A delightful combination of moist pumpkin puree and a generous dose of high-quality protein powder, creates a healthier treat that satisfies both your sweet tooth and your nutritional needs. These Pumpkin Protein Muffins have a warm, spicy aroma and tender texture that make them the perfect autumn snack or post-workout indulgence.
Easy Pumpkin Protein Muffins
There’s something about a fluffy and rich muffin that is just so satisfying. And when it’s full of pumpkin pie flavor, but still a nutritious treat, you really can’t resist.
These Pumpkin Protein Muffins are going to become a staple in your fall baking or perhaps all year round. They’re a great breakfast, pre or post workout, or as an afternoon snack.
This muffin recipe uses the entire can of pumpkin, too! One thing that deters me from a lot of pumpkin recipes is they only require ½ cup or so of puree and then i have to figure out what to do with the rest (it usually goes bad sitting in my fridge), but with this recipe you don’t have to worry about that!
Looking for more fall flavor pumpkin treats? Try these Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies, this Healthier Low Sugar Pumpkin Bread, this Pumpkin Carrot Cake, or these Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins for something a little more indulgent!
Or if you want other muffin recipes, try these Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins, this Blueberry Protein Muffin Recipe, Oatmeal Raisin Muffins or these One Bowl Double Chocolate Chip Muffins that you’ll love, too!
Recipe Ingredients
- Eggs – Give our muffins structure and an extra few grams of protein.
- Canned Pumpkin – Use pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie filling!
- Milk and Greek Yogurt – Make our muffins moist, rich and high protein.
- Whole Wheat Flour – I’ve not tried alternatives so substitute with caution. Gluten free 1:1 baking flour would definitely work, and I bet oat flour or almond flour would be your next best bets.
- Vanilla Protein Powder – I used Clean Simple Eats Simply Vanilla. Could also use their seasonal Pumpkin Pie Flavor, too. Clean Simple Eats is a whey protein powder and my absolute favorite! Code APOP saves you $$).
- Olive Oil – Could also substitute coconut oil.
- Chocolate Chips – I like dark chocolate chips, but use your favorite!
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
This is such an easy recipe to customize to your liking:
- Swap the chocolate chips for chopped nuts or dried fruit!
- Instead of pumpkin try applesauce or mashed banana.
- You could also substitute the yogurt for cottage cheese for a super rich and moist muffin.
How to Make Protein Muffins
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, greek yogurt, and canned pumpkin. Whisk until smooth.
2. Whisk in milk and vanilla extract.
3. Add all of the dry ingredients into the bowl except the chocolate chips. Stir until combined (be sure to whisk all of the flour clumps out of the batter).
4. Fold in the olive oil and mini chocolate chips mix until smooth.
5. Place muffin cups into your muffin pan and spray heavily with cooking spray (protein powder is sticky when it bakes. This is a MUST!). Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scooper and put 2 scoops of muffin batter into each muffin liner. Top each muffin with more chocolate chips before baking.
6. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The tops will brown a bit, this is also due to baking protein powder. Enjoy!
PRO TIPS
I’ve tested this recipe 3x and here’s what I learned:
- You MUST spray the liners with cooking spray OR use silicone liners. Otherwise half of your muffin will stick to the paper liners
- For best results, whisk in the oil LAST. It keeps the muffins super moist while baking.
- USE a toothpick to see when the muffins are done. They might look like they’re finished baking, but the insides take longer to
Recipe FAQs
These Pumpkin Protein Muffins are FABULOUS for meal prep. Let them cool, then place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze these muffins. Allow them to cool completely then store in a gallon size freezer bag or airtight tupperware for up to 3 months.
Nope, you can leave out the protein powder out of these muffins and use 1 cup of flour total to ensure the proper texture.
Vegan: These muffins have eggs, milk, and yogurt. I’ve not tried it, but I’d bet they’d work with the vegan alternatives – flax eggs, almond milk, and dairy free yogurt. Make sure it’s still a Greek yogurt though, you want the thick texture. Make sure you have a vegan protein powder, too!
Gluten free: You can definitely make this muffin recipe with 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.
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Pumpkin Protein Muffins
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Rubber Spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Muffin tin
- Tulip Muffin Liners
- Cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 can pumpkin puree, 15oz
- 1/4 cup milk, I used Fairlife Skim
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, I used Two Good
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp vanilla protein powder, I used Clean Simple Eats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, greek yogurt, and canned pumpkin. Whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in milk and vanilla extract.
- Add all of the dry ingredients into the bowl except the chocolate chips. Stir until combined (be sure to whisk all of the flour clumps out of the batter).
- Fold in the olive oil and mini chocolate chips mix until smooth.
- Place muffin cups into your muffin pan and spray heavily with cooking spray (protein powder is sticky when it bakes. This is a MUST!). Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scooper and put 2 scoops of muffin batter into each Tulip Muffin Liner.
