- These muffins make an ideal breakfast on the go or can be enjoyed as an anytime snack.
- The almond butter and Greek-style yogurt bump up the protein in these muffins.
- Make this recipe dairy-free by using plant-based yogurt instead of regular yogurt, plus melted coconut oil instead of butter.
If you’re ready for the perfect fall breakfast, our High-Protein Pumpkin Muffins will be your go-to. The fiber-packed pumpkin keeps them super moist, the combo of almond butter and yogurt adds protein, and the ripe banana helps to cut back on the sugar needed to sweeten these muffins. Cinnamon leads on flavor and pairs perfectly with the pumpkin pie spice. Top these with cinnamon-sugar and crunchy toasted almonds and you’ve got just enough texture to complement the tender crumb. Keep reading for our expert tips on how to get the smoothest almond butter to mix into your batter, how to make this plant-based and more.
Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen
These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!
- To achieve a tender crumb, mix the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls before combining them.
- To neatly pour the batter into the muffin tins, use a #12 spring-loaded ice cream scoop.
- If your almond butter is too stiff to whisk smoothly into the wet ingredients, warm it slightly in the microwave.
- You can make this recipe dairy-free by using plant-based yogurt and subbing melted coconut oil for the butter.
Nutrition Notes
- Canned pumpkin is a convenient and budget-friendly way to enjoy pumpkin. It is rich in beta-carotene, which is an anti-inflammatory antioxidant that is converted to vitamin A in the body—important for reproductive and immune health. Ensure that you are buying pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix, which has added sugar.
- Whole-wheat flour is a higher-in-fiber flour that can be added to baked goods, in addition to all-purpose flour, to increase the nutrient density. Whole-wheat flour also contains more B vitamins—essential for a healthy metabolism—than white flour.
- Almond butter is a protein-filled addition to these muffins that provides unsaturated fats for moisture. Almond butter also contains vitamin E, an antioxidant that can help protect your cells and is important for heart health.
