Finally, a pumpkin protein muffin that is moist and tender, full of flavor and with 7 grams of protein. These protein pumpkin muffins are made with a full can of pumpkin puree and whole wheat flour for added fiber. Plus, they’re topped with the most amazing pepita streusel. Your search for the perfect protein muffin is over!
You know I’m partial to a protein packed breakfast, often opting for egg bites or loaded overnight oats. But every now and then I crave a muffin with my coffee, especially as the temperatures drop.
This pumpkin muffin works by being lower in sugar and saturated fat than most baked goods, plus protein. Combine with a cup of Greek yogurt or egg and asparagus casserole for a protein packed breakfast. Also, they defy the usual dryness typical of whole wheat flour muffins, and are instead crazy moist and tender! Give them a try and I bet you’ll end up craving them throughout the Fall season.
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Why you’ll love these
- A health-conscious muffin that actually tastes delicious! Lower in saturated fat (opting for olive oil over butter) as well as added sugar, but still plenty sweet. And of course, a decent amount of protein and fiber, especially for a baked good!
- Perfect to prep for crazy school mornings when the kids don’t have time to eat, but you want them to get a little something nutritious in their stomachs!
- Great for gift-giving or entertaining. Serve these at brunch along with egg bites, a breakfast salad and these muffins, for an impressive yet simple spread. Or gift a batch to a neighbor.
Ingredients
- Pumpkin puree – we use a whole can in these muffins to really enhance flavor, add moisture and fiber.
- Pumpkin protein powder – opt for a protein powder that has good reviews for adding to baked goods. Generally whey protein powders will be the best choice because of its mild flavor and smooth texture. I purchased this brand and found it worked perfectly, but you can use whichever brand you prefer.
- Whole wheat and all purpose flour – baking with 100% whole wheat can be a bit challenging and yield inconsistent results. So instead we opted for a 50/50 blend that is more forgiving, yet still adds extra protein and fiber.
- Olive oil – we wanted to try and keep the saturated fat lower than typical pumpkin muffins, so we subbed butter for olive oil. Olive oil has 30 grams of saturated fat per cup, versus butter has 117 grams of saturated fat. Adding some sort of fat is necessary in baked goods to keep them moist and tender.
- Buttermilk – buttermilk does a nice job breaking down the whole wheat flour and is a bit lower in saturated fat. Plus it’s higher in protein than whole milk.
- Eggs – 2 large eggs weighing approximately 50 grams each, at room temperature.
- Brown sugar – thanks to the sweetness of the pumpkin protein powder, we can lower the amount of sugar you would typically use in muffins.
- Pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and baking powder, salt and vanilla extract are the last things you’ll need for these pumpkin muffins.
for the pepita Streusel Topping
- Pepitas – toast them on the stovetop for just a few minutes to heighten their flavor.
- Dark chocolate chips – preferably the mini ones so they mix in well with the ground pepitas.
- Sugar, pumpkin pie spice and a pinch of salt, the crucial ingredients to give the streusel the perfect bit of sweetness.
Are these pumpkin muffins really healthy?
Most baked goods that actually taste good will have some form of added sugar and fat. However these protein pumpkin muffins stack up much better than the average pumpkin muffin, which is almost 400 calories, with 16 grams of fat and 39 grams of sugar. They also only have about 3-5 grams of protein.
Our muffins are well under 250 calories per serving, and contain 7 grams of protein, only 10 grams of fat (3 grams saturated), and 17 grams of sugar.
How to make these protein muffins
- Step 1: Combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder in a medium mixing bowl and stir till incorporated.
- Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, olive oil, buttermilk, pumpkin protein powder, vanilla, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until all ingredients are fully combined.
- Step 3: Transfer the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir till well combined, taking care not to overmix. When the batter is ready, cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Step 4: While the muffin batter is resting, make the pepita streusel topping. Lightly toast the pepitas on the stovetop for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Add sugar, spices and pepitas to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into ground to a medium-coarse texture.
- Step 5: Do not over-process the pepita mixture to a fine powder; there should still be medium sized seed chunks as shown. Stir in dark chocolate chips.
- Step 6: When the batter is done resting, spoon equal amounts of batter to muffin tins lined with muffin liners. Make sure to lightly spray each paper muffin liner with a bit of baking spray so the pumpkin protein muffins don’t stick.
- Step 7: Gently spoon and press about 1-2 tablespoons of the pepita streusel topping onto each pumpkin muffin.
- Step 2: Bake in a 400 degrees f oven for 16-18 minutes, until a knife comes out clean and batter is firmly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the muffin tin and setting out to cool completely.
