Fluffy, moist, Healthy Pumpkin Protein Muffins are a great way to start your day this Fall. Made with Greek yogurt, applesauce, pumpkin puree and protein powder, and lightly sweetened with maple syrup and dark chocolate chips.
Who loves baking with protein powder?
It’s a recent love of mine!
In my family, we don’t eat meat every day anymore, so I realized my protein intake was lacking lately.
I love the idea of baking with protein powder to help, but I’ve had issues in the past finding one that worked for me. I tried a new plant based protein powder though, and finally found “the one!”
After making these muffins (and, admittedly paying more attention to the rest of my diet) I can happily say my energy levels are back up to normal. Yay! So now I’m all about adding a little extra protein powder to my breakfasts.
I’ve found a lot of baked goods with protein powder are too spongy though. Often the focus is on AS MUCH PROTEIN AS POSSIBLE and not entirely on the flavor and texture as well.
So I’ve married together my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Muffins with protein powder and Greek yogurt, for the best of both worlds.
These Healthy Pumpkin Protein Muffins are lightly sweet (mostly with the dark chocolate, which is a must!), fluffy AND moist, and filled with pumpkin spice flavor.
They go perfectly with a hot cup of coffee or tea for breakfast. Plus, they’re super quick easy to make.
If you’re on the Pumpkin and protein powder trains, these muffins are perfect for you!
Let’s chat about the muffin ingredients, and why I use them.
First, you’ll use butter or coconut oil (whatever you prefer). I know many protein powder recipes that omit butter entirely, and just use Greek yogurt in it’s place. However, omitting butter entirely can make the texture of the muffins too spongy and not moist enough. Just 1/4 cup of butter makes all the difference, texture-wise.
I recommend using plain or vanilla Greek yogurt. My favorite is plain 2% Greek yogurt, so there’s no added sweeteners in it. Substituting half of the butter in a recipe with Greek yogurt is a great way to UP the protein content of your baked goods, with little effort.
I’ve also added applesauce to these muffins. Why not sneak in a little fruit and sweetness while you can?! Without any extra sugar. The applesauce also helps to create a great texture for these muffins.
I like to sweeten these Healthy Pumpkin Protein Muffins with maple syrup (just 1/4 cup!). You can also use honey in it’s place. If you don’t have either, you can try using an overflowing 1/4 cup of white sugar instead. It will give the muffins a sweeter flavor, which some prefer.
Please make sure you use pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling.
I use my favorite flour of all time in these muffins: oat flour. Which, is basically oats ground up into a flour. You can grind your own, but it’s hard to get them as fine with a food processor or high powered blender. I recommend buying oat flour instead, if you can.
I love to use oat flour because it adds an extra bit of fiber and protein. And if you need these to be gluten-free, be sure to use certified gluten-free oat flour.
Now, which protein powder to use?!
I’ve made these muffins with both plant based and whey protein powders.
With the plant based protein powder, my muffins flattened a bit more out of the oven, and were a little more dense. However, just slightly. They were still delicious and I would still recommend them this way.
The whey protein powder gave the muffins a little more rise and lightness. It’s the best option to use if you are okay with consuming dairy.
Oh, and last but not least, the dark chocolate chips!
Please don’t leave these out. They really complete these muffins (or they’re very plain without them). You can also add 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of chopped nuts too if you’d like. Yum!
These Healthy Pumpkin Protein Muffins are a healthy way to start the day, without compromising on flavor and texture. Are you a protein powder junkie?! I think I’m on my way to joining that club! 😉
After you make these muffins, let me know what you think. I love to hear from ya’ll! Leave a comment and rating, below, and/or find me on Instagram and tag me in your pic.
Love anything pumpkin?! Be sure to check out my Pumpkin Pancakes, Skinny Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes, and Pumpkin Banana Muffins too.
- 1/4 cup butter, melted (or coconut oil)
- 1/4 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (I prefer Fage 2%)
- 1/2 cup applesauce (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey, if preferred)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cup oat flour (certified gluten-free, if necessary)
- 1/2 cup protein powder*
- 2 tsp pumpkin spice seasoning
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
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To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray (or line with cupcake liners).
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To a large mixing bowl, add your butter, Greek yogurt, applesauce, maple syrup, pumpkin puree and vanilla and whisk together till smooth. Add your eggs and whisk in briefly.
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To the same bowl, add your oat flour, protein powder, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt and stir together till you have a smooth, even muffin batter. Add your chocolate chips and fold them into your batter.
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Fill each muffin tin 2/3 way full with batter. I like to use a small spatula to round the tops of the muffin batter, prior to baking, for a round muffin top. Alternatively, you could add the muffin batter to your muffin tin with a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop.
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Bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes, or till the tops are springy to touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Devour!
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, these last about a week.
*I’ve tested these muffins with a whey protein powder and a plant-based protein powder, and I would recommend them both.
*The amount of protein will depend on the type of protein powder used. Each muffin has roughly 3.2 grams of protein, without the protein powder in it. I’ve found the typical range of protein (with protein powder) is about 6-9 grams each.
I made them with lactose free yogurt and they pretty dense . Anything to add to make them more fluffy?