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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are a soft and moist pumpkin spice muffin filled with a creamy cheesecake center and topped with buttery streusel. This easy fall recipe is even better than the bakery and makes the perfect sweet breakfast, snack, or dessert.
If Fall were a muffin, it'd be this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin.
If Fall were a muffin, it'd be this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin. I look forward to them every year! The pumpkin spice flavor is cozy and nostalgic, while the surprise cream cheese filling makes them taste like little bites of pumpkin cheesecake wrapped in a muffin. I especially love the streusel topping that gives them the best crunch on top. They’re easy enough to whip up on a weeknight but special enough to bring to a fall gathering, and my family never lets a batch last more than a day.
How to make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins:
Cream Cheese Filling: In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate while you prepare the muffin batter.
Muffin Batter: In one bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate large bowl, mix the eggs, oil, sugar, and pumpkin purée until smooth. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
Streusel Topping: In a small bowl, combine the streusel topping ingredients. Use a fork or pastry blender to cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Bake: Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Add a teaspoon of cream cheese filling in the center, then cover with more batter until each cup is about ¾ full. Sprinkle generously with the streusel topping. Bake for 18–20 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack before serving.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
Pumpkin Muffins:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup oil
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree, , or homemade
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 4 oz plain cream cheese, , softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Streusel Topping:
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, , packed
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Cream Cheese Filling: Prepare cream cheese filling by combining the cream cheese and powdered sugar and mix well until smooth. Refrigerate while you make the muffins.4 oz plain cream cheese, ½ cup powdered sugar
- Muffins: In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir and set aside. In a separate large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, sugar and pumpkin puree. Mix until well combined. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 large eggs, ¾ cup oil, 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
- Streusel Topping: Add the streusel topping ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine using a pastry or fork, until crumbly.2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons cold butter, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a standard muffin pan, or line with paper liners.
- Fill each muffin cup with a heaping tablespoon of batter. Place a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese filling into the center of each muffin cup. Add additional muffin batter until the cups are ¾ way full. Sprinkle crumb topping over the top of each. (This recipe will make 18 regular size muffins, or 12 very large muffins. If you want to use all the batter to make large muffins, add 6-10 minutes to the bake time. I’ve never had them overflow on me.)
- Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes. Remove from muffin pan and allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe August 2016. Updated October 2020, August 2023 and September 2025.
These pumpkin muffins were amazing! I made them in a larger cupcake tin. Because I love cream cheese icing so much I doubled the cream cheese filling, it was so good! Thank you for sharing this recipe, so so enjoyed it!
These muffins turned out perfect every time. My family and friends can’t get enough of them. They are delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
My daughters and I make these each year on our “Fall Baking Day”, and every year I am reminded how delicious they are- and that I want to make them all year long, not just fall!
Your family and guests will be impressed, and your secret will be that they are soo easy to make!
Thank you Lauren!
These were so easy and fun to put together! Thank you so much for the recipe!
If I use homemade pumpkin purée how much would I use for this recipe
The same amount
My company for lunch loved these muffins and so did my family.
I will be making them again and adding the recipe to my yummy go to list.
I only put the cream cheese into the freezer for about 10 minutes
and spooned it onto the batter and it worked fine. The cream cheese is so
soft and delicious. The batter makes a dozen good sized muffins. I used too
much butter in the streusel topping because it wasn’t as fluffy as it would have been.
It’s a hit.
Thanks so much
These muffins are better than Starbucks, going to make a gluten free batch next.
These muffins turned out perfect!! I made 32 mini muffins and cooked them for 12 minutes. They were so moist with a great crispness from the topping. Will definitely be adding this recipe to the repertoire.
Thanks so much for the great feedback!
Instead of rolling filling and freezing, I used a mini cupcake tin to portion out filling and froze that. It worked perfectly! Great recipe.
Great tip! Thanks Julie.
These were delicious. I made with whole wheat flour and added 1/2 tsp baking powder. I also pipped the cream cheese filling after chilling, while I made the batter, rather than freezing it. Thanks for the recipe!
I love your addition of whole wheat flour. I’m so happy you enjoyed them 🙂
These pumpkin muffins gems are perfect balance, I added pumpkin seeds on top before baking. Will diffently make them again. Make sure you freeze the cream cheese icing for at least 2 hours, makes it easier to cut.