These Paleo Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are moist, tender and perfectly spiced. Filled with a tangy dairy free cream cheese filling, these muffins are what cinnamon scented dreams are made of.
I know that Pumpkin Spice is divisive, but I’m totally not sure why. Spicy cloves, warming cinnamon, nutty nutmeg?! It’s literally what my fall-time dreams are made of. Even if you aren’t a fan of the latte, I promise that these Paleo Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are for any and all lovers of Autumn.
These muffins are moist, tender + also happen to be gluten free. grain free, refined sugar free + even dairy free! Let’s get into this muffin magic!
Ingredients in Paleo Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
To ensure that these muffins have both the texture and taste that we want, we’re using a mixture of grain free flours. The cream cheese filling is made from a sweetened cashew mixture that will fool even the toughest of critics! Here’s what you’ll need:
- almond flour
- arrowroot powder – tapioca flour can be subbed here
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- pumpkin pie spice – see recipe notes if you don’t have any pre-made pumpkin pie spice at home
- eggs
- maple syrup
- pumpin
- vanilla extract
- cashews
- nut milk
- apple cider vinegar – feel free to use lemon juice too
Putting the muffins together
Mixing up the actual muffin batter is easy, peasy. It just some dumping and stirring into one large bowl + your batter is ready to go.
The cream cheese filling is a bit more tricky because it requires a blender or food processor, but it’s also just a dump + blend step! We’re using cashews as our creamy base to our cream cheese filling to keep this totally dairy free. Once all of the ingredients are added to the blender, it’s just a matter of blending + scraping until it’s silky smooth.
To finish the muffins, simply fill each muffin cup 3/4 full with the pumpkin batter. Then, using a spoon, press a dimple or small well into the centre of each muffin. It should hold roughly a tablespoon of the cashew cream cheese mixture.
Once your muffin pan is full, throw the entire thing into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean!
Once baked, these muffins should be stored in the fridge to keep them fresh. They can be microwaved for 30 second or so if you’d like to serve them warm. If you need to keep them longer than a few days, I would pop them in the freezer where they’ll keep for a few months. Just leave them on the counter for a few hours or in the fridge overnight to defrost before enjoying!
These muffins are everything you want in an autumnal baked good + yet they’re super allergen friendly! Your friends and family will love them even if they don’t have a restricted diet + you can enjoy them too! Tender + spiced, sweet + moist. These muffins are perfect!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of them, so be sure to leave me a comment below to let me know what you think! Or, as always, I adore seeing your remakes over on instagram, so be sure to tag me there too.
P.S. If you’re into muffins, these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins are another fav.
Paleo Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup arrowroot powder (can sub tapioca flour/starch)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (see notes if you dont have premade pumpkin pie spice)
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 cup cashews
- 3/4 cup cashew milk (any nut milk will work)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 350f/175c. If making the cream cheese filling, cover the cashews in a small bowl with boiling water.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
- Add all of the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until a thick batter forms.
- To make the cream cheese filling, drain the cashews and add them to a high speed blender or a food processor along with the other cream cheese filling ingredients.
- Blend the filling together until its thick and creamy. Stop and scrape down the blender or food processor as needed.
- Spray a muffin tray with cooking spray or line it with paper liners. Fill each muffin cup roughly 3/4 full.
- Take a spoon and create a small dip in the center of each muffin. Fill each dip with a tablespoon or so of the cream cheese mixture.
- Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean!
Made these today and it’s another amazing recipe! Your muffin recipes are the best paleo muffins I’ve ever had. They actually have a muffin texture which is usually not the case. Thanks for sharing!
I want to try these so badly but need to avoid almond flour, because my son has an allergy. Any suggestions for a substitution? Thanks!
Hi Hunter! So, the only thing that you could sub exactly would be another nut flour – maybe ground cashews? I can say that I had a friend sub oat flour in another muffin recipe of mine for almond flour with decent success. She said they were more dense, but still worked! I’d try using maybe 2 cups of oat flour and seeing what the texture is like? They should be pretty thick before baked! Sorry if this isn’t more helpful. I know how hard allergies are! Let me know if you give them a try 🙂
Hi! Do you have a recommendation to substitute the eggs?
Hi Mic, I’m not sure you can sub out the eggs! Paleo flours like almond really need the lift. So sorry!