Looking for an EASY and crowd-pleasing gluten-free thanksgiving dessert? These gluten-free crustless pumpkin pie cupcakes are it!
With dozens of 5-star reviews, this recipe continues to be a treasured reader and family-favorite. It’s my #1 thanksgiving recipe!
This recipe was originally published in 2015. It was updated with new photos and step-by-step instructions in 2022. I hope you enjoy the crustless pumpkin pie as much as we do!
If you’re yet to master the art of gluten-free pie crust making, these pumpkin pie cupcakes are for you! Even if you have mastered the art of gluten-free pie crust making (tell me your secrets…) these cupcakes are amazingly delicious.
They are a cross between pumpkin pie and a cupcake. Skeptical? You’ll have to taste to believe it!
VIDEO: See how to make it!
(Original photo from 2015!)
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
These gluten-free pumpkin pie cupcakes are perfect for gluten/dairy-free guests at Thanksgiving.
Coconut milk replaces regular milk, but nobody will notice or taste the coconut. All they’ll taste is creamy, custardy, spiced pumpkin deliciousness.
These are so easy to make and can be made a day in advance, which is always a lifesaver at holiday gatherings.
I didn’t think anything could ever compare to traditional pumpkin pie, but these cupcakes are right up there with the best pumpkin desserts I’ve ever tasted!
For more gluten-free thanksgiving dinner recipes, check out this gluten-free gravy, gluten-free stuffing, gluten-free rolls and gluten-free cornbread stuffing.
Feel like making crust? Check out this Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie! You also might like these collections of gluten-free thanksgiving recipes or gluten-free thanksgiving desserts.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on the key ingredients to make this crustless pumpkin pie recipe:
- Canned pumpkin: I like to use canned Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin. Any can of pumpkin will work. Just do NOT use pumpkin pie filling!
- Coconut milk: Coconut milk makes a delicious pumpkin pie custard! I also love using coconut milk to keep these gluten and dairy-free! You could also use evaporated milk if you prefer.
- Sugar + brown sugar: Brown sugar adds sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor — the perfect compliment to the pumpkin spices. I don’t find these to be overly sweet but if you’d like to reduce the sugar I suggest reducing the white sugar to 1/4 cup. Check the comments for information about sugar substitutes!
- Gluten-Free flour: A little gluten-free flour gives these crustless pumpkin pie cupcakes some structure. Any brand you have on hand will work!
How to Make Gluten-Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners (or silicone muffin liners).Generously spray the bottoms and sides of the liners with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and egg yolk, vanilla, and coconut milk until smooth.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour blend, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to fully combine.
- Scoop the pumpkin filling into the prepared muffin pan. The cups will be fairly full. Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Nothing better than creamy pumpkin pie! Top with coconut milk or use heavy cream to make homemade whipped cream and a dusting of ground cinnamon. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
SILICONE MUFFIN PAN: Lately I have been loving baking these in a silicone muffin pan. They bake up perfectly and are so easy to pop out of the pan!
MUFFIN LINERS: The kind of cupcake liners you use for this recipe matters. I like using a higher quality liner (this kind) because nothing sticks to them! You can also spray the liners lightly with nonstick cooking spray for extra guarantee they won’t stick.
THEY WILL SINK – THAT’S NORMAL: These are not a true cupcake or a true pumpkin pie. They’re a wonderfully delicious cross between the two, so set your expectations right. They will sink slightly in the middle as they cool and that’s totally normal. Fill that hole up with whipped cream and nobody will complain!
Make-Ahead/Storage
MAKE-AHEAD: For best results, recommend making these in advance! They are best when they’ve chilled overnight.
STORAGE: Cover any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or on a plate tightly covered with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
MORE GLUTEN-FREE THANKSGIVING DESSERTS
I hope you enjoy these gluten-free crustless pumpkin pie cupcakes as much as we do! If you try this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. Have a happy holiday season!
Gluten-Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes (Dairy-Free)
Video
Ingredients
- 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
For Topping:
- Coconut milk whipped cream I use So Delicious CocoWhip
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners (or silicone muffin liners).Generously spray the bottoms and sides of the liners with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and egg yolk, vanilla, and coconut milk until smooth.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour blend, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to fully combine.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan. The cups will be fairly full. Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Top with coconut milk or regular whipped cream. Enjoy!
Notes
- COCONUT MILK: For best results, use full-fat canned coconut milk in this recipe. Do not use boxed or refrigerated coconut milk in place of the canned coconut milk.
- MUFFIN LINERS: Lately I have been loving baking these in a silicone muffin pan. If you use muffin liners, the kind of cupcake liners you use for this recipe matters. I like using a higher quality liner (this kind) because nothing sticks to them! You can also spray the liners lightly with nonstick cooking spray for extra guarantee they won’t stick.
