Easy Protein Pumpkin Muffins
These quick and easy Protein Pumpkin Muffins are made with Kodiak pancake mix and a short list of simple ingredients. The results are a batch of healthy yet decadent cinnamon-spiced pumpkin muffins, perfect for breakfast, snack, and dessert!
If you’re looking for a low-fuss muffin recipe that’s equally as delicious as it is nutritious, these Kodiak Cakes pumpkin muffins are exactly what you’re looking for! In under 25 minutes, you’ll bake a warm, sweet, and tender batch of pumpkin protein muffins the whole family will love.
Instead of grabbing a bunch of dry baking basics from your pantry, all you need to grab is a box of Kodiak Cakes buttermilk power cakes mix. It’s made with 100% whole grain wheat flour, oat flour, wheat protein isolate, brown sugar, whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, and buttermilk powder -and it doubles as a fantastic high protein muffin mix!
A can of pumpkin and a dash of cinnamon brightens these Kodiak pumpkin muffins with a warm and cozy fall flavor. They’re great to make ahead to have on hand for a grab-and-go healthy breakfast, pre-or-post workout snack, or whenever you’re craving something sweet!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It takes less than 25 minutes to make.
- Made with whole grain and protein-packed Kodiak Cakes pancake and waffle mix.
- The remaining ingredients are staples you probably already have on hand.
- It’s EASY. This is a great recipe for baking beginners.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Kodiak Power Cakes Buttermilk Flapjack Mix: This mix isn’t just for pancakes. You can also use it to make 100% whole grain, protein-packed pumpkin muffins. This recipe was tested specifically with Kodiak Cakes mix. I can’t guarantee the same success if you use a different pancake mix.
- Milk – This is the liquid element that moistens the dry pancake mix creating muffin batter.
- Maple sugar – Maple sugar is a refined sugar-free, natural sweetener. It’s naturally sweeter than regular sugar, so you don’t need to use as much in baked goods.
- Avocado oil & egg – This duo of wet batter ingredients helps create moist, melt-in-your-mouth muffins. For the best results, make sure the egg is at room temperature.
- Pumpkin puree – Canned pumpkin puree is cooked, blended pumpkin without any added sugar or flavorings. Be sure to use pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling (pie filling is already sweetened and spiced).
- Cinnamon – For a touch of warming, cozy flavor.
- Vanilla – Enhances the sweet, cream-like undertones. For the best results, use a quality, pure vanilla extract here.
How To Make Pumpkin Protein Muffins
Step 1: Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Step 2: Whisk ingredients. Whisk flapjack mix, milk, maple sugar, avocado oil, pumpkin, egg, cinnamon, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until smooth and combined.
Step 3: Pour batter. Divide the muffin batter evenly between the lined muffin cups filling each cup 3/4s full. Sprinkle with a little coarse raw sugar, if desired.
Step 4: Bake and cool. Transfer the muffin pan to the oven, and bake for 16 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove the lined muffins from the pan and enjoy warm, or place them on a wire rack to finish cooling before storing.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix! Once the wet ingredients are thoroughly combined with the flapjack mix, pour the batter into the muffin pan, and get it in the oven.
- For fluffy muffins with a moist and tender crumb, don’t let the batter sit once it’s mixed. Instead, immediately pour it into your muffin pan, and get the pan into the oven asap.
Variations
Add chocolate – Gently fold milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, or dark chocolate chips into the batter before baking.
Enhance the warming flavor – In addition to cinnamon, you can add a dash of nutmeg, cloves, allspice, or ginger to heighten the fall flavors. Pumpkin pie spice is an option as well.
Add something crunchy – Sprinkle pepitas, sunflower seeds, or finely chopped walnuts, pecans, or pistachios over the top of each muffin before baking.
Toppings – These Kodiak pumpkin muffins are fantastic enjoyed warm, smeared with softened grass-fed butter, peanut butter, almond butter, pumpkin butter, or apple butter.
Switch up the squash – Instead of pumpkin puree; you can make these Kodiak Cakes muffins with any pureed winter squash like sweet potato, butternut squash, and kabocha.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Refrigerating homemade muffins tends to draw out moisture and damage the texture. Instead, keep your Kodiak cakes pumpkin muffins in a paper-towel-lined airtight container or zip-top bag in a single layer at room temperature for 2-3days.
Freezing: If you don’t plan to serve your muffins within a few days, wrap individual muffins securely in plastic wrap and a layer of foil and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving, or pop a frozen muffin in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Recipe FAQ
When made with Kodiak Power Cakes pancake and waffle mix and the ingredients listed, each pumpkin muffin has 6 grams of protein.
No. Kodiak pancake mix contains wheat flour. For gluten-free pumpkin muffins, make these almond flour pumpkin muffins instead.
Pumpkin purée acts as a sweetener, tenderizer, and a great non-fat substitute for butter and oil in muffins and baked goods.
More Pumpkin Puree Recipes
If you have extra pumpkin puree, put it to good use in one of these delicious pumpkin recipes:
If you love this protein pumpkin muffins recipe I would be so grateful if you could leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below. I love reading your comments and feedback!
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Easy Protein Pumpkin Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin Pan
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 cups Kodiak Power Cakes Buttermilk Flapjack Mix
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup maple sugar you can easily substitute with light brown sugar or regular sugar here. The maple sugar, however, adds incredible flavor!
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- *Optional: raw turbinado cane sugar for sprinkling on top before baking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place 12 cupcake liners in a muffin pan.
- Whisk all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
- Sprinkle the tops with a little raw turbinado sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 16 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
- Don’t overmix! Once the wet ingredients are thoroughly combined with the flapjack mix, pour the batter into the muffin pan, and get it in the oven.
- For fluffy muffins with a moist and tender crumb, don’t let the batter sit once it’s mixed. Instead, immediately pour it into your muffin pan, and get the pan into the oven asap.
- Add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or chopped walnuts to the batter for a delicious variation.
Nutrition
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Can you decrease the amount of sugar without compromising the texture? Just trying to cut back where we can in our house. Looks like a great recipe!
Karina, I would try using a sugar sub, like Whole Earth or Purecane for half the sugar. I usually have great results with those two products without affecting the texture. Let me know how it turns out!
Iโm going to say yes because my pregnancy brain read maple syrup and not maple sugar. Lol
oh geez! I just made these woth Maple SYRUP! Apparently I can’t read and they aren’t seeing up!
Oh no! Yes, that would be too much liquid. If you don’t have maple sugar, coconut sugar or brown sugar are my fav swaps. I’m sorry Karissa! I hope you try them again.
This recipe was a big hit! The muffins are moist and flavorful. I substituted maple syrup for maple sugar, but I also live at almost 8000ft and typically need more liquid. Have made these several times. Thank you!
Hi Liz! They are addictive! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Yum! I just made these they are super moist. I did half the batter according to the recipe, and the other half I added mini chocolate chips… so delicious!
Hi Jill! Yes! They are so good with chocolate chips!! I’m so glad you loved them!
Can you use almond milk? Thanks!
Hi Kasey! Yes, you can use almond milk for the regular milk. It will change the macros a bit, and they make bake a little faster, so just keep an eye on them while baking.
Do you recommend freezing them? Should they be kept in the fridge for freshness?
Hi Chris! They do freeze well, but I don’t recommend refrigerating them because it will dry them out. I have some helpful notes in the post under the “storing and freezing” section of the post.
What oil can I substitute for avocado oil?
Hi Jean! You can use your favorite baking oil as a sub. Light olive oil, canola, grapeseed, etc. all will work well here. Even melted butter is great.
Hi there!! Is there a way to add mashed banana to this? Iโm looking forward to making them for my 9 month old!
Hi Alexa! You could easily swap half of the pumpkin for mashed banana. I bet that would be delicious!
