muffins – Keto Vegetarian Girl

Bananaless Muffins

Continuing the theme of “keto __-less hacks” here are some banana muffins that contain… No actual banana! I was really suspicious of this banana extract (found next to the vanilla) based on the smell, but I found the pumpkin really helped balance it out and give it a delicious authentic texture!

This is another modification of my pumpkin spice muffins. The texture of them is perfect, so I figured we shouldn’t mess with success. Note that if you’re not keto, you can 100% replace the pumpkin with mashed banana for a delicious sweetener free, gluten free, or even vegan treat.

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

1 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
5 tbsp melted butter
- (Vegan/DF: canned coconut cream)
2 tbsp sour cream (optional)
2 eggs
- (Vegan/DF: 2tbsp psyllium husk mixed with 4tbsp hot water)
1 tsp banana extract

2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tbsp flax meal
1 tbsp ground psyllium husk (optional but reduces crumbliness)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Optional Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped pecans
24 Guittard bittersweet chocolate wafers, chopped (adds 15 cal / 1.5 net carb / 1 fat per muffin) – or sugar free chocolate chips
Stevia or pure monk fruit sweetener (but I promise, you don’t need it)

For the frosting:

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
generous splash of vanilla
Vegan/DF: Whip 1 14oz can coconut cream (best if refrigerated overnight) with 2 tsp vanilla until it resembles whipped cream.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 12-muffin tin. Take out your cream cheese and butter (for the frosting) to soften.

Sift together dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl melt the butter, then stir in the pumpkin. Finally, add eggs and banana and stir. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Then stir in any extras.

Spoon into the muffin tins, and flatten tops since this batter does not rise. Bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat together all ingredients with a hand mixer until frosting consistency.

You can store these in the fridge for a week, but I recommend keeping the frosting separate and topping just as you are ready to eat.

Macros (recipe makes 12 servings):

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

When I first made these muffins, my husband was literally swearing about their perfection as he ate them. Not gonna lie, some explicatives may have slipped out of my mouth too. The texture is authentic and the spice is delightful. These are a great ‘treat’ to pack for snacks at work, perhaps to accompany a cup of coffee?

Ingredients:
For the muffins:

1 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
5 tbsp melted butter
- (Vegan/DF: canned coconut cream
2 eggs
- (Vegan/DF: 2tbsp psyllium husk mixed with 4tbsp hot water)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
- (you can sub in protein powder for extra protein)
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tbsp ground psyllium husk
- (optional but reduces crumbliness)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin spice

Note: Its not a mistake, there are no sweeteners in this recipe! But if you’re looking for a sweeter treat, feel free to add a few drops stevia or pure monk fruit.

For the frosting:

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
generous splash of vanilla
Vegan/DF: Whip 1 14oz can coconut cream (best if refrigerated overnight) with 2 tsp vanilla until it resembles whipped cream.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 12-muffin tin. Take out your cream cheese and butter (for the frosting) to soften.

Sift together dry ingredients in one bowl.
In a separate bowl melt the butter, then stir in the pumpkin. Finally, add eggs and vanilla and stir. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

Spoon into the muffin tins, and flatten tops since this batter does not rise. Bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat together all ingredients with a hand mixer until frosting consistency.

You can store these in the fridge for a week, but I recommend keeping the frosting separate and topping just as you are ready to eat.

Chocolate Muffins

I’m not sure whether these should be categorized as muffins, or brownies, or cupcakes, or crack… but whatever they are, they’re sure to satisfy any chocolate cravings!

Ingredients:
For the muffins:

1 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
2 tbsp melted butter
- (Vegan/DF: canned coconut cream )
3 tbsp (39g) melted cocoa/cacao butter
- (or more butter or any other oil, but cocoa butter adds a great white chocolate flavor)
2 eggs
- (Vegan/DF: 2tbsp psyllium husk mixed with 4tbsp hot water)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups blanched almond flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp ground psyllium husk (for a cupcake texture)
- Or 2 tbsp flax seed meal (for a fudgey texture)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Optional Ingredients:

1/2 cup (56g) pecans, chopped
24 chopped Guittard bittersweet baking wafers, or Lily’s chocolate chips
liquid stevia or pure monk fruit. I find these muffins have a lovely dark chocolate fudge flavor without any sweetener, but you are welcome to add to taste.

For the frosting:

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
Splash heavy cream (about 2tbsp)
generous splash of vanilla
Vegan/DF: Whip 1 can coconut cream (best if refrigerated overnight) with 2 tsp vanilla until it resembles whipped cream.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 12-muffin tin. Take out your cream cheese and butter to soften.

Sift together dry ingredients. Melt the butters, and then stir in the pumpkin. Finally, add eggs and vanilla and stir. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

If desired, add chopped pecans and chocolate at this point. Or save the pecans to put on top, whatever you like.

Spoon into the muffin tins, and flatten tops since this batter does not rise. Bake for 25 minutes. (You can also make this in an 8×4 loaf pan by baking 50 minutes).

Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat together all ingredients with a hand mixer until frosting consistency.

You can store these in the fridge for a week, but I recommend keeping the frosting separate and topping just as you are ready to eat.