Cinnamon Streusel Muffins (Keto, Paleo, Vegan)
Soft cinnamon muffins with a flavor-packed cinnamon sugar streusel topping. Unbelievably gluten/grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free and sugar-free! (Low-Carb/Keto, Paleo & Vegan) Jump to Recipe
Cinnamon Streusel Muffins made healthier: Grain & Sugar-Free
Streusel Muffins are The BEST muffins. Crumbly, crispy, cinnamon-laced goodness atop a fluffy warm muffin. The aroma is simply heavenly! The taste – INCREDIBLE.
Conventional streusel recipes use a mixture of flour, butter and sugar for that crisp crumbly topping. But now it got a complete healthy makeover. No gluten/grains, dairy or sugar of any kind.
Low in sugar and carbs, these muffins are a wholesome treat with a great source fiber to keep you from those blood sugar swings. Not to mention protein-rich for a filling (& hearty) breakfast (or dessert!)
Can you believe these are keto approved?!! (And Paleo, and Vegan, too!)
But you don’t have to have a special diet to LOVE these keto cinnamon streusel muffins. Just ask my kids who are NOT GF/DF/SF 😉
These soft but hearty muffins make the perfect grab and go breakfast! They’re kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, and easy to make with simple ingredients.
Disclosure: As an affiliate I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through referral links in this post (at no additional cost to you).
TRIED AND TESTED
I’ve been in full on recipe testing mode the past weeks since I announced… I’M WRITING A COOKBOOK! Ekk! Did you hear the news over on Insta?
One of the recipes I’ve been trying to perfect is cake. Bonafide, real deal CAKE. Did you know I have NEVER posted a cake or muffin recipe on Pretty Pies.. EVER.
Why? Because when you take away gluten, grains, butter, dairy, eggs, AND sugar, it gets REALLY tricky!
Raw/no-bake cakes are MUCH more forgiving. Easy peasy compared to paleo/vegan/keto baking.
Baking is a SCIENCE and there are so many variables in play to achieve that soft crumb that has enough rise, a good texture, etc.
I’m SO EXCITED that I FINALLY cracked the grain-free/egg-free/sugar-free baking code! And trust me, it took a LOT of trial and error.
I was able to achieve a fluffy, moist muffin that’s not too dense, doesn’t sink in, holds together, has a fabulous texture. And best of all TASTES LIKE A “REAL” MUFFIN. 
The Shockingly Sugar-Free STREUSEL
This is THE BEST part of the muffin. I am OBSESSED. (It’s almost my pecan sandies recipe, but in crumb form! <–a personal FAV)
- It’s crispy.
- Crumbly.
- Sort of like a snickerdoodle.
- Aromatic and flavor PACKED with warm cinnamon and toasted pecans.
- Textured with crunchy bits of nuts combined with the buttery “sugar” mixture. Ahhhh I LOVE IT.
And SUPER quick & easy to make too! Just blitz together a few ingredients in a food processor for FIVE SECONDS. See the before and after:
Grain-FREE Baking Answers
You may look at the recipe and think.. Emily, WHY did you use so many ingredients?
I know. I TRIED and tested this recipe with fewer ingredients, but it wasn’t right.
I found that it was absolutely necessary to achieve the right texture by using a combination of these 3 “flours.”
- Almond Flour – for a neutral wheat flour replacement. For best results (a cake/muffin that doesn’t sink) it needs to be combined with another flour.
- Tapioca Flour – for lightness and rise (but you can’t use too much or it gets gummy! + adds too many carbs)
- Ground Flaxseed – to add a filling, fiber and protein-rich softness. And to ensure they don’t fall apart! It’s the perfect binder.
A Must-Try Paleo Baking HACK!
When baking with almond flour, which is heavy, it can have trouble getting as much rise as conventional muffins.
But one way I found to help them not sink in the middle is to cool them very very gradually.
You’ll see in the recipe instructions that you actually leave the muffins in the oven after they’re done baking – with the heat turned off – for about 10 extra minutes.
This method also helps the streusel topping not burn or get too dark, and helps the muffin stay light and moist, but not too wet inside (since they do continue to cook while cooling.)
How to bake SUGAR-FREE
This was an easy swap this time. Instead of regular sugar, monk fruit granules make the perfect low-carb replacement. The flavor and consistency were spot-on.
**Great news** You can find monk fruit at even more places now! They just launched in Costco stores nationwide! Woot!
And don’t forget you can use my discounts for buying monk fruit & ingredients online:
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- Monk Fruit from Thrive Market (use my link to save an extra 25% on your first order)
- Monk Fruit from Lakanto (use code PRETTYPIES to save 20% on everything)
- Monk Fruit from Amazon
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How to bake EGG-FREE
I used a “flax egg” to make these egg-free. Flaxseed makes a wonderful binder in baking. I prefer the flavor of regular/brown (*NOT golden) flaxseed. I find golden to be too strong/overpowering.
I buy ground flaxseed at ALDI (my favorite store!) And it was on sale for under TWO DOLLARS this week. Woohoo!
Plus, the flax adds tons of fiber and a nutty, hearty texture. ps. You can’t taste any flax in there. Just sweet cinnamon goodness!
Note: You may also use a regular egg, if you like. Simply sub the 1 Tbs flax + 1/2 cup water with 1 egg + 1/4 cup water.
How to bake DAIRY-FREE
It’s the magic of coconut oil! My personal fave is this buttery flavor coconut oil I found at Thrive Market to keep that YUMMY flavor.
Buttery coconut oil is refined coconut oil with butter flavor and it is ahhmaaazing on baked goods (especially one of my infamous CLASSIC SCONES after it’s warmed a little. Sooo good!)
Do you know the muffin man? 😉
Your girl, Em is the new muffin man, haha. And I’m definitely going to be testing out MORE muffin and cake recipes in the future. So if you have specific recipes you wanna see, drop them in the comments! What type of muffin do you want?
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a star rating below and tag me on Instagram so I can see!
Click this image to save this recipe on Pinterest:
Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 1/3 cup pecans
- 3 Tbs fine almond flour
- 1 1/2 Tbs monk fruit granules
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbs + 2 tsp buttery coconut oil
Muffins
- 1 1/4 cup fine almond flour
- 5 Tbs monk fruit granules
- 2 Tbs tapioca flour - or more almond flour (will result in a heavier texture)
- 2 Tbs ground flaxseed
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp pink salt
- 1 Tbs ground flaxseed + 1/2 cup water
- 3 Tbs coconut oil - or oil of choice
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
To prepare:
- Make a flax egg by mixing 1 Tbs flaxseed with 1/2 cup water in a small bowl. Set aside to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 325. Line a muffin tin with parchment wrappers. (I sprayed with avocado oil to be sure nothing would stick)
To make the streusel:
- Pulse together all ingredients in a food processor until large crumbs form. It only takes a few seconds.
To make the muffins:
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Add oil and vanilla to the prepared flax mixture.
- Pour wet over dry and gently mix by folding the batter until the flour is moistened. (batter will be a little thick)
- Scoop batter into prepared wrappers and press gently with a spatula.
- Top each muffin batter with a scoop of streusel and gently press to help it adhere.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes until a toothpick comes out mostly clean and the tops spring back. *Important* Turn the oven off, but leave the muffins in for another 5-10 minutes to cool gradually to prevent sinking.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Featured Products:
Blanched Almond Flour from:
Lakanto Monkfruit from:
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- Thrive Market (use my link to save an extra 25% on your first order)
- Amazon
- Lakanto.com Click here {use code PRETTYPIES to save 20% on your order}
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Buttery Coconut Oil from Thrive Market
Approx Macros:
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- Calories 329
- Fat 30 g
- Total Carb 23.3 g
- Fiber 4.6 g
- Sugar Alcohol 13 g
- Net Carb 5.5 g
- Protein 7 g
Want more breakfast treats? Check out these reader faves: Keto DONUT HOLES! Blueberry, Cinnamon Sugar and Lemon Glazed!
24 Comments
Stephanie
This looks so delish!! Could I use butter (same measurement)instead of buttery coconut oil?
