Easy Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (With Streusel Topping!) [+VIDEO]

Pumpkin season is upon us my friends, and I’m actually not too mad about it. The weather has been amazing these past few weeks- not too hot and not too cold. Plus I’m loving all of the seasonal findings in the grocery stores these days.

*Cues the pumpkin puree* There are so many things to do with pumpkin puree, but if there’s one thing you’ve GOT to do, you have GOT to make these Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins!

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I love this Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin recipe because the ingredients aren’t terribly out of the ordinary. Most of the items that you see below are ones that you likely already have in your kitchen, with the exception of maybe two or three. In total, you just need 9 ingredients!

• All- Purpose Flour
• Organic Brown Sugar
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix
• Pumpkin Puree
• Vegan Butter
• Unsweetened Almond Milk (can also sub with another plant milk of choice)
• Plain Vegan Cream Cheese 
• Vanilla Extract

How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Making these Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins can be broken up into three simple steps. First, you’ll start by making the batter for the muffins. In a large bowl combine all of your dry ingredients- the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice mix. Whisk everything together to combine.

Now that your dry ingredients have been mixed, add in your wet ingredients- the pumpkin puree, melted vegan butter and unsweetened almond milk (can also sub for another plant milk if needed). Use a whisk to combine all of these items together until you’ve got a batter that’s mostly smooth. Set aside.

The second component of this Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins recipe is the cream cheese filling (my favorite part!). To make the filling simply mix together the plain vegan cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla extract. This can easily be done with a spoon.

As a note, all vegan cream cheese is not created equal! For this recipe, I used Kite Hill. It bakes just like traditional cream cheese and results in the perfect consistency and finished product.

In my experimenting, I also tried Violife. While I love Violife cheese, the cream cheese didn’t come out well for me. It was a runny mess! So if at all possible, try and stick with Kite Hill for the best results.

This is not to say that other brands will not work, but I’ve only tried these two. After my success with Kite Hill, I didn’t feel the need to try any others. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right?!

Once you’ve mixed the three components for the vegan cream cheese filling, set it aside and prepare to make the final component for the Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins: the crumb topping.

To make the crumb topping for these Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, you’ll just need a few ingredients that you’ve already used to make the muffin batter- flour, vegan butter, pumpkin pie spice mix and brown sugar.

It’s worth mentioning that your vegan butter shouldn’t be rock hard, but shouldn’t be too soft and mushy either. As long as you’re able to press your finger into the butter without much effort, it should be fine. In this case, you’d rather have the butter be too hard than too soft.

There are two different ways you can make the crumb topping: either in a high-speed blender/food processor or by fork. Either way is pretty easy.

If you want to use a high-speed blender or food processor, simply add all of the ingredients to the container and pulse until crumbly. Note that you may also need to use a spoon to scrape down the sides occasionally.

If you would rather use a fork, combine all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, then add in your vegan butter that has been cut into pats (aka 1 tablespoon pieces). To work in the vegan butter, use the back of a fork to repeatedly press it into the dry ingredients. Do this until it results in a crumbly mixture.

Now that all three of your components for the Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins have been made, grab your muffin pan and line it with baking cups. Disperse the muffin batter evenly amongst each cup in the pan (about 1/4 cup each), then follow up with about 1 tablespoon of the vegan cream cheese filling over top.

Lastly, add a generous amount of crumb topping to each. It may feel excessive, but it’s supposed to. The muffins will bake up and spread. You want to make sure there’s enough of this crumby goodness to go around so be generous!

Once the crumb topping has been added, pop those babies in your preheated oven for about 24 minutes. Once they’re done allow them to cool for about 10-15 minutes, then enjoy!

What’s the Best Vegan Cream Cheese to Use?

While testing this Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins recipe I only tried two brands: Violife and Kite Hill. Of the two, Kite Hill performed the best. This is not to say that another brand would not work, but if you’ve got the option go ahead and pick up a container of Kite Hill. It’s a sure thing!

I know you’ll love these Easy Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins! They’re easy to make, require just nine ingredients and they’re the perfect fall treat that you’ll want to enjoy all year-round! Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Other Muffin Recipes You’ll Enjoy:

• Easy Vegan Apple Cinnamon Muffins
• Easy Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
• Vegan Whole Wheat Strawberry Muffins
• Vegan Streusel Blueberry Muffins

Other Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love!

• Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
• Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Pancakes
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
• Easy Vegan Pumpkin Banana Bread
• Easy Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

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