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Published: Mar 12, 2020 · Modified: Mar 21, 2021 by Carolyn

Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins – Keto Recipe

Name: Keto Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 4 ounces cream cheese (softened); 1/4 cup butter (softened); 2/3 cup 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 vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups almond flour; 1/4 cup unflavoured whey protein powder; 2 tbsp coconut flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener; 1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

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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!

Close up image of keto lemon muffins with a glaze drizzled over and dripping down.

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.

Top down photo of keto lemon cream cheese muffins on a brown plate on a blue table. Lemons and cherry blossoms around.

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!

Keto lemon muffins on a white plate with lemons in the background.

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 ¼ cup.

Top down photo of lemon cream cheese muffins on a blue table.

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 Cream Cheese Muffins

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!

4.93 from 28 votes

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Brunch

Keyword: cream cheese muffins, keto lemon muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: muffins

Calories: 186kcal

Ingredients

Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins

4 ounces cream cheese softened
¼ cup butter softened
⅔ cup granulated Swerve Sweetener
2 large eggs room temperature
2 large egg yolks room temperature
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon lemon extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups almond flour
¼ cup unflavoured whey protein powder
2 tablespoon coconut flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Lemon Drizzle (optional)

¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
1 ½ tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

US Customary – Metric

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.

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Nutrition Facts

Keto Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins

Amount Per Serving (1 muffin)

Calories 186 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Carbohydrates 4.9g2%

Fiber 2g8%

Protein 6.7g13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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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