This two-minute gluten-free paleo pumpkin mug cake is a quick and delicious way to use up your leftover pumpkin puree!
Table of Contents
- A paleo and gluten-free pumpkin mug cake!
- Can you bake this in the oven or air-fryer?
- Can you make a nut-free mug cake?
- Can you make an egg-free or vegan mug cake?
- Other Ingredient Substitutions?
- Ingredients
- How to make a paleo pumpkin mug cake
- More paleo and gluten-free mug cake recipes
- Pumpkin Mug Cake (Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free) Recipe
A paleo and gluten-free pumpkin mug cake!
I love this dessert because it makes an amazing dairy-free treat with real food ingredients—you don’t use cake mix, refined sugar, or butter—and it comes out fluffy and packed with fall flavors! If you’re craving a fluffy and moist single serving of pumpkin cake, this delectable treat can be made in your microwave in less time than it takes to clean your dirty dishes! Plus, this recipe will use up the leftover canned pumpkin purée that you have in the fridge after making one of my other pumpkin recipes.
Can you bake this in the oven or air-fryer?
Yes—but the mug cake won’t rise as high and it will taste more egg-y. Plus, the beauty of this single-serve microwave pumpkin mug cake recipe is that you can cook it from start-to-finish in less than 5 minutes. If you’re gonna bake a single mug cake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, you might as well make a full batch of Pumpkin Muffins or Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and freeze the leftovers for future treat cravings.
Still, if you really must make this mug cake in the oven, pour the batter into an oven-safe 6-ounce ramekin and bake it in a 350°F oven or toaster oven for 18-20 minutes or a 325°F air fryer for 13-15 minutes. The tiny single serve cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Can you make a nut-free mug cake?
Yes! Although almond flour is my favorite base for this mug cake, it can be made to work with either sunflower seed flour or Otto’s cassava flour as a 1:1 replacement. Warning: the sunflower seed flour will react with baking soda and turn the mug cake green(!) so use a scant ½ teaspoon of baking powder in place of baking soda to keep the cake crumb color a light brown.
Can you make an egg-free or vegan mug cake?
Unfortunately, I tried making this recipe with a couple of different egg substitutes—Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer and a flax egg—and both produced a dense, gooey cake rather than a light and fluffy one. I really don’t think this recipe works well without an actual egg because it’s essential for the structure of the mug cake.
Other Ingredient Substitutions?
As I mentioned in my Matcha Mug Cake recipe, baking is a science that requires precise measurements, so if I haven’t specifically mentioned a potential substitution, it’s because I don’t know if it will work. If you make a substitution and find success, please share your results in the comments so others can benefit from your knowledge!
Ingredients
- Blanched super-fine almond flour
- Pumpkin pie spice blend: No pumpkin pie spice blend? You can use ground cinnamon with a smidge of ground nutmeg, ground ginger, or ground cloves.
- Baking soda
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Maple syrup: My preferred sweetener for this recipe is maple syrup but you can also use honey. You can probably use coconut sugar as well but you may need to add a little extra liquid of the right consistency. I haven’t tried a sugar-free keto sweetener in this recipe yet.
- Canned pumpkin puree: My favorite brand is Libby’s and you only need a tablespoon!
- Avocado oil or melted coconut oil
- Vanilla extract
- Egg: Unfortunately, you can’t leave out the egg because it is essential for the structure and spongey texture of the mug cake.
- Chocolate chips (optional): If you wish, you can add a sprinkle of chocolate chips into your batter before you zap it!
- Whipped coconut cream (optional): Feel free to dollop some whipped coconut cream, whipped cream, or ice cream on top!
How to make a paleo pumpkin mug cake
In a liquid measuring cup, add the almond flour, pumpkin spice blend, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until uniform.
Add the maple syrup, pumpkin puree, avocado oil, vanilla extract, and egg…
…and whisk the batter vigorously until smooth.
If you want the mug cake to look pretty, pour the batter into a microwave-safe mug (6- to 8-ounce size is optimal). However, you can totally microwave the cake in the glass liquid measuring cup if you want to cut down on dishes to wash.
Place the mug in the center of your microwave (it will rise more evenly in that spot), and cook on high power for 1-2 minutes.
A 900 watt microwave will cook the mug cake in 90 seconds. Adjust the cooking time depending on the strength of your microwave—decrease the time if you have a higher wattage microwave and increase it if you have a less powerful microwave.
The paleo pumpkin mug cake is finished cooking when it puffs up and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Your cake may rise up and collapse down, and that’s okay!
Let the cake cool for a few minutes and top with whipped coconut cream and a dusting of extra pumpkin spice blend, if desired.
Gobble it up!
More paleo and gluten-free mug cake recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Pumpkin Mug Cake (Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons finely ground almond flour
- ¾ teaspoon pumpkin spice blend
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1½ tablespoons maple syrup or 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon canned pumpkin purée
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or melted coconut oil, ghee
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon whipped coconut cream optional
Instructions
- In a liquid measuring cup, add the almond flour, pumpkin spice blend, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until uniform.
- Add the maple syrup, pumpkin puree, avocado oil, vanilla extract, and egg and whisk the batter vigorously until smooth.
- If you want the mug cake to look pretty, pour the batter into a microwave-safe mug (6- to 8-ounce size is optimal). However, you can totally microwave the cake in the glass liquid measuring cup if you want to cut down on dishes to wash.
- Place the mug in the center of your microwave (it will rise more evenly in that spot), and cook on high power for 1-2 minutes.A 900 watt microwave will cook the mug cake in 90 seconds. Adjust the cooking time depending on the strength of your microwave—decrease the time if you have a higher wattage microwave and increase it if you have a less powerful microwave.
- The paleo pumpkin mug cake is finished cooking when it puffs up and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Your cake may rise up and collapse down, and that’s okay!
- Let the cake cool for a few minutes and top with whipped coconut cream and a dusting of extra pumpkin spice blend, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Substituted almond flour with 1 TB tapioca, 2 TB brown rice and worked great! Easy delicious pumpkin muffin!
Totally promising to try this because it looks so easy.. but any chance you can share where you got that adorable black cup from? I want my cake to look just like your when I dive in!
It’s from Heath Ceramics!
Michelle, I have tried a number of other pumpkin mug cakes…this ones wins the prize. It is a really nice size, and delicious. I added a few pecans and put a little coconut whip on top…so good! Thank you.
Soooo very good! Made these with my four and six year old children and they LOVED them! It was a quick and fun way to spend a few minutes and they absolutely loved how quickly they “baked” in the microwave. I felt great serving them because I knew they were a healthier alternative. Thanks so much!! 🙂
Finally tried and deelish! Super easy, 90 seconds and there it is. Thanks, Michelle!
Has anyone asked where you purchased the mugs in your photos?
They’re from Heath Ceramics.
Applesauce does not work for an egg substitute. The entire cake is very gummy and did not cook.
Cooked for 3 minutes and not even close to being a cake consistency
What can you substitute for the honey or maple syrup to make it keto?
I used Lakanto Maple Syrup to keep it keto. I don’t like overly sweet and 1 tablespoon of it was almost too much for me. Take a little taste before you put the egg in to see if you need to go to the full amount of maple that the original recipe requires. Recipe is amazing!
My husband made this for me yesterday with chocolate chips and tonight I will make 4 more batches for everyone. Delish. Thanks 😍
Top eggy and not a strong pumpkin flavor
Did you bake it in the oven? It will definitely be eggier if you don’t microwave it.