This recipe for protein muffins will be your new favorite use of protein powder! No eggs, no refined sugar, and no grains are needed, they pack in over 20 grams of protein per serving!
Protein Muffins
Ever tried baking with protein powder? We have made some protein brownies and we love making a protein mug cake. Our go-to protein treat would have to be protein muffins!
If you’ve walked through any health food store or the health food aisle of the grocery store, you may have noticed more and more protein-packed muffins filling the shelves. These muffins boast tons of protein, but have you looked at the ingredient list? You’ll be hard to find a brand that has fewer than fifteen ingredients, with most closer to thirty!
While these muffins DO contain some added protein, they fail to mention the amounts of sugar and carbs in them. Realistically, these packaged protein muffins are essentially standard muffins with some protein in them. In fact, most contain higher calories than actual bakery-style muffins! Luckily, I’m one for experimenting, and protein muffins were high on my agenda!
Can you add protein powder to muffins?
Adding protein powder to muffins is a sneaky and healthy way to get more protein in your diet, and a smart way to keep you satisfied for longer!
This protein muffin recipe is one you can feel good about enjoying regularly AND know that it is good for you! It’s made without white flour and has no added sugar. These muffins have a moist and fluffy texture, and taste like any good muffin out there!
The best part about this recipe is that you need just 5 ingredients AND they pack in over 20 grams of protein per muffin! Perfect for a wholesome snack or a healthy dessert, you can customize them in a variety of flavors too!
How do you make protein muffins?
The Ingredients
- Almond flour– Blanched almond flour, not almond meal. Using the blanched variety ensures the muffins have a lovely light and tender crumb.
- Baking powder– Just a pinch to help the muffins rise (as much as they can do) and give the muffins some stability.
- Protein powder– Brown rice protein powder, casein protein powder, or a whey protein powder blend. Do NOT use a strict whey protein powder or else your muffins will turn into hockey pucks.
- Peanut butter OR alternative– Smooth and creamy peanut butter, with no added sugar. Use a cheap store bought brand, like Skippy’s or Teddy’s peanut butter.
- Unsweetened applesauce– Adds some moisture to the muffins, without needing any oil or butter.
- Chocolate chips– A must for any good muffin. Use sugar free chocolate chips to keep these muffins completely sugar free.
The Instructions
Start by adding the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk them together. Add the peanut butter and unsweetened applesauce and mix very well until completely combined. Fold through the chocolate chips at the end.
Now, distribute the batter amongst 8 large muffin liners in a muffin tin (or 12 in a mini muffin tin) and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean.
Which protein powder is best for baking?
No protein powder is created equal and as such, some protein powders are fantastic for baking and some are best to be used strictly for protein shakes.
The best protein powders to use are either brown rice protein powder, casein protein powder (not dairy free), or a blended whey protein powder. Stick to either an unflavored or vanilla flavored powder.
Avoid using whey protein isolate or natural whey protein powder, as these two tend to soak up moisture and will yield very dense muffins.
Tips to make the best protein muffins recipe
- Do not overbake the muffins, as they can go from fluffy to dense VERY fast. Once the muffins are ‘just’ done on top, remove them from the oven and they will continue to cook as they are cooling down.
- If you notice the tops of muffins going brown too soon, cover them with tin foil after the 10 minute mark.
- Feel free to swap out the chocolate chips for other mix-ins, like blueberries, chopped chocolate, or even some chopped nuts.
Flavor variations
While these protein muffins taste delicious on their own, here are some fun flavors for some variety.
- Peanut butter– Be sure to use peanut butter and add some peanut butter chips on top.
- Banana– Switch out the unsweetened applesauce for equal amounts of pureed banana (just blend several bananas!).
- Chocolate– Use chocolate protein powder and fold through half a cup of chocolate chips.
- Pumpkin– Switch out the unsweetened applesauce for pumpkin puree.
- Blueberry– Fold through half a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries.
Storing and freezing protein powder muffins
- To store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.
- To freeze: Place leftovers in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
More high protein recipes to try
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Protein Muffins (5 Ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 2 scoops vanilla protein powder 64-67 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup peanut butter or any nut or seed butter
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a muffin tin with 8 muffin liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients and mix well. Add your peanut butter and unsweetened applesauce and mix until fully combined. Fold through your chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter amongst the muffin liners and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
These look so fluffy. I want a handful! I love the small ingredient list!
any ideas on how I could replace the applesauce to make these lower in carbs?
Hi Kris! The applesauce is necessary for moisture- you could use mashed pumpkin or sweet potato 🙂
I am allergic to apples and would like to use pumpkin puree as a replacement. Would it still be 1 cup? Thanks!
It should be!
So I can’t WAIT to try these! We use a casein based protein powder (we buy in bulk at our local co-op). We love it and don’t really want to change. Is casein, is casein, is casein?? 🙂 ~ also, have I missed this, or did you always has the serving size always been adjustable?!? I’m weird, but I want 12 muffins, instead of 8. Ya’ know…kind of odd having those 4 empty spots in the pan;) ~ anyway…thanks, as always! We have enjoyed everything we’ve ever tried of yours, Arman! Keep up the great work!
Casein is definitely recommended- I always have success with the one I use 🙂 (Optimum)- The serving size is 2 level scoops, so 68 grams or so 🙂 These made 8 muffins for me, you can increase the ingredients to make more.
Super! We will try it with the casein based protein powder that we always use! Thanks so much!
Worked out well with the casein based protein powder we normally use! These were yummy ~ nice for breakfast for my 17 year old (picky!) son! Adjusted to make 12 muffins ~ they freezer super well too, so they stay nice and fresh and we can take them out one at a time!
😀 That sounds perfect, Tammy!
what can you replace the protein powder with?
Haven’t tried an alternative without protein powder.
WOW these are soo good! I of course added extra honey 🙂 … and mine didn’t stick !!! I just over sprayed the pan lol .. some of mine the chocolate chips did not fall down!?!? so next time I will push a couple in ! thank you for the yummyness!!!
Haha, Love it- Always add some extra honey 🙂
These muffins do look so light and fluffy! I could definitely get on board with one of these…or maybe 6. Or maybe 13 since that’s a baker’s dozen. You know I’m not a huge fan of chocolate in the morning, but I’m thinking afternoon snack with coffee/tea…or heck, even dessert! I’m not beyond eating muffins for dessert. After all, a muffin is a just cupcake without frosting, right? 🙂
Can I make these without protein powder? Add or substitute anything?
hey i’m allergic to nuts and i saw you put alternatives for nut butter but is there anything i can substitute the almond flour for?
Hi Savannah! I haven’t tried this particular recipe without almond flour, sorry! You could try one of my flourless muffins instead 🙂
Hey I tried these twice now and can’t get it to work! The muffin batter is very sticky and has the consistency of cookie dough. I used oat flour because I didn’t have almond flour which may have been the reason, but I have always substituted with oat flour in the past with good results and I thought that was generally a 1:1 substitution. Basically the top of the muffin rose but was hollow inside and the inside of the muffin was completely raw. Do you think that was just because of the oat flour?
Hi Ellie! Oat flour tends to do that, this recipe uses almond flour so unfortunately, I can’t vouch for it working out.
Ellie, I just tried making these with oat flour as well, and I managed to get them to turn out by adding ¼ cup of water. I did stray slightly by using mashed banana, and my protein scoop is slightly larger, I think, but they’ve turned out great!
Good morning!!! On my side lol I just finished baking these last night and looking forward to try in a bit. The only question I have is what are the macros? I did my calculations and I may be off lol…. I used 9 muffins for my adding and after the break down I got 9g protein, 14 Carbs, 217 calories, 4 Fiber etc… four each muffin.
Thank you very much!
Hope you enjoyed them, Arturo- The macros can change depending on your ingredient brands 🙂
Can i sub equal amount of applesauce with mashed banana or pumpkin or sweet potato?
You can replace the applesauce with any of those, or even coconut oil 🙂
So to use cocoanut oil do you melt it first or use mix it in solid?
Hi there! Make sure it is melted 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Do you have a macro breakdown per muffin for protein carbs and fat?
For sure, feel free to use an online calculator to work it out 🙂
still can’t find amount of carbs and fiber for these muffins
Feel free to calculate it using an online calculator 🙂
Hi there! The flavor on these is awesome. No complaints there. I’m having a real issue with the texture though and wondered if you had any suggestions? I’ve made these three times now and all three times they remain very wet and will not cook through. I tried adding more almond flour, upping the temp and baking for significantly longer but they just will not firm up. Any thoughts?
Hi there! It sounds like the protein powder you are using 🙂