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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Carolyn, made these about week ago, and they were way too moist. Left in oven much longer, but even with that, could not get them to come out whole from silicone muffin cups. I know your recipes are very reliable. Made another batch this morning. Perfect! No idea what I did wrong last time, but felt like this recipe was a keeper, and it is.
Huh! Well that’s interesting to know. I wonder, did you use a different brand of flax at all? That just goes to show that low carb, gluten-free baking is a bit of a crapshoot, every time!
No, same brands of everything, the only thing I omitted today was the milk because I had none, and figured it would be ok without it. Didn’t use the whey protein powder either time, as didn’t have that either, but subbed = amount of almond flour.
Ah…the missing protein powder may be part of the problem in the original recipe. Remember, protein powder helps things rise properly (because gluten is a protein), and it’s a very different consistency than almond flour (which has a lot of fat and moisture). So subbing in more almond in place of the protein may have resulted in wetter, denser muffins. And then for the second round, you omitted the extra milk, so that would have helped them be better, although I bet they still didn’t rise as much as they should have.
Good points! I didn’t know protein powder helps thing rise. I will try them the next time I make them, though from the way these taste, they don’t seem like they need any improvement!
I just made them and they were awesome!! I used egg whites instead of whole eggs and cut the oil down to 2 tbsp. They are delicious! Thank you for sharing. Do these freeze well? I’m thinking about freezing some for a rainy day!
Yes, these would freeze very well.
Great muffins! I just made a batch yesterday. I’m not gluten intolerant so I substituted vital wheat gluten for the whey protein power 1:1 (I’m looking more for low-carb recipes). They came out looking just the same as your pictures. Thanks.
Hello! I made these this morning and they did not hold together and were extremely wet. Was there supposed to be some almond flour in these? I was very disappointed because I’ve made several of your other recipes and they have been well thought out and delicious.
I am going to guess that your pumpkin had too much moisture in it. I find some brands do. Best fix is to spread it on several layers of paper towel and blot it with another few layers of paper towel. It works like a charm!
Very yummy. I had some trouble converting the steevia (I didn’t have) to dz sweets but the result was fantastic!
Do you have the full list of nutritional information calories, fat, protein, etc?
I made these this past week to take as snacks to work – they turned out great! I used vanilla protein powder and it worked just fine. Also froze some of them and they thawed out and tasted just as good as the ones I ate fresh. 🙂
Just made these tonight after you mentioned on your other post that they freeze well. When I first took them out of the oven and tore one in half I was a bit turned off by their appearance…..a different texture than I’m used to – dark, looked like they might be a little wet, and they were flat on top instead of rounded up like yours. But when I took a bite – so tasty! Not at all too flax-y tasting (I was worried they would be), I couldn’t taste the unflavored whey protein powder at all, and they had the perfect amount of sweetness (I used Zsweet plus Sweetleaf liquid stevia drops). I didn’t dry out my pumpkin puree, and after tasting I decided that they cooked just fine. I can’t wait to see how they perform out of the freezer this week. I am almost giddy that they are only 1.8g carbs!
OK, bummed these weren’t great when I ate them again the next day. The texture seems off….like the flax didn’t incorporate as well as it looks like yours did. Perhaps it’s the flax I used? What brand do you use? I used Spectrum ground flax seed….is that different from flax seed meal? I really want these to work because I love pumpkin and bran muffins!
Huh, weird! I used Bob’s Red Mill…ground flax and flax seed meal are the same, I think. One suggestion…put the rest in the freezer and then reheat in the microwave, that might improve them now. I can’t guarantee that, but it’s worth a shot!
I just made these last night, added in a few pecans and WOW. amazingly yummy. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Just made these today and they were alright. I’m somewhat new to baking with flax seed and other healthy options. The problem I ran into was finding unflavored whey protein so I used some of the chocolate flavored protein powder I already had at home. Probably not a good idea because they kind of taste like a powdery-chocolate pumpkin muffin. Also, there is hardly any pumpkin flavor and I even used a little extra. I might need to tweak this recipe before I make it again! Otherwise, I’m glad I found a healthy alternative to my favorite sweet-type food!
Flavoured protein powders have intense flavours, so it doesn’t surprise me at all that it overpowered the pumpkin. Please try with unflavoured next time, and you will notice a big difference.!
Megan- the pumpkin is not what provides the pumpkin flavor you are looking for. It’s the spices! So double the spices or use a decent amount pumpkin pie spice. That will give you the pumpkin flavor.
Tried these today…and they were a fail. Even after baking them for 20 additional minutes they were gummy in the center. I tried letting them ‘sit’ for a while with the hope that they would eventually become muffin-like…resembling something close to what is pictured. Nope. After reading the comment (about the wetness of the puree) I used fresh-from-the-can organic pumpkin puree – super thick – and this still happened. Any other suggestions??
Hi Ashley. they really shouldn’t be so gummy in the center. I am trying to think what could be the problem. Is there anything you did differently in the recipe? What kind of pan did you use? Don’t use silicon, it never does well with low carb baked goods. What brand of flax seed meal? Two suggestions for the future…really dry out the puree by spreading it out on several layers of paper towels and blotting it with another layer. And then maybe add a little almond flour to help soak things up. that might help, even though I am really not sure how yours got so gummy. Mine definitely did not turn out that way.
We had the same issue, the muffins were not even close to done, even after an hour! The tops were done but the insides were still almost raw. We turned the heat up to 350 and cooked them for an additional 30 minutes. After they had set and cooled, they were done. They were actually better the following day as the inside was completely cooked and still perfectly moist. They were delicious and we loved them! I omitted the liquid stevia and instead added 1/4.tsp stevia powder (we like Whole Foods 365 brand best) and 1/4 tsp pure monkfruit powder (the straight stuff, not a monkfruit blend, it should be a deep brown color and have only the single ingredient). This, along with the erythritol, gave the muffins the hint of sweetness they need but without being like cupcakes. I am going to make this recipe again but reduce or omit the milk from the recipe. It had too much liquid, I think, which is why it wasn’t baking properly. Also I will bake the 2nd batch at 350. 325 was just not hot enough. I’ll try to comment again after the 2nd batch.
Have a pan full of these muffins in the oven and can’t wait to try them.
Will let you know how they turned out….
Just had a decaf with a muffin and cream cheese and it was delightful !!
Smelled wonderful, great texture and fixed my craving.
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
So glad you liked them!
oh my, i can’t wait to try these with a morning cuppa coffee!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.ca/
These look incredible Carolyn! I am a fan of anything pumpkin! 🙂
I’ve been thinking of pumpkin muffins recently – great idea using flaxseed instead of bran!
Flaxmeal adds such a great texture to these, they really look like bran muffins!