This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Pumpkin season is officially here! I guess you’re all excited like me to experiment with pumpkin recipes! Having these delicious Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins at breakfast will definitely make it a great start to the day!
Spiced gluten-free pumpkin muffins combine with a cheesecake filling to create a moist and flavorful gluten-free pumpkin cream cheese muffin that you’ll want to make all season! Serve it for brunch on the weekend or with a cup of coffee in the morning. These delicious pumpkin cheesecake muffins are guaranteed to delight with every bite!
Light, Tender, and Super Flavorful!
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of pumpkin treats, and if you scroll down my blog, it’s going to be hard to choose your absolute favorite. If you’re a fan of no-bake desserts, then you must try my No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites and No-Bake Pumpkin Lasagna Dessert.
Do you prefer baked pumpkin recipes? Try my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffin, Sheet Pan Pumpkin Pancakes, and Special Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts. These are guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser!
Why Are these Gluten-free Pumpkin Muffins Awesome?
- You get two delectable flavors in one muffin!
- They are ideal for entertaining family and friends.
- If you’re a pumpkin spice lover like me, these fluffy homemade muffins can be served all year.
- These muffins freeze well, so you can keep them on hand at all times.
- You can serve this delicious pumpkin treat plain or with your favorite topping.
- These muffins are sugar free.
- And best of all? They’re gluten free! Perfect for people who are gluten intolerant.
Gluten-free Muffins, Anyone?
Gluten-free Pumpkin Muffins Ingredients
These delicious gluten-free pumpkins need only simple ingredients you can find at your local grocery store. Here’s all what you need:
- Almond Flour: You will need blanched almond flour since you’re making a gluten-free version.
- Cream cheese : Adds a rich, creamy, and slightly tangy flavor to our muffins. Mascarpone cheese can also be used. Be sure to heat it in the microwave for 20 second so that it is easier to swirl.
- Pumpkin spice: Pumpkin spice, also known as “pumpkin pie spice,” can be found in the spice section of your local supermarket.
- Pumpkin puree: Also known as “canned pumpkin,” this can usually be found in the baking aisle of your grocery store (be careful not to grab the pumpkin pie filling by mistake) or you can make your own at home.
- Honey or Maple syrup: My favorite to use in recipes is honey to add that natural sweetness. You can also opt out and use maple syrup!
- Eggs: Eggs allow us to incorporate more air into our muffins, resulting in a light and fluffy texture. Make sure your eggs are sitting at room temperature. You can use flax eggs also if you like ( 1 tablespoon flax meal + 2 1/2 tablespoons water is equivalent to one egg).
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is the leavening agent that will make your muffins rise beautifully.
- Brown Sugar: Coconut brown sugar is what I used so that this recipe is refined sugar free. You can use regular brown sugar if you choose.
- Oil: Use coconut oil or vegetable oil if you prefer.
- Salt: Add a dash of salt to balance the flavors.
You’ll Want to Make these All Season
Why Use Almond Flour?
Almond flour is a popular substitute for wheat flour. It’s low in carbs, high in nutrients, and has a slightly sweeter flavor.
Almond flour may also have more health benefits than wheat flour, such as lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol and insulin resistance.
It’s also Almond flour is incredibly nutritious. It’s rich in vitamin E and magnesium, two important nutrients for health.
Almond flour is also gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for people who have celiac disease or a wheat intolerance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, you can make these gluten-free pumpkin muffins dairy-free as well! Simply substitute a dairy-free cream cheese, such as Daiya, for the regular cream cheese in the recipe.
If you want your muffins to have a domed top, bake them at 425o F for the first 5 minutes, then reduce to 350 F.
Dense muffins can be caused by one of two factors: You either overmixed your batter, or you used a gluten-free flour blend that was very starchy.
Guaranteed to Delight in Every Bite!
Top Tips
- Spray the liners before you put the batter so your muffins don’t stick.
- Smooth the muffin batter with a spatula to have a nice shape.
- You can choose not to add the cream cheese on the top.
- These muffins usually take more time baking than the ones made with regular flour. You might notice that they’re a little bit moist from the inside, but they do taste great.
- Let your muffins rest between 10-15 minutes before indulging.
- Adding a little something special to the top, such as chopped pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) or chopped pecans, is a great way to give these muffins a little crunch.
- Another important tip is that lightly warming the cream cheese before adding it to the batter makes it much easier to swirl into the batter, resulting in the most beautiful muffins.
