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Home » Blog » Course » Desserts » Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

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Published: Nov 1, 2022 by Andrea + Stef ·

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our full Disclosure Policy for details.

Delicious, tender muffins packed with a medley of pumpkin and cheesecake flavors. Everything is baked together in one pan for a scrumptious pumpkin muffin with a smooth, creamy cheesecake center.
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cream cheese pumpkin muffin sliced in half to show the delicious pumpkin filling.
Pumpkin muffin collage.
Pumpkin muffin collage.

It’s time to welcome fall with one of the best things you’ll ever eat! If you like Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins or copycat recipes you’ll love these pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling. In a word, they’re amazing. Perfect for the fall season.

Table of Contents

  • Why You’ll Love This
  • Ingredients
  • Recommended Tools
  • Instructions
  • Recipe Tips
  • Best Pumpkin Recipes For The Fall Season
  • How To Store
  • Stef says….
  • More Cream Cheese Dessert Recipes
  • Common Questions
  • Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling Recipe
pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling on a platter

This tried and true, easy recipe makes the most moist pumpkin muffins you’ve eaten. As far as pumpkin desserts go, these are definitely in my top three. So grab your ingredients and let’s bake some muffins!

pumpkin cream cheese muffins on a platter, one cut in half

Why You’ll Love This

  • Notable: moist and fluffy pumpkin muffins with a creamy cheesecake center
  • Main Ingredients: salted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, eggs, all-purpose flour, cream cheese, salt and spices
  • Cooking Method: oven baked
  • Cooking Time: 15 minutes prep, 20 minutes baking time
  • Diets: vegetarian
  • Special Equipment Needed: muffin tin, mixing bowls, whisk, electric hand mixer, spoon, piping bag, cooling rack
pumpkin muffins in a baking tin
pumpkin cream cheese muffins on a platter, one cut in half

Ingredients

You may have all of these ingredients for this best pumpkin muffin with cream cheese filling recipe in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store! If this is your first time making these moist pumpkin muffins you might want to read the possible variations before deciding on your ingredients.

Muffin Ingredients

  • ½ cup salted butter (softened)
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
  • ⅔ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Variations and Substitutions

Pumpkin puree: Make sure to only use store bought or your own pumpkin puree for this recipe and not pumpkin pie filling.

Spices: Instead of individual spices you can also use 2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

cream cheese pumpkin muffin ingredients on white background

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: If you love the combination of pumpkin and cream cheese, try our amazing Pumpkin Bar Recipe. This easy fall dessert is a crowd pleaser and uses yellow cake mix and some add-ins to give it an extra flavor boost.

Recommended Tools

Links to our favorite tools are affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link we may get a tiny portion of the sale.

Electric Mixer – Use an electric hand mixer to whisk up the cream cheese mixture. It is a lot quicker than hand whisking it and additionally gets a smoother result.

Instructions

This section shows how to bake the best pumpkin muffins in the oven, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique. For full step-by-step instructions, photos and nutritional information see the recipe in the recipe card below.

PREPARE: Firstly, preheat the oven to 375°F and fill a 12-cup muffin tin or muffin cups with paper liners. If you use a mini muffin tin or a jumbo muffin tin you’ll need to adjust cook times accordingly.

whisk mixing wet pumpkin muffin ingredients
dry ingredients in mixing bowl, not yet mixed

COMBINE WET INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients: butter (room temperature), brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, vanilla extract, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and two eggs. Whisk until well combined.

COMBINE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl (large mixing bowl), combine your dry ingredients: flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.

mixing bowl with flour mixture on top of pumpkin mixture
wood spoon in mixing bowl with muffin batter

FINISH BATTER: Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin puree mixture and stir just until combined – some lumps in the pumpkin batter are okay. Don’t mix with a food processor, stand mixer or hand mixer. You will accidentally over mix the ingredients.

