Our delicious pumpkin cream cheese muffins live up to all that is warm and cozy about (in my opinion) the best season of all. Spiced pumpkin muffins with a sweet cream cheese filling are just magical when the weather starts to cool and will find a permanent place on your breakfast table.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Ingredients
These muffins balance the creamy tanginess of the cream cheese filling with the rich, earthy flavors of pumpkin and warm spices like cinnamon and vanilla.
The sugars add a comforting sweetness, creating a perfect blend of sweet and spiced goodness in every bite.
You’ll need:
For The Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅓ cup of granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
For The Pumpkin Muffins:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice blend
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 (15-ounce) can of pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- ½ cup of vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- ¾ cup of light brown sugar
- ¼ cup of granulated sugar
PRO TIP:
Watch out when you are at the grocery store that you buy pure pumpkin puree and not canned pumpkin pie filling.
Substitutions And Additions
CHOCOLATE CHIPS: Add chocolate chips to the muffins to create delicious pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
PUMPKIN SEEDS: I have seen variations of this recipe with pumpkin seeds baked into the batter or a few on top of the cream cheese mixture for decoration.
This would add a lovely crunch to an already scrumptious muffin.
VEGETABLE OIL: You can use any neutral oil for this recipe (canola, vegetable, avocado).
I would not use coconut or olive oil as they will give the muffins a stronger flavor that may not work well with the pumpkin and cream cheese for this recipe.
CREAM CHEESE: Make sure you use full-fat cream cheese for this recipe.
The one-third less fat and fat-free versions make the cream cheese mixture much thinner, and it does not work well for the recipe.
How To Make This Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Recipe
Once you make the easy muffin batter, you will top it with dollops of creamy filling. Bake and enjoy.
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two standard muffin tins with 20 paper liners. Set aside.
PRO TIP:
I like using muffin liners that are parchment paper because the muffins come out of the liners much easier than some of the paper brands available.
We do not suggest using generic brands of paper liners as they are pretty, but they tend to really make the muffins stick to the paper.
STEP TWO: To make the cream cheese filling, add the cream cheese and granulated sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
With a handheld mixer, on medium-low speed, beat together the cream cheese and granulated sugar for one minute or until smooth.
STEP THREE: Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat for another 30 seconds to fully incorporate and create a smooth cream cheese filling.
Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a piping bag or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off. Set aside.
PRO TIP:
Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature, or you will end up with lumps in your creamy filling.
STEP FOUR: In a medium bowl, add the all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice blend, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.
STEP FIVE: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the canned pure pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, large eggs, vanilla extract, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
Whisk until all the ingredients are completely blended, and the mixture is smooth.
STEP SIX: Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk just until all the ingredients are combined, and the batter is thick and smooth.
STEP SEVEN: Fill all 20 muffin liners three-quarters full with the pumpkin muffin batter.
STEP EIGHT: Squeeze 1½ to 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese filling into the center of each pumpkin muffin.
PRO TIP:
A 2-inch cookie scoop or ice cream scoop works well to fill the muffin tins.
STEP NINE Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the pumpkin part of the muffin comes out clean.
Allow the pumpkin cream cheese muffins to cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
How To Serve
These moist pumpkin muffins would be perfect for a quick breakfast. Serve with a warm pumpkin spice latte or cup of tea.
Add these to a basket of muffins along with our peach cobbler muffins and blueberry sour cream muffins and share them with friends.
For more easy pumpkin recipes, you absolutely must try our homemade pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin delight.
Looking for more coffee shop drinks and treats to make at home? My Starbucks copycat recipes page has plenty more to try.
MORE MUFFIN RECIPES
Storage
We’ll show you how to store the muffins so that you can enjoy every last one.
MAKE AHEAD: If you’re planning ahead or want to streamline your morning routine, you can make these muffins ahead of time.
Simply prepare the muffins as directed, allow them to cool completely, and then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.
When you’re ready to enjoy, give them a quick zap in the microwave to warm them up.
IN THE FRIDGE: Store the pumpkin cheesecake muffins in an airtight container for four days.
IN THE FREEZER: Freeze these pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling for up to one month, sealed in an airtight container.
Pumpkin, spices, and sweet cream cheese are the flavors that are synonymous with fall. These pumpkin cream cheese muffins are the ideal recipe to enjoy that delicious combination of creamy sweetness and spice.
A spiced pumpkin base with a creamy center makes each bite a little richer—there are plenty more unique muffin recipes to explore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because they have cream cheese in them, we would recommend keeping them in the fridge rather than on the counter.
If you can’t find pumpkin pie spice in the store, you could use either cinnamon or a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg.
You can freeze the muffins for up to a month although the texture of the cream cheese filling may change slightly once thawed.
More Recipes You’ll Love
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 ounces block style cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pumpkin Muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice blend
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 15 ounces 100% pure pumpkin puree (Libby’s brand used)
- ½ cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Cream Cheese Filling
- Beat together in a small bowl, the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes or until smooth using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed. Place the bowl into the freezer for 10-15 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients.
Pumpkin Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two standard muffin tins with 20 parchment paper cups and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice blend, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the 100% pure pumpkin puree, canola oil, eggs, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until fully combined and no lumps remain.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing just until combined and no dry streaks remain. Some small lumps in the batter are normal as you do not want to overmix the batter, potentially yielding a tough muffin texture when baked.
- Using a 2-inch (about a ¼-cup capacity) cookie scoop, fill all 20 muffin cups with a level scoop of batter. Each cup should be about ⅔ full.
- Remove the cream cheese mixture from the freezer, using a 1-inch cookie scoop (about a 1-teaspoon capacity), scoop out a level amount of the mixture and place onto the center of each pumpkin muffin.
- Using a clean finger, gently push the cream cheese dollop into the pumpkin muffin batter, being sure that the cream cheese is still visible on top. It should be lightly nestled into the batter and not fully submerged.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or just until the cream cheese is set (it may be slightly puffed but will settle as it cools) and a toothpick inserted into the pumpkin portion of the muffin (not the cream cheese) comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Video
Notes
- Do not use pumpkin pie filling for this recipe. It contains added spices and sugars and will not yield the desired results for this recipe.
- Some brands of pure pumpkin puree that are either organic or generic (store brand) can be much lighter in color and a bit more watery in texture than the Libby’s brand used to develop this recipe. If an alternate brand of 100% pure pumpkin puree is used, you may not yield the same results for color of the muffin and the texture may be slightly different due to the differing moisture content.
- Any neutral oil (vegetable, avocado, melted coconut oil or light olive oil) can be substituted for the canola oil in this recipe.
- Full-fat block-style cream cheese is recommended for the best results for the cream cheese dollops.
Nutrition
Comments
Gloria says
How delicious! Love these, perfect for fall treats.
Glenda says
These recipes sound good and easy
Tammy says
I love this recipe!!
A couple of things I found when I made them…
*There is enough cream cheese mixture for 3 dozen muffins so I recommend tripling the muffin dough. You’re going to want more than 1 dozen anyway.
*The muffin dough closes the indentation almost as fast as you can make it so be prepared to pipe in the cream cheese mixture right away.
* Don’t forget to add this recipe to wherever you keep your favorites because you don’t want to lose this one!
Wendy Ing says
All of these sound delicious. Will need to make all of them. Thank you for sharing.
Judy Outerson says
Can this recipe be converted to a loaf and just increase the baking time?
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Judy – we haven’t tested that so I am not sure!