Sweet Potato Muffins

Make moist homemade Sweet Potato Muffins with this easy recipe. A great way to start your day, these delicious muffins make a wholesome breakfast and will keep you and your family feeling full and satisfied.

Sweet Potato Muffins make a great option for a healthy breakfast, snack or sweet treat for the entire family. The sweet potato muffin recipe for this post is adapted from this great recipe from NancyC.

This is a great recipe for using up leftover sweet potatoes and since they have a naturally sweet flavor, I was able to use less sugar to make these sweet potato muffins healthier without affecting their taste. I also reduced the amount of oil and these Sweet Potato Muffins still came out delicious, moist, tender and fluffy. 

How to Make Healthier Sweet Potato Muffins

This muffin recipe can be made using either steamed, boiled or roasted sweet potatoes. You'll need about one medium to large sweet potato to get one cup of mashed sweet potato purée. I included pecans in this recipe but they can be omitted.

This recipe requires basic ingredients. Here's an overview of the ingredients needed. Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for ingredient amounts.

Ingredients Overview:

• Mashed sweet potato + 2 Tbs. water: If you are roasting sweet potatoes for dinner with the intent to use the leftovers for these muffins, remember to keep some sweet potato wedges unseasoned, this way you have plain sweet potatoes to make these simple sweet potato muffins.
• Whole wheat pastry flour: I always use whole wheat pastry flour to ensure tender and fluffy baked goods. If you don't have any or can't find it in grocery stores near you, I suggest you use a combination of whole-wheat and all-purpose flour. Just use half whole-wheat and half all-purpose flour for easy measuring.
• Ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger
• Baking soda and powder
• Salt
• Large eggs
• Light brown sugar
• Pure maple syrup
• Light olive oil, vegetable oil or melted coconut oil.
• Toasted pecan or walnut pieces: Optional, please omit nuts for nut-free muffins and if serving these muffins to toddlers.

Steps Overview:

1. To cook the sweet potatoes quickly, cut them into half-inch slices and steam them. It takes about 15 minutes to steam more than enough sweet potatoes to make this recipe. Whether you choose to steam, boil or roast them, make sure to cook your sweet potatoes until they are completely tender so they can be easily mashed with a fork. Once you've mashed the sweet potatoes, add two tablespoons of water to thin the mash into more of a thick purée consistency. Let the sweet potato purée come to room temperature before making the muffins.
2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven.
3. Grease or line 12 regular-sized muffin cups.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sweet potato mash, brown sugar, maple syrup and oil until well combined.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until evenly incorporated.
7. If desired, add the pecan pieces and stir to incorporate.
8. Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan, distributing the batter evenly. 
9. Bake until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes.
10. Cool in the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool.

A Great Snack for Toddlers and Kids

These healthier muffins also make a great breakfast or snack option for toddlers and kids. If you want smaller portions, simply bake these muffins in a mini muffin tin to have baby-sized muffins you can give your toddlers and young children. Please omit the nuts in this recipe when serving to young children to avoid any risk of choking.

Variations you can make to this recipe:

• Substitute 1/2 cup of whole-pastry flour with oatmeal or oat flour.
• Replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar for a refined sugar-free muffin.
• Substitute pecans with walnuts, pepitas, cranberries or even mini chocolate chips for an extra special treat.

Storage Instructions

Store these Sweet Potato Muffins in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days. If you have extra muffins store them in the refrigerator for up to a week or better yet, freeze them to keep them fresh for longer.

Remove the muffins from the freezer and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight. They can be warmed in a low oven (covered with aluminum foil) for a freshly baked taste.

If you would like to bake a more savoury sweet potato recipe, these tasty sweet potato biscuits make a great side to a roast chicken or turkey dinner. 

Enjoy!

More Easy Muffin Recipes

• Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins
• Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (with whole wheat and quinoa flour)
• Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Zucchini Chai Muffins

This recipe for Sweet Potato Muffins was originally published in May 2014. I’ve updated the post as well as the recipe and included new photos.