Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

These Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are perfectly soft and moist and loaded with sweet cream cheese! They taste just like Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins but better! The perfect Fall breakfast or dessert!

If you love easy muffin recipes as much as I do, try my Double Chocolate Muffins or my Blueberry Streusel Muffins!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

You guys have been going crazy for my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread! It’s not surprising why it’s super moist, perfectly spiced and swirled with sweet cream cheese throughout the loaf. I had a couple readers ask about making it into muffins so I went ahead and adapted the recipe to make pumpkin cream cheese muffins!

I have to say these pumpkin muffins do not disappoint! We love how the muffins look at Starbucks so instead of swirling the cream cheese into the batter (like I do with my loaf) I pipe the filling in the center instead. You can absolutely do either!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

For the Muffins

• Pumpkin Puree- Canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkins will work great in this recipe. Make sure it is pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling which has added sugar and spices.
• Eggs- Are added for stability and help the muffins to rise.
• Brown Sugar- Brown sugar adds some caramel flavor notes and works well with the pumpkin to add sweetness.
• Oil- You will need a neutral oil like vegetable or canola oil.
• Sour Cream- Adds moisture and a hint of tartness to the muffins.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice- If you have pumpkin pie spice, use that. If not, you can use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, & ginger.
• Flour- All purpose flour is used however you can substitute white whole wheat flour to add some extra nutrition to these muffins.
• Baking Powder, Baking Soda, & Salt- For rise and flavor!

For the Cream Cheese Topping

• Egg- The egg in the cream cheese mixture will make the cream cheese set instead of melt.
• Cream Cheese- Make sure it’s softened or the mixture will be lumpy. Here’s my favorite way to quickly soften cream cheese.
• Granulated Sugar- Adds a hint of sweetness to the cream cheese filling.
• Vanilla- A little bit of vanilla is added for flavor.

How to Make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

• Prep and Combine Wet Ingredients: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, oil, sour cream, & vanilla.

• Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients: In small bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Then fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.

• Make Cream Cheese Filling: Combine the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until lump free. Place into a piping bag.
• Assemble: Fill the muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full with the pumpkin muffin mixture. Then, pipe about one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture into the muffin.

• Bake: The pumpkin cream cheese muffins for about 15-20 minutes or until the muffins look set and no longer jiggly. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cook completely.

Tips for Success

• Don’t over mix once you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients! This can cause a tough muffin.
• If you want these muffins to be extra sweet, add some chocolate chips into the pumpkin muffin batter!
• If you prefer, you can substitute the sour cream for greek yogurt!
• Freeze the leftover muffins (if you have any), for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw completely in the fridge before eating.
• To get extra fancy top muffins with pumpkin seeds aka pepitas! They add a nice crunch and look so pretty on top!

More Muffin Recipes to Try

• Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
• Morning Glory Muffins
• Corn Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins