Ready for more healthy muffin recipes? Try my protein muffins, healthy blueberry muffins, healthy zucchini muffins, and Greek yogurt banana muffins next. Who says low calorie diets are boring? When I’m watching my calories, I find baking healthy desserts is crucial to staying on track…and not raiding the pantry in the middle of the night. That’s where my low-cal muffins come in. They’re every bit as light, fluffy, and flavorful, just with a few healthy swaps that cut the calories into thirds.
Why I love this recipe
100 calories per muffin. And these are standard-sized muffins–no mini muffins here! Simple ingredients. The base recipe only needs 7 basic pantry staples. Diet-friendly. No butter or sugar is needed, yet you’d never guess how moist and sweet they are. Ready in 20 minutes. Including prep time. 10 flavor options! I’ve included the base recipe plus 10 equally delicious flavors you can make with a few simple additions.
Ingredients needed
All-purpose flour. Use gluten-free flour if needed. You can also use whole wheat flour, but it will increase the calorie count a bit. Sugar free substitute. I like using allulose, but monk fruit sweetener or brown sugar substitute will also work. Baking powder and baking soda. Both leavening agents are used to give the muffins some rise and fluffiness. Milk. I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk works. Olive oil. Any neutral flavored oil works. Egg. room temperature egg. Vanilla extract. Just a drop to give it a subtle vanilla flavor.
How to make low calorie muffins
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. “Hello, I just took Muffins out of the oven, I did add blueberries and lemon zest. Frosted with lemon buttercream. Gluten-free, dairy-free, and except for the frosting, sugar-free. Very nice texture muffin. I can’t wait to make it with the other add-ins. Thank you for your recipes.” – Lea Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with muffin liners. Step 2- Make the batter. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in any optional mix-ins. Step 3- Bake. Pour the batter into the 12 muffin liners. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Step 4- Cool. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Arman’s recipe tips
Make vegan muffins. Use dairy-free milk and swap the egg for unsweetened applesauce. Swap the sweetener. If you’d rather not use sweeteners, you can use regular sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Just note this will increase the calories. If you don’t have muffin liners, grease the muffin tin with cooking spray. Avoid overmixing. Too much mixing can cause too much gluten to develop, making dense, chewy muffins. Only mix until you have a smooth batter. Don’t overbake. The muffins will continue to cook as they cool, so pull them from the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted comes out ‘just’ clean.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover muffins should be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to one week.
Lemon blueberry. Fold through half a cup of fresh blueberries and 1/2 a lemon zest. White chocolate raspberry. Add 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries. Triple chocolate. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1/4 cup each of milk, white, and dark chocolate chips. Apple cinnamon. Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and finely chopped apple. Trail mix. Fold through raisins, nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips. Banana. Mash two bananas and fold them through the batter. Pumpkin. Fold through half a cup of pumpkin puree. Classic blueberry. Toss through 1/2 cup of blueberries in some flour, then fold them into the batter. Zucchini. Fold through 1/2 cup of finely shredded zucchini. Peanut butter chocolate chip. Fold through 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and swirl through 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter on top of the muffin batter.
To freeze: Place the baked and cooled muffins in a ziplock bag and store it in the freezer for up to six months.
More low calorie treats you’ll enjoy
Low calorie banana bread Healthy mug cake Low calorie ice cream Low calorie candy Or any of my low calorie recipes
