Moist and fluffy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Protein Muffins with that beautiful filing, but actually healthy and sugar free! This healthy pumpkin cream cheese muffin recipe uses protein powder and whole wheat pasty flour, and has no oil or butter; Actually the best Starbucks copycat recipe.

I really have no words to describe how soft and fluffy and just perfect these copycat Starbucks pumpkin muffins were! Literally everything you want from a muffin, but without all the fat, and calories.

As for the combination, pumpkin and cream cheese are just meant to be!

Ingredients for this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Protein Muffin

This pumpkin cream cheese 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 Starbucks pumpkin muffin copycat recipe!

For the wet ingredients:

Pure Pumpkin Puree either from the can like libbys, or homemade. Make sure its not pumpkin pie filling though
Sugar free Maple Syrup for low calorie pumpkin bread recipe with no sugar! I use the sugar free monk fruit maple syrup from Lakanto (code HAYLSKITCHEN gets you a discount)
Non-fat Greek Yogurt a high protein low fat pumpkin bread. If you want this recipe dairy free – since there’s no milk or buttermilk in here – use coconut yogurt or another dairy free yogurt.
Almond Milk
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 pumpkin muffin. I used a whey-casein blend from Quest Nutrition.
Vanilla Protein Powder; This is the source of protein and sweetness in the protein powder pumpkin cream cheese muffin since there’s no added sugar in this recipe. Quest again here.
Pumpkin pie spice – feel free to make your own using a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves
Baking Powder
OPTIONAL Stevia or Monkfruit Sweetener or just any other sweetener.

And for the Cream Cheese Filling in these Starbucks Muffins

Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, which might also be called Neufchâtel, for a low fat and low calorie skinny pumpkin cream cheese muffin
Some more Vanilla Protein Powder; Quest again here.
Almond Milk
A bit of more Flour

How to put Cream Cheese Filling in Starbucks Pumpkin Protein Muffins

Not only is this Starbucks copycat pumpkin protein powder muffin recipe really healthy, but also extremely easy to make!

Put the cream cheese protein powder filling mixture into a piping bag or ziplock bag (and cut off a small bit from the corner)
Insert tip into the muffin batter and squeeze out some of the filling.
Leave some the top as a little dollop.

That’s it.

Tips for this Starbucks Copycat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Protein Powder

This protein powder pumpkin cream cheese muffin recipe is really easy to make like the Starbucks ones, 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 room temperature pumpkin puree, milk and yogurt;
This is so the wet ingredients and dry ingredients can mix well.
Taste the batter before you bake; If you need it sweeter (this would depend on the sweetness of your protein powder), add a bit of stevia or monkfruit sweetener.

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 Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins copycat, 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 pumpkin dessert recipe.

Make sure batter is thick, and not pourable.

Use softened cream cheese for the filling or the mixture won’t form.

For the perfect bakery style Starbucks Pumpkin 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 this Protein Packed Skinny Pumpkin Cream Ceese Muffins?

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

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

For longer, keep high protein pumpkin muffins in the fridge for about a week – use an airtight container again.

To freeze the healthy pumpkin spice cream cheese 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 Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

For the perfect low fat but moist healthy pumpkin cream cheese 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 Starbucks copycat pumpkin 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
Almond Milk: Any other milk
Sugar-free Maple Syrup: Regular maple syrup or honey, but the recipe will not be sugar-free anymore.
Reduced Fat Cream Cheese: Regular or dairy free cream cheese

More Pumpkin Protein Powder Recipes:

Here’s some Protein Powder Muffin Recipes to try: