Looking for healthier low carb desserts that don’t compromise on taste, texture, or visual appeal? You’ve come to the right place. This easy Keto Protein Mug Cake is proof positive that you can enjoy sweets and good nutrition at the same time. It’s packed full of healthy ingredients, but you wouldn’t know it unless I told you.
Oops, I guess the cat is out of the bag! Well, add this one to your list of low carb high protein recipes. You won’t regret it.
What readers are saying…
“Carolyn, Thank you for the delicious mug cake recipe! I am making for my dear husband and myself this morning for breakfast. I make at least one of your meal recipes every day, they are so very family oriented and have made my meal preps so much easier over the years. Thank you so much for your daily posts, they never fail to provide inspiration for weekly meal planning.” — Carina
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Updated recipe! Some readers had trouble with the cakes over-cooking and being dry. So I experimented a little more and now they are better than ever!
- Quick and easy: Nothing beats a mug cake for ease of preparation. This recipe is ready in less than 5 minutes.
- Rich chocolate flavor: I modeled this mug cake after my popular Chocolate Protein Muffins, so it has the same rich chocolate flavor.
- Customizable: Serve it with a little whipped cream, or a drizzle of melted peanut butter. Or try it with some of sugar free chocolate syrup.
- High protein and low carb: This easy dessert has 16 grams of protein and only 3.3 grams net carbs per serving.
Ingredient Notes
- Nut butter: Almost any nut butter will work for this recipe. I like pecan butter because it’s lower in carbs than almond or peanut butter. You can also use my Sugar-Free Nutella for about the same amount of carbs. See the Tips for Success for more ideas.
- Sweetener: Protein mug cake does not rely on the sweetener for consistency so you can use whatever you like best. I use brown sugar replacement for more depth of flavor.
- Egg white: You can use a fresh large egg white or 3 tablespoons of cartoned egg whites.
- Protein powder: I like chocolate whey protein powder for this, because it adds more chocolate flavor. See the Tips for Success for more protein options.
- Cocoa powder: Dutch process cocoa mixes in better with other ingredients and has a richer chocolate flavor.
- Liquid: You will need a little a little liquid to thin out the batter. Water or cold coffee work well.
- Chocolate chips: This ingredient is optional. You can also use chopped nuts.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract, baking powder, salt.
How To Make Keto Protein Mug Cake
- Combine the ingredients: Whisk together the nut butter, sweetener, and vanilla extract, then whisk in the egg white, protein powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Add a little liquid: Add the water or coffee a little at a time until the mixture is like a thick cake batter.
- Add to mugs: Divide the batter between two mugs and sprinkle with chocolate chips, if using.
- Cook: Cook each mug cake on 50% power for 1 minute. Check the cake and cook another 30 seconds, if necessary.
Tips for Success
For a truly gooey, delicious protein mug cake, take care not to overcook it. When I created my Keto Pancake in a Mug, I found that 50% power works well to cook them through without drying them out. The center should still look a little wet when you take it out.
How much water you will need depends on your other ingredients. Different nut butters, protein powders, and brands of cocoa can change the consistency. Add just enough liquid to the batter so that it’s thick but still pourable.
If you choose to use a thick nut butter without a lot of oil, you may want to add a half tablespoon of oil in the first step.
You can also use homemade nut butter of any variety for this protein mug cake.
Protein Options
You can use any protein powder, such as whey, egg white, or pea protein, in this recipe. Collagen protein cooks a bit differently so the cakes may end up a bit more wet and take longer to cook through.
I like using chocolate protein powder because it adds more flavor and a bit of sweetness. You can also use vanilla and leave out the vanilla extract. If you only have unflavored, you can increase the cocoa powder to 1 tablespoon. You may also want a little more sweetener.
Whatever protein powder you choose, please make sure to look at the nutritional label and make sure it doesn’t have a lot of carbs. A few of them have added sugars and fillers you simply don’t need!
