These low carb blender muffins are so easy to make. Light and fluffy and you can put anything you want in them. A versatile low carb muffin recipe for grab and go breakfasts or snacks. Instructional video included!
You’re going to love these basic low carb muffins, because they are infinitely adaptable. We love them with cranberries but they are great as blueberry muffins, raspberry muffins, or even chocolate chips muffins.
First cranberry recipe of the season and of course I had to make low carb cranberry muffins. I am well-armed for cranberry season now, as I actually have about 5 bags in my freezer from LAST season.
I am not normally this much of a hoarder but a slight cranberry shortage last year sent me into a panic and I started socking them away. I trolled a number of grocery chains in late October/early November and was shocked that they weren’t yet carrying cranberries. Didn’t they know I had Thanksgiving recipes to write? Didn’t they know how damaging it was not to have large displays of cranberries just inside the entryway?
I had many many cranberry plans last year that were not realized by the late arrival of those tart little berry gems.
They did finally arrive and I grabbed numerous bags when I saw them. Then my husband, bless his heart, saw a big bag at Costco, and knowing my fears of a cranberry apocalypse, brought two of them home to me.
Of course I ended up with far too many cranberries. Wait, what am I talking about? You can never have too many cranberries. Because those firm sturdy low carb berries freeze amazingly well and thaw to be almost as perfect as they are when fresh.
So you can divvy them up into quart-sized freezer bags and ride out any sort of local cranberry shortage. Mine seem perfectly fine after 12 months in the deep freeze and now I can make my favorite low carb muffins any old time. That makes me happier than you know.
How To Make Low Carb Muffins
Use your blender!
Whipping up your keto muffin batter in a blender makes it more cohesive, lighter and fluffier. You can still do this recipe in a bowl, whisking your ingredients together, if you prefer.
Add sour cream for tenderness
I can’t recommend sour cream enough as an ingredient in keto cakes and muffins. It gives them a wonderful texture, with no need for any butter or other oil. Greek yogurt also works well.
Blend the wet ingredients first
Get the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract well blended first, before adding the dry ingredients. Then you can add the dry all at once and blend again until smooth.
Let cool completely after baking
This is a tough one for people who love baked goods hot out of the oven. But all keto baked goods hold together better after they cool properly.
Customize these muffins!
You aren’t restricted to cranberries and pecans in this recipe. Let your imagination run wild! Lemon blueberry, cranberry orange, chocolate chip, you name it. You can use this as a basic low carb muffin recipe and add in whatever you want.
Low carb muffins store well too
Muffins like these are great for stocking your freezer. Simply place them into a ziplock freezer bag and freeze. They can last for several months. They can also be refrigerated for up to a week for easy keto breakfasts.
Cranberries are great for low carb and keto diets
- Fresh cranberries are very low in carbs and high in fiber
- 1 cup of cranberries has 12 grams of carbs
- They are full of phytonutrients and antioxidants
- They are anti-inflammatory
- Cranberries are high in vitamin C
- Beware of dried cranberries, as they are usually full of added sugars.
I have a great recipe for sugar-free dried cranberries that you can make at home.
These low carb blender muffins are a perfect way to showcase those tart little crimson orbs. They are easy to whip up in your blender and the sour cream gives them an incomparable texture. Light and fluffy and they rise astonishingly well.
I put chopped pecans in half of them for extra deliciousness, but kept some pecan-free for the kiddos. These are now ranking up there as some of my favourite muffins to date! And this easy recipe is totally customizable.
Craving low carb blueberry muffins? Swap out the cranberries! Or make chocolate chip muffins if you’d prefer. Or stay with the cranberries and add a little orange extract. The possibilities are truly endless.
Easy Low Carb Cranberry Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups almond flour
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cranberries
- ½ cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a muffin tin with parchment or silicone liners.
- Combine sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large blender jar. Blend about 30 seconds.
