Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin Hack (So Easy!)

There’s nothing like that first bite of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin — soft pumpkin spice, gooey cream cheese center, a few crunchy pepitas on top. The only problem? Paying nearly five bucks for one! Luckily, this hack nails the same flavor and texture using just a boxed pumpkin bread mix and a few pantry staples. It’s ridiculously easy, smells like fall baked itself into your kitchen, and honestly tastes so close you might start charging friends $4.75 each.

Skip the Drive-Thru, Keep the Flavor

You’ll need:

1 box of pumpkin bread mix (like Krusteaz or Libby’s)
3 eggs, ½ cup oil, and water as directed on the box
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Optional: chopped pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for topping

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin.
Make pumpkin batter per box directions.
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Fill muffin cups ¾ full with batter.
Drop about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese mixture in the center of each and press down lightly.
Sprinkle pepitas on top.
Bake 18–22 minutes or until a toothpick in the muffin part (not the cream cheese) comes out clean.

Hack:
The key is to freeze the muffins for 10 minutes after baking. This helps the cream cheese set into that Starbucks-style dense center.

Filed Under: What's Aaronee Cookin'?