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.
These are fantastic. So delicious! The pumpkin muffin from Starbucks was always my favorite fall treat and it makes me so happy to enjoy them again. And honestly I think these are even better than the originals. My wife said they’re the best muffins I’ve ever made!
We’re so happy you both loved the muffins so much! Thank you for sharing your positive baking experience with us, Suzanne!
These are AMAZING and so simple! I’ve missed those Starbucks muffins for so long!
We tried making half with dairy free cream cheese for my daughter, however, it just kind of melted in. Any suggestions for which DF cream cheese to try? I wondered if adding powdered sugar instead of granulated would help? Any thoughts would be appreciated! On to the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!
Hi Cari, we’re so pleased you loved the recipe so much! For the dairy-free ones, Miyoko’s tends to be a go-to. Other firmer ones, like Tofutti or Violife, may work well too. You could try chilling the filling before adding it to the batter too, but keep an eye on it. It still needs to be pipeable. We haven’t tried powdered sugar, but for the dairy-free it may be worth a try! We’d love to hear how it goes!
These were easy to make, and satisfied a craving I’ve had since I’ve had to go gluten-free! I’ve never gone wrong with any of the recipes on this site, but this one has been my favorite so far.
Aww, thank you for the kind feedback, Alison! We’re so happy to hear you loved the muffins so much. Happy baking!
STARBUCKS EAT YOUR HEART OUT!!!!
These are absolutely outstanding. We are not seed fans
but love the Halloween candies on top.
Starbucks will never beat the Celiac Foundation!!!
Great Job Erin Thanks!!!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear you loved the muffins so much, Vicki! Thank you for such amazing feedback!
What sweetener would you recommend if avoiding refined sugars?
Hi Heather, we don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes unfortunately. If you decide to give one a try in this recipe, we’d love to hear how it goes!
I make your “tall” GF banana muffins (as I call them) all the time so decided to make these for the first time. I used about 3/4 cup VT maple syrup in place of the 1 c granulated sugar. In doing so, I’ve read that you should reduce a liquid in the recipe by 2-4T, so I used less oil. They came out fine and were a hit at the bake sale (and my tummy)!
Hi there, we’re so glad these turned out well for you! Sounds like a great addition to the bake sale. Thanks for the review!
I made these the other day and was amazed at how soft they were and not gritty at all. My husband loved them. Thank you. Will be making the pumpkin squares next
Nice recipe with ingrédients I m not used to use in pastries in France
Thank you for your positive feedback, Melanie! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed the new recipe!
These were fantastic!
Thank you, Sara! We’re so pleased you enjoyed the muffins. Happy baking!
Made these tonight and my family LOVED them. I don’t expect they will last long.
Aww, we’re so pleased to hear the muffins were a hit with the whole family! Thank you for the positive feedback, Jacquie!
These were amazing!!!
Hi Dianne, thank you for the kind feedback! We’re so happy to hear you loved the muffins!
These are amazing. So so good! I will be making these over and over
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear how much you loved the new recipe, Heather! Thank you for the amazing feedback!
This recipe is perfection!
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear you loved the new recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback, Meg.
I am so excited about these…I just tried them and my filling sank after cooling in the pan 5 minutes. I did make some jumbo muffins but I usually convert your recipes to jumbo muffins without issue. Do you suspect it was the filling or the better consistency? They taste amazing. Thank you for any help!
Hi Tami, we’re so glad you loved the flavor! The filling most likely sank due to the jumbo size. Larger muffins require longer baking times for the centers to set which is crucial for supporting the filling. For jumbo ones, you may need to chill them longer and bump up the oven temperature a little. The batter consistency works well for regular size, but it might be too thin for the larger size since this recipe includes filling. You could try adding a little more gf flour to see if that helps as well. We hope these ideas helps!
My Airbnb guest LOVED THEM….and so did I AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
We’re so pleased to hear the recipe was such a hit! Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us, Patrick!
Could I use a different flour … allergic to almonds?
Hi Kristine, you can replace the almond flour with more gluten-free measure-for-measure flour. We hope you enjoy the new recipe!