Erin’s Recipe Rundown
The pumpkin cream cheese muffins at Starbucks always catch my eye! I always wish there was a gluten-free version. The cozy pumpkin spice flavor, creamy center, and crunchy pumpkin seeds on top are such an irresistible combination!
I set out to create a gluten-free version, and after a few rounds of testing, I nailed it. If you’ve been craving a gluten-free take on these muffins, this recipe is for you!
Why You’ll Love It: Pumpkin and cream cheese are a match made in heaven (just like in this gluten-free pumpkin roll or this gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake!).
Top Tip: Chill before baking to get a perfect rise and keep the cream cheese from spilling over.
If you love pumpkin, you might also like these recipes for gluten-free pumpkin pie, gluten-free pumpkin bars, gluten-free pumpkin muffins or gluten-free pumpkin bread.
xoxo erin
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these gluten-free pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: For the best texture, use a high-quality flour that contains xanthan gum. I recommend King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill.
- Pumpkin purée: Use 100% canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling (which has added sugar and spices).
- Neutral oil: I like avocado oil. Any neutral keeps the muffins moist, without overpowering the pumpkin spice flavor.
- Lemon juice: Don’t skip this one! Just a small amount helps to tenderize the muffins.
- Cream cheese: Use full-fat, block-style cream cheese. (It holds its shape better than whipped or spreadable.)
- Pumpkin seeds (pepitas): Keep the swirl pretty by sprinkling them around the cream cheese rather than on top.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Here’s an overview of how to make these gluten-free pumpkin cream cheese muffins. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Start with room temperature cream cheese for nice and smooth, lump-free filling. Whisk it together with the sugar until creamy, then transfer to a piping bag for easy filling. You won’t need a tip here!
Whisk dry ingredients, making sure to break up clumps to ensure even baking. You might even want to use clean hands to break up the bits of brown sugar.
Use another bowl to blend all of the wet ingredients until they look silky smooth. Then fold the wet into the dry ingredients, mixing until dry streaks are gone. Don’t worry too much about overmixing. A few extra stirs are okay since gluten-free flour doesn’t get tough and dense the way that regular flour can.
Fill cups about 3/4 full, leaving room for the tasty cream cheese filling. Pipe the cream cheese into the centers, pulling upward until reaching the top of the muffin. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds around the edges. This gives the muffins an essential ring of crunchy goodness.
Refrigerate muffins before baking. Don’t skip this step! It’s important for helping them dome nicely and keeping the filling in place. Then bake until muffin tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. (Or with a few crumbs, if you like them slightly underdone.)
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (Starbucks Copycat)
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 8 oz (226g) cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- Pumpkin seeds for topping
For the muffins:
- 1½ cups (225g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- ¼ cup (25g) almond flour
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (106g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 15-ounce can (425g) pumpkin purée
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup (80ml) neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Line two standard muffin pans with paper baking cups.
- Make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag (no tip needed) and snip the end.
- Make the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, almond flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, vanilla, and lemon juice.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
- Using a kitchen scoop or large spoon, portion the batter evenly into the baking cups, filling each about ¾ of the way full.
- Insert the piping bag tip into the center of each muffin and pipe about 2 tablespoons of filling while pulling upward. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds around the edges of each muffin.
- Refrigerate the muffins for 20 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the muffin (not the filling) comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Can these be made without the Almond Flour?
Hi Kara, good question! The almond flour adds moisture and richness to the batter, improving the texture. You can try swapping the almond flour for equal parts 1:1 gluten-free baking flour, but they may be a little more dense and dry.
I taste tested one muffin after making these for my mother-in-law who is gluten free, and I wouldn’t even want to make these non-gluten free for myself! I would just make this recipe again a million times. So so good and simple ingredients. I also love that you use the whole can of pumpkin! Scrumptious recipe!
Wow, thank you for such amazing feedback! We’re so pleased to hear you loved the muffins this much, Daisy. Happy baking!
Great recipe! I used monk fruit sugars and dairy free cream cheese and they are delish! The dairy free cream cheese was a little runny after adding the sugar but it stayed (sorta) in the middle after baking so not beautiful but a hit!
We’re pleased to hear the muffins were a hit and that those substitutions worked well for you! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with us, Suz!
I don’t normally leave reviews… but these are AMAZING! I’ve made them three times already! Nobody can even tell they are GF!
Yay! Thank you for such positive feedback, Shaye! We’re so happy to hear you loved the muffins so much!
Super easy to make. I’ve never used a piping bag before so wasn’t sure how the filling would turn out but it ended up fine. My husband and I love them, as do the neighbors we shared with. Everyone asked for the recipe. Going to make another batch for Halloween.
I’ve never made one of your receipres that hasn’t turned out great.
Aww, we’re so happy to hear the recipe went well and that everyone enjoyed the muffins so much! Thank you for sharing your positive baking experience with us, Lili. Happy baking!
If I want to make these into mini muffins, how long should I cook them?
Hi Stacey, we haven’t tried mini muffins, but we’d start checking them around the 10-minute mark and monitoring closely from there. We hope you love the muffins!
These turned out amazing, the only thing that I had problems with was the dairy free cream cheese it ended up, spilling all out and liquefying. So I just used the leftover cream cheese at the end to refill the muffins. I used Cloud9 gluten-free flour.
Hi Melissa, we’re so glad you enjoyed the muffins! It’s good to know that flour blend worked well for you too. Thank you for your feedback! Happy baking!
These were delicious!!! The pumpkin seeds add a salty crunch to go with the sweet. The filling sunk after some cooling. I’m not sure why because they were baked through. They were still so yummy! Another winner.
We’re so pleased you loved the muffins, Melanie! Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us!