Butternut Squash and Walnut Muffins
These Butternut Squash and Walnut Muffins are the perfect autumn treat—moist, lightly spiced, and packed with crunchy walnuts and pumpkin seeds. They’re a feel-good snack that’s easy to whip up and even better when served warm with salted butter and a spoonful of jam. Ideal for a quick, nutritious breakfast, tea time, or whenever you need a comforting bite.
You can swap the butternut squash for any firm squash or pumpkin, but avoid spaghetti squash as it has too much moisture. You can even use your Hallowe’en Jack O’Lantern pumpkin here.
Makes – 20 muffins
Prep Time – 10 minutes
Cook Time – 30 minutes
Storage Time – Tight container, 2 days max. You can freeze them
Ingredients
400g butternut squash, skin off, deseeded, and roughly chopped
300g soft brown sugar
300g plain flour
Pinch of flaky sea salt (about 2g)
2 heaped tsp baking powder
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
100g walnuts, roughly chopped
50g pumpkin seeds
50g oatmeal (porridge oats)
4 large free-range eggs
175ml sunflower oil
Topping: 20g pumpkin seeds or 20g oatmeal
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C / Fan 160°C / Gas 4. Line your muffin tins with paper cases.
In a food processor, whiz the butternut squash until finely chopped.
Transfer the finely chopped butternut squash to a large bowl. Use a plastic spatula to remove all the squash.
Add the sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, ground cinnamon, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, oatmeal, eggs, and sunflower oil. Mix well with a spatula, but don’t overmix—you want to combine everything without overworking the mixture, which can make the muffins tough.
Scoop the muffin mixture into the paper cases using an ice cream scoop. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and oatmeal over the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. To check if they are done, insert a wooden skewer into the centre of a muffin; if it comes out clean, they’re ready.
Remove the muffins from the oven and leave them to cool on a wire rack.
It’s delicious served warm. You can cut it in half and enjoy it with a bit of salted butter and your favourite jam. We love pairing it with Damson Apple Gin Jam.