Simply glorious. Quick and easy and delicious as well as nutritious!
So glad you enjoyed them Tammy! I need to make them again soon!!
These look delicious!! Iโm thinking of making them as mini muffins for my toddler. How would you recommend adjusting the cooking time?
Hi Rachel! I honestly can’t say without testing it out, but I would start checking for doneness around 10 minutes for the minis. Let me know if you try it out!
Too much liquid in recipe and resulted in a very dense, heavy, almost custard like texture. Next time I will try cooking down the pumpkin to reduce liquid.
Hi Nicole! Did you use canned pumpkin or did you make homemade puree? That could definitely make a difference if your pumpkin puree was too watery. I’ve never had this issue.
I donโt have avocado oil currentlyโฆ would olive oil or coconut oil work?
Olive oil would be my second choice for an alternative. Let me know how they turned out!
Can I add protein powder to this mix?
Hi Lisa! You should be able to add a couple scoops of collagen peptides without affecting the texture, but adding additional protein powder (like whey) would probably dry them out. I can’t say for sure without retesting the recipe.
I haven’t tried them yet but they sound great! I’m trying to think of a way to add plain Greek Yogurt for extra protein without adding too much liquid. Any ideas on an ingredient I can swap for Greek Yogurt? Otherwise, I’ll just do trial and error.
thanks!
Hi Nicole! I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure how it would affect the texture/results. I just eat more protein with them to hit my meal goal. Let me know how it turns out if you test it!
Hi!
Can buttermilk be used in place of milk?
Also, for the sugar- can maple sugar be substituted with 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 pure maple syrup?
Thanks
Hi Lisa! Buttermilk will create a thicker batter, and will affect the flavor (more tang) and acidity (haven’t tested this out, so not sure if it will be the same). Brown sugar or coconut sugar can be subbed 1:1 for maple sugar, but I wouldn’t recommend adding liquid sweetener without testing it first, since it will change the consistency of the batter.
Do you think I could add some chia seeds to the muffins to up the nutritional value?
Hi Sarah! Soaked or dry chia seeds can be added to the batter, but it will thicken it up a bit and since I haven’t tested it, I’m not sure about the recommended amount. You can grind them into flour and add them to the batter that way, as well. If you try it, let me know how it turns out and how much you used. I bet that other readers will love the tip. ๐
Could you use a sugar alternative to make these sugar free?
Hi Julie! The pancake mix has a small amount of sugar in it, so they wouldn’t be sugar-free even with a sub. You could use a granulated sugar-free sweetener, but it may affect the texture and taste. I haven’t tested this out, but if I were to try it, I would use a golden granulated monk fruit sweetener with allulose. Microingredients makes a great one. I don’t like the taste of erythritol in baked goods (and my stomach can’t handle it), so I avoid products with that in it.
These muffins are amazing!!!!!
Thanks Terri! I’m so glad that you love them!
Would you use 3/4 cup of brown sugar if you don’t have maple sugar?
Hi Brittany! You can sub another sugar 1:1 for the maple sugar.
I made these as a health snack for my kids. I substituted Swerve brown sugar substitute for the maple sugar, added some nutmeg, and in order to get the maple taste I added half a teaspoon of maple extract. My kids said they were delicious. I love providing them with healthy snacks instead of junk food from the store – thanks for a great recipe!
So glad that they enjoyed them Kelly!
So good! Me and my toddler loved these!
Hi Amanda! I’m so glad that you both enjoyed them! I appreciate the feedback!
I made these using half sugar substitute and half regular sugar and they turned out great. I only had 11 paper muffin cups so I sprayed one of the cups and baked it like that. The one I baked without the paper cup turned out much better and I plan to bake them like that from now on!!!
Hi Dena! Thank you for the feedback! I’d love to know what sugar sub you used. This might be helpful for other readers, too, since not all of them taste and bake the same. Good to know about the paper liners!