Keto Strawberry Muffins
Published September 14, 2020 • Updated March 2, 2026
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These are the strawberry muffins I bake almost every weekend. Almond flour keeps them fluffy and low-carb, and my kids grab them straight off the cooling rack.
I started making these strawberry muffins because I needed a breakfast that could survive a backpack. Something I could bake on Sunday and grab all week without thinking about it. That was three years ago, and I still make them almost every weekend.
The base is simple: almond flour batter with melted butter, eggs, and heavy cream. What makes these work is that the strawberries get tossed with a little monkfruit sweetener first, which pulls out their juices and makes every bite taste like actual strawberry, not just muffin with pink spots. I tested this with and without that sweetener step, and the difference is noticeable. Without it, the fruit just sits there. With it, the strawberry flavor blooms through the whole muffin.
The texture lands somewhere between a traditional muffin and a quick bread. Dense enough to hold together in a bag, soft enough that the edges get a slight crispness when they come out of the oven. I like to swipe a little butter on top while they’re still warm. My husband thinks that’s overdoing it. I disagree.
What I appreciate about this recipe is how forgiving the batter is. I’ve accidentally doubled the cinnamon, forgotten the vanilla once, and used strawberries that were a day past their peak. Every batch still turned out. The almond flour base is sturdy enough that small variations don’t wreck the result. That’s not true for every baking recipe I’ve posted.
If you bake muffins in rotation like I do, these fit right alongside my keto blueberry muffins, pumpkin muffins, and chocolate zucchini muffins. I rotate through all of them depending on the season. Strawberry is my spring and summer pick. In fall, I switch to my pecan pie muffins.
One thing to know about almond flour batter: it doesn’t rise the way wheat flour does. If you fill your liners only halfway, you’ll end up with flat little discs. Fill them right to the top. I learned this the hard way my first time and now I never underfill. You want to see batter at the rim before it goes in the oven.
The whole batch takes about 30 minutes from start to oven, and you get 24 mini muffins or 12 regular ones. I usually go with minis because they’re easier to portion and my kids can grab two without me doing math on macros. Either size works, but the minis bake faster (10 minutes versus 14-16 for regular).
How to make keto strawberry muffins
- Toss the strawberries with a tablespoon of sweetener and set aside. This draws out their juices so you get real strawberry flavor in every bite, not just pink specks.
- Whisk the dry ingredients (almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon) in a medium bowl.
- Beat the wet ingredients (melted butter, sweetener, eggs, heavy cream, vanilla) in a large bowl.
- Fold the dry into the wet until just combined. Stop the second you don’t see dry streaks. Overmixing makes almond flour batter tough and gives you peaked tops instead of smooth domes.
- Fold in the strawberries gently so they stay in chunks.
- Fill your liners to the top and bake. This batter doesn’t rise like wheat flour, so filling high is how you get a muffin top.
Key ingredients & substitutions
- Almond flour: The base of these keto muffins. I’ve tested sunflower seed flour cup-for-cup and it works if you have a nut allergy. For coconut flour, use about 3/4 cup and add one extra egg, since coconut flour absorbs way more liquid.
- Butter: Melted. For dairy-free, swap in melted coconut oil at the same amount.
- Eggs: Three eggs hold the batter together and give you that slightly domed top.
- Heavy cream: Adds richness. I’d use coconut cream as a dairy-free alternative. Full-fat Greek yogurt works too (reader Darlene asked about this, and I think either would be fine).
If you like baking with almond flour, try my lemon poppyseed muffins or keto pumpkin bread next. Same base, different flavor.
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Ingredients
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon monkfruit sweetener or sweetener of choice -
2/3 cup finely chopped strawberries
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2 1/2 cups almond flour
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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1 teaspoon cinnamon
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5 tablespoons melted butter
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3 eggs
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1/3 cup heavy cream
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Prep the strawberries
In a small bowl, combine strawberries with 1 tablespoon monkfruit sweetener. Set aside.
- 2/3 cup chopped strawberries
- 1 tablespoon sugar-free sweetener
Mix the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix the wet ingredients
In a large bowl, mix together melted butter and 1/4 cup of monkfruit sweetener. Beat in eggs, heavy cream and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add to a muffin tin
Scoop into a mini muffin tin lined with muffin liners. You can use a regular muffin tin too. Scoop the mixture up to the top of each liner. For mini muffins, bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. For regular muffins, bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Are strawberries keto?
Yes, and they're one of my favorite fruits to bake with on keto. A 2/3 cup of chopped strawberries adds only about 6 net carbs to the entire batch, which spreads out to barely anything per muffin. I use strawberries more than any other fruit in my baking because they hold their shape, taste great, and keep the carbs low.
