Low Calorie Muffins

Name: Low Calorie Muffins
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 cups flour (all purpose or gluten free ); 1/3 cup allulose (or any granulated sweetener of choice); 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large egg

By Arman Liewupdated on Feb 06, 2026

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Reader Rating

Total Time 20

Servings 12 servings

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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’re only 100 calories per muffin!

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 cut the calories by nearly two-thirds- without sacrificing taste or texture.

Table of Contents

Why I love this low calorie muffin recipe
Key Ingredients
How to make low calorie muffins
Arman’s recipe tips
Flavor variations
Storage instructions
Frequently Asked Questions
Low Calorie Muffins (Recipe Card)
More low calorie recipes

Why I love this low calorie muffin recipe

100 calories per muffin. And these are standard-sized muffins–no mini muffins here!
Simple ingredients. The base recipe only needs 7 basic pantry staples.
Diet-friendly. 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. With that said, the calories will increase a little, depending on what mix-in you choose:

Lemon blueberry. Fold through half a cup of fresh blueberries and 1/2 a lemon zest.
White chocolate raspberry. Add 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries.
Triple chocolate. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1/4 cup each of milk, white, and dark chocolate chips.
Apple cinnamon. Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and finely chopped apple.
Trail mix. Fold through raisins, nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips.
Banana. Mash two bananas and fold them into the batter.
Pumpkin. Fold through half a cup of pumpkin puree.
Classic blueberry. Toss through 1/2 cup of blueberries in some flour, then fold them into the batter.
Zucchini. Fold through 1/2 cup of finely shredded zucchini.
Peanut butter chocolate chip. Fold in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, then swirl in 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter 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

Can I make these muffins without eggs?

Yes! I tested an eggless option! Just replace the egg with 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce.