Delicious, light and fluffy, low in calories, these chocolate pumpkin muffins don’t compromise a thing! I lightened these up by using less sugar, pumpkin puree instead of oil, and non-fat plain Greek yogurt.
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Muffins can be dangerously high in fat, sugar, and calories! Often, their nutritional profile is no different than a standard cupcake.
Not only that, some muffins are enormous! From a baker or Costco, they can actually be 4 times the weight of a standard, made at home muffin.
Below I have two bakery muffins. The Costco Muffin weighs in at 600 calories!
But, the recipe for this lightened up pumpkin muffin (even with the cool whip on top) is only 114 calories!
Now that’s a trade I want to make!
How to make muffin healthier
For many baked goods, it’s not too hard to make substitutions that won’t really impact your taste or texture. I had great luck making the following low calorie substitutions for these low calorie muffins. (check our my low calorie zucchini muffin here!)
I used less sugar! First of all, the simplest healthy swap to make is just to reduce the sugar. Many baked goods can be cut in half with the amount of sugar in the original recipe, and it still tastes great!
Second, I replaced the oil a regular muffin would use and added the canned pumpkin. Oil can be swapped for different fruit purees. Many times I use apple sauce, because it doesn’t change the flavor much. In this instance, I used pumpkin puree, in a can.
Third, I replaced the full fat milk with skim milk. Cutting back on the fat in milk, also reduces the calories.
And finally, I added some non-fat Greek Yogurt to the pumpkin muffins! This gives the muffin a fluffy, delicious finished product. It adds protein, and lowers the fat!
And finally=- totally optional: Light or Fat Free Cool Whip on top!
Let me know if you decide to make some of these pumpkin muffins! Also, I’d love to hear what other recipes you want to see lightened up!
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spices (or a mixture of these spices till you have one teaspoon: cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground ginger)
Mix egg, sugar, milk, pumpkin puree, yogurt, and vanilla together. Fold wet ingredients into dry.
Mix in 3 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips (Optional)
Scoop muffin mixture into prepared baking cups. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
With whipped topping and chocolate drizzle: 114 calories each, 3 g protein, 21 g carbs, 2 g fat ➖ Without whipped topping and chocolate: 92 calories, 3 g protein, 18 g carbs, 1 g fat
Hi! I’m Amy Roskelley, a health & fitness professional and the owner of Health Beet website and blog. I have a Bachelors of Science in Community Health from BYU. Masters of Business (University of Utah) Certified Personal Trainer (ACE), RRCA Running coach, Certified Personal Chef (IAP), and Certified as a Nutrition & Wellness Consultant (AFPA), Certified Mind, Body, Eating Coach. (IPE).
I’m the creator of many low calorie recipes author of weight loss books. Mother of 3, runner, and NPC Fitness competitor.
Jeannie notes.. Above is curated for evaluation and recommendation from healthbeet.org
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