- Add the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Blend again until smooth, about 30 seconds to a minute. If your batter is overly thick, add ¼ to ½ cup of water to thin it out (different brands of almond flour can vary).
- By hand, stir in cranberries, keeping a few for the top of the muffins, and chopped pecans if using. Divide the mixture among the prepared muffin cups and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until just golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool completely.
Video
Patti says
Carolyn, you did it again and created another fabulous blender muffin. I think this one may just be my favorite. Hubby, who is rather finicky, said he doesn’t like cranberries. Well, you’d never know it by the way he’s enjoying these. I guess he does like cranberries after all. Thank you for all you do in creating delicious recipes.
Donna DeVoue says
Just made these muffins and they turned out great! I didn’t have cranberries, but I had a cup of leftover low carb homemade cranberry sauce (made with Xyla), so I just cut the swerve in half and folded in a cup of my cranberry sauce. Hubby is happy with them too. My Vitamix didn’t blend the ingredients well, so I had to scrape it out and finish with my hand mixer. But the finished product is a winner! Thanks!
Carolyn says
Hmmm, I would have thought a Vitamin would do great with this batter! Well, glad they turned out!
Jan says
Question: Sorry, I hate when people ask you about substitutions on a recipe you’ve clearly put a lot of thought into, but what purpose does the sour cream serve? My biggest problem with low carb recipes is the dairy. I’m not allergic, but very intolerant so try to avoid it. If it’s necessary or you don’t know of what else might work I’ll move on to another recipe. Thanks for all your lovely recipes.
Jan
Carolyn says
Moistness and texture. sorry but this recipe really requires it.
Jeanne says
I am about to try these with the tofutti brand vegan sour cream for your same issue. I use their cream cheese and vegan butter and vanilla, to make great cream cheese frosting, no one has a clue! For low carb use Swerve, or sugar if not low carb.
Cornelie says
Amazing muffins – and I’m usually not a fan of a lot of low carb baking. I subbed the sour cream for Greek yougurt and they turned out perfect. Delish!
Megeshnie says
These were delicious. I tried them last night. Swapped out the cranberry for blueberries. So so so good. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Shayna says
I don’t often comment on posts, but am so thankful to have found your blog as I have made many of your recipes with great success. With that said, I love love love these. They have the light fluffy texture like a non-keto muffin. They are so good I made a batch yesterday and another batch today! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Carolyn says
It’s my new favorite way of making muffins so expect a few fun variations!
Spaceranger says
Four years ago I was pregnant with gestational diabetes and was eating very low carb to minimize my need for insulin. I was craving sweets like, well, a pregnant woman. I baked endlessly and *really* didn’t like most of what I baked. I threw a lot of it away. I eventually found one low carb blueberry muffin recipe that wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t really that good either. Four years later it’s looking like I’m on a fast track to type two diabetes and I’m eating low carb again. Either the low carb world has changed a lot in four years, or I was doing a terrible job of finding the good low carb stuff when I was pregnant. All of that to say, I *really* like these muffins. They smell, look, and taste wonderful. I also made your Nanaimo bars, and German chocolate truffles (not all at once). Also sooooo delicious. Thank you!
Carolyn says
Glad to help. I think honestly…the low carb baking world has come a long way in 4 years. Some of the stuff I made 4 years ago was pretty good though. I hate to toot my own horn but…I kind of pushed the envelope in low carb baking because I love it so much! 🙂
Spaceranger says
Yes! Yes! Do toot your own horn! Your recipes are amazing. I’m sure I would have been a much happier pregnant lady if I had found your recipes. You have pushed the envelope! Thank you!
Joanne Sushames says
Could i substitute Kefir for sour cream
Carolyn says
I’m honestly not sure, I’ve never baked with kefir.
Alice says
What could I use in place of swerve? Splenda? Sugar?
Carolyn says
Either would be fine in these.
Lynn Doyle says
These are great muffins!. I think I’ll also use this as a base for blueberry with lemon zest muffins, too. I have 1 question: could I substitute 1/4 cup oil or melted butter for one of the eggs? Looking at standard muffins recipes, they all seen to have the added fat.
Gabriella says
Carolyn ,
Best ever muffin! I will use this as a base for blueberry, peach,etc muffins, the possibilities are endless 😉
What size pan should I you use if I’d like to make it as a coffee cake and what would be the baking time?
Also, for chocolate muffin, how much cocoa powder would you add and should I add extra liquid? I’m thinking chocolate chocolate chip muffin:)
Debbie Life says
These sound so yummy? I like Swerve, but my husband is not a fan 🙁 Do you think THM Gentle Sweet could be used in place of Swerve? I am afraid the batter would be too thin with the Gentle Sweet (1/2 c Swerve = 3 Tbsp Gentle Sweet). TIA
Carolyn says
I think it will be absolutely fine with the THM sweeteners.
Barbara says
Just made these this morning and they were great. I added extra liquid sucralose and used my homemade cranberry sauce instead of raw cranberries. This is a keeper. Thanks so much.
Carolyn says
Sounds good!
wendy says
I just made these with blueberries and thick coconut yogurt to make it dairy free and it came out perfect and they look just like yours, I also added a few extra drops of Stevia to make them a little sweeter.
Thank you so much for this recipe this will be something I will do a lot at home with some variations.
Tami S. says
Carolyn, I used orange extract instead of vanilla and added a teaspoon of dried valencia orange peel to the batter because I wanted some orange cranberry muffins. This recipe is a keeper! So delicious! Thank you!
Carolyn says
Sounds delish!
Felicia says
I just made these this morning and they are fantastic! My 14 yo DD and I had them with our morning cuppa! I am making them again but using 1/2 Cranberry & 1/2 Blueberries to make “sweet & Sour” Muffins- as always, your recipes are Fantastic! Thanks so much!!
Ruthi says
Every week we have breakfast for dinner one night. Since we are relatively new to low carb, it has been one experiment after another. These are fabulous!!! I, too, added orange peel to the batter. I love my new silicone pans for baking them.
Carolyn says
Glad you liked them. Welcome to the lifestyle!
Carolynn says
I only have 1 cup almond flour, could I sub it for something else? Thanks!
Carolyn says
That depends on what you have. If you have coconut flour, you could do 1/3 cup coconut flour for each cup of almond flour. You might need more eggs and liquid, though. I haven’t tested it so I can’t be sure.
Sheryl says
I have everything but the sour cream… Would Greek yogurt be a good substitute? They sound great!
Carolyn says
I think that should work just fine.
Jennifer says
I made these tonight with whole milk Greek yogurt ! Turned out great! I also added frozen cranberries, blueberries, and 1/2 coconut sugar instead of the swerve since I don’t have any. The texture of these muffins were wonderful better than any gluten-free muffin I’ve ever made ! Not very sweet with the coconut sugar so next time I’ll be sure to use the swerve(as the recipe called for) or maple syrup instead of water since they were to thick for my vitamin to blend without a 1/2 cup of water. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Shari Taylor says
Hey Carolyn,
First off – love your recipes!! I discovered you several months ago when I started low carb / keto. I have since transitioned to Trim Healthy Mama, and am LOVING it. However – I can’t have much of those calorie dense almond flour packed goodies. 🙁 I really love your recipes, and I really love the THM Baking Blend. I know you’ve used the baking blend before. Is there a formula to convert straight almond flour recipes to using the baking blend? I tried subbing 1:1 on some muffins, but they cam out dense and kinda dry. I know the BB is more absorbent, so maybe add more liquid? Another egg? Your help would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!
Carolyn says
I feel like it very much depends on the recipe because some recipes already have the added moisture built in. These are pretty moist but I would probably do more like 2 1/3 cups baking blend. then I would see how thick the batter is. If it’s really runny and liquidy, I’d add another 1/3 cup.
Keshia Stamps says
Thanks for asking this question.