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These sourdough pumpkin muffins are filled with fall flavors, like cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, and feature a crumb topping and an optional sweet cinnamon glaze, which takes them to the next level.
Sourdough discard pumpkin crumb muffins are soft, moist, and packed with warm spices. The sourdough discard adds a subtle tang and keeps the crumb tender, while the buttery cinnamon crumb topping gives a bakery-style crunch. Drizzle them with the optional cinnamon glaze for an extra sweet touch that pairs perfectly with the crumb topping and pumpkin flavor.
For a similar flavor profile, try this sourdough discard pumpkin bread with streusel topping and glaze!
They’re perfect for using up extra discard during pumpkin season — and thanks to the high-heat start (just like these sourdough pumpkin chocolate chip muffins), you’ll get tall, beautiful muffin tops every time.
For more fall sourdough recipes, try my Sourdough Pumpkin Scones, Sourdough Pumpkin Bread, Sourdough Pumpkin Roll, Sourdough Apple Dumplings, and Sourdough Apple Muffins.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy: These sourdough pumpkin muffins are easy to make with simple pantry ingredients.
- Quick: You can whip up a batch of these pumpkin sourdough muffins in just under an hour!
- Uses Up Discard: This easy recipe uses up a half cup of sourdough discard, so it’s great way to use it up extra sourdough starter. For more delicious ways to use up sourdough starter, try my Easy Sourdough Granola, and Sourdough Discard Crackers.
To learn how to make your own sourdough starter, check out my easy instructions for homemade sourdough starter.
Ingredients
Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Sourdough Starter Discard: You can also use active starter if you prefer, but you’ll want to still add the baking powder and baking soda.
- Pumpkin Puree: You can use homemade pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) or store-bought.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Use homemade pumpkin pie spice or store-bought.
- Cinnamon: If you want an even stronger spice profile, you can add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice without affecting the texture.
- Brown Sugar: In addition to the light brown sugar, there is also white sugar in the crumb topping and powdered sugar in the optional glaze.
- Milk: Make sure to use room temperature milk for best results.
How to Make Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins
Here are the step-by-step instructions for making these easy sourdough pumpkin muffins.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and lightly grease the top of the pan around each cup to prevent the muffin tops from sticking.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice (Photo 1).
Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk sourdough discard, oil, both sugars, pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, and vanilla until smooth (Photo 2).
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (Photo 3) and fold gently until just combined (Photo 4). Do not overmix.
Step 5: For the crumb topping, stir together flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and mix until large crumbs form (Photo 5).
Step 6: Fill muffin cups almost to the top (Photo 6). Sprinkle generously with crumb topping, gently pressing it into the batter (Photo 7).
Step 7: Let the filled muffin pan rest at room temperature for 10–15 minutes for a better rise.
Step 8: Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F without opening the door. Continue baking for 10–14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or registers 200–205°F internally (Photo 8).
Step 9: Cool in the pan for 5–10 minutes (Photo 9) before transferring to a wire rack (Photo 10).
Step 10: If using the glaze, whisk powdered sugar, cinnamon, and milk until smooth (Photo 11). Drizzle over cooled muffins (Photo 12). The glaze is optional but adds a lovely sweetness and texture contrast with the crumb topping and pumpkin flavor.
How to Store
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Store for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before serving.
How to Freeze
Freeze fully cooled sourdough pumpkin muffins (without glaze) for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and add glaze just before serving.
Tips
- Use unfed sourdough discard at 100% hydration, which means it’s made from equal parts flour and water by weight. This is the starter you would normally discard before feeding, and it may have been stored in the refrigerator. Sourdough discard that is a few days old will give a slightly tangier flavor, while fresher discard will be milder.
- Make sure the sourdough discard, eggs, and milk are at room temperature before mixing the batter. Cold ingredients can cause the batter to mix unevenly and may lead to denser muffins.
- Filling the muffin cups nearly to the top gives you a tall bakery-style muffin. Resting the filled muffin tin for 10–15 minutes before baking lets the flour hydrate and helps the muffins rise higher in the oven.
- The high-heat start at 425°F for the first 5 minutes gives the batter an initial burst of oven spring, creating tall muffin tops. After the temperature drops to 350°F, the muffins bake evenly without drying out.
