These easy pumpkin cupcakes and made with a box cake mix for the base and then topped with a spiced cream cheese frosting. Every bite is full of flavors that are perfect for Fall. You're going to love every last bite of these sweet treats.
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Get ready to savor the perfect blend of flavors and textures with these pumpkin spice cupcakes. Picture a moist and fluffy cupcake base teaming up with tangy sweet frosting, delivering pure indulgence.
Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes will remind you of my Leftover Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins, but with a charming seasonal twist. Brace yourself because you'll want to enjoy these all season long.
These pumpkin cupcakes are all about that incredible flavor, thanks to the magic of pureed pumpkin and aromatic spices like cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
For more of our favorite pumpkin cream cheese recipes be sure to try our Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake and No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake.
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💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- They're easy. Making these easy pumpkin cupcakes with cake mix helps to give a wonderful flavor and texture with very little work, and that's just one more reason to love this simple recipe.
- Basic ingredients. We will need a handful of different ingredients to make this recipe, but they're all very simple and easy to find. Some (if not most) may already be in your home. They're almost as easy to make as our Dinosaur Cupcakes!
- It's like pumpkin pie as a cupcake. If pumpkin pie were to be turned into a cupcake, I imagine it'd taste a lot like these- but with frosting. While the cupcakes taste great without the frosting, it's the tangy spiced topping that really helps to set them apart.
🛒 Ingredients
Yellow cake mix- A box of cake mix will be the base of this recipe. You only need the dry mix, do not prepare the batter. (We use boxed cake mix in a lot of recipes, including our Cake Mix Carrot Muffins and Easy Peanut Butter Cookies.
Pumpkin puree- This will give us great flavor and nice color, as well as moisture.
Spiced cream cheese frosting- We're going to make our own frosting using cream cheese, butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
Pumpkin pie spice: Mix 5 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ginger, and ¼ teaspoon cloves or allspice. Use as directed and store extra for up to 3 months.
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Use store-brand cake mix: Generic cake mixes are often much cheaper and bake up just as well as name brands.
Buy pumpkin in season: Stock up on canned pumpkin in the fall when prices are lowest and freeze extras for later baking.
Skip extra add-ins: Cake mix and pumpkin alone make moist cupcakes, so you can save money by skipping mix-ins like chocolate chips or nuts.
🥄 Instructions for Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
Step 2: In a mixing bowl, combine all of the pumpkin cupcake ingredients until well blended.
Step 3: Fill each muffin cup with batter until it's about ⅔rds of the way full.
Step 4: Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
Step 5: Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6: Once all of the cupcakes have cooled, you can prepare the frosting.
Step 7: Make the frosting by blending together the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Step 8: Slowly add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth.
Step 9: Frost the cupcakes and enjoy.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Use the right pumpkin. Make sure you're using plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling already has sugar and spices added, which can throw off the texture and flavor.
- Play with the sugar. Granulated sugar works great, but brown sugar adds a richer, deeper flavor. Dark brown sugar will give the strongest molasses notes, so use whatever fits your taste.
❄️ Storage, Freezing & Make Ahead
Storage: Unfrosted easy pumpkin cupcakes can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container. Cream cheese frosted cupcakes should be refrigerated for 3 to 5 days.
Freezing: Freeze cupcakes frosted or unfrosted for up to 3 months. Freeze solid first, then store in an airtight container. For best texture, freeze unfrosted and frost after thawing.
Make Ahead: Bake 1 to 2 days ahead. Store unfrosted at room temperature or frosted in the fridge. For longer storage, freeze and frost after thawing.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
Have leftover pumpkin purée? Try one of these cozy, tasty treats that are perfect for using up every bit of that delicious pumpkin.
- Sourdough Pumpkin RollRecipe $3.78 / Serving $0.38
- Pumpkin Banana BreadRecipe $3.69 / Serving $0.37
- No Bake Pumpkin CheesecakeRecipe $5.52 / Serving $0.46
- Pumpkin Hand PiesRecipe $4.19 / Serving $0.52
❓ Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes FAQs
If you overmix the cupcake batter, you will overwork the gluten in the flour (cake mix), and that will cause your cupcakes to turn out dense and rubbery in texture. Only mix until just combined.
Yes, these are the same things. Canned pumpkin is canned pumpkin puree. The only exception is canned pumpkin pie filling which is (as the name states) canned pumpkin pie filling. It usually consists of more than just pumpkin, which is why it's important not to accidentally use that instead.
Canned pumpkin puree is what we use in all sorts of baked goods and recipes icluding Pumpkin Banana Bread, Edible No Cook Pumpkin Playdough, and Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies. Pumpkin pie filling is pretty much only good for making, well, pumpkin pies.
You should only allow your cupcakes to rest in the muffin pan for a few minutes (up to 5 minutes) before removing the cupcakes. Only wait until you can safely remove them without hurting yourself or the cupcakes. Leaving them in too long will continue to cook them and cause the bottoms to overcook or become dry.
🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel FrostingRecipe $10.68 / Serving $0.45
- Nacho CupcakesRecipe $5.01 / Serving $0.21
- Single Layer Yellow Cake With Chocolate FrostingRecipe $3.75 / Serving $0.47
- Cake Mix Coffee CakeRecipe $3.46 / Serving $0.22
🐝 If you tried these Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cupcakes
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix - ($1.00)
- 4 large eggs - ($0.60)
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree - ($1.47)
- ½ cup vegetable oil - ($0.35)
- ¼ cup milk - ($0.05)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar - ($0.09)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice - ($0.08)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon - ($0.04)
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature - ($0.99)
- 1 brick (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened - ($1.86)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - ($0.03)
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice - ($0.04)
- 3 cups powdered sugar - ($1.08)
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Mix the batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, pumpkin puree, oil, milk, granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Mix until smooth and well blended.
- Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups, filling each about ⅔ full. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing until smooth and spreadable.
- Frost and serve. Frost the cooled cupcakes and serve.
Notes
- Pumpkin choice. Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, for the best texture.
- Flavor boost. Granulated sugar keeps the crumb light, but brown sugar can be substituted for a deeper flavor.
- Storage. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored tightly covered at room temperature. Frosted cupcakes should be refrigerated. Both keep well for 3-5 days.
- Freezing. Freeze cupcakes frosted or unfrosted by flash-freezing first, then storing in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw before serving; frost after thawing for best results.
Nutritional Information
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PATTI says
I'm going to try this.