- Use canned pumpkin (often labeled pure pumpkin puree) for this recipe, which contains only pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling is a different ingredient that includes sweetener and spices.
- Make your own homemade pumpkin spice if you don’t have any on hand!
Substitutions
Flour
You can use all purpose flour to make these delectable muffins. The ratio is 1:1 flour to almond flour.
Honey
You can also use sugar free maple syrup instead of honey.
Sugar
You can use sugar-free sugar instead of brown sugar.
Storage
- Storage: Store your pumpkin cheesecake muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: To freeze, wrap each completely cooled muffin in foil and place in a freezer bag. Muffins can be frozen for up to three months.
Share these Gems with Your Loved Ones!
Variations and Substitutions
- Dairy-free: Use plant-based cream cheese.
- Pumpkin puree: You can replace the pumpkin puree with cooked mashed sweet potato.
- Vegan: Replace the eggs with 2 flax eggs (to make a flax egg, combine tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons water). Add a few tablespoons of water Allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes until it becomes gelatinous.) Also, use plant-based cream cheese.
- Chocolatey: Add some chocolate chips to make your own pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
Indulgent Treats!
Steps to Prep these Gluten-free Pumpkin Muffins
First, preheat the oven at 375F.
Next, in a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, almond flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt.
Then, add the wet ingredients, honey, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until very well combined.
After that, in a medium bowl, mix together the softened room temperature cream cheese, honey, and vanilla extract.
Scoop about ¼ cup pumpkin batter into oil sprayed pumpkin cups. I used large cupcake liners, which made 8 big cupcakes, but this recipe will make about 16 regular-sized cup cakes.
Now, heat the softened cream cheese mixture for 15 seconds in the microwave, then using a cookie scoop, scoop in the center of each cupcake batter about ½ tablespoon of cream cheese mixture. Using a toothpick, gently swirl around the top of each muffin.
Finally, bake muffins for 25–28 minutes in the prepared muffin pan. If using regular sized cupcakes and not the large ones like I did, they “may” need less time in the oven, about 22–24 minutes. Enjoy this tasty treat!
Other Fall Recipes You Must Try:
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffin
- Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- No-Bake, Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites
- No Bake Pumpkin Lasagna Dessert
- Sheet Pan Pumpkin Pancakes
- Special Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
- No Bake Marshmallow Crunch Cookies
- Dalgona Coffee
- Caramel Spice White Hot Chocolate
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins (Almond Flour)
Ingredients
Batter
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup packed brown sugar, or coconut brown sugar
- ¾ cup honey, or maple syrup
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin purée
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup coconut oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, or sugar-free
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 375°F.
- In a bowl combine the dry ingredients, white flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt.
- then add the wet ingredients, honey, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
- Mix until very well combined.In a small bowl mix together the softened room temperature cream cheese, honey and vanilla extract. Scoop about 1/4 cup batter into oil sprayed cupcake liners. I used large cupcake liners which made 8 big cupcakes but this recipe will make about 16 regular sized cup cakes.
- Now heat the softened cream cheese mixture for 15 seconds in the microwave then scoop in the center of each cupcake batter about 1/2 tablespoon cream cheese frosting. Using a toothpick, gently swirl around.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes. If using regular sized cupcakes and not the large ones like I did, they “may” need less time in the oven about 22-24 minutes.
Notes
- Spray the liners before you put the batter so your muffins don’t stick.
- Smooth the muffin batter with a spatula to have a nice shape.
- Let your muffins rest between 10-15 minutes before indulging.
- Adding a little something special to the top, such as chopped pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) or chopped pecans, is a great way to give these muffins a little crunch.
- Another important tip is that lightly warming the cream cheese before adding it to the batter makes it much easier to swirl into the batter, resulting in the most beautiful muffins.
- Use canned pumpkin (often labeled pure pumpkin puree) for this recipe, which contains only pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling is a different ingredient that includes sweetener and spices.
- Make your own homemade pumpkin spice if you don’t have any on hand!
- Flour: You can use all purpose flour to make these delectable muffins. The ratio is 1:1 flour to oat flour. (Tap here for the origianl flour recipe)
- Honey: You can also use honey instead of sugar free maple syrup.
- Sugar: If you don’t want to use sugar-free sugar, you can use white sugar.
Wow this was superb for a gluten free recipe.
Hi Angela! Glad you liked the gluten free version much as me and my kids like it!