Protein Muffins
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This recipe for protein muffins will be your new favorite way to use protein powder! No eggs, refined sugar, or grains are needed; each muffin has 20 grams of protein!
Stop buying expensive prepackaged high protein muffins from health food stores and start making your own! Adding protein powder to muffins is my sneaky, healthy way to get more protein into my diet, and it also keeps me satisfied for way longer. Win!
My foolproof recipe uses wholesome and simple ingredients, and it’s also affordable…they also taste delicious!
The trick is to use the right kind of protein powder so the muffins bake up nice and fluffy instead of dry and crumbly. As long as you do that, you’ll be whipping these up on the regular.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Perfect texture. Moist and fluffy, and tastes like any good muffin out there.
- 5 healthy ingredients. No white flour or sugar. There aren’t any eggs either, so perfect if you are vegan and/or gluten-free.
- 20 grams of protein. These are perfect for a high-protein snack or wholesome dessert.
- It’s easy to customize. Think of my muffin batter as a blank slate on which you can change up the flavors. I’ve included a few of my favorites below.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“OH!! Best protein muffin I’ve made! Yum, thanks!” – Eliane
Ingredients needed
- 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) 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, because these are naturally thinner and mix seamlessly into the batter.
- Unsweetened applesauce. Adds some moisture to the muffins without needing any oil or butter. You can also use Greek yogurt.
- Chocolate chips. A must for any good muffin. I like using sugar free chocolate chips to keep these muffins completely sugar free.
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, dry muffins.
How to make protein muffins
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Make the batter. Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together. Add the peanut butter and unsweetened applesauce and mix until completely combined.
Fold through the chocolate chips at the end.
Step 2- Bake. Distribute the batter amongst 8 large muffin liners in a muffin pan (or 12 in a mini muffin tin) and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Do not overbake the muffins, as they can go from fluffy to dense VERY fast. Once they are ‘just’ done on top and a toothpick or skewer comes out mostly clean, remove them from the oven, and they will continue to cook as they cool.
- If you notice the tops of muffins going brown too soon, cover them with tin foil after the 8-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, I’ve tested the batter with five popular flavors to switch things up for you!
- Peanut butter– Add some peanut butter chips on top.
- Banana– Replace the unsweetened applesauce with 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.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week. I recommend bringing them to room temperature before enjoying, or microwaving them for 20 seconds beforehand.
To freeze: Place leftover muffins in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More high protein desserts to try
- Protein donuts
- Protein cookies
- Protein brownies
- Protein banana bread
- Protein mug cake
- Or any of these protein powder recipes
Protein Muffins (5 Ingredients!)
Video
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 protein powder, almond flour, and baking powder, 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. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, cover it with tinfoil around the 8 minute mark.
- 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
Originally published February 2017
Regularly make these and freeze for kids lunches too !! Hit in our house
My god, these are scary addictive! Thank you so much.
Wanted to try replace the peanut butter with powdered peanut next time. Anyone only if this will work ok? Thank you.
Thanks for the recipe 😘
Excellent peanut butter/choc chip flavor! Easy to make, don’t overcook
Easy and NOT dry, unlike most protein muffin recipes!
Could I use a vegan protein powder for this recipe?
You can!
Thanks for the recipe 😘
So I didn’t read the entire post as it says NOT to use Whey Isolate, which I did. They really didn’t cook throughly but were still tasty. I ate them anyhow. Oh well.
This recipe was great, I’ll def be using it often. I did not read the instructions carefully and used a full whey protein and it was not as bad as you’d think. The muffins are flat but still really delicious.
Love these protein muffins so much!
These are such delicious and easy protein muffins. Will make again!
Hello I’m wondering what the nutrition facts are if you use the 12 mini muffin sheet pan, please?
You can use myfitnesspal to calculate 🙂
Made them, loved them
I like to use raisins and chopped white chocolate as mix-ins.
Can you use greek yogurt instead of applesauce? I want to make them without going to the store
You could try!
My favorite, I make these weekly.
Salut..
En plus sa ajoutera plus de protéine 👌
Could you use peanut flour rather than almond flour?
Feel free to experiment and see!
These are my favorite protein muffins EVER!