Looking for the best keto lemon muffins around? These tender cream cheese muffins are easy to make, with a bright luscious lemon flavor. Grain-free!
Spring is springing and lemon recipes are popping up everywhere. And I demand that you put these Keto Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins to the top of your must-make list.
Yep, I absolutely demand it. Because adding cream cheese to your keto muffin batter is a game changer.
I can hear some of you right now: “But Carolyn, you already have a bunch of cream cheese muffin recipes”. And yes, friends, that is correct. There is my ever popular Starbucks copycat Keto Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. And my recently updated Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins.
But while both of those recipes feature a delicious cream cheese center, it’s not in the batter itself. And after my success with Keto Gingerbread Cream Cheese Pound Cake, I found I was eager to try that method again.
Best ever keto lemon muffins?
I am inclined to say yes. I’ve made any number of low carb lemon muffin recipes, but I realized the other day that I don’t have a single one featured here on my blog, as they were all written for other publications.
One of my favorites is the Lemon Ricotta Muffins I created for The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking. If you love to bake, I cannot recommend my new cookbook enough.
It was time to address the lack of a keto lemon muffin recipe on my site, and after poking around and doing some research, I decided to try them as cream cheese muffins.
Oh my word, I am glad I did! Adding cream cheese to keto muffins gives them both great structure and a rich tenderness that is unparalleled. This may be my new favorite way of making muffins!
How to make keto cream cheese muffins
Darlings, it’s as easy as softening some cream cheese with your butter, and beating them together with the other keto ingredients. But as always, I have some great tips for you to make them perfect.
Room temperature ingredients: You may have seen me mention this before but it’s important. All the beating and creaming of the cream cheese and butter will be for nothing if you add cold eggs. It will clump up and your batter won’t be smooth.
Your choice of sweetener: The muffin batter will be great with any sweetener you like best, as the cream cheese is what provides structure and consistency. You do need a powdered sweetener if you choose to make the drizzle.
Eggs or egg yolks? The egg yolks in this recipe help give these keto lemon muffins a deep rich yellow. If you would prefer, you can use another whole egg instead.
Why protein powder? Oh boy, I get asked this a lot! Simple answer: Gluten is a protein and in its absence, another dry protein powder helps keto baked goods rise and hold their shape. The best sub for whey protein is egg white protein.
Almond flour and coconut flour: I really do love this combination of keto flours and I always use Bob’s Red Mill for both. If you prefer to use only almond flour, you will need an additional 1/4 cup.
Can you make cream cheese muffins dairy-free?
Well, I haven’t tried it myself but I do think you can. Kite Hill almond milk “cream cheese” is an excellent option, and I’ve found it works well in almost all cases. So you should be able to sub that for the cream cheese.
For the butter, you can use coconut oil or another non-dairy oil. If it’s a liquid oil, such as avocado, add it in along with the eggs.
Replace the whey protein with egg white protein powder. Voila! Dairy-free keto lemon muffins.
More keto lemon recipes
- Keto Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- Keto Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake
- Easy Keto Lemon Curd
- Low Carb Lemon Ricotta Scones
- Keto Lemon Butter Cookies
- Keto Lemon Coconut Balls
Keto Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, softened
- 2/3 cup (121.33 g) granulated Swerve Sweetener
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (160 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (27 g) unflavoured whey protein powder
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
Lemon Drizzle (optional)
- 1/4 cup (45.5 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 1/2 tbsp (1.5 tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with silicone or parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Beat in the sweetener and then beat in the eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- All at once, add the almond flour, whey protein, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt, and beat until thoroughly mixed.
- Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden and set to the touch. Let cool completely in the pan.
Drizzle
- In a medium bowl, whisk the sweetener together with the lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled muffins.
Video
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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Love these muffins, especially since I followed your instructions about how to measure out the flour (don’t scoop out of the bag!). I think I like the muffin even better without the glaze, the texture is great! Thanks for another great recipe.
Great to hear!
I just made these and they are fabulous!!!!! So moist and tasty. Thanks again for an incredible recipe!!
Love these! Can these be kept on the counter, or is the fridge needed?
Don’t know why I haven’t tried these before now. It’s going on my menu plan for next week and I think I may add a handful of Saskatoon berries to the batter right before baking.