The Easiest Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Recipe
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Looking to make your own Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins but want a super easy recipe? You’ll love these simple, soft pumpkin muffins with a deliciously creamy filling to perfectly envelope the fall season in a muffin!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are the perfect muffin for the fall and winter seasons. They contain all the comforting spices that you need, plus a luscious layer of creamy cream cheese to make it feel like you are eating a dessert instead of a breakfast muffin.
Instead of making a cream cheese swirl through the muffins, taking up more time, these muffins contain the cream cheese on the inside. It still gives you the same effect but is much less time-consuming!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Pumpkin + Cream Cheese = Yum. I love just about anything made with this combo! Once upon a time, I was looking for a recipe to make for some breakfasts this week and pumpkin muffins sounded so good. But then I thought I needed to make them even better by adding a little cream cheese! (Because what isn’t better with cream cheese?) This yummy little recipe is what I came up with.
Tip: Looking for more breakfast ideas? Check out these Make Ahead Breakfasts
Random side note… one of my childhood cats’ names was Pumpkin. She was such a good little kitty except for the fact that she used to go get snakes and mice and bring them up on the front porch for my mom and me to see…..alive.
Anyways….on to the recipe!
Ingredients in Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Flour. You will want to use an all-purpose flour in this recipe. You can also use an All Purpose Gluten Free Flour instead for a gluten free version.
- Brown sugar. I get my brown sugar at Target as it’s one of the few items I don’t stock in bulk.
- Sugar. Just regular white sugar for this recipe. You could try and replace with honey but I haven’t tried it yet.
- Baking powder.
- Salt. Any kind of salt is fine. I usually use Pink Salt because that’s what I stock.
- Cinnamon.
- Baking soda.
- Butter. If you cannot use butter, you can use a vegan buttery spread or palm shortening in its place for this recipe.
- Pumpkin puree. This can be Homemade Pumpkin Puree or from the store. Do not use pumpkin pie filling.
- Eggs. Essential for this recipe. I’ve not tried any replacements yet. If you make the gluten-free version, you definitely need to add real eggs to this recipe for a binder.
- Buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (I usually don’t), you can Make Your Own Buttermilk (you can make it with non-dairy milk as well).
- Cream cheese. Also a must-have for this recipe! I haven’t tried a vegan cream cheese but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work.
Not included in this recipe are ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla extract. All would be great additions to boost the flavor if you have them on hand. If you do, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon ginger into the recipe. I only left them out of the original recipe to make it simpler. You could also use pumpkin pie spice in place of all the spices if you have that too!
If you don’t already have a muffin tin or need a new muffin tin, my very favorite one is this Fox Run Muffin tin. I’ve had mine for many years now and actually just bought a second one to make more muffins at one time. It’s stainless steel and lightweight so it’s easy to use and it cools down quickly.
I also use these Paper Liners by Paper Chef. They work extremely well, especially for gluten free muffins that tend to stick.
FAQ About Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
How many calories is a homemade pumpkin muffin?
This recipe contains 277 calories per muffin.
How much sugar is in a pumpkin spice muffin?
This recipe uses a total of 1 cup of sugar in the muffins plus a little in the filling. It’s 25 grams per muffin.
Can you freeze pumpkin cream cheese muffins?
Yes, you can freeze the extras from this recipe! Since the cream cheese is baked it seems to come out of the freezer with a more normal texture than raw cream cheese.
How to store pumpkin cream cheese muffins?
Store extra Pumpkin Muffins in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator. These muffins will store for about 4 or 5 days but they will start to dry out after the first 2-3 days so it’s recommended that you enjoy them right away or freeze extras.
What to Serve with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Coffee. Of course these muffins go perfectly well with a warm cup of coffee!
- Hot Tea. A plain herbal tea also pairs well with these muffins.
- Light fruits. Fruits such as grapes, honeydew melon, peaches, or pears would make a great side for these muffins or to round out a breakfast or a special snack.
Why Make Homemade Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
A Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffin from Starbucks contains more than 25 ingredients (including propylene glycol, soy, and canola oil), and I couldn’t find out much they cost because it’s not listed online and I don’t go out to coffee shops, but I’m guessing they are pretty expensive! According to the Starbucks website, the muffins are also 350 calories each plus 34 grams of sugar.
A Homemade Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin has 12 ingredients and the ingredients can be controlled to make a gluten-free or dairy-free version. This recipe costs about $4.83 to make (or $0.40 per muffin). These muffins are 277 calories each and 25 grams of sugar. Still quite a bit but I’m guessing a sugar sub like monkfruit could be used quite effectively in this recipe.
How to Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of sugar.
Add the baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, baking soda, buttermilk, and butter.
Then mix in the eggs and the pumpkin. Set the mixture aside.
To make the sweet cream cheese filling: use a medium bowl or a small bowl and mix together the filling- one egg, the cream cheese, and the rest of the brown sugar.
Fill a greased muffin cup up halfway with the pumpkin muffin batter. Then add a large spoonful of the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter of each muffin. Add another scoopful of the pumpkin mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture. If you are having trouble getting the cream cheese to drop into the muffins, put it at room temperature before you try and use it.
Bake the in the oven at 350F for 22 minutes or until they are done. Remove the baked muffins from the muffin pan and let them cool on a wire rack until you are ready to enjoy them.
