These pumpkin protein muffins are a delicious treat that combines the warm, comforting flavors of pumpkin with protein. These moist and tender muffins make for a perfect snack or breakfast option as they’re so satisfying and easy to make. They’re great for meal prepping and they freeze well!
Warm, tender, and sweet, these pumpkin protein muffins are a delicious recipe that’s SO easy to make. You don’t need any special equipment as the batter is simply hand-mixed in bowls and comes together in a few short minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They’re tender, moist, and full of chocolate chips! What’s not to love about that? If you like my pumpkin banana muffins, then you’ll love these pumpkin muffins with protein if you’re looking for an easy way to increase your protein intake.
- You don’t need a mixer to make these muffins! Everything is mixed together in two bowls with a spatula. Easy peasy!
- They’re perfect for meal prepping as they keep well and they’re also great for freezing.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- flour — you don’t need anything fancy to make these pumpkin protein muffins, just all-purpose flour!
- whey protein — I’m using vanilla whey protein (the exact one is Whey Protein Isolate from Canadian Protein). I don’t recommend swapping the protein powder for a different type as it’ll affect the end results. For example, using casein protein powder may lead the muffins to be dense as they’re much more absorbent than whey protein isolate.
- leavening agents — make sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh for the best results. Stale baking soda and powder will lead to disappointing results as they won’t help lift your muffins.
- salt — just a pinch to balance out the flavors.
- cinnamon — I love the warm and cozy flavors that ground cinnamon adds to the muffins.
- pumpkin pie spice — pumpkin pie spice is made up of an irresistible blend of warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
- mashed bananas — you want super spotty bananas as they’re more sweet! Mashed bananas add moisture, tenderness, and sweetness to the muffins. It also allows you to reduce the added oil in baked goods. Don’t skimp out on the bananas as you need the moisture to balance out the protein powder.
- pumpkin puree — make sure you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. They’re usually side by side on the shelves, but pumpkin pie filling comes pre-spiced and sweetened. Pumpkin puree acts as a sweetener and adds moisture to the muffins. Try my homemade pumpkin puree if you can’t find it in a can!
- eggs — make sure the eggs are at room temperature. This ensures they mix into the batter without you having to overmix it.
- vanilla — use real vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- milk — use whole milk for the best flavor.
- oil — using oil in protein pumpkin muffins helps them stay soft and tender at room temperature. You can use vegetable or canola oil.
- brown sugar — I like to use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar for my muffins as they add a deep, caramel or toffee-like flavor due to the added molasses. It also adds extra moisture, leading to the muffins being softer and moister.
- chocolate chips — I love using mini chocolate chips as you get a bunch of a little bites of chocolate throughout the muffins. If you only have regular chocolate chips, that’s totally fine. You’ll get lovely pockets of chocolate instead.
How to Make Pumpkin Protein Muffins
- Heat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Stir until well combined.
- In another large mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas, pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla extract, brown sugar, oil, and milk.
- Stir to combine.
- Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients, then fold everything together until just combined and no flour pockets remain. Be careful not to overmix!
- Add almost all the mini chocolate chips to the muffin batter (add all the chocolate chips if you don’t want to sprinkle any on top). Gently fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
- Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or line it with cupcake liners. Spoon the batter into liners, filling them almost all the way to the top. Top with the leftover chocolate chips.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then without removing the muffins from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for an additional 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20 to 23 minutes.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin before removing and enjoying.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- I recommend you use two bowls as mixing everything separately will yield the best results and a more even texture in your baking. You don’t want to overmix the batter by adding everything into one bowl at once.
- When using protein powder in baking, I recommend not adjusting the recipe too much, as replacing extra flour with protein powder can cause baked goods to be dry and rubbery.
- Avoid overmixing the batter. Too much mixing will help gluten strands form, leading to a dense muffin.
- 1 cup of flour is 120 grams. Weighing it with a scale is the most accurate way to ensure you don’t add too much flour. However, if you don’t have a scale, don’t scoop flour directly out of the container with the measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife. This will prevent over-packing the measuring cup. I use this super basic Amazon brand scale.
- You can use a 12 cup muffin tin or use a 6 cup muffin tin like myself and just bake the muffins in two batches. This recipe makes 10 muffins.
- When mashed the bananas, you can leave some pieces of bananas if you’d like some texture in your muffins. Make sure not to leave too many, though!
- Make sure you remember to turn the oven temperature down after 5 minutes. This initial high temperature will quickly lift the muffin tops so they’re extra high to make beautifully tall muffins, but they’ll overbake and dry out if you leave it at 450°F. I believe I learned this tip from Sally’s Baking Addiction!
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, place the protein pumpkin muffins in a large zip top bag or airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days. You want the muffins to be fully cooled, or the chocolate chips on the tops of the muffins will get squished.
- Freezer: you can freeze the cooled muffins for up to 3 months in a large freezer-safe zip top bag or airtight freezer-safe container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then heat up in the microwave if desired.
Pumpkin Protein Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup vanilla whey protein isolate
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup oil, canola or vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until well combined.
- In another large mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas, pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla extract, brown sugar, oil, and milk. Stir to combine.
- Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients, then fold everything together until just combined and no flour pockets remain. Be careful not to overmix!
- Add almost all the mini chocolate chips to the muffin batter (add all the chocolate chips if you don’t want to sprinkle any on top). Gently fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
- Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or line it with cupcake liners. Spoon the batter into liners, filling them almost all the way to the top. Top with the leftover chocolate chips.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then without removing the muffins from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for an additional 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20 to 23 minutes.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin before removing and enjoying.
Notes
- To lower the calories, you can use less chocolate chips! I personally don’t mind the extra calories from the chocolate chips, but they do add up quickly!
Nutrition Per Serving
More Breakfast Recipes to Try
- Egg White Oatmeal
- Cherry Overnight Oats
- Biscoff Overnight Oats
- Applesauce Oatmeal
- Matcha Overnight Oats
- Pumpkin Overnight Oats
- Pumpkin Chia Pudding
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