- If you want smaller muffins, divide the batter into 15 liners using two muffin pans. These will bake a little faster, so check a few minutes early to avoid over-baking.
- Even when using liners, it’s a good idea to lightly grease the top of the muffin pan. Because these muffins rise high and the crumb topping spreads slightly, the edges can bake over and stick to the pan. A quick swipe of butter or nonstick spray makes it much easier to remove them cleanly.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, they’ll still be moist and flavorful without it, but the topping adds texture and a little extra sweetness.
Replace it with the same amount of flour (60 g) and milk (60 ml), but note you’ll lose the tangy flavor the discard adds.
Yes, fill mini muffin tins almost to the top and bake at 350°F for 10–13 minutes (no high-heat start needed).
You can replace up to half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. The texture will be slightly denser, and the flavor will be heartier.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
- Blueberry Sourdough Butter Swim Biscuits
- Overnight Sourdough Biscuits
- Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Scones
- Sourdough Cranberry Orange Scones
- Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you so much!
Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
Muffin batter
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, (219 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, (6 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, (4 g)
- 1 teaspoon salt, (6 g)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, (5 g)
- 1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, (5 g)
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard, (120 g) 100% hydration (1:1 ratio flour to water), room temperature
- 1/2 cup avocado oil, (120 g), or another neutral oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, (100 g)
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, (100 g)
- 1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree, (300 g) (not pie filling)
- 2 large eggs, (about 100 g without shell), room temperature
- 1/4 cup milk, (60 g), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, (5 g)
Crumb topping
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (94 g)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar, (67 g)
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, (67 g)
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, (2 g)
- Pinch of salt, (about 1 g)
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, (85 g)
Cinnamon Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar, (120 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, (2 g)
- 4-6 teaspoons milk, (20–30 g), plus more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and lightly grease the top of the pan around each cup to prevent the muffin tops from sticking.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- In a large bowl, whisk sourdough discard, oil, both sugars, pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
- For the crumb topping, stir together flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and mix until large crumbs form.
- Fill muffin cups almost to the top. Sprinkle generously with crumb topping, gently pressing it into the batter.
- Let the filled muffin pan rest at room temperature for 10–15 minutes for a better rise.
- Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F without opening the door. Continue baking for 10–14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or registers 200–205°F internally.
- Cool in the pan for 5–10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- If using the glaze, whisk powdered sugar, cinnamon, and milk until smooth. Drizzle over cooled muffins. The glaze is optional but adds a lovely sweetness and texture contrast with the crumb topping and pumpkin flavor.
Notes
- Use unfed sourdough discard at 100% hydration, which means it’s made from equal parts flour and water by weight. This is the starter you would normally discard before feeding, and it may have been stored in the refrigerator. Sourdough discard that is a few days old will give a slightly tangier flavor, while fresher discard will be milder.
- Make sure the sourdough discard, eggs, and milk are at room temperature before mixing the batter. Cold ingredients can cause the batter to mix unevenly and may lead to denser muffins.
- Filling the muffin cups nearly to the top gives you a tall bakery-style muffin. Resting the filled muffin tin for 10–15 minutes before baking lets the flour hydrate and helps the muffins rise higher in the oven.
- The high-heat start at 425°F for the first 5 minutes gives the batter an initial burst of oven spring, creating tall muffin tops. After the temperature drops to 350°F, the muffins bake evenly without drying out.
- Always use pure pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling so you can control the sweetness and spice levels.
- If you want smaller muffins, divide the batter into 15 liners using two muffin pans. These will bake a little faster, so check a few minutes early to avoid overbaking.
- If you want an even stronger spice profile, you can add an extra ½ teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice without affecting the texture.
- Even when using liners, it’s a good idea to lightly grease the top of the muffin pan. Because these muffins rise high and the crumb topping spreads slightly, the edges can bake over and stick to the pan. A quick swipe of butter or nonstick spray makes it much easier to remove them cleanly.
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Store for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before serving.
- Freezer: Freeze (without glaze) for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and add glaze just before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These delicious sourdough pumpkin muffins are so perfect for fall!
Amazing flavor. My family loves these muffins.
Thank you so much for the positive review, Diana! Your kind words made my day!