These easy Keto Pumpkin Bran Muffins have all the delicious flavor of the classic without the added carbs. Packed with pumpkin and spice, these sweet, tender muffins make fall mornings even more delightful.
My mum made the BEST bran muffins when I was growing up. Turns out that they were from a packaged mix, but I loved them nonetheless. They were dark brown, astonishingly tender, and very, VERY sweet. I never thought I could have such a thing on a keto diet! Until now…
Long ago, I created a low carb pumpkin “bran” muffin made with flax seed meal. It was good, but it had that slightly odd taste that comes along with using a lot of flax. However, I’ve found that pecan flour has a flavor very reminiscent of bran and I decided to test that out. It’s a fabulous replacement for bran in a keto muffin recipe!
Why It Works
Bran is the tough outer layer of whole grains that is removed during the milling process. Most recipes use wheat bran, but there is also oat bran, rice bran, and other varieties. All of which are too high carb for the keto diet.
Both pecan flour and flax seed meal have a texture and flavor reminiscent of wheat bran. Unlike almonds, pecans are difficult to blanch so the “flour” usually contains a lot of the skin. This makes it more coarse and dry in keto baked goods. The sweet nuttiness of pecan flour also adds a unique depth of flavor.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Almond flour: This is the base flour for these muffins. I don’t recommend using all pecan flour (or flax meal) as it will make them very dry and not nearly as tasty.
- Pecan flour: I recommend purchasing the pecan flour (aka pecan meal) as it will be more finely ground than anything you can do at home. You can swap it out for ground flax seed in the same amount.
- Sweetener: A brown sugar replacement offers the best flavor for these muffins. Please see the Sweetener Options section for more information.
- Protein powder: You can use whey protein, egg white protein, and plant-based protein. Do not use collagen or bone broth protein.
- Pumpkin pie spice: You can also make your own mix with a combination of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves or nutmeg.
- Pumpkin puree: A thicker, canned puree works best.
- Baking Staples: Butter, eggs, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract.
- Optional: Shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or chocolate chips.
How to Make Keto Pumpkin Bran Muffins
- Combine the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, pecan flour, sweetener, protein powder, pumpkin pie spice, backing powder, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the pumpkin, eggs, butter, and vanilla extract. Then stir in just enough water until you have a scoopable consistency.
- Fill the muffin cups: Divide the mixture evenly among 12 muffin cups lined with parchment or silicone liners. Sprinkle the tops with shelled pumpkin seeds, if desired.
- Bake: Bake the muffins until risen and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Protein powder is a necessary ingredient for these keto pumpkin bran muffins, as it helps them rise and be more fluffy. You can skip it if you must but please be aware that it will affect the texture.
If you make your own pumpkin puree, it’s likely thinner than the canned variety. You will probably need less water for the batter, so hold back until you see the consistency.
Parchment or silicone liners are a must. Paper liners will stick to the muffins like crazy!
Sweetener Options
Classic bran muffins take brown sugar and often some molasses. So a brown sugar replacement is the next best option for keto. I generally recommend using an erythritol based sweetener for muffins because allulose can brown very quickly.
You are free to use whatever you like best but you need to understand how it will affect the outcome. I suggest reading my Comprehensive Guide to Keto Sweeteners.
More Pecan Flour Recipes To Love
Keto Pumpkin Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (168 g) almond flour
- 1 cup (99 g) pecan flour, (or flax seed meal)
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar replacement
- 1/3 cup (36 g) whey protein powder
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (183.75 g) pumpkin puree
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (75.67 g) butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 to 5 tbsp (45.65 g) water
- 1/4 cup (25 g) pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a standard muffin tin with silicone or parchment muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, pecan flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, butter, and vanilla and stir until well combined. Stir in just enough water until the mixture is easily scooped (it should not be pourable).
- Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin cups and smooth the tops. Add a few pepitas to the top of each muffin and press lightly to adhere.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins have risen and are just firm to the touch on top. Remove and let cool completely in the pan.
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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have you tried to make a straight flax meal muffin? We eat flax meal in place of oats for a hot breakfast cereal and can hardly taste a difference. I figured it would make a great replacement for bran muffins.
I have 3 of your books and make alot of meals and baked goods from them.
Taco Pie was genius.
I don’t have such a recipe at this time. 🙂
Can’t wait to try these! Thanks for posting. just a note about bran–it is indigestible and does not raise your blood sugar, so it is healthy for everyone and totally great for low carb diets! In fact, we desperately need it on low carb diets to feed our healthy microbiome and keep the digestive system moving! the flax meal is great too.