- Top each muffin with more chocolate chips before baking.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The tops will brown a bit, this is also due to baking protein powder. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
more of our favorite Muffin Recipes…
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If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find Pumpkin Protein Muffins calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
love this recipe! Finally one that uses a WHOLE can of pumpkin!
The texture on these>>>>
love! thanks for sharing
These are so good! The pumpkin makes them have such a good soft texture. Love that they actually use a good bit of protein powder too. 10/10!!
These a delicious! Not only do they use a whole can of pumpkin but they also are a nice balance of sweetness while still packing in protein. I was out of chocolate chips so I subbed butterscotch and it was perfect.
Oh my goodness!
These are delicious! I wanted to make a small one so I could taste it. So moist and tasty! And I had all the ingredients on hand! Loved the fact I got to use the WHOLE can of pumpkin! Kids are coming home this weekend.
My daughter can’t wait to try them!
Thank you for sharing!
Moist and delicious using healthier ingredients..also love that it uses a whole can of pumpkin as others mentioned. I usually add 1/4 c mini choc chips and 1/4 c regular chips since mini chips are more expensive.
Love this recipe! Has anyone made this with mini-muffin pans? And if so, how long did you cook them?
Hi Taunya! These will work as mini muffins. We suggest 12-15 minutes in the oven. Let us know how they turn out!
These were so yummy. As others have said, they have a pumpkin pie texture and the flavor is delicious. I had to make a few adjustments based on ingredients I had on hand. I used 2/3 pumpkin, 1/3 banana puree. Due to this, I could have reduced the brown sugar a tad. Almond flour instead of whole wheat flour. Regular chocolate chips instead of mini. They came out so good. Highly recommend.
For me, substituting 1:1 almond flour was fine, but may not be for others. May depend on protein powder used. I used Pescience Vegan protein powder.
great to note, Angela! Thank you for the comment!
This recipe is sooo good and was super easy to make! The muffins came out super spongey (definitely not normal baked good consistency but the flavor WAY overpowered the funky consistency), these are very good especially for a protein treat! I will be keeping them in my rotation.
I tried making this gluten free by using almond flour and it was super runny
hey melissa! almond flour and all purpose flour don’t have a 1:1 substituting ratio. I’d recommend using gluten-free all purpose flour to execute this recipe to perfection. Hope you give them another try.
Hi Melissa. For gluten free muffins, we suggest Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour. Almond flour is a denser and moister than regular flour, so you might need to add more almond flour to compensate
I used kodiak cake mix instead of the flour because i had it ,was great but needed an extra 1/4 cup not sure why? also added pumpkin seeds.. Such a great muffin.Yes they do stick and i didnt have liners but did spray. Next time liners and spray
Thanks for trying this recipe, Leah! Appreciate the note.
I want to use Kodiak flour as well to up the protein content. please tell me how much to use of Kodiak & would I have to omit any other ingredients because of using the Kodiak?
Hey Cyndi, I haven’t tried using Kodiak flour in this. I think you could try to swap it for the all-purpose flour and see if it works. Let me know if you try it out.
These are delicious and the pumpkin taste is not too strong if you’re someone who doesn’t love pumpkin. I swapped whole wheat flour for all purpose GF flour and they turned out just fine!
The can of pumpkin puree I have is the large size 796ml. Is that what the recipe calls for?
Hey Becky, the can of pumpkin we used is equivalent to 445ml (15oz). We’ve updated the recipe to reflect as such. Hope you try it out!
Made these for my sister when she visiting and we are obsessed! SO yummy and super easy to make. Had with our coffee in the morning and it was a perfect fall combo.
These muffins are so tasty and kid approved! Great texture in a healthier option muffin!
These taste like mini pumpkin pies! I love the pumpkin flavor and texture. It is very moist and doesn’t have a cake-like consistency. I love that it’s more of a pie-like texture. I highly recommend both cooking spray AND liners. The protein powder makes it very sticky. I only used spray and wish I would have used liners too. Regardless, the flavor was awesome and I’ll be making again using both to ensure the best outcome.
Good recipe! I think mine came out a little eggier than expected, but you can’t taste the protein powder. Would do again!
I’ve made these a couple of times now and they are a huge hit. They don’t rise much but that is expected. They are rich and moist and you can make them with or without the chocolate chips. I think they are good both ways I cook mine for about 22 minutes.
I have made this twice in 24 hours!
this is the kind of energy we need! LOVE to hear that!
Great recipe! Made this several times.
I omitted the chocolate chips and added in 8oz cream cheese + 15g powdered sugar to the center after scooping the batter and it was great! Reduced sugar by about a third. They do stick terribly so I’d use more oil spray next time. I think using a larger muffin pan (or reducing the cream cheese) would be better because the batter did overflow and they don’t really rise like regular muffins; the overfill just kind of oozes out the top. It definitely doesn’t taste like a ‘protein dessert’ at all!
Thank you for the thorough review, Carol! Super helpful to hear.