Can I substitute coconut flour for almond flour?
I haven't tested coconut flour in this exact recipe, but based on my experience with other muffin recipes, I'd start with 3/4 cup coconut flour and add one extra egg. Coconut flour absorbs significantly more liquid than almond flour, so the ratio isn't 1:1. If the batter looks too thick, add a splash more heavy cream. I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try it.
How do I make these dairy-free?
I swap the melted butter for melted coconut oil (same amount) and use coconut cream instead of heavy cream. The coconut oil gives a slightly different flavor, but it's subtle. My family can barely tell the difference when I make the swap.
Can I use almond milk or Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream?
I haven't tried almond milk in these, but my instinct is that it's too thin and you'd lose some of the richness. Full-fat Greek yogurt would be a better swap. Use the same amount and mix it in with the wet ingredients. The batter might be slightly thicker, but the muffins should still bake up fine. This is one of those things I plan to test soon.
How many net carbs are in each muffin?
It depends on the size. My mini muffins come out to about 1.5-2g net carbs each, and the regular-sized ones are around 3-4g. I calculate based on the whole batch using 2/3 cup strawberries and monkfruit sweetener (which has zero net carbs). These are one of the lightest muffin recipes I make.
Can I mix in other berries?
Reader Allison tried a mix of strawberries and blueberries and said they came out great, and I believe it. I'd keep the total fruit amount the same (2/3 cup) and chop everything to a similar size so it distributes evenly. Raspberries would work too, though they break down more during mixing. I'd fold them in very gently.
How do I keep these muffins moist?
The heavy cream and butter are doing most of the work here. I don't skimp on either. The other trick is not overbaking. I pull my regular-sized muffins at 14-16 minutes, even if they look barely set on top. They firm up as they cool. If you leave them in until they look fully done in the oven, they'll be dry by the time they hit room temperature. I've made that mistake more than once.
Made these over the weekend. Tasted really good! But mine came out dense in the middle, not fluffy like I was hoping. I followed the recipe pretty closely, so I'm wondering if I overmixed when adding the dry ingredients, or if my strawberry pieces were too big and added too much moisture. Is there a visual cue for when the batter's ready, or is it just a mixing thing?
Almost always overmixing. With almond flour, once the dry ingredients go in I fold maybe 8-10 strokes and stop even if it looks a little uneven. Batter should be thick and a bit lumpy. And yeah, chop the strawberries small, around 1/4 inch. Big pieces steam in the middle and weigh everything down.
Tip for anyone whose muffins keep sticking to paper liners: silicone cups. The almond flour batter releases completely clean, and you actually get a slightly crisp bottom crust instead of losing half of it to the paper. Four batches in and this is the only way I'm making them now.
Silicone is so much better for almond flour batters. Paper just wicks the fat right out and takes the bottom with it. That crisp crust you're getting is what these are actually supposed to have.
Batch seven, folded cream cheese in with the melted butter this time. Can't imagine making them without it now.
My grandmother used to make strawberry muffins every Saturday morning when I was a kid. The smell was half the ritual, that warm berry-and-cinnamon thing that meant the weekend had officially started. I've been keto for almost two years and I stopped expecting to find that again. Made a batch last Saturday and when I opened the oven door, it just hit me. Same smell. The cinnamon in the almond flour base does something specific, it rounds out the strawberry instead of competing with it. I ate one still warm and sat there for a minute. Sent my sister the link without saying anything. She'll know why.
The cinnamon thing took me a while to land on. One teaspoon is the number - less than that and it doesn't round the strawberry the way it should. That last line about your sister got me.
How would using Lupin flour effect these muffins? Do you think you'd use the same amount?
Usually for every cup of almond flour, you want to add 1/2 cup of lupin flour. I haven't tried using lupin flour, but if I did, I would start with 1 1/4 cups lupin flour and see how the consistency of the batter is.
Can I use almond milk or plain Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream?
I haven't tried it but I think you would be okay with using either! :)
We used a mixture of strawberries and blueberries. The muffins turned out great! Thanks!
That combo is going on my list. Blueberries bring a tartness the strawberries don't have.
What is the serving size for the mini muffins?
2?
Yes, 2
I've been making the blueberry muffins that use lemon and saw this recipe and decided to try with blueberries. Came out really good. I'll use this one now, I like it much better and it's less work. I don't use paper liners as I find I lose a lot of the muffin. I just wipe the tins with butter.
Paper liners and almond flour muffins don't mix. I lose half the muffin every time, which is why I've been greasing the tins instead. Glad the blueberries worked.