These fluffy protein muffins are made with almond flour and whey protein powder. A handful of chocolate chips and vanilla extract add great flavor, but the best thing about them is how filling they are!
These protein muffins are delicious! They are light and fluffy, and each of them contains 13 grams of protein. I love how filling they are. When I have two of them for breakfast, I'm not hungry for hours. Another high-protein breakfast option is these chaffles. They contain 36 grams of protein per serving.
Ingredients
The full list of ingredients and exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Greek yogurt: Whole-milk yogurt has the best flavor. Sour cream works, too, but has less protein.
- Sweetener: I use stevia in this recipe. You can use a granulated sweetener instead.
- Almond flour: I use blanched, finely ground almond flour. I don't recommend using a coarse almond meal in this recipe.
- Whey protein powder: I use Biochem unflavored protein powder.
- Dark chocolate chips: I use 85% cacao chocolate chips by Pascha.
Variations
- Add orange or lemon zest to the batter. This greatly enhances the muffins' flavor.
- You can use oil instead of butter. I generally prefer the flavor of butter in these muffins, but macadamia nut oil is delicious! You can also use a neutral oil such as avocado oil.
- It's fun to use different flavor extracts instead of vanilla. My favorite is coconut extract.
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making these muffins:
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Greek yogurt, melted butter, stevia, and vanilla. Mix in the almond flour, followed by the protein powder and baking powder. Whisk until smooth.
Fold in the chocolate chips, reserving 24 to sprinkle on the muffins. Spoon the batter into foil-lined muffin cups. Top each muffin with 4 chocolate chips.
Bake the muffins in a preheated 350°F oven until a toothpick inserted in one of the muffins comes out clean, 17-19 minutes. The muffins will not brown much. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes and for 10 more minutes on a cooling rack before serving.
Blueberry Variation
Shortly after I started making these muffins, I experimented with using half a cup of blueberries instead of chocolate chips.
They were delicious, but blueberries are heavier than chocolate chips and sink to the bottom, as shown in the image below. This often happens when the batter is thin, as is the case here.
I tried drying the blueberries thoroughly and dusting them with a teaspoon of cornstarch before adding them to the batter. It helped some, but most of them still sank. Despite this issue, I often make these muffins with blueberries because the flavor is amazing!
Expert Tip
Protein powder is very drying, so it's best to measure it by weight, as you see me doing in the photo below, and not by volume.
Recipe FAQs
The muffins keep reasonably well in the fridge or freezer, but their texture is best when freshly baked.
You can mix the batter the night before, pour it into the muffin pan, cover it with cling wrap, and refrigerate it, then bake the muffins in the morning.
They are delicious! However, the protein powder affects their flavor and texture, so they cannot possibly have the same texture as regular muffins.
This is also the case when making these protein pancakes. They are delicious but different. Still, for their type, they are excellent and as close as can be to almond flour muffins.
No. The two flours are very different. Coconut flour is very absorbent and has a drying effect on baked goods. It won't work in this recipe.
Serving Suggestions
These protein muffins are perfect for breakfast. I like to have one or two of them with my morning coffee, as shown in the photo below.
They're also excellent as an afternoon snack. I often pair one of them with a glass of almond milk for a delightful afternoon pick-me-up.
Storing Leftovers
You can double this recipe and bake 12 muffins. They keep fairly well in the fridge, in an airtight container (as shown in the photo below), for 4-5 days and can be gently warmed up in the microwave. If you made them with blueberries, place them on paper towels to absorb extra liquid.
These muffins also freeze well in freezer bags. You can thaw them in the microwave.
More Muffin Recipes
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Recipe Card
Fluffy Protein Muffins
Video
Ingredients
- Avocado oil spray - for the muffin liners
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup Greek yogurt - plain, whole milk
- ¼ cup butter - unsalted, melted, and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon stevia glycerite - equals about ⅓ cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup superfine almond flour - 2 ounces
- 2 scoops whey protein powder - unsweetened; 46 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder - gluten-free if needed
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips - divided; 2 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 6-cup muffin tin with liners and lightly spray them with oil. Foil liners work best.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Greek yogurt, melted butter, stevia, and vanilla.
- Mix in the almond flour, followed by the protein powder, and finally, the baking powder. Mix until smooth.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, reserving 24 chocolate chips to sprinkle on the muffins.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost full. Top each muffin with 4 chocolate chips.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in one of the muffins comes out clean, 17-19 minutes. They will not brown much.
- Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the pan on a wire rack and then for 10 more minutes directly on the rack before serving.
Notes
- Foil or parchment liners work best in this recipe to prevent sticking. These muffins stick to standard paper liners. If using standard paper liners, remove them while the muffins are still warm to minimize sticking.
- Protein powder is very drying, so it's best to measure it by weight using a kitchen scale, not by volume.
- You can mix the batter the night before, pour it into the muffin pan, cover it with cling wrap, and refrigerate it. Then, bake the muffins in the morning.
- You can replace the chocolate chips with ½ cup of blueberries. The blueberries tend to sink to the bottom of the muffins, but the muffins are still delicious. Coating the blueberries in a teaspoon of cornstarch before adding them to the batter helps mitigate some of the sinking but doesn't prevent it.
- You can double this recipe and bake 12 muffins. They keep fairly well in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 4-5 days and can be gently warmed up in the microwave. If you made them with blueberries, place them on paper towels to absorb extra liquid. These muffins also freeze well in freezer bags. You can thaw them in the microwave.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Mariana says
Could I use vegan protein instead of whey?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Mariana,
I'm not sure. I only tested this recipe with whey protein powder. Another commenter recently said, "These are good. I have tried them using different types of protein powder. I find that a casein-whey blend gives the best texture."