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
Loni says
Mine made 18 muffins. Did I do something wrong?
Carolyn says
I am assuming you either have a smaller pan or you didn’t fill them quite as much. Either way…enjoy!
Nicole says
Im in the middle of making these and struggling with not being able to find oven temperature and amount of baking time. Im using Pinterest and the ingredients are listed outside the link to the blog but not on the blog post itself. Scratching my head over that too. Sill video has no info either and you have to watch the video to see the order of ingredients. Hope the muffins are good otherwise it’s a fail for a recipe blog post and a waste of 3 cups of almond flour
Carolyn says
It’s not you. My site is having issues and we are trying to get it fixed ASAP.
Let me grab you my recipe notes…
Carolyn says
Okay, 325F for about 25 minutes. You blend everything except the cranberries and pecans, pour into greased muffin tin and bake. Again…sorry. I have people working on my site to fix things.
Laura says
These are AMAZING!! Made them this morning with blueberries. Followed the recipe exactly other than that. I’m excited to try more of your recipes!!! Thank you from a recovering sugar addict.
Loretta says
A friend made these and said they were great so I made a batch this morning. Wow! So soft. Best almond flour muffins Ive ever had! Like others, I added a tsp of orange extract because I love that flavor combo. Friend used stand mixer and so I did too. No problem getting light, fluffy muffins. Thank you, Carolyn. I have your cookbook and waiting for the next!
Jen says
Oh my word! These were SO GOOD! I substituted Kite Hill unsweetened plain yogurt for the sour cream, cut back the swerve to 1/3 cup (I don’t like things too sweet), and added a few drops of orange oil. This is a keeper recipe. Even my non-keto husband ate one and loved it, thinking they were just regular GF muffins. You’re amazing! (and I got your cookbook for Christmas and LOVE IT!)
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Kelly says
How much Splenda would I use instead of Swerve? I had gastric bypass and cannot tolerate Swerve. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Swerve measures like sugar so use your splenda depending on how sweet it is compared to sugar.
Sharon says
Made these this afternoon and the taste and texture is spot on to a regular muffin. Mine never did get
brown on top. The picture shows them to be darker so I am not sure what I did wrong.
Yomi says
Mine didn’t brown much either, so I moved them to the top rack of the oven for the last five minutes.
Tiffany says
This was my first try at using almond flour and these did not turn out. The center is all dense and a little moist, they didnt rise at all. I used a stand mixer instead of the blender is that the problem? Batter was thick and used 1/2 cup water like recipe said but very disappointed they don’t taste better. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Carolyn says
Yes, a stand mixer is part of the problem. The blender makes these very light and fluffy. Also could be your almond flour. not sure what brand you used.
Debbie says
I just made these and they are wonderful. I had all the ingredients and didn’t have to change out of my PJ’s!
Mo says
I don’t own a regular blender, just an immersion blender. Do you think that will work? I also have a kitchinaide. Thanks! These look awesome
Carolyn says
Don’t do an immersion blender. Maybe just do the mixer instead.
Michelle says
I love your website and recipes, but this one was not a winner for me, unfortunately. I followed the recipe and the muffins look amazing, but they did not taste good, they are dry and chalky tasting and are not sweet enough. I threw the rest away, so sad! I am wondering if the recipe needs more fat (butter, oil, etc., to help with the moistness, and I can always add more sweetener if I make them again…
Carolyn says
Hi Michelle. Sorry to hear it but something had to have gone wrong here. As you can see from the responses, this is an extremely popular recipe. Can you tell me what brands of almond flour and sweetener you used? Because these are anything but dry and chalky.
Michelle says
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks for the reply! I used Anthony’s almond flour and confectioners Lakanto as the sweetener. The batter was very thick, so I added a little water as per the recipe.
Michelle
Carolyn says
Okay, so the almond flour is possibly the issue. The batter should not be too thick…it shouldn’t be pourable but you should be able to scoop it easily into the cups. Also, if you’re using a powdered sweetener, chances are you are getting more sweetener per cup (because it’s more finely ground) so it’s going to possibly add to the thickness as well. I always use Bob’s Red Mill almond flour and it’s about 100g per cup, so you may want to try weighing your almond flour in the future.
Peggy Deichelbohrer says
After reading many comments, I decided to throw mine in the mix. I am dairy free so I used 1/2 cup coconut cream (thick part that separates from the liquid) and 4 tsp fresh lemon juice for the sour cream. I also mixed the dry ingredients separately in a medium bowl and added the wet blended ingredients to the bowl and stirred it up. Instead of chopping the nuts, I twirled them in the blender for a few seconds at the end. I mistakenly chopped the cranberries that way also. I might have liked the whole cranberries better but the muffins are awesome! Thanks again, Carolyn, for another great recipe. BTW They baked a bit quicker then I expected. And very easy!
Barbara says
Made these today and they were delicious. Next time I might toss the cranberries in some swerve before mixing them in since they were quite tart. I added some orange extract to them too. So good. Thanks for another great recipe, Carolyn.
Jen says
Hi Carolyn, I have a lot of cranberry/orange/apple relish left over from Thanksgiving and I wondered if I could add a cup of that instead of cranberries — do you think that might work? Or might it work better with another one of your muffin recipes? Thanks!
Carolyn says
I would make the muffin batter and then just swirl a little of the relish in to each muffin. That sounds pretty good!
Jen says
Thanks — I can’t wait to try it!
Laura Byrd says
Can I make this in a regular cake pan instead of muffins!
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried that but I can’t see why not!
Laura Byrd says
Thank you! Have a wonderful thanksgiving
Jessica says
These are fabulous. I did not have sour cream on hand, but I did have heavy cream. I mixed heavy cream and 1/2 t lemon juice in my mixer until it thickened, almost as thick as sour cream. Then I combined all the ingredients as stated in recipe in the mixer.
They turned out perfect! I love them! Thank you – I just bought your cookbook and am very eager to use it. I’ve been eating Keto for 4 months.
Carolyn says
Thanks, Jessica!
Nives says
Hello, I love your site.
I plan to make this muffins today. A question: how long are they still OK to eat after made? Should I store them in the refrigerator? T
Carolyn says
I store them on the counter for up to 3 days, and in the fridge after that.
Nives says
Perfect. Thank you very much for your quick response. Keep up the good work ?
Valerie says
Do I need to do anything to the cranberries, like cook them or slice them? Won’t they be hard inside muffin?
Carolyn says
No, they get cooked as the muffins cook.
Cassandra says
These are great! I used unbleached almond flour so they came out darker than yours, but they still look (and taste) lovely. Had my boyfriend try a piece sans cranberry and he thought I’d made regular muffins. I love how light and fluffy they are compared to most keto baked goods – definitely going to be making these all holiday season for family events so I have something tasty on hand, too! (Well, these and crustless pumpkin pies, ha!)
Mary says
These are the best low carb baked goods I have ever made! The texture was like a traditional muffin. I have a very inexpensive blender, so I did have to add quite a bit of almond milk to keep my blender from overheating. But they are wonderful! I can’t wait to try them with different flavors. Thank you so much for sharing!
Does anyone have any brand recommendations for a new blender?
Carolyn says
Glad you like them. I love my Blendtec!