Try these delectable keto pumpkin muffins with a rich gooey cream cheese center. They’re a delicious fall breakfast or snack. So good that you might even want to eat them for dessert!
You don’t want to mess with perfection. Take these keto pumpkin muffins, for example. I first posted this recipe back in 2013 and they were a huge hit from the get-go. Readers love them, and my family does too. So we make them every fall.
It’s one of my most popular keto muffin recipes, and with good reason. They have that classic pumpkin spice flavor, with a gooey, creamy cheesecake center. No one can believe they’re sugar free.
They are, of course, modeled after the famous pumpkin muffins from Starbucks. And they taste just as delicious, but with a mere fraction of the carbs.
How does that sound to you, pumpkin lovers???
Why you must try this recipe
In case you haven’t noticed, I am a huge fan of keto pumpkin recipes. There is something so lovely and comforting about the warm spices paired with pumpkin puree.
And these muffins are no exception. They are tender and sweet, with hints of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. And that sweet cheesecake center takes them to the next level. But if you prefer them plain, I offer instructions for that too!
Best of all, these keto pumpkin muffins have only 3.7g net carbs per serving. Compare that to the hefty 53g of carbs in the Starbucks version.
Other fan favorites include my Keto Pumpkin Cream Pie and Easy Pumpkin Breakfast Bars. And let me not forget my updated Keto Pumpkin Bread, which gets rave reviews every time!
Reader Testimonials
“I made these exactly as written. They were easy to make and tasted fabulous! I can always count on your recipes to be delicious!” — Dana
“These are pure perfection, so delicious! I like extra simple recipes with standard ingredients, and even with the a separate filling, these are simple enough for me to put in regular rotation. I just need to remember to make a double batch next time. Thank you!” — Jamie
“These muffins are the VERY BEST thing I’ve made using Keto ingredients! Thanks!” — Kathy
Ingredients you need
Cream Cheese Filling:
- Cream cheese: Use full fat cream cheese as low fat cream cheese has fillers that can make it higher in carbs.
- Powdered Swerve Sweetener: Use a powdered sweetener for the cream cheese filling so there’s no residual grittiness.
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla extract
Pumpkin Muffins:
- Almond flour: Choose a good, finely ground almond flour for the best texture. This recipe won’t work well with coconut flour, but you can use sunflower seed flour for a nut-free version.
- Swerve Brown: A brown sugar replacement is ideal for the best keto pumpkin muffins. But any granular sweetener should be fine in these, so use what you like best. Do be aware that allulose will make them brown much faster.
- Unflavoured whey protein powder: It’s important to understand the science behind keto baking. Gluten is a protein and in its absence, another dry protein helps baked goods rise properly. You can skip the protein powder, but your muffins will be more dense and fragile. You can also use egg white protein powder instead.
- Pumpkin pie spice: If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can combine ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
- Pumpkin purée: You can use homemade or canned pumpkin purée. If it’s on the thinner side, reduce the amount of added liquid.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, butter, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract.
Step-by-step directions
1. Prepare the filling: Beat the cream cheese with the powdered sweetener, cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
3. Stir in the wet ingredients: Add the eggs, pumpkin puree, melted butter, water, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
4. Fill the muffins: Line a muffin tin with parchment or silicone liners. Drop a spoonful of batter into the bottom of each and use a spoon to make a well in the center. Drop a tablespoon of the filling into the well, then top with more batter to cover.
5. Bake the muffins: Bake at 325F for 23 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are set and the edges are browned. Let cool in the pan.
Expert tips
The filling is optional! I have made these keto pumpkin muffins several different ways. I love the filled muffin style, but I have also swirled the cream cheese into the top of the batter (very pretty!). And I’ve made them with no filling at all!
So if you prefer a classic pumpkin muffin, feel free to skip the filling. Adding chopped nuts or chocolate chips is delicious too.
The rise and fall of keto pumpkin muffins: If you do make filled muffins, expect them to rise nicely and then sink a bit as they cool. That is the nature of cream cheese stuffed goodies. The filling expands during baking, and then contracts as it cools. So a little sink hole will appear in the tops of the muffins. They still taste fabulous!
Dairy-Free Option: You can make these muffins dairy-free as well, with egg white protein powder, dairy-free cream cheese, and coconut cream. Replace the butter with your oil of choice and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Canned pumpkin puree has 12g of carbs and 4g of fiber per half cup serving. While it’s not the lowest carb option, it can be consumed on a keto diet in small quantities. This keto muffin recipe uses only half a cup spread out over 12 servings, so it’s very keto-friendly.
This keto muffin recipe has 6.1g of carbs and 2.4g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.7g net carbs per muffin.
This keto pumpkin muffin recipe was developed and tested using almond flour. However, you can use sunflower seed flour as a 1 to 1 replacement. Just remember to add a tablespoon of lemon juice to offset the reaction between sunflower seeds and baking powder. They will turn a lovely shade of green if you forget!
More recipes you might enjoy
Keto Pumpkin Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 6 oz (170.1 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Pumpkin Muffins:
- 2 cups (210 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (91 g) Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup (27 g) unflavoured whey protein powder, (or egg white protein)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, (Or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large (2) eggs
- 1/2 cup (122.5 g) pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (62.5 g) water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cream cheese filling
- Beat the cream cheese with the powdered sweetener, cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
Muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a muffin tin with parchment or silicone liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- Add the eggs, pumpkin puree, melted butter, water, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Drop a spoonful of batter into the bottom of the prepared muffin tins and use a spoon to make a well in the center of each. Drop a tablespoon of cream cheese filling into the well, then top with more batter to cover.
