With 10 grams of protein each, these High-Protein Muffin Tops are ready in just 26 minutes and give you only the best part of a muffin, the crumbly top. They're gluten-free, dairy-free, and can be made into a meal-prepped breakfast for busy mornings.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ⏲️Ready In: 26 Minutes
- 👪Serves: 6
- 🍽 Calories and Protein: 173 kcals and 10 grams of protein
- 📋Main Ingredients: Gluten-free baking flour, collagen or protein powder, maple syrup, and frozen cherries.
- 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free and gluten-free.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: Packed with cherry flavor and perfect for an easy make-ahead breakfast or brunch.
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These high-protein muffin tops earn a spot in your breakfast rotation because they solve an actual problem: mornings when you need something fast, filling, and already made. As a nutrition coach, I built these to be a real breakfast, not just a snack, with enough protein in them to actually hold you over instead of leaving you hungry by 10am (hint: I enjoy mine alongside dairy-free scrambled eggs for a full meal).
There's no special pan, no portioning, and no waiting around for anything to set. You drop the batter and bake. Plus, they reheat beautifully, meaning you can make them the night before, fitting into an actual make-ahead routine instead of adding one more thing to your morning to-do list (this is also the idea behind my Rise and Chill Breakfast Ebook: making mornings easier).
Jump To
- A Quick Look At The Recipe
- 💭 Why You’ll Love The Recipe
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flavor Variations
- How To Make High Protein Muffin Tops
- Expert Tips
- How To Store and Meal Prep Them
- Serving Them
- High-Protein Muffin Tops FAQs
- More Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes You'll Love
- High-Protein Muffin Tops Recipe (Dairy & Gluten-Free)
💭 Why You’ll Love The Recipe
Easy-to-make: Mixed in just one bowl with no muffin tin or fancy kitchen techniques, the muffin tops are then dropped onto a baking tray before cooking.. and that’s it!
High-protein: Dairy-free, gluten-free, and with 10 grams of protein from the Greek yogurt and protein powder, this recipe is a healthy way to start the morning.
Meal prep: You can actually make the muffin tops ahead of time (just like caramel apple overnight oats) and reheat them on busy mornings.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Most of the ingredients are basic gluten-free pantry staples you should have on hand.
- Dairy-free yogurt: I use a Greek vegan yogurt for the recipe to pack in more protein. A regular dairy-free yogurt will work, but the texture will be slightly different as regular yogurt is thinner. The same goes for frozen yogurt protein bars.
- Fruit: I use frozen cherries for the recipe, but any fruit, frozen or not will work. We recently made apple cinnamon muffin tops, and they came out perfect.
- Applesauce: This can be substituted with more yogurt or with canned pumpkin (which is a great way to change the flavor!).
- Collagen or protein powder is what makes these muffin tops so high in protein. You can omit it and add ⅛ of a cup more gluten-free flour if you don’t have it. Learn more about what collagen powder is and why it’s such an amazing protein.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Flavor Variations
Below are a few fun swaps you can use to make the muffin tops recipe seem unique each time you whip it up.
Citrus: If you enjoy a bright, citrus flavor, add some lemon, lime, or orange zest to the batter and on top of the muffin tops.
Crunch: Sprinkle chopped pecans or almonds on top of the muffin tops before you bake them for some added texture.
Chocolate: This is always a hit with my kids. Add 1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder to the batter along with some chocolate chips for a rich chocolate flavor.
How To Make High Protein Muffin Tops
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
Step 2: One by one, add in the wet ingredients and mix well, making sure no dry clumps remain.
Step 3: Stir in the frozen cherries until just coated.
Step 4: Portion onto a lined baking sheet and sprinkle some cane sugar on top if using.
Step 5: Bake for 21 minutes and let cool on the pan. Serve warm
Expert Tips
The muffin tops are very soft out of the oven. So, let them cool a bit before you remove them from the baking sheet. Likewise, make sure to use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to make it easier to remove them.
Take care when stirring in the cherries to mix until just coated. Otherwise, everything turns a runny pink color instead of bright “pops”. Fresh or frozen fruit works. If using apples, peal them first.
You don’t need to portion or scoop the batter onto the baking sheet; just pour it with the help of a spoon or fork right from the bowl. Take care to space out the blobs, though, as they do expand.
They’re pretty low in calories, so to bump up the protein… eat two! That gives you 20 grams of protein for breakfast.
How To Store and Meal Prep Them
As mentioned, you can make these muffin tops in advance and just bust them out when needed to save you precious kitchen time (great for busy mornings with kids!).
Fridge: Store leftover muffin tops once cooled in an airtight container in a single layer or separated between layers of parchment paper for up to 3 days.
Freeze: Freeze the muffin tops between layers of parchment paper and then in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheating: Place them on a lined baking sheet and pop them in the oven at 200F for 10-20 minutes until heated through.
Serving Them
We like to serve ours sprinkled with a bit of cane sugar and a little drizzle of maple syrup. It makes for sticky hands, but the maple-cherry combination is delicious. I personally enjoy two of them with a hard-boiled egg or two for a complete breakfast (learn more about how to eat more protein).
You can use these gluten-free muffin tops alongside fruit for an easy school morning breakfast or as part of a larger brunch with dairy-free egg casserole.
High-Protein Muffin Tops FAQs
Overbaking or too much flour can dry them out, especially with gluten-free flour. Also, each gluten-free flour blend will absorb liquid in a slightly different way. Make sure to keep an eye on them in the final minutes of baking and remove them from the oven when they look almost done.
More Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes You'll Love
If you tried this Protein Muffin Top Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!
High-Protein Muffin Tops Recipe (Dairy & Gluten-Free)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup Gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
- ⅓ cup Almond flour
- 1.5 teaspoons Baking powder
- ¼ cup Collagen powder see notes
- ½ cup Vegan Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup Applesauce unsweetened
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup Maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Frozen cherries chopped
- 1 tablespoon Cane sugar optional for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.
- One by one, add in the wet ingredients and mix well making sure no flour clumps remain.
- Pour in the cherries and mix until just combined and covered.
- Portion the batter by pouring it onto a lined baking sheet (drop and go). Make sure to leave space between each portion as they do expand.
- Sprinkle some cane sugar on top if using.
- Bake for 21 minutes before removing them from the oven and letting them cool for 10-20 minutes on the pan before serving, as they're ultra-soft coming out of the oven
- Serve warm drizzled with a bit more maple syrup and a side of fruit.
Notes
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
Shelby Stover says
The best make-ahead breakfast, we make these in all sorts of flavors depending on the season. Blueberry and apple cinnamon are the favorites so far.