Want to print the recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins for your Recipe Binder? Grab it below:
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Recipe
These delicious pumpkin muffins have a creamy center and are so good for a fall treat!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
Instructions
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Mix together the flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of sugar.
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Add the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, buttermilk, and butter.
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Then mix in the eggs and the pumpkin. Set the mixture aside.
-
In another bowl, mix together the filling- one egg, the cream cheese, and the rest of the brown sugar.
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Fill a greased muffin cup up halfway with the pumpkin mixture. Then add a large spoonful of the cream cheese mixture on top. Add another scoopful of the pumpkin mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture.
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Bake at 350F for 22 minutes or until they are done.
Don’t these muffins look delicious? If you can manage to refrain from eating them all, you can place any leftovers in a freezer bag and freeze them to enjoy later.
Tip: Mix up a batch of this Homemade Muffin Mix to keep on hand for easy, fresh baked muffins any day!
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- Easy Pumpkin Cookies Recipe
- Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Filled Bites
- Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- Pumpkin Bread, Cake, or Muffins
More Muffin Recipes
- Simple Blueberry Muffins Recipe
- Gluten Free Banana Carrot Muffins
- 25 Delicious Healthy Muffin Recipes
- Triple Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Recipe
- Banana Bread Mini Muffins Recipe
Would your family enjoy these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins?
This recipe for Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling was originally published on Little House Living in September 2017. It has been updated as of September 2022.
I am totally going to make them. They look amazing. My family loves the pumpkin chocolate chip bread, so I know they are going to eat this up. making two of your recipes this weekend. Thanks so much.
If you do not have buttermilk, is there a substitution, like 2% milk?
Yes, you should be able to sub milk in this recipe.
My daughter and I just made these…FANTASTIC!!!! Does not say how many muffins are made, we came up with 21 of them. Also, it does not say where to add buttermilk in the printout, we just added with the other wet ingredients. Seriously good, going to get another now before my kids eat them all! Thanks for this one, it’s definitely a keeper!
Hi Merissa, These muffins look wonderful! By the way, a tablespoon or 2 of vinegar or lemon juice can be added to regular milk to substitute for buttermilk. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Blessings, Janet
We just made these and they are really moist and warming! The recipe does leave out when to add the buttermilk but we just added to the very end. I like that they are not too sweet; more of a breakfast muffin. I think next time we will add nutmeg. We will definitely make these again! Thanks for the recipe!
Pumpkin and Cream Cheese. what could go wrong? Yum.. until I tried one. 🙁 Had company coming and made a couple different types of muffins (thank goodness), as this was not a hit at all. Had such high anticipation of wonderful cream cheese and moistness. Instead, after following the directions, (except the article didn’t mention adding the milk but we did in the moist ingred.). .. they came out dry, cheese melted away, and tasteless. Did not over bake. Very disappointing. I will not be doing these again. Sorry.
Pumpkin and cream cheese!!! Yes…please!! I have to try these muffins as they sound delicious!!!
These look and sounds wonderful.. What’s not to love with cream cheese and pumpkin? Thanks so much for sharing at DI&DI.
Muffins look great! Thanks for linking up to Merry Monday! Pinned! Have a great week!
Kim
Yum! These sure look delicious! I’ve been enjoying all these pumpkin recipes this fall! 🙂 Thanks for sharing at #SmallVictories linkup!
These look delicious!
These look delicious and I personally feel there’s no such thing as too many muffin recipes! What a sweet story about your kitty. Did you know that the more “intact” the little gifts are that you receive from your pet cat, the higher they regard you? So Pumpkin must have thought very highly of you and your mom. ?
Ah, I did not know that. She was a good kitty and lived a long life 🙂
Would have helped if you said made 12 or 24… Think using large muffin tin would be even better. Also chopped pecans works be good too. In oven will see how they turn out
This recipe makes one standard muffin tin of 12 muffins.
These look amazingly devious good
I made these muffins last night. Very yummy and go perfect with tea. The kids also thought they were great. After reading everybody’s comments here is what I found. This recipe made a dozen regular sized muffins. I had set out my cream cheese to soften, it was frozen, so when I mixed it it was runny. Put it in the fridge to firm up. You don’t get a filling in the middle like some of you seemed to think but a nice layer of the cream cheese mix. I will definitely put this in my muffin rotation. Thanks
Curious, could you substitute sweet potato for pumpkin? I don’t have any pumpkin on hand.
Yes, that should work fine 🙂 It will give it a little bit different taste but I think they would still be good!
when does the buttermilk go in ??
It’s mixed in with the wet ingredients.
We need to be egg free. For the muffin I would substitute apple sauce…what about the frosting? any ideas?
Do you use any gelatin? (unflavored gelatin) If so, you could make a gelatin egg and sub that in the filling.
Cheers from Ontario Canada………….it’s cold and rainy here and this recipe was just what we needed !! they make 12 large scrumptious muffins with yummy cream cheese filling still in tact. thankyou we really enjoyed !!!!!!!!!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi Merissa,
I’m in Aus and love reading your little emails regularly.
I have a question about the pumpkin purée. Is it literally just steamed pumpkin and then whizz it up?
We don’t tend to use pumpkin recipes over here like you guys do and I’d love to try it out. I still have quite a few pumpkin from the last harvest.
Thank you
Pretty much. Here’s my tutorial on making your own pumpkin puree: https://www.littlehouseliving.com/preserving-pumpkin.html
These look amazing!