Healthy keto protein muffins that taste like cinnamon rolls! These tender low carb muffins have a buttery sweet cinnamon filling and pack 11g of protein per serving.
Who doesn’t love a sweet, sticky, tender cinnamon roll? But those of us who keep our health in mind know to steer clear of these gooey breakfast pastries. We give them a wide berth, because as tasty as they are, they just aren’t worth the risk.
Thankfully, you can enjoy those same flavors in healthier ways. I have any number of recipes to enjoy, from classic keto cinnamon rolls to cinnamon roll cheesecakes. And these Cinnamon Roll Protein Muffins are my new favorite way to indulge!
I’ve been eating them daily before my workouts and they are a sweet way to start my day. It’s a wonderful high protein breakfast recipe.
Why you’ll love these muffins
If you’re going to enjoy a cinnamon roll flavored treat, why not make it work a little harder for you and pack it full of protein too? Made with cottage cheese and protein powder, these muffins have 11g grams of protein and less than 5g of carbs per serving.
They really are delicious. The muffin is tender and the cinnamon filling is sweet and buttery. The glaze on top is entirely optional and not even necessary, in my opinion. Although it does make them look make them look more like real cinnamon rolls!
And these keto protein muffins are easy to make, too. Whip the batter up in a blender, swirl in the cinnamon filling, and bake them up. Before long, you are enjoying low carb, high protein cinnamon roll goodness!
Ingredients you need
- Butter: You want the butter softened, almost melted, prior to mixing.
- Sweetener: The filling works best with a combination of brown sugar substitute and some allulose so it stays gooier. You will want a powdered sweetener if you choose to add the glaze.
- Ground cinnamon: You can’t make cinnamon rolls without cinnamon! Make sure yours is fresh, as old spices lose their flavor over time.
- Cottage cheese: I used whole milk cottage cheese but 2% should work just as well.
- Eggs: Use large eggs and make sure they are room temperature.
- Almond flour: Use blanched, finely ground almond flour for keto muffin recipes like this one.
- Protein powder: I used unflavored whey protein for this recipe. Egg white may work as well but I don’t recommend plant protein or collagen protein.
- Pantry staples: Heavy cream, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt.
Step by step directions
1. Make the cinnamon swirl: In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, sweeteners, and cinnamon. The butter should be almost melted but not quite, and the mixture should be like a thin paste. Set aside.
2. Prepare the muffin batter: In a blender, combine the cottage cheese, eggs, sweetener, and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Add the almond flour, whey protein, baking powder, and salt and blend again until smooth.
3. Assemble the muffins: Line the wells of two muffin pans with silicone or parchment liners and fill each muffin cup about half full with the batter. Then add half a teaspoon of the cinnamon swirl into the center of each muffin and swirl lightly with a toothpick or the end of a small spoon. Take care not to push the cinnamon mixture toward the bottom of the muffin.
4. Bake the muffins: Divide the remaining batter overtop, then add more cinnamon swirl and swirl it in. Bake at 325ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, until the muffins are puffed and golden brown. The very top may not seemed cooked through because of the buttery cinnamon mixture, but it will set when they cool.
5. Make the drizzle: While the muffins cool, whisk together the sweetener and heavy whipping cream in a small bowl. Add water in tiny amounts until a drizzling consistency is achieved. Drizzle over the cooled muffins.
Tips for Success
One of the most important things when making these protein muffins is that you don’t push the cinnamon mixture toward the bottom of the muffin. I did that with a few of them and it’s so buttery that the bottoms come off the muffins as you try to get them out of the liners.
I tried this recipe with both almond flour and coconut flour, and I found that the coconut flour made it very rubbery and eggy. So I can’t recommend it.
Whey protein powder works best here but egg white protein may work as well. Plant protein will likely have too strong a flavor, and collagen will make them gummy.
Sweetener Options
For the filling, you will want a brown sugar replacement. But if you can add a tablespoon of allulose or xylitol as well, it helps make it gooier. If not, it will still be delicious!
The muffin batter can be made with your favorite sweetener. I deliberately didn’t sweeten it as much because the filling adds so much sweetness.
The drizzle requires a powdered sweetener to work properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
This funny curdy cheese is a healthy addition to your low carb diet. Each ½ cup serving of cottage cheese has 12 to 14 grams of protein and only 3 to 5 grams of carbohydrate. I really like the Good Culture brand, for the probiotics as well.
Store these muffins on the counter in a covered container for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze them for several months.
These keto protein muffins have 4.4g of carbs and 1.7g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.7g net carbs per muffin.
Cinnamon Protein Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, softened, almost melted
- 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar replacement
- 1 tbsp allulose, or xylitol
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Muffins
- 3/4 cup (157.5 g) cottage cheese
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) Swerve Sweetener, (or other granular sweetener)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup (196 g) almond flour
- 3/4 cup (81 g) unflavored whey protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Drizzle (optional)
- 1/3 cup (41.67 g) Swerve Confectioners
- 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- Water as needed
Instructions
Cinnamon Swirl
- In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, sweeteners, and cinnamon. The butter should be almost melted but not quite, and the mixture should be like a thin paste. Set aside.
