Low Calorie Muffins
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My low calorie muffins are moist, fluffy, and come in over 10 flavors. Made with no butter or added sugar, they use pantry staples and bake up beautifully.
When I’m watching my calories, I find baking healthy desserts is crucial to staying on track…and not raiding the pantry in the middle of the night. That’s where my low-cal muffins come in.
During recipe testing, I experimented with making the muffins completely fat-free, using applesauce and then yogurt in place of butter or oil. While both versions were edible, they lacked the fluffiness and moisture you’d expect from a truly good muffin.
My final version strikes the right balance: just two tablespoons of oil in the entire batch. The result is muffins that are light, fluffy, and a fraction of the calories that grocery store muffins have (a typical bakery or grocery muffin is often 250-400+ calories due to larger portions and added fat and sugars)- without sacrificing taste or texture.
Table of Contents
Why I love this low calorie muffin recipe
- Simple ingredients. The base recipe requires only 7 pantry staples.
- Wholesome. No butter or sugar is needed, yet you’d never guess how moist and sweet they are.
- Ready in 20 minutes. Including prep time.
- 10 flavor options! I’ve included the base recipe plus 10 equally delicious flavors you can make with a few simple additions.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Hello, I just took Muffins out of the oven. I did add blueberries and lemon zest. Frosted with lemon buttercream. Gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free, except for the frosting. Very nice texture muffin. I look forward to making it with the other add-ins. Thank you for your recipes.” – Lea
Key Ingredients
Here’s what goes into low calorie muffins, along with my kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- All-purpose flour. You can also use whole wheat flour, but it will increase the calorie count a bit. I tested this with gluten-free flour, and it worked out pretty well. I used Bob’s Red Mill.
- Sugar free substitute. I like using allulose because it dissolves like traditional sugar, but monk fruit sweetener or brown sugar substitute will also work.
- Baking powder and baking soda. Both leavening agents are used to give the muffins some rise and fluffiness.
- Milk. I used unsweetened almond milk to keep the calories down, but any milk works.
- Olive oil. My preferred oil. Avocado oil is another heart-healthy option.
- Egg. room temperature egg.
- Vanilla extract. Just a drop to give it a subtle vanilla flavor.
How to make low calorie muffins
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with muffin liners.
Step 2- Make the batter. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in any optional mix-ins.
Step 3- Bake. Pour the batter into the 12 muffin liners. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Step 4- Cool. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Avoid overmixing. Overmixing can cause excessive gluten development, resulting in dense, chewy muffins. I recommend mixing until the batter is smooth.
- Don’t overbake. The muffins will continue to cook as they cool, so pull them from the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted comes out ‘just’ clean (a few moist crumbs are fine).
- Bake in the muffin tin. If you don’t have muffin liners, grease the muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Swap the sweetener. If you’d rather not use sweeteners, you can use regular sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Just note this will increase the calories.
Flavor variations
As mentioned earlier, I treat the muffin base as a blank canvas and add mix-ins to vary the flavor. That said, calories will increase. I’m including approximate calories per muffin (based on 12 muffins total). Actual values vary by brand and portion size.
- Lemon blueberry (106 calories). Fold through 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries (75g) and 1/2 a lemon’s zest.
- White chocolate raspberry (125 calories). Add 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips (45g) and 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries (75g).
- Triple chocolate (162 calories). Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (20g) and 1/4 cup each of milk, white, and dark chocolate chips (135g).
- Apple cinnamon (110 calories). Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and one finely chopped medium apple (180g).
- Trail mix (147-157 calories). Fold through raisins, nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips (3/4 cup total= 120g).
- Banana (120 calories). Mash two medium bananas (230g) and fold them into the batter.
- Pumpkin (106 calories). Fold through half a cup of pumpkin puree (120g).
- Classic blueberry (105 calories). Toss through 1/2 cup of blueberries (75g) in some flour, then fold them into the batter.
- Zucchini (103 calories). Fold through 1/2 cup of finely shredded zucchini (60g).
- Peanut butter chocolate chip (185 calories). Fold in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (45g), then swirl in 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter (125g) on top of the muffin batter.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover muffins should be refrigerated, covered, for up to one week.
To freeze: Place the baked and cooled muffins in a resealable plastic bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I tested an eggless option! Just replace the egg with 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce.
Low Calorie Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour 240g, including gluten-free blends
- 1/3 cup allulose 70g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 4g
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3g
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 240ml
- 2 tablespoons olive oil 30ml
- 1 large egg 50g (without shell)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line and grease a 12-count muffin tin with muffin liners.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sweetener of choice, baking powder, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, olive oil, and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold through the mix-ins of choice.
- Divide the muffins between the 12 muffin liners. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Calorie disclaimer: When made as is, each muffin is 102 calories. Mix-ins will increase the calorie count. Please refer to the flavor variations sections for approximate calorie counts with various mix-ins.
- Leftovers: Keep in the fridge, covered, for one week, or in the freezer for 6 months.
Nutrition
More low calorie recipes
- Low calorie banana bread– This moist and fluffy banana bread is healthy enough for breakfast!
- Healthy mug cake– One of my most popular desserts that takes less than two minutes to make.
- Low calorie ice cream– Each scoop has just 50 calories, so don’t be surprised if you polish off the whole batch.
- Low calorie candy– Gummy candy that takes seconds to make.
- Or any of my low calorie recipes
I found these way too dry, unfortunately :/ I made the recipe EXACTLY as written, idk what happened. The batter was like glue
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that, Hayley- which brand of flour did you use? I’d love to troubleshoot for you- a glue-like batter is pointing to a flour issue.