- THEY WILL SINK – THAT’S NORMAL: These are not a true cupcake or a true pumpkin pie. They’re a wonderfully delicious cross between the two, so set your expectations right. They will sink slightly in the middle as they cool and that’s totally normal. Fill that hole up with whipped cream and nobody will complain!
Make-Ahead/Storage
- MAKE-AHEAD: For best results, recommend making these in advance! They are best when they’ve chilled overnight.
- STORAGE: Cover any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or on a plate tightly covered with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Hi Erin,
These look wonderful. Can I use your gf flour blend in place of flour in regular recipes too?? And I’d so, are the measurements the same? Thanks, Kim
Hi Kim! It really depends on the recipe. If you have something specific in mind that you’re wondering about you can email me and I can tell you how I would adapt it! Regular recipes can’t always be adapted swapping in a gluten-free flour blend because gluten-free flours don’t absorb as much fat and just behave differently sometimes. Wish it was as simple as that though!
Made these delicious treats for 3 separate thanksgivings (friendsgivings) They are totally delicious!!
That is so great! I’m glad you like them!
If I don’t care about it being gluten free can I use regular flour with the same measurements?
Yes I think that should work!
When your recipe asks for coconut milk in the can, are you talking about the full fat coconut milk? If so, I presume stir before measuring!? Thanks for your help!
Hi Debbie! Yes as I’m sure you know canned coconut milk gets separated – especially this time of year when it’s cold. I like to put the can in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes and shake to get everything mixed evenly. You could also empty it all out into a bowl and microwave for a few seconds then stir. You just want it all to be liquid and even when you measure. I hope this helps! 🙂
Hi!
I was wondering if I could make this in Bundt pan? Would the cake consistency work spread out over such a large area? And do you know the baking times? Thanks!!
I don’t think it would work that way! Sorry about that.
Hi Erin-
Do you think using a 2% lactose free milk would work? If so, would it taste as good? Thank you so much
Hi Merry! I think it might be better to use something like 1/2 and 1/2 or cream in place of the coconut milk. Coconut milk is pretty creamy and I’m not sure 2% would work the same. I haven’t tried to so I can’t say for sure!
Hi there. These sound great. Do you think regular milk would work?
How many mini muffins does this make?
Could I use all the sugars as coconut palm sugar? Low glycemic for those of us who have to watch our blood sugar & carbs.
if by chance I don’t have all purpose gluten free flour is there another gluten free flour I can use? (coconut, tapioca, or arrowroot or almond)
Thank you
Nicole
Hi Nicole! I haven’t tried this so I can’t say for sure. If you have the ingredients for it you could mix up my blend. It works great in this!
I am dairy-free and soy-free at the moment, due to nursing my little one with MSPI (milk-soy protein intolerance). Thankfully, gluten doesn’t seem to be bothersome. Any idea if vanilla almond milk could be substituted for the coconut milk? And I’d probably just use regular flour since I can…
I don’t think vanilla almond milk would work here! Canned coconut milk works best because it doesn’t have additives that create a gummy texture like boxed milks. However, regular flour should work great! Good luck!
We can’t have coconut either due to an allergy. For sweet baked items I have found a that adding some protein powder to the almond milk works great when substituting for coconut milk, just base the flavor of protein powder on the item being made. For this recipe, I added 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (you can use a non-dairy derived protein). Then I remembered I had some salted caramel protein powder and decided more protein would not hurt, so I added a scoop of it as well. I made these for my son’t school lunch treat and used monkfruit instead of the granulated sugar (I still used the regular brown sugar). For the flour I used Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free flour blend. They came out great. These were so good I am going to try another batch with all monkfruit to get the sugar count down lower.
What is sprinkled on top of the whipped cream in the photo? Is that just pumpkin spice?
Yes it is just a little cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice!
These look amazing!! So excited to just be finding your blog! Your cupcakes look so moist and delicious. Love how you used cocowhip for your “frosting”. Yum. Can’t wait to see more of your work.
Thank you!!
These look amazing. And so perfect for fall too – i just love gluten free goods at the moment & think these would be ideal for me to make.
Thank you Thalia! Your blog is beautiful!
Good Morning Erin,
My struggle is more with sugar and carbs than gluten – although I believe gluten-free is a much healthier way to eat so I attempt in incorporate more of these into our diets. But, I was wondering if the sugars in this recipe could be substituted with Stevia?
Blessings,
Jean
Hi Jean! I haven’t experimented with baking with Stevia. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
I made these with coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar and I used a stevia/sugar mix that I found at Ingles in place of the white sugar. I also sprinkled coconut sugar and cinnamon on top before baking – they were yummy!