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line the wells of two muffin pans with silicone or parchment liners. If you only have one pan, you may need to work in batches.
- In a blender, combine the cottage cheese, eggs, sweetener, and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Add the almond flour, whey protein, baking powder, and salt and blend again until smooth.
- Fill each muffin cup about half full with the batter. Then add half a teaspoon of the cinnamon swirl into the center of each muffin and swirl lightly with a toothpick or the end of a small spoon. Take care not to push the cinnamon mixture toward the bottom of the muffin.
- Divide the remaining batter overtop, then add more cinnamon swirl and swirl it in.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the muffins are puffed and golden brown. The very top may not seemed cooked through because of the buttery cinnamon mixture, but it will set when they cool.
- Remove and let cool 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Optional Drizzle
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetener and heavy whipping cream. Add water in tiny amounts until a drizzling consistency is achieved. Drizzle over the cooled muffins.
Notes
Nutrition
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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This recipe is amazing! The muffins are so delicious and full of cinnamon flavor. These are my new go-to!
Great texture and sweetness. Also filling!
I have made these 2 different times, once was with whey protein powder and they looked great out of the oven but the rise “fell” and they were kinda inverted if that makes a good visual. They were kinda “wet” looking too. Tasted great! The next time I used egg white protein powder (Nothing but Egg White) and used the exact same amount of it as the whey (3/4 cup). Yikes, these were very dry and thick, definitely needed a glass of water to wash them down. I then watched the YouTube from you on Why Protein Powder is necessary. You said you may only need 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the egg white protein. I will try the 1/4 cup next time. Has anyone done this experiment yet so I don’t have to choke down another dry batch of muffins? Did I not cook the first batch long enough and that is why they “fell”? Just trying to learn, I appreciate all the recipes.
In the first instance, you didn’t bake them long enough. In the second instance, the egg white protein clearly changed the consistency so whey obviously works better.
As for that video, that was in reference to regular keto baking, not high protein baked goods. So by reducing the protein powder to 1/4 cup, you will make these much lower in protein.
Sounds wonderful.. My ? is is there anything you exchanged for the whey protein powder?
Please read the blog post as I already discuss this!
Last year I had to reduce oxalates in what I make. Almonds are high in oxalates Previously my go to flour was almond flour, which I can no longer use. Would tigernut flour or other flour be a good substitute?
The muffins look like I MUST TRY!.
Thanks for your help.
Sorry, I have not tried this with any other flours. You will need to experiment on your own.
Have you experimented with sunflour? It’s usually my go-to one-to-one replacement for almond flour… as long as I don’t mind the end result being green! For this recipe I had good success with 1 C hazelnut flour and 3/4 C tiger nut flour. They did stick (parchment liners), so next time I’ll use a little cooking spray.
If you soak and then dehydrate the almonds, it removes a lot of the oxalates. Look up soaking nuts and seeds. Look for soaked and sprouted almond flour.
These are so yummy, especially warm! The gooey center reminds me of the center of the cinnamon rolls I make for my family for Christmas breakfast. Everyone in my family enjoyed them, even the picky teenagers!
So glad you liked them!
These look yummy! Do you think casein protein would work? Or vanilla whey? Thanks!
hello, I saw in previous comments someone asked if you could substitute Greek yogurt for cottage cheese. have you heard if it works or not?
It doesn’t quite have the same consistency… I would be worried it’s too thin for this recipe. But you are welcome to experiment.
What size muffin pans are you using?
Carolyn, I was wondering what type of baking pans you use. I need some lighter colored baking pans, (8 x 8, 9 x 13, loaf pan, muffin pan). Do you use USA pans by any chance? Thanks for your help.
Yup, any time I replace a pan, it’s with a USA Pan. Here’s the muffin pan! https://amzn.to/3AOhsD8
I would LOVE to be able to use USA products, however, aluminized anything would be risky due to aluminum being a large factor in Alzheimers and other health issues.
These are delicious! Light fluffy & full of flavor. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you Carolyn.
I needed to cut the recipe by two thirds, using only one egg. When I changed the slider to reflect 5 or 6 servings, the measurements came out weird: 0.09 cup of butter, for example. Any chance of re-programming the recipe so that it reads more like, 1 tablespoon instead of 0.09 cup? Thanks,
No… that’s how it works. You need to do the math yourself, I don’t have anyway of doing that for you.
Hi Carolyn,
If I attempted to make these in the jumbo silicone cups rather than the standard, how long would you suggest I bake them?
Thank you!
I think you are going to have to experiment and keep your eyes on them.
Hi Carolyn 😊 I really want to make these today but don’t have any cottage cheese….do you think cream cheese and/or sour cream would work?
Cream cheese is too thick and sour cream is too thin. Maybe a mix of the two? But make sure to soften the cream cheese a lot!
Thanks so much!
Dear Caroline, I’ve made them last week and what can I say except that my daughter gives your muffins 70000 out of 10 points. I think that says it all!
Thanks’ for your great work!
Looks Delish and the protein keeps u fuller