MAKE CHEESECAKE FILLING: In a third small bowl, use a hand beater (hand mixer) to combine the cream cheese log and other cheesecake filling ingredients. Beat until smooth.

mixing bowl with white mixed up cream cheese filling with hand mixer in bowl
spoon making small wells in wet pumpkin batter to prepare for filling

FILL MUFFIN LINERS: Firstly, transfer the pumpkin muffin batter to fill muffin tin, filling each paper cup about ¾ full. Don’t overfill. Afterwards, make a dip in the center top of each muffin batter to create a little “bowl” for the cheesecake mixture. Then, use a piping bag or a spoon to fill the indentations in the muffins with the cream cheese filling. When you are using a plastic bag or a piping bag, you can squeeze some of the sweet cream cheese filling down inside the muffin batter, too! We didn’t try it but you can give it a cream cheese swirl if you want.

pastry piping bag used to squirt cream cheese filling into middle of cupcakes before baking
birdseye view of 12 muffins in a tin
Remove pumpkin muffins from tin to cool.

BAKE: Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes, until the cream cheese filling is set (no longer wet) and a toothpick inserted in the muffin (cake part only) comes out with just a few crumbs. Note: If you are using a mini muffin tin you will need to adjust your bake time accordingly.

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: If you love pumpkin spice flavor then you’ll love Stef’s homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte. The tell tale flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, and espresso come together in this fall favorite.

Recipe Tips

Follow these tips to make the best pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling.

  • Tip: Do not overmix the batter once you have added the dry ingredients. This will make a tough muffin.
  • Tip: Make sure not to overfill the muffin liners, or there won’t be any room for the cheesecake filling.
  • Tip: Remove the muffins from the muffin tin to finish cooling so that they do not continue to cook and dry out.

Best Pumpkin Recipes For The Fall Season

Quick Breads: Pumpkin bread is the perfect fall dessert and a true favorite in our family. You can serve it for breakfast, as a snack or as a dessert. Have you tried our Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips?

Breakfast: Surprise your family with thick, fluffy and delicious Pumpkin Spice Pancakes. Made from scratch, these pumpkin spice pancakes are a step above the rest! However, if you are short on time try our yummy Pumpkin Pancakes with Pancake Mix.

Desserts: If you are looking for the perfect fall dessert, then our Pumpkin Bars or Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes are perfect for you. Moreover, Andrea’s Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles are a real showstopper. Decadent and delicious, they will undoubtedly wow your guests.

  • Slices of pumpkin bread.

    Pumpkin Bread

  • pumpkin pancakes with pancake mix in a pile.

    Pumpkin Pancakes With Pancake Mix

  • pumpkin pie cupcakes on white plates

    Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

  • Pumpkin bar with frosting on a plate.

    Pumpkin Bar Recipe

How To Store

Room Temperature: Store pumpkin muffin leftovers in an airtight container or plastic wrapped on the countertop for 2-3 days.

Refrigerate: Let your muffin leftovers cool completely before refrigerating them in an airtight container for 4-5 days. 

Freeze: Freeze pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling in a freezer safe container or freezer bag for up to 1 month.

Defrosting: Thaw the muffins in the refrigerator overnight or for a couple of hours on the counter.

Stef says….

While your muffins bake, run in place for a while to build up a really good appetite because you’ll want to eat more than one when it’s warm from the oven!

pumpkin muffins on white platter. One cut open to show cream cheese filling inside.

More Cream Cheese Dessert Recipes

We love using cream cheese in all kinds of scrumptious desserts as it creates the perfect tanginess to balance out the sweetness. Have you tried these amazing cream cheese treats:

  • cream cheese filled blueberry lemon bread with lemon glaze.

    Cream Cheese Filled Blueberry Lemon Bread

  • caramel apple cheesecake hand pies in a pile.

    Caramel Apple Cheesecake Hand Pies

  • close up of cinnamon cream cheese frosting on a chocolate cupcake

    Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • stack of cherry cheesecake hand pies

    Cherry Cheesecake Hand Pies

Common Questions

Why do I have so much cream cheese mixture leftover?