More High Protein Treats
Protein Mug Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (62.5 g) pecan butter, or other nut butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp (1.52 tbsp) Swerve Brown, or other granular sweetener
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 large egg white
- 1/4 cup (27 g) chocolate whey protein powder
- 1/2 tbsp (0.51 tbsp) cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 1 to 2 tbsp (1.01 tbsp) water or cold coffee
- 2 tsp dark chocolate chips, sugar-free, (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the nut butter, sweetener, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the egg white, then whisk in the protein powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the water or coffee a little at a time until the mixture is like a thick cake batter.
- Divide between two mugs (at least 3/4 cup capacity) and top with chocolate chips, if using.
- Cook each mug cake on 50% power for 1 minute, watching carefully so that it doesn't overflow. Check the cake and cook another 30 seconds, if necessary. It should be set on the sides but still a little wet-looking in the middle. Do not overcook.
- Remove and let cool a few minutes before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Many protein mug cake recipes suffer from dryness because they don’t contain enough fat. They use wheat or oat flour, protein powder, and no eggs or oils. Naturally, it’s going to be very dry with these ingredients. However this keto chocolate mug cake derives moisture from the nut butter. As long as you don’t overcook it, it’s deliciously moist and gooey.
This protein-packed keto mug cake has 7.4g of carbs and 4.1g of fiber. That means each cake has only 3.3g net carbs.
If you have a cake leftover, simply cover it and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can eat it at room temperature or re-warm in very gently in the microwave.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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can this be done in airfryer?
Sounds like you need to experiment.
Scrumptious! We loved this mug cake.
I made this night before last. I had had to get cho. protein powder and peanut butter powder. I added more brown sugar. Oh now, this is a real winner and quick and easy to fix
I wonder why this recipe didn’t call for the peanut butter powder tho.
I just made this and it so good! Very rich and satisfying, and I love that it packs a protein punch too! Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Perfect sweet treat! I topped it with 10 sugar free chocolate chips and when they melted I spread them around the top of the cake. Yum!
Great to hear!
Can you use reconstituted peanut flour as the peanut butter
I wouldn’t think so, at the oil in the nut butter is supposed to be your oil. You could add additional oil to compensate.
can it be baked in the oven instead of microwave?
Sounds like you need to experiment!
Would a flax egg work in place of the egg white? Or does the egg white help to make it lighter?
Sorry, I haven’t tried it in this recipe.
I made this using Chocolate Toffee Keto Chow, didn’t have any nut butter, so I used butter. Turned out yummy! Definitely making this again!
I’ve been itching to make this recipe, Carolyn, and today was the day. Oh, and I had fun with it too ;-))). I pictured a mock mini Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake, so I went with it. I divided in to 3 servings in 6 oz ramekins, instead of 2 servings. I used pb butter, in place of the pecan butter. 7 grams of chopped peanuts, in place of the chocolate chips, topped with 2 of your pb cups (mini’s, chopped) immediately after taking out of the microwave. I served with vanilla ice cream. OH MY, So Good and Fudgy! I’m still drooling, lol. Thank you!!!
Hi,
I commented below and I’m sorry to bother you but I am interested in if egg white protein powder can be used whenever you specify protein powder in a recipe.You can see why it’s important to me in my previous comment. Thank you for all your amazing recipes. Hope you’re enjoying time with family. You certainly deserve time off and special time with family.
Thanks
Suzan
Thank you for this recipe and your other protein recipes. I bought egg white protein and having a kosher home it took awhile to locate a kosher one. Boy was it expensive. I was so happy to see this in my email. Just had surgery so quick and easy fits the bill as it’s a hard recovery. Need to use that egg protein powder before the expiration date. Can I use the egg protein powder in all recipes where you use a protein powder? Thank you for all your amazing recipes. I have your cookbooks, see your posts on FB, and get your emails. I have an All Day I Dream about Food board on Pinterest.
Suzan
I used almond butter and a whole egg. Needed 3 tbsp of water as it was very thick. Microwaved for 30 seconds each. The cakes were so dry I had to throw them out. Please tell me what might have done this, the almond butter or the whole egg??
