These tender Keto Cranberry have a light fluffy crumb that is bursting with fresh cranberries. They’re easy to make and perfect for quick breakfasts or snacks.
I am not much of a hoarder, but I do have a tendency to hoard fresh cranberries in the fall. Once I start seeing them in the stores, I find myself buying a bag or two on every shopping trip. And although I already have a few bags stashed in my freezer, I can’t resist the call of these tart red berries.
All the better to make recipes like these Keto Cranberry Muffins, right? I also like to have them on hand for Sugar-Free Cranberry Sauce and Keto Cranberry Orange Bread. Really, there is a never-ending supply of delicious low carb cranberry recipes!
Grab a bag (or five!) the next time you’re at the store, because there is so much keto baking to be done!
Why readers love this recipe
I created this recipe in 2016 and it was the first time I ever used my blender to make keto muffins. And I was utterly thrilled with the results. They came out so fluffy and with a delightfully fine crumb.
For anyone who thinks that almond flour can’t rival wheat flour for texture, this is the recipe you need to try! They are easy to whip up in your blender and the sour cream gives them an incomparable texture.
And they are bursting with fresh cranberries. I love how cranberries hold their shape but also release their juices while baking. All that tart flavor comes through perfectly.
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.
Reader Reviews
“I am so glad these are low carb, because they are so good!! Super soft & chewy from the cranberries. I did add nuts, because I love the crunch!” — Natalie
“I love these muffins, made them several times!! Very easy!! I put most in the freezer and when I want a little treat I have with a cup of tea and put a little cream cheese on the muffin!! Delicious! Sometimes I have for breakfast with coffee! Love your recipes. Thank you!!” — Charlotte
“I just made the recipe today, followed everything to the letter! AMAZING!!! I just loved eating that muffin, it’s my new recipe from now on. Many thanks for being so generous and sharing. This recipe is a 5***** one!” — Claire
Ingredient Notes
- Sour cream: I love using sour cream in baked goods like muffins and keto cakes. It makes them extra tender. You can also use Greek yogurt, but I recommend full fat for the best flavor.
- Almond flour: As with any almond flour recipe, the finer your flour, the finer the consistency. I always have good results with Bob’s Red Mill.
- Sweetener: I use an erythritol based sweetener but others may also work. Please see the Tips for Success for more information.
- Eggs: Be sure you bring them to room temperature first for smoother blending.
- Cranberries: Fresh cranberries will work best. You can also use frozen but make sure to thaw them first.
- Pecans: Other nut options include walnuts or almonds.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Blend the wet ingredients: Combine the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large blender jar. Blend about 30 seconds.
2. Add the dry ingredients: 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).
3. Add the cranberries: By hand, stir in cranberries, keeping a few for the top of the muffins, and chopped pecans if using.
4. Bake the muffins: Divide the mixture in a muffin tin lined with parchment or silicone liners. Bake at 325ºF for 25 to 30 minutes, until just golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely.
Tips for Success
I like using a high-powered blender for this recipe, to really combine the batter and fluff it up a little. I am a huge fan of my BlendTec and it’s been going strong for over 12 years! You can blend it in a food processor as well. Mixing in a bowl is fine but you don’t get quite the fluffiness.
When baking keto muffin recipes, always use silicone or parchment paper liners. Regular paper liners stick badly and you lose too much of the muffin when trying to peel it off.
You aren’t limited 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 keto muffin recipe and add in whatever you want.
These muffins should work with any kind of sweetener. Do keep in mind that if you use one that contains a lot of allulose, they will darken quickly in the oven. Keep your eye on them as you may need to take them out earlier. I also recommend using silicone muffin liners when baking with allulose.
Are cranberries good for you?
- Fresh cranberries are very low in carbs and high in fiber
- 1 cup of cranberries has only 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh cranberries are very tart on their own so I don’t recommend eating them raw. But they don’t need to be cooked in advance when adding them to baked goods. They soften and release their juice so as long as the recipe is sweet, they will add a delightful tartness.
These muffins freeze very well so go ahead and make a big batch. Let the muffins cool completely and then place in an airtight container or freezer bag. They will last up to 3 months.
This keto cranberry muffin recipe has 8.4g of carbs and 3.9g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.5g net carbs per muffin.
Keto Cranberry Muffin Recipe
Equipment
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 fresh cranberries
- ½ cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a muffin tin with parchment or silicone liners.
- Combine the 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
Notes
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.