Terrific recipe! No more grainy heavy muffins. I made these several times and everyone likes them. I added a topping of mixed sliced almonds, coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and pressed it in so it wouldn’t fall off too easily. Subsequent batches I baked at 350 and they raised up higher. Sometimes, I substitute 2 TBLS butter in the coconut oil to give it a little more flavor. My only question is how can these be only 26 calories. Doesn’t make sense to me. My neighbor the “calorie counter” doesn’t believe the 26 calories.
This is one of my long term favourite recipes. I plugged the recipe into a diet app and it comes up at 155 calories per muffin, with 12 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein. Hope that helps with your macros.
These are delicious and are one of my “go-to” breakfast muffins. Usually, I throw in a handful of chopped pecans in them for alittle bit of a crunch. If you’re looking for a bran muffin replacement, this is the recipe to try!
Total calories???
No idea.
I made these this afternoon and they turned out moist, fragrant and delicious. However, after I assembled my ingredients, I realized I was low on the flaxseed meal. I took a chance and used only 3/4-cup flaxseed meal plus a 1/2-cup oat fiber and a 1/4-cup coconut flour. This worked well also. I will definitely make these again as I love pumpkin flavour (and muffins!). Next time, I’ll be sure to stock up on the flax meal first! Thank you for a successful low-carb baking ecperience.
Just wondering if you added any extra egg or liquid to account for the coconut flour?
I LOVE these! I’m heading down to the kitchen right now as I just have enough pumpkin left to make a single recipe.
Awesome Recipe. What can I replace the 1/4 cup unflavoured whey protein powder with? I am allergic to whey.
Thanks much
Megha
You can do 1/4 cup egg white protein.
Thank you Carolyn. Do you recommend any particular brand and flavor that you like? I cant wait to try these. Also, anything else apart from the egg white protein.
Thanks much
Megha.
I have golden flax right in my fridge right now.. do you think it would work? If not I’ll grab some brown flax next time I’m out.
I think that will be fine.
Do you have a protein per muffin calculation for these? TIA.
I discovered this recipe Labor Day weekend–so much flax had me a little worried because of its clumping quality, so I only made 1/3 of the recipe. I wish I’d made the entire amount.
Wow, the muffins were delicious! Maybe even better than the pumpkin bread I used to make before I went low-carb. Everything was perfect–moistness, texture, and especially, the taste. Really, Carolyn, this is an inspired recipe.
Hi Carolyn!
Love your site and this recipe looks delicious! I was just wondering if there was anyway to nix the protein powder all together. Do you think this would change the consistency or flavor? All I have is vanilla flavored whey and I already don’t like the way it tastes, so I’d rather not put it in the muffins. Thanks!
Yes, you can go without but they may not rise quite as much.
Thanks for the recipe, I made these tonight and they are delicious.
I made these this morning. I used 1/2 cup Truvia, 20 drops NuNaturals Stevia, 20 drops Skinny Girl Monk Fruit drops, 1 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips and I didn’t have whey protein so I used 1/4 cup extra flax meal. The texture is kinda squishy from the flax, and the flavor is great.
I find that using stevia in large quantities makes the baking bitter. I only put in 10 drops of stevia and I still found the batter to be very bitter. I had to add some nuts and a little maple syrup (Sad they couldn’t be sugar free) to try to hide the bitterness. Am I the only one that has noticed that?
Taniss, what brand of stevia are you using? Everyone has a different palate so some people taste bitterness with stevia whereas others do not. I can make some alternative sweetener suggestions.
I have tried many kinds with the same results. With this recipe I used the drops. So far truvia is the best I’ve used (powder form) but I don’t think it is pure stevia. They did turn out pretty good though after I tweeked it. The texture was perfect.
Truvia is not pure stevia. It’s not even mostly stevia. It is mostly erythritol with a little stevia in it. That’s why it tasted good. I use Swerve, which is also erythritol based and is non-GMO.
I just made this recipe with a few changes based on what I had in the house. (after the holidays my fridge is empty of everything) They turned out great.
-3/4 cup grated zucchini instead of pumpkin
-7 tablespoons of splenda
-Milk instead of almond milk
-soy protein instead of whey protein
-1/3 cup of sunflower oil instead of coconut oil (hard to find around here)
These will be great for breakfast instead of the perpetual eggs and bacon and my spouse liked them!!