- Bake 23 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are set and the edges are just browned. Let cool completely in the pan.
Notes
Variations:
Swirled Pumpkin Muffins: Instead of filling the muffins, swirl the cream cheese into the batter top of the batter. Bake as directed.
Plain Pumpkin Muffins: Fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake 15 to 20 minutes. They will bake faster than those with cream cheese. You can also add chocolate chips or chopped nuts.
Storage information:
Store the muffins in a covered container on the counter for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 7 days. They can also be frozen for several months.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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Can I substitute honey or maple syrup for Swerve Sweetener? looking forward to making this!
I am sorry, I don’t use them. But I think you risk throwing off the wet to dry ratio.
Hi Carolyn! 🤗
May I used unflavored gelatin instead of whey protein?
Pls, let me know .
Thanks for all your recipes 🥰🥰
Gelatin is not a good sub for protein powder. It will make the muffins gummy and hard to cook through.
I had some leftover pumpkin puree from making another recipe from All day I dream about food. I decided to make these pumpkin cream cheese muffins and they don’t disappoint! I decided to freeze half the batch so I can have some now and enjoy again at a later date!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Morning Caroline, it’s a drizzly fall day here in Merrickville ( small town on the Rideau Canal outside of Ottawa). Just warmed a Pumpkin Spice Muffin and poured another cup of coffee while browsing through your Soups and Stews Recipes book, figuring out what to make for dinner! Thank you for all you do!
Thank you! Enjoy your day.
Another winner, Carolyn! (I have yet to find any of your recipes less than 5*) These made up easy. I chose to swirl the cream cheese middle with the top scoop of batter and they were like velvet in my mouth with that rich, sweet pumpkin spice flavor. I have silicone baking cups and they are 3 different shapes so I could not fit them in a muffin tin. I set them on a baking sheet and they took 27 minutes to look set on top with the edges just turning brown. They probably could have used another minute. The mix filled my cups to the very top and a couple of them ran over but even those bits were delicious. We each ate one and froze the rest. These are definitely dessert quality and will be on the weekly rotation.
Nicely sized flavor-packed portions of spicy and creamy goodness. I froze a few of them and they thawed out nicely, although the crumb consistency wasn’t quite as nice as when fresh. Best way to eat them (besides fresh out of the oven!) is to warm them up for 20 seconds in the microwave. Yum!
A nice variety to add to breakfast.
Too tender to eat without a fork – but that was fine.
I put some chopped walnuts on top and a sprinkle of extra pumpkin spice.
Great flavor. Having the leftovers today 🙂
These tasted better with each day that they were stored in the fridge. Made them with the cream cheese and without it. So good! Thank you for your hard work and dedication.
These are delicious!!! I added a little more sugar to the cream cheese filling because I like sweet, but otherwise I didn’t change the recipe. Very moist and great with coffee. No one at work knew they were sugar-free!
These sound so good! I don’t have any kind of whey or egg white protein powder… if I omit, will it ruin it? I’ve made other keto muffins that didn’t call for it so wasn’t sure if it was just for a protein boost or if it’s a critical ingredient for it to bake correctly.
Please read my blog post as to why it’s necessary.
Wowza, so gooood!!!
I was trying to hold off so I can bake them in my oven but today I decided to make half the recipe in my Cuisinart toaster oven. I baked at 300* for 19 minutes and they came out perfecto! I added 1/4c of chopped pecans, some to the batter and some to the tops. I also doubled the pumpkin spice for a spicier flavor. I better hide them from myself now because just writing this, I’m drooling, hehe.
Thanks again, Carolyn! They are yummy!!!
Love love this recipe! I made it 3 times this month and my sister also made it for my mom. We’re trying to give her low carb options for desserts. She’s very picky and loved it! I can’t wait to try more of your fall goodies! Thank you Carolyn! I also posted a video i did of me making them and tagged you on Insta!
I made the Keto Pumpkin Muffin today. Yummy as all of Carolyn’s recipes are! A great recipe to start the fall with. I think next time I will add a little more pumpkin pie spice as it seemed a little light on the spice. Yes, I will make this recipe again!
I made this recipe for your Sept 2023 Keto Cooking Challenge.
However, I did not make it with the cream cheese filling as I was doing a comparison of the muffin with another muffin recipe and I oopsied! I made 6 muffins out of a 12 muffin recipe (for both of them)! They were (both) huge, and that kept the “comparison” equal.
They baked up very well despite the fact that they were twice the size they were supposed to be and they tasted just fine except for the fact that the erythritol in the Swerve was very noticeable in the final product. Perhaps next time I will use Allulose.
I wanted to share these with a friend of mine who is dairy free and I would like to know if the following substitutions would work:
1, Can I sub “Isopure” protein powder for the “whey” protein powder?
2. Can I sub in some type of oil for the melted butter?
I will be posting a pic of the muffins on your FB page as an “additional entry” in this month’s challenge. Thank you for the chance to win some $$$ to add some groceries to my keto pantry.
Patricia
One of the easiest and delicious recipies! My son is a Type 1 diabetic and we’re constantly looking for new desserts and treats to try. This one was a hit! Cake is super moist and the cream cheese filling was an incredible addition. Make sure to let them cool completely before enjoying, but will definitely be making these a few times this Fall!
These muffins were exactly what I neededfor my book club. No one even knew they were KETO! Easy to make and delicious to eat! Will definitely make them again! Came out perfect!!