Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

These pumpkin cream cheese muffins are just like the one’s you can get at Starbucks but BETTER because they’re homemade and less expensive to make!

Each soft and tender pumpkin muffin has a dollop of cream cheese filling baked inside – they are so good! Make these copycat muffins and you’ll want to skip the expensive coffee shop ones.

Starbucks Pumpkin Muffins Copycat

Every fall I am SO excited when Starbucks has their pumpkin cream cheese muffins but last year, they were always out of them when I stopped by. It was such a bummer!

I’ve been making my own and I am loving having my freezer stocked so I don’t even have to leave the house to have one. It’s also so much cheaper – all of those coffees and muffins add up!

And I have to tell you – these homemade pumpkin cheesecake muffins are so much better. Pumpkin muffins are soft and moist with the perfect amount of pumpkin spice. There’s a little scoop of cream cheese filling so you get that cheesecake flavor and creaminess in every bite.

Now we don’t have to wait until Starbucks decides to serve them – having this recipe means you can make them all year if you want!

Ingredients Needed

For this recipe I adapted my mom’s banana bread recipe, which I’ve used as a base for so many quick breads and muffins. It’s a really easy recipe and turning it into pumpkin muffins was a breeze.

There are two parts to the recipe: the pumpkin muffin batter and the cream cheese filling.

• Instead of butter, I like to use vegetable oil in this recipe. Butter is a little heavy and so using oil makes muffins that are airier and fluffier.
• For the pumpkin be sure to buy canned pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling. They are two different things! Pumpkin pie filling has other ingredients while puree is just… well, pureed pumpkin. 
• The muffins are flavored with pumpkin spice which is usually a combination of ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and sometimes allspice. I make a lot of pumpkin baked goods during the fall season and it’s just easier to use a spice mix – less measuring!
• Cream Cheese – make sure it’s room temperature to avoid lumps in your cheesecake mixture.

How to make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

1. Add pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, and vegetable oil to a large bowl. Stir until combined then add pumpkin spice and eggs.
2. Stir in salt, baking soda, milk, and flour and mix until combined. Place batter into muffin pan with cupcake liners.
3. The filling is so good – like a little bite of cheesecake in each muffin! Just combine softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl. 
4. Drop one tablespoon of the mixture onto each muffin before they go in the oven. As the muffins bake, they will puff up around the cream cheese filling. When you take them out the filling will be peeking out and will be soft and creamy when you bite into it.

Muffin FAQ