Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins With Coconut Flour

Enjoy two great fall flavors together in these simple-to-make muffins. These delicious cranberry pumpkin muffins are low-carb and gluten-free because they use coconut flour and a blend of homemade spices!

Article Index

• Ingredients
• Tips
• Instructions
• FAQs
• Why coconut flour
• Related recipes
• Recipe

Don't you just love the flavors of the fall season? I certainly do. That's why I combined two of my favorites in these gluten-free, low-carb coconut flour muffins!

They are not too sweet and are very moist. And, these muffins are full of cranberry and pumpkin flavors.

I know there are a lot of nut allergies out there, so I chose to make them nut-free too!

Many of my recipes combine coconut flour with almond flour, but I've been getting better at using only coconut flour.

Another great benefit is that coconut flour tends to be a bit cheaper than almond flour, making going low-carb easier on the budget. I've also found that baked goods made with coconut flour hold together better than those made with almond flour.

Ingredients

This recipe uses whole ingredients and my own special mixture of spices. You are going to love it!

Here's what you need:

Coconut Flour

I used coconut flour as the base of the muffins. It has the best texture without being too dry or too wet. There isn't a 1:1 keto-friendly flour you can use to replace it.

You'll need to use baking powder to give the muffins a little lift.

Spices

I created my own pumpkin pie spice blend! You can easily replace my spices with 1 ½ teaspoons of jarred pumpkin pie spice.

These are the spices I used:

• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Ground Cloves

Sweetener

I used two different types of sweetener in the muffins to give them the ideal taste and texture. I think Swerve and Sukrin Gold made them taste amazing.

Pumpkin

Use real pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has added spices and sugar.

Dairy

Heavy cream and butter both add more moisture to the muffins. They also make them taste deliciously rich.

Eggs

Eggs are a binding agent and help keep everything together!

Dried Cranberries

You can either make your own dried cranberries or buy some sugar-free dried cranberries from the store.

You can also buy freeze-dried cranberries, but you'll want to reconstitute them in water before using them in these cranberry pumpkin muffins.

Please note: Check out the recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients used to make this low-carb recipe.

Tips

• When using coconut flour, I like to sift it first. It always seems to be a bit clumpy straight from the container. Sifting will break up the clumps and allow them to mix into the other ingredients better.
• If you want the muffins to have smooth tops, you'll have to use your fingers or a small spatula to shape the tops of each muffin before baking.
• You will know the muffins are done baking when they spring back when you touch them lightly in the center.

Instructions

All the exact steps are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. First, here are some photos and additional tips.

Mix dry ingredients

For this cranberry pumpkin muffins recipe, I first blended the coconut flour with baking powder and pumpkin pie spices.

Add wet ingredients

Then, I whipped up all the wet ingredients, including the sweeteners, in a separate bowl with an electric mixer. I like to beat the batter for a few minutes to make sure everything is well combined and fluff in some air pocket.

You need to use about an equal part liquid and double or more eggs with coconut flour to get the batter right. This flour just soaks up liquid like crazy, so your batter tends to be very thick.

Mix in the dried cranberries

I used dried cranberries, but you can also make your own low-carb craisins at home using a dehydrator or in the oven at a low temperature.

Do not overmix!

Gently fold the cranberries into the muffin batter. Just mix it up until the cranberries are incorporated evenly.

Spoon batter into muffin cups

Then, spoon the batter into muffin cups. Make sure the muffin tin is non-stick, or use some cupcake liners.

Smooth out the bumps

The muffins will have bumps and ridges from spooning if you don't smooth out the tops before baking. The texture of the muffins is a matter of preference on how you want the muffins to look.

I didn't bother taking the time to shape each muffin so you can see that the lumps and bumps remained after I baked the muffins. Not really a big deal to me.

Serving suggestions

These muffins are the perfect way to start your day with a healthy and low-carb breakfast. For even more protein, eat them with some low-carb sausage balls.

For a little difference in texture, whip up a bowl of low-carb coconut flour porridge and top it with some sliced fruit. Or, these keto ham and cheese frittata muffins are high in protein and only 2.4g net carbs.

FAQs

Before we get to the printable recipe card, here are some questions people often ask about making them.

Can I use different spice mixtures in the muffins?

You can certainly change up the spice mix if you like a bit more ginger and less cinnamon. Or, even omit the cloves if you don't like them.

Many different spice blends work with pumpkin, but I always want to include cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg!

How many carbs are in cranberry pumpkin muffins?

This recipe makes 12 muffins. Each muffin has 6.4g carbs but 3.8g net carbs.

Can I leave out the Sukrin Gold?

I used the Sukrin gold because it is a brown sugar substitute. You can certainly use just one type of sweetener, but then you'll miss out on the deeper brown sugar taste.

What size of muffin tin did you use?

I used a regular-sized muffin tin. If you use a mini-muffin tray, the serving size will be smaller, and you will have to recalculate the number of carbs in each muffin.

Why coconut flour

What's your favorite low-carb flour to bake with? Do you prefer coconut flour, almond flour, or a combination of the two? I like using a combination of them both. However, if I had to choose just one, it would be coconut flour.

I like to change things up a bit, but coconut flour is becoming my favorite. I also like adding a bit of whey protein powder which seems to help lighten up gluten-free baked goods.

If you do give these cranberry muffins a try, I'd love to hear how they came out for you!

Related recipes

If you enjoyed these low-carb cranberry pumpkin muffins, then you'll enjoy these low-carb bread recipes next. They are some of my favorites!

• Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins only have 2.8g net carbs in each one and are filled with rich chocolate taste.
• Coconut Flour Turmeric Muffins are made with just 4 ingredients and take a quick 30 minutes to make.
• Peanut Butter Keto Chocolate Chip Muffins taste like dessert but are high in protein so you can eat them for breakfast.
• Keto Breakfast Muffins With Cottage Cheese only have 2g net carbs each and are an easy portable breakfast.
• Low-Carb Carrot Cake Muffins are really sweet with a cream cheese filling that tastes like cheesecake.

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Recipe

First published on September 10, 2015. Post updated on November 25, 2021, with additional recipe information and higher-quality images.