Emily
Thanks! Yes butter should work fine. Just keep an eye on the tops because it may brown faster. You could always add a foil cover at the end if needed 🙂
Let me know if you try them! Hope you enjoy
Stephanie
Will do! Thanks for quick reply!
Martha Nichols
I ordered Monkfruit and buttery coconut oil just to make these. The recipe sounded so delish. I made them this morning. I was so disappointed. They sunk in the middle. Like a crater. And I cooked them an extra 10 min and they still weren’t done in the middle. I was concerned about the measurements for the flax egg. I have never used that much water to make flax eggs. The flax egg never got thick. The standard recipe for flax eggs is 1T flax seed meal to 2 1/2T of water. But I made these following this recipe.
Emily
I’m so sorry that happened! Sinking might be from opening the oven too frequently/temperature fluctuation. That’s why I recommend cooling gradually in the oven.
Sometimes it also happens from over mixing the batter, expired baking soda or variations in measuring ingredients.
The flax egg is combined with the other water in the recipe just to save a step.
I hope your muffins are still salvageable. Sorry they didn’t turn out the was you hoped. 🙁
Ro
They look amazing. Is the 1 Tbsp of flaxseed ground or whole?
Emily
Thank you! I really love them!
I always use ground flaxseed (and regular, not golden)
Carene
I have pure granulated monk fruit not mixed with anything else, any idea if this would work and what amount to use?
Emily
Yes you can. The texture is a little different but still good. Add 1 Tbs tapioca and 2 Tbs flaxseed to make up for the lost volume.
Use about 1/4 tsp for 50% mogroside extract monk fruit and 1/2 tsp for 30%, —assuming you have Lakanto brand monk fruit extract (I’m not 100% sure on other brands – but you can taste and adjust before baking)
For the topping, it won’t be able to make the cinnamon “sugar” taste and texture without the granules, but you can still make a streusel. I would sub finely ground coconut flakes for the granules. Just a pinch of pure extract should be enough to sweeten.
Hope that helps!
Carene
Thanks so much!! I actually have pure granulated monk fruit not extract but I get the idea with the tapioca flour and flax seeds. I’ll have to try it!! Thanks so much for your help 🙂
Kim
Wondering if you could replace tapioca flour with coconut flour to reduce carb count?
Emily
You can sub more almond flour. If you use coconut flour, I would only do a teaspoon or two, since it’s so absorbent.
Karla
I substituted coconut sugar for the sweetener and it did not turn out well. The topping turned out alright, but the muffins did not rise, and they did not cook through.
Emily
Oh no I’m sorry! Maybe they needed a longer cook time.
Karla
I baked them an additional 12 minutes even. I’m guessing it’s just that I used coconut sugar instead.
Emily
Hmm that’s strange. Thanks for letting me know. I’m sorry about that. I will have to do some more testing since that’s never happened to me.
Marissa Zeveigenhaft
I am so excited to make this. Could the pexans be replaced with anything else?
Emily
Sure! Technically any nut or seed should work fine. I would probably use walnuts, since they are a similar softness to pecans. Hope you enjoy!
Kim
Love your recipes. I have made several! In making these, I used buttery coconut oil instead of normal coconut oil and the muffins didn’t harden up. The flax egg was running and not thick; I melted the oil a little because it was so thick when I tried to mix it in the flax egg mixture – how do you usually do that. I am going to hope they harden up a little after they cool down. I will definitely be trying again – LOVE CINNAMON!
Emily
Hi! Sorry that something went wrong! I do use melted (warm) coconut oil. Melt it in the microwave and pour it into the flax while still warm (just before mixing with the dry ingredients)
This flax mixture won’t thicken up like a regular flax egg since it has extra water included that is needed for the recipe. But I do let the flax mixture sit for several minutes while mixing the dry ingredients.
Sometimes baking times can vary depending on the size of the muffin. Maybe they just needed a little extra time.
Hope that helps!
Kim
They were still wonderful! They firmed up nicely after being out of the oven. Next time I will melt the oil first. Cant wait to make them again!
Emily
Glad to hear!
MJ
Can you use egg instead of flaxseed
Emily
Yes that should be fine. Replace 1 Tbs flax and 1/2 cup water with 1 egg + 1/4 cup water. Let me know how it goes 🙂