Enjoy these with a cup of coffee or tea at breakfast, or even for a little mid-day snack. They are so moist and flavorful, you really won’t believe they’re lower than a typical bakery muffin.
recipe substitutions
- Vanilla Pumpkin Protein Muffins: If you don’t have pumpkin protein powder and don’t want to buy a bag, feel free to use your favorite vanilla protein powder instead.
- Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Muffins: Add chocolate protein powder for a rich flavor that plays off the pumpkin nicely.
- Don’t have buttermilk? No problem. Feel free to use plain whole milk, or make your own buttermilk by adding lemon juice or vinegar to plain whole milk. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk.
- Sugar swap? Granulated sugar can be substituted for brown sugar in both the protein muffins and streusel topping.
Protein muffin baking tip
Whey protein powder is our recommendation for including in baked goods. It mixes in well while not altering the texture and it is available in a variety of flavors. Vegan protein powders can be used, however it is worth experimenting in smaller batches of baked goods to see if and how the powder affects the texture.
Recipe FAQ’s
Store in an air-tight container like a cake pan with a lid, in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also wrap them individually in saran wrap and store in a Ziploc bag for a quick grab and go snack.
Yes, it’s so easy to freeze any flavor of protein muffin. Wrap each muffin individually in freezer wrap or saran wrap and store in a freezer proof Ziploc bag for 3-6 months. Remove and thaw at room temperature, or unwrap and microwave for 30 seconds on medium power, and 30 seconds at high power.
For a high protein breakfast, Serve these muffins with:
- Bacon and Gruyere High Protein Egg Bites
- Air Fryer Breakfast Sausage
- Prosciutto Egg Cups
- Baked Eggs and Asparagus
Pumpkin Muffins Protein Flavored
Equipment
- 1 Muffin Tin
- 12 Muffin Liners
Ingredients
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup brown sugar lightly packed
- ⅓ cup olive oil may substitute canola oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 serving pumpkin protein powder 26 grams
- ¾ cup all purpose flour 90 grams
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour 85 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Pepita Dark Chocolate Streusel
- ⅓ cup pepitas lightly toasted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup mini dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder in a medium mixing bowl and stir till incorporated.¾ cup all purpose flour, ¾ cup whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, olive oil, buttermilk, pumpkin protein powder, vanilla, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until all ingredients are fully combined.1 can pumpkin puree, 2 large eggs, ½ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, 1.5 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ¾ cup buttermilk, 1 serving pumpkin protein powder
- Transfer the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir till well combined, taking care not to overmix. When the batter is ready, cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Pepita streusel topping
- While the muffin batter is resting, make the pepita streusel topping. Lightly toast the pepitas on the stovetop for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Add sugar, spices and pepitas to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into ground to a medium-coarse texture.⅓ cup pepitas, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, pinch of salt
- Do not over-process the pepita mixture to a fine powder; there should still be medium sized seed chunks as shown.
- Stir in dark chocolate chips to pepita mixture. Feel free to use mini or standard size dark chocolate chips.¼ cup mini dark chocolate chips
Assemble protein muffins
- When the batter is done resting, spoon equal amounts of batter to muffin tins lined with muffin liners. Make sure to lightly spray each paper muffin liner with a bit of baking spray so the pumpkin protein muffins don’t stick.
- Gently spoon and press in the pepita streusel topping onto each pumpkin muffin.
- Bake in a 400 degrees f oven for 16-18 minutes, until a knife comes out clean and batter is firmly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the muffin tin and setting on a rack to cool completely.
Kris Ella says
Made these muffins yesterday and they were delicious! I was following your Instagram teases of this recipe as you were testing it and the end result was worth it. This will be on repeat in my house, especially in the fall. I would love to make this as a bread instead of muffins. Any tweaks needed to convert it to a bread? And any advice on how long to cook in a 9×5 bread tin? Many thanks!
Andrea Howe says
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe. I really appreciate your taking the time to let me know! While I haven’t recipe tested this as a loaf, generally you can convert muffin recipes into loaves no problem, you just have to adjust the bake time and temp. I would take the baking temp down to 375 and bake for about 45 minutes. Test and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes if need be. Just make sure to spray/line the loaf pan! I hope this works, please do let me know 🙂
Julianne Wiley says
JUst what I was looking for!
Julianne Wiley says
What size can of pumpkin puree? There are 3 sizes out there.
Andrea Howe says
15 ounces 🙂 I will add a note to clarify thank you
Samantha Bobek says
I loved this! The family did too 🙂