Mug cakes or muffins-in-a-minute? Whatever you call them, here are 27 delicious low carb recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth any time of day.
Mug cake was something of a revelation for me when I became a food blogger. I’d honestly never heard of these almost-instant cakes until I started reading other food blogs and finding recipes on the internet. They were like the little hidden secret of the recipe world, not to be found in the usual channels of cookbooks, cooking magazines or Food Network shows. To say I was skeptical was an understatement. How could a few quick ingredients tossed together and cooked for a minute in the microwave taste any good? But in desperation for something sweet one day, I decided to give one a try. Mind you, I had to give it a thorough makeover, since the one I was working from was of the full flour and sugar variety. But one bite and I was hooked.
Whether you call them mug cakes, one minute muffins, or muffins in a mug, they have a solid place in the low carb, gluten-free annals. They are easy to make and often just as tasty as more labor-intensive cakes, although rarely as pretty. And they offer automatic portion control. So I spent some time hunting up the best low carb mug cakes on the internet. Whether you are a chocolate lover or prefer cinnamon or fruity flavors, you are sure to find something you love.
Chocolate Hazelnut Mug Cake from All Day I Dream About Food
Carrot Cake Mug Cake from Sugar-Free Mom
Lemon Coconut Mug Cake from Counting All Joy
Strawberry Mug Cake from I Breathe I’m Hungry
Lemon Poppyseed Muffin in a Mug from Gwen’s Nest
Meyer Lemon Mug Cake from All Day I Dream About Food
Salted Caramel Mug Cake from Holistically Engineered
Chocolate Brownie Mug Cake from I Breathe, I’m Hungry
Cinnamon Walnut Mug Cake from A Home With Purpose
Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Mug Cake from Sugar-Free Mom
Red Velvet Mug Cake from All Day I Dream About Food
Peanut Butter Crunch Mug Cake from Grassfed Mama
Lemon Mug Cake from Low Carb Ella
Pumpkin Chai Mug Cake from I Breathe, I’m Hungry
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake from Chocolate Covered Katie
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mug Cake from All Day I Dream About Food
Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake from DJ Foodie
Zucchini Muffin in a Mug from Simply Healthy Home
Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Mug Cake from Ripped Recipes
Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Mug Cake from Cut The Wheat
Samoa Mug Cake from Hearth and Hospitality
Nut-Free Dairy-Free Lemon Blueberry Mug Cake from All Day I Dream About Food
Cheesecake in a Mug from Your Lighter Side
Blueberry Muffin in a Minute from Holistically Engineered
Chocolate Frosted Mug Cake from Yaya Recommended
Jan says
Great collection! Thanks, Carolyn!
Michelle K says
I have always had the same hesitation. I guess it’s time to bite the bullet and go for it! Thanks for giving me 25 reasons to try!
Michelle K says
Or make that 27…….:)
Malainie says
Elizabeth at Up Late Anyway uses a mug cake to make French toast with. Looks good: http://uplateanyway.com/keto/french-toast/
I love mug cakes. Thanks for doing the research for this. Craig Clarke at ruled.me, also has a lot of mug cakes, both sweet and savory.
Judith says
After many years of LC, I developed an aversion to eggs. Now, I cannot believe I ever loved mock Danish, which makes me gag now. Same with mug cakes. I noticed one blogger had eggless so I am going to try using flax/chia egg. It makes the texture in your pancakes really soft and puffy so…..I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for this.
Laura | BakingOutsidetheBox says
Thank you! I’ve been back on the LC wagon less than a week and I’m dying for something sweet. Now all I have to do is decide which one… 🙂
Kiki says
15 grams of carb per serving is not low carb (I just looked at one random recipe). At least not for me it isn’t.
Carolyn says
Uh oh, which one is that? They should all be under 10, I thought i had checked them all!
Malainie says
Maybe Kiki was looking at total carbs,, not net carbs.
Judith says
Exactly! And 15 may be LC depending on your plan or where you are in your journey.
Carmen says
If no one has told you lately….I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU!!!!
Thank you again for your dedication to this site and these AWESOME recipies/links!!!
Ruth says
Okay…I just pulled these out of the oven, cooked at chocolates covered them and when your husband says “you nailed it with these” they must be good and I myself would say they are amazing!!!! Thank you Carolyn!! You’re recipes never fail!
Robin says
I went to the Rachel Cooks website for the Meyer Lemon mug cake. What a frustrating site! I understand supporting other sites, but I will copy the recipe and avoid her site. I Wish you had just given the recipe. Eager to try it.
Maggie mc says
Good recipes
Tanja says
My daugther likes the idea of that fast mug cakes, but they usually turn out to be kind of gummy and spongy. The consistency is just weird…. are we doing something wrong?
Carolyn says
It’s the nature of microwave cooking. You can always try doing them in the oven instead.
Sandra says
Brilliant! Who was the clever person that came up with the single serve mug cake idea? It is exactly the help a person losing weight needs. No need to worry about being tempted by a second helping because there is no second helping. I made the single serve Cheesecake in a Mug Friday night. It was very good. I felt very satisfied. Oddly enough I also felt very virtuous because I knew I would not be taking a second serving. Nice concept!
Julie Chandler says
There’s a delicious pumpkin mug cake in the KetoDiet cookbook. I make up a batch of the dry ingredients so its even quicker to make one for breakfast whenever I fancy it. Looking forward to trying some from list so thanks for posting ?
Margie says
OK, I have finally found my chocolate snack cake. Working at home today, I made this during a break this afternoon. I ate it with some vanilla sour cream. It was heavenly. And the chocolate square in addition to the cocoa, really adds something to it.
Margie says
Sorry, it is the chocolate brownie cake from “I breathe, I’m hungry”. It’s perfect.
Donna says
I would love to see a Low Carb Pancake in a Mug recipe. Any suggestions?