling each about three-quarters full, then gently smooth the tops with the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, starting to check at 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely or mostly completely before serving.