A few questions… what kind of almond butter? Was it really thick? Most are very thin and drippy. Also, what sweetener did you use? I made these multiple times to test and at 30 seconds, I can’t see them getting that dry. They aren’t even close to cooked through at that point. Also… what kind of protein powder did you use?
The almond butter was quite runny. I used erythritol and whey isolate protein.
I followed the recipe except the whole egg and subbed almond butter. I used Swerve brown.
Really hard to say what went wrong. Maybe your microwave is super powered? But the mixture should not be overly thick, as you can see from my photos… it should be quite loose, like a batter.
FYI… you never EVER need to throw any keto desserts away. Crumble it up and dollop with whipped cream and some berries and you have a wonderful parfait! 🙂
Carolyn, Thank you for the delicious mug cake recipe! I am making for my dear husband and myself this morning for breakfast. I make at least one of your meal recipes every day, they are so very family oriented and have made my meal preps so much easier over the years. Thank you so much for your daily posts, they never fail to provide inspiration for weekly meal planning.
I have all your cookbooks and would love to have your write a couple more. Maybe one full of ice creams, sorbets, ice cream sandwiches, and cold treats would be grand !
Also, a Party cookbook with horderves, charcuterie boards, & special holiday recipes.
I’m wondering if this could be baked in the oven. I don’t have a microwave.
Thanks.
Possibly… follow the directions in this recipe and keep your eye on it so you don’t over-cook it. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/keto-mug-brownie/
Carolyn, thank you for the oven instructions. I don’t use microwaves…..
Oh, 🧁this 🧁sounds 🧁so delicious!🧁 It really 🧁does! 🧁
However, cheapest pecan butter is $20.00/8 ounces on Amazon.ca🇨🇦
Too 💵💵💵expensive an ingredient to bother with!
Can I use 🥜100%🥜 natural 🥜peanut 🥜butter🥜 instead?
No, that will not do, either…🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜
Due to the fact that 1/4 cup 🥜natural 🥜peanut 🥜butter 🥜contains 8 net grams of carbs right there alone! So,the recipe is either too expensive💵💵💵by ingredients cost…and/or too expensive in HIGH carb count!
And why only an egg 🥚white? Eggs are expensive, too!🥚
But, a truly fantastic idea anyway!
Gladys🇨🇦Toronto🇨🇦Canada🇨🇦
Could you possibly rework the recipe, please?
So, the real keto world 🌎🌏🌍can enjoy it!
Unless pecans are too expensive as well, make your own pecan butter in the food processor. If you read through the blog part, she does say you can use a whole egg instead of the egg whites.
I reread the blog after seeing your comment and still don’t see where the whole egg can be used.
Gladys,
If pecan butter is too expensive, whip it up yourself. Place a cup of shelled raw or roasted pecans in your blender or small food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt to taste to fit your taste. Way before all the convenient Keto foods became readily available those of us who practice “real Keto” made it ourselves. Nut butters have been around forever, usually homemade.
Also, delicious peanuts are a legume. dried bean & pea family, not a nut and more carbs.
Carolyn’s recipe is “real Keto”, what do you call real Keto?
Eggs are not an expensive item, in fact for the cost they are a very versatile, inexpensive protein source. One can buy organic eggs from the grocery or from independent small farms who produce chicken eggs. Try a co-op or farmer’s market. Buy eggs on sale, they keep in the fridge just fine.
Don’t waste the egg yolk, make a custard, a pudding, poach the egg yolk and feed a baby, a dog, or cat. If using the yolk, use the white’s to make a Pavlova. Delicious anytime but especially in summer.
Not to mention the fact that I gave multiple options, even telling people how to grind their own nut butter at home! 😉
If you read the blog post where I gave many alternatives and options. So please take the time to read before the critique! 🙂
Carolyn, you have the patience of a saint… 😉
This recipe looks great – going to try it out very soon! xo