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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So sorry to hear of your husband’s accident and injury. Prayers for a full and good recovery.
The muffins look soooo good! Do you think that they would freeze well? I would like to be able to make a batch, freeze, and then pull one out when desired.
I know the muffin part would freeze quite well. The cream cheese might change texture a bit, but I think it’s still worth it to have them on hand when you wan them! The flavour would still be delicious.
Thank you so much for your response! I think I will try baking and freezing – give it a shot anyway. They just look too good to pass up.
So sorry to hear about what your husband’s having to go through, Carolyn! You all are in my thoughts! Love these muffins. A very comforting breakfast or snack!
Thanks, Georgia!
Sorry to hear about your husband, and glad it wasn’t worse!! Your family is the most important before anything else, so concentrate on that!
This recipe looks amazing, I’m going to make it in the morning. Does anybody know if I can use Splenda instead of erythritol and just use whole milk instead of almond milk?
Yes to the whole milk. I am sure splenda would be fine too, but I don’t really work with it so I can’t say for sure.
I just made these and they are really, really, really, really, really, good! I used Splenda and cream for the almond milk and it turned out just great. Excellent as written, but next time I’m going to use more spice because I love heartburn. 🙂 I also filled the cups up to the top so got 12 muffins exactly.
Thank you for this recipe! I’m glad your husband is doing well, too.
Thanks so much for this great looking recipe! Prayers for all of you as your husband goes through surgery and recovery. So glad it was not worse.
In 2006, I slipped and fell on a hillside dirt trail (I was headed downhill). Unfortunately, I tucked my left leg under me and landed quite hard on it, breaking the tibia and badly dislocating the ankle. After a four-hour surgery, the doc told me my ankle muscles were like spaghetti and that he had placed a metal plate in the ankle. Full recover took some time, but my leg is fine now. He offered to remove the metal plate, but that involved another surgery, so I declined. I lost some weight recently through a low carb life-style change and noticed that the plate is a little more pronounced. Otherwise, it’s all fine–never had any pain, no movement restrictions and I don’t set off metal detectors.
Prayers and best wishes to you all…
sounds like a very similar surgery! Tim has a plate and several screws, along with some pins to keep the tibia and fibula together for now, since the ligaments were so badly damaged by the dislocation. It’s good to hear you are all healed.
Now that you mention it, I had pins, also. His sounds more complex than my injury, but he’s young and will likely heal quickly and completely. Well, that’s what we’re praying for, isn’t it? Best to you all through the healing time…And thanks for sharing so much of yourself and your life, along with all the wonderful, nourishing food!
we will be fine..thanks for sharing what is going on with you. this is a good time to see if any of us want to share recipes online while you all manage life at your house. i would be happy to contribute.. take care of yourself, too.
Sure, Jillian! I once put out a call for recipes from readers but I didn’t get much response. What do you have that you’d like to share?
I was happy to see that your husband came out of surgery okay. I’ll be thinking of you and your family the next few weeks and I hope Tim will recover quickly.
Let me know if you need any online help and I’ll be there! I’ve just scheduled several of your posts on FB for the next month in hopes of helping (even if just a little!)
Oh and the muffins? Love them. 🙂
Thanks so much, Erin. Even the littlest things help!
So sorry to hear about your husband! I hope he has a quick recovery!
These muffins look incredible!
Boy, I broke my ankle badly a few years ago, and while it was nothing as traumatic as being hit by a car, it still turned my life upsidedown in an instant. You have my sympathy and best wishes. It’s quite a slog coming back from this sort of surgery, and your husband is lucky to have such a loving family to help him through it. Don’t worry about us … we can mine your archives for a good long while. Take care of your family.
Thanks, Susan!
If you care for your hubby like you do for the rest of us with your amazing recipes, he’ll be better in no time! My thoughts and prayers are with you both, and don’t forget to take care of YOU too! hugs!
Thank you!
Holy, Carolyn.. Really hope everything goes well with your husband’s surgery and recovery. You’ll have your hands full for the next little while but take care of yourself and your family and the blog will wait!
Your husband can’t help but get better with all the care that you put into everything that you do. Best wishes for a super speedy recovery and don’t forget to take care of yourself, too!
Thinking of you, Tim and your whole family, Carolyn. Hope Tim’s recovery is totally uneventful…and that he won’t need any more interventions. xo
PS…your muffins look TERRIFIC!!!
Thanks, Liz!
Wishing you Husband a speedy recovery…my nephew just had surgery to put his lower leg back together after a motorcross accident (his leg was in about 200 pieces)…and OMG am I glad for this recipe…you have no idea how hard it is to look at those muffins everyday and not eat one…now I can take one to work with me and enjoy it with my Thanksgiving Blend 🙂
Hope your nephew recovers well!
I made these tonight and they were fabulous. I only had chocolate whey powder so I used that. Couldn’t even taste the chocolate so it worked fine. My kids said they would eat low carb if they could eat these every day. Wishing your hubby a speedy recovery!
Wow, I totally would have thought that the chocolate whey powder would come through in flavour. Glad they worked out!
Wishing your husband a speedy recovery.
Thank you.
Oh Carolyn, my heart goes out to you in this time of distress! I pray that that your husband’s time in the hospital is successful and short. And I have no doubt in my mind that the attention of you and your children will speed his recovery at home. Will definitely make the muffins for Saturday Bible study and offer ongoing prayers to your and your family for a total recovery.
Thank you!