Bright and sweet Cranberry Eggnog Protein Muffins made with a tarty twist from fresh cranberries. These healthy cranberry eggnog muffins use protein powder for sweetener and have no sugar or oil either! A great low calorie, low fat, high protein breakfast treat.

Actually looked for cranberries in 3 different stores just for this recipe, and these muffins were totally worth it!

Just the right balance of sweet and tart; Those fresh cranberries really made so much difference. I even made 2 batches of these protein muffins – they were that good!

Ingredients for these Cranberry Eggnog Protein Muffins

This cranberry eggnog protein muffin is made with nutritious ingredients like whole wheat flour, protein powder and non-fat greek yogurt, and has no oil and no butter either; Perfect healthy cranberry dessert or breakfast recipe!

For the wet ingredients:

Eggnog Almond Milk or regular or light Eggnog
Unsweetened Applesauce
Non-fat Greek Yogurt a high protein low fat eggnog muffin. If you want this recipe dairy free – since there’s no milk or buttermilk in here – use coconut yogurt or another dairy free yogurt.
Eggs

Then there’s the dry ingredients:

Whole wheat pastry flour for that lightness of the all-purpose flour, but with the nutritious benefits of whole grains
Unflavored Protein Powder to replace some of the flour (and carbs) in the recipe for a slightly lower carb high protein cranberry muffin. I used a whey-caesin blend from Quest Nutrition.
Vanilla Protein Powder; This is the source of protein and sweetness in the protein powder eggnog muffin since there’s no added sugar in this recipe. Quest again here.
Coconut Flour
Nutmeg
Baking Powder

And for the Cranberry Muffins Part

Fresh Cranberries! This recipe uses whole fresh cranberries in baking this muffins.
A bit of extra flour to coat the berries

Tips for this Cranberry Eggnog Muffin with Protein Powder

This protein powder cranberry eggnog muffin recipe is really easy to make, but here’s some pointers to get it right.

Grease the muffin pan liners if they aren’t silicon.
This will allow the protein powder muffins to come off easily.

Use slightly room temperature applesauce, eggnog and yogurt;
This is so the wet ingredients and dry ingredients can mix well.

Don’t over-mix the batter!
Make sure you gently fold the dry mix into the wet to combine them.
If you over-mix it, the protein powder will make the cranberry muffins, dense and gummy.

Taste the batter and see if you need some extra sweetener. I’d recommend using stevia powder to maintain the consistency of the batter and have sugar free cranberry dessert recipe.

Make sure batter is thick, and not pourable.

For the perfect bakery style Cranberry Muffin recipe:

Bake for 5 minutes at 400°F then lower the heat to 350°F to and continue to bake for another 15-16 minutes (the total time should be about 20-22 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out dry).
That initial hot air makes the tops rise, and then the lower temperature lets the muffins continue to cook on the inside.

Can you store these Protein Packed Cranberry Christmas Muffins?

This moist and tender protein packed cranberry Christmas muffin recipe keeps really well and is great for a meal prep snack, breakfast or postworkout treat.

You can keep the protein powder holiday muffins out at room temperature for about 3 days in an airtight container.

For longer, keep high protein eggnog muffins in the fridge for about a week – use an airtight container again.
To freeze the healthy cranberry muffins, wrap each muffin in plastic wrap, and place them in a freezer-safe zipper bag; They keep about 2-3 months.

Alternatives for Healthy Cranberry Eggnog Muffins

For the perfect low fat but moist healthy eggnog muffins, I would highly suggest using the ingredients and brands I recommended; I do have some alternatives you can try though.
I haven’t testing them all, so I can’t say how your holiday muffins might turn out.

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: Use All purpose flour or 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour (for a gluten free protein pumpkin muffin), with the same amount by weight not cups.
Unflavored Protein Powder: More flour, but also reduce the milk to about 3 Tbsp.
Greek Yogurt: Coconut Yogurt
Eggnog Almond Milk: Any other eggnog; Regular, light or low fat work too

More Fresh Cranberry Baking Recipes:

Here’s some Protein Powder Muffin Recipes to try: