Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are a copycat Starbucks treat. Packed with pumpkin flavor, these muffins have a sweet cream cheese filling and spiced pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top. Easy to make and freezer friendly!
Make a batch of Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew to serve with these Starbucks inspired muffins. Total autumn heaven! Or try the new Apple Crisp Macchiato recipe to pair with these muffins.
Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling
My friends know I love a Starbucks run from time to time. Especially when I want to grab a season pumpkin cream cold brew or slice of pumpkin bread.
I love learning how to make my own versions of those tasty treats at home.
I’m always ready to invite a friend over to share a Mocha Latte or a plate of Cranberry Bliss Bars. And who can resist a slice of Starbucks Lemon Loaf?
If you love all things pumpkin (like me), I know you’ll fall in love with these cream cheese-stuffed pumpkin muffins!
- These taste just like Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins but at a fraction of the cost.
- The moist pumpkin muffins have a sweet cream cheese center baked right in.
- A dusting of pumpkin spice and a few pumpkin seeds on top makes them look as amazing as they taste!
Be sure you try my delicious pumpkin bars and pumpkin roll next for more fall goodness!
Ingredient Notes
Make sure to scroll down to find the printable recipe card. It has all the ingredient amounts and steps for this pumpkin muffin recipe!
- Canned pumpkin puree. Make sure to use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- All-purpose flour. Use my guide on how to measure flour to make muffins with the right density. Avoid dry muffins by using my tricks.
- Sugars. A combination of granulated sugar and light brown sugar in the muffins creates a soft, yet moist texture.
- Vegetable Oil & Milk. Both ingredients add fat, which creates the delicious texture and flavor, without making a dense muffin.
- Pure Vanilla extract. Use a pure vanilla extract or try my homemade vanilla extract recipe!
- Pumpkin pie spice. My Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice is perfect here. These warm spices add full flavor to the pumpkin batter.
- Cream cheese. Use full fat cream cheese. Let it soften to room temperature on the counter before making the filling.
How to Make Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
Make the Batter. To make pumpkin cream cheese muffins, start by mixing together the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Fill cupcake tins. Use paper liners in your muffin tins. Spoon the pumpkin muffin batter into prepared muffin pan. No need to let the batter rest. Set aside while you make the cheesecake filling.
Make cream cheese filling. Make the cream cheese mixture in a small bowl by using a stand mixer with whisk attachment or use a hand mixer.
Fill Muffins. Add the cream cheese filling to a ziplock bag. Snip of the corner and insert it into the center of each unbaked muffin cups. Pipe in the filling until you see a bit of it sticking out the top.
Bake. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds and pumpkin spice over the tops of the muffins before baking. Cool muffins completely on a wire rack.
Tips & Tricks
- Be careful not to overmix the batter. After adding the dry ingredients, mix just until combined. Otherwise the muffins will be tough.
- Use the back of a greased wooden spoon (or metal spoon) to make indentations in the top of each muffin before adding filling.
- Toss the pumpkin seeds with the pie spice to get maximum pumpkin spice flavor!
- The center of the muffins may look a little jiggly when these come out of the oven. That’s okay–the center will firm up as the muffins cool.
- Instead of using a piping bag for the cream cheese, just dollop it on top of the muffin. Then, swirl the cream cheese on top.
- Store pumpkin cream cheese muffins (starbucks or homemade) in the refrigerator for up to 7 days in an airtight container.
- Freeze muffins in airtight freezer bags for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
- Get more pumpkin recipes, from dessert to dinners!
Get more of my favorite muffin recipes and quick breads to bake a delicious breakfast.
More Fall Recipes
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Pumpkin Pie
- Apple Pie
- Chai Spice Donuts
- Pumpkin Pie Dip
- Pumpkin Dump Cake
- Apple Crumble
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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree no pumpkin pie filling
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon whole milk
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Topping
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and spray the liners with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil and pumpkin until blended. Add sugars and mix well.
- Add in eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Gently fold in the flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Spoon muffin batter into liners and fill about 3/4 full.
- Using the back of a spoon, press the tops of each muffin until indented.
- For the filling, beat cream cheese with flour, sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt until creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Spoon filling into a ziploc bag, and snip off the corner. Press the snipped end into the muffin batter and squeeze until it fills (you’ll want to see some on the top too).
- Toss the pumpkin seeds with pumpkin pie spice. Sprinkle each muffin top with a few seeds.
- Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes. They may be slightly jiggly until cooled.
Notes
- Don’t overmix the muffin batter.
- Spray the back of spoon with baking spray to create the hole in the muffin batter.
- Store leftover muffins in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 7 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
- See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks.
Nutrition
Welcome fall with these delicious Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. Served with coffee, tea or a hot cup of cider, they’re a treat for this fall season everyone will love.
I made these today and they are delicious. Followed the recipe, and wouldn’t change anything.
Hi Aimee
Great recipe!! Wondering if there is a way to make a loaf bread/cake out of this recipe? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you
DO NOT put the sale in the cream cheese, it completely ruins the whole muffin!!
10/10/23. I made these pumpkin muffins tonight and my family went crazy over them. I agree that the salt in the cream cheese is unnecessary but it wasn’t offensive. I doubled the spices and added cinnamon. I also added a tablespoon of vanilla pudding mix to the batter to ensure a moist crumb. They were delicious! Recipes’ a win for sure.
Adding salt to the cream cheese was overwhelming and unnecessary. I added more sugar to cancel the saltiness. Also the muffins could use a little more sugar, I’d recommend 1/4 a cup extra white sugar to muffin mixture. They were good to me but a bit bland (I don’t like really sweet foods so they’re good to me.)
So many times I make a recipe from the internet and it’s a complete disaster but this is a winning recipe! I followed it to the note and they came out PERFECT!
This is one of my favorite Fall treats! The seeds on the top are an awesome twist!
These are better than Starbucks for sure! They are heavenly!! I will be adding cream cheese in pumpkin muffins all the time now!
Why is pumpkin & cream cheese the best combination!? Super moist & delicious!