Peanut Butter Protein Muffins

Peanut Butter Protein Muffins | Veggie and the Beast

An alternate title for this post could be, “Something I should have with me at all times to avoid becoming a huge b*tch.” I really can’t go more than 3 hours without eating. I become a different person. I become a hateful person.

I’m usually thinking about food, so I rarely forget to eat, but there have been a few times when I haven’t realized I’m hungry until I get home from work and freak the geek out. It’s these times when The Beast hands me a granola bar, crackers, nuts…really anything to help improve his unfortunate situation.

Peanut Butter Protein Muffins | Veggie and the Beast

When I’m left to my own devices, I tend to dive into the peanut butter jar after work. Although there’s something so wonderfully college-eque about eating peanut butter out of the jar, it makes me feel a bit lazy. So why not take that comfort and put it in a muffin, right?

Each 185-calorie muffin serves up 7 grams of protein, nearly 3 grams of fiber, and plenty of that rich peanut butter flavor I crave in the afternoon. To give these muffins their protein power I used spelt flour, wheat germ, old-fashioned oats, Greek yogurt and, obviously, peanut butter. The resulting muffin is moist, filling, and perfectly peanut buttery.

Peanut Butter Protein Muffins | Veggie and the Beast

These muffins can be eaten plain, spread with jam, or, if you’re crazy like me, covered in even more peanut butter. Although the just-baked muffins smell deliciously inviting, they will taste better the next day. Give the muffins a good 8-12 hours to deepen in flavor and boost moistness, and you will have a perfect snack to avoid a midday “hangry” episode.

Protein-conscious peanut butter lovers: This is your muffin.

Peanut Butter Protein Muffins

The perfect healthy snack! Each muffin has under 200 calories, 7 grams of protein, and TONS of peanut butter flavor!

Yield: 12 muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup whole grain spelt flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
  • ½ cup quick oats
  • ¼ cup wheat germ
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup natural unsweetened applesauce
  • ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

  1. Whisk together the flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
  2. In another bowl, stir together the applesauce and peanut butter. Mix in the honey, sugar, egg, and vanilla, and then stir in the Greek yogurt.
  3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
  4. Drop the batter into 12 lined and greased muffin tins.
  5. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick/knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
  6. Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Since this is an oil-free quick bread, the muffin flavor and texture will improve overnight.

   

20 Responses to “Peanut Butter Protein Muffins”

  1. Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar — August 20, 2013 @ 1:43 pm (#)

    I love the look of these!! And you’re right! so much protein!

  2. Brianna — August 28, 2013 @ 9:03 am (#)

    I made these a few days ago and loved them! Delicious and satisfying.

    • Veggie — August 28, 2013 @ 9:18 am (#)

      Awesome! So glad you loved them :)

  3. Luv What You Do — September 2, 2013 @ 4:23 pm (#)

    YUM! These look fantastic! I make homemade PB that would be perfect in these guys!

  4. Pingback: Peanut Butter Protein Muffins – Baking Adventures

  5. Pingback: Simple Thai Peanut Noodle Stir Fry | Veggie and the Beast

  6. Pingback: food5eva: foodfetishfridays: Peanut Butter Protein Muffins by… | Save The Earth

  7. Nina — December 2, 2013 @ 8:06 am (#)

    If I don’t have wheat germ can I just add more flour? Thanks!

    • Veggie — December 2, 2013 @ 10:50 am (#)

      I haven’t tried it, but I would expect that adding extra flour in place of wheat germ should work just fine.

      • Linda — January 26, 2014 @ 7:49 am (#)

        I replace the spelt and wheat germ with 1 cup white whole wheat, I also add 3/4 cup chocolate chips. We love it!

  8. Pingback: Muffins, Muffins, and Waffles! | Life With a Twist of Lemon

  9. Pingback: Peanut Butter Lunch Box Muffins | Julie's Recipes

  10. Cassandra — May 17, 2014 @ 9:50 am (#)

    These are tasty muffins! I’ve made them twice and the second time I added frozen raspberries, which gave them a great PB&J twist!

  11. Samantha — June 1, 2014 @ 8:46 pm (#)

    I made these and replaced the flour with vanilla protein powder (Optimum Nutrition brand) on a whim and they worked out beautifully. I still used the oats and wheat germ, and I think that allowed the texture to still be moist and not as dry as many protein powder baked goods. I just thought I’d let you know how wonderfully this recipe works with this substitution for those who want even more protein in their muffins :)

    • Katie — June 2, 2014 @ 11:14 am (#)

      That’s great! I had no idea that would work. Thanks for your comment!

  12. Pingback: Helane's Blog--Week #3--Healthy Foods -

  13. Pingback: Helane's Blog--Lifestyle Change--Week #2 -

  14. Nate — December 7, 2015 @ 8:22 pm (#)

    I know this is an old post, but I discovered this recipe a month or so ago and have made it a few times, so thank you! Just curious if anyone has done the legwork to figure out how many g of fat and carbs there are?

  15. Pingback: Protein Packed Sunflower Butter Muffins…Yum! | Frella