As a matter of fact, you won’t use all of the cream cheese filling. You can double the muffin ingredients or mix up just half of the cream cheese filling ingredients. However, if you are halving the cream cheese filling recipe, you will need half of an egg. We recommend beating the egg first and then dividing the beaten egg mixture in half.
Another possibility is to scrape the leftover cheesecake filling onto a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a log and cover tightly with more plastic wrap. Then freeze until you are ready to make another batch of muffins. When you are ready simply remove from the freezer and cut into 12 disks, which you can insert into the muffin batter.

How do you make cream cheese pumpkin muffins gluten free?

My favorite way to alter a baking recipe to make it gluten free is to use King Arthur Gluten Free Flour mixture as a 1:1 substitute for all purpose flour. If you’re an experienced gluten free baker you can make your own gluten free flour mix with your favorite flours like oat flour, almond flour, coconut flour, etc. Always make sure your other ingredients are gluten free as well, including baking soda and baking powder.

How do you make delicious pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling dairy free?

These muffins are vegetarian but if you want to make them vegan or dairy free it would require a lot of substitutions to create a dairy free muffin. You will need to substitute butter, cream cheese and buttermilk for your favorite dairy free options from your grocery store.

How do I measure flour correctly?

Measure the flour using the spoon and level method – stir the flour, spoon gently into the measuring cup and then use a flat knife to level off any excess from the top of the measuring cup – this helps prevent over-measuring the flour and keeps the muffins soft and moist. You can also sift the flour and then measure it out.

cream cheese pumpkin muffin sliced in half to show the delicious pumpkin filling.
5 from 5 votes

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling Recipe

Author Andrea + Stef

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Print
Pin
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Delicious, tender muffins packed with a medley of pumpkin and cheesecake flavors. Everything is baked together in one pan for a scrumptious pumpkin muffin with a smooth, creamy cheesecake center.
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Ingredients
  

Muffin Ingredients

  • ½ cup salted butter softened
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F and fill a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, pumpkin, and two eggs. Whisk until well combined.
    mixing bowl with gold whisk mixing wet muffin ingredients
  • In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.
    dry ingredients in mixing bowl, not yet mixed
  • Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined – some lumps in the batter are okay.
    mixing bowl with flour mixture on top of pumpkin mixture
  • In a third bowl, use a hand beater to combine cream cheese filling ingredients. Beat until smooth.
    mixing bowl with white mixed up cream cheese filling with hand mixer in bowl
  • Transfer the muffin batter to the muffin tin, filling each cup about ¾ full.
    Ice cream scoop used to fill muffin tin with pumpkin batter
  • Make a dip in the center top of each muffin to create a little “bowl” for the cream cheese filling.
    spoon making small wells in wet pumpkin batter to prepare for filling
  • Use a piping bag or a spoon to fill the indentations in the muffins with the cream cheese filling. If you are using a piping bag, you can squeeze some of the filling down inside the muffin batter, too!
    pastry piping bag used to squirt cream cheese filling into middle of cupcakes before baking
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cream cheese filling is set (no longer wet) and a toothpick inserted in the muffin (cake part only) comes out with just a few crumbs.
    over head view of muffins in a tin
  • Cool the muffins for just a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.

Notes

Recipe Tips
  • Tip: Do not overmix the batter once you have added the dry ingredients. This will make a tough muffin.
  • Tip: Make sure not to overfill the muffin liners, or there won’t be any room for the cheesecake filling.
  • Tip: Remove the muffins from the muffin tin to finish cooling so that they do not continue to cook and dry out.
Storage
Store in an airtight container on the countertop for 2-3 days, refrigerate 4-5 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
More Pumpkin Recipes:
  • Pumpkin Bread
  • Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
  • Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
  • Pumpkin Pancakes Made With Bisquick
  • Pumpkin Spice Pancakes From Scratch
  • Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Frosting
  • Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
See them all…
 

Nutrition

Calories: 353kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 372mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 3744IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 2mg

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