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This sweet potato muffins recipe is deliciously moist and cinnamon spiced! It’s ideal as a cozy side dish, breakfast or snack.
There’s nothing better than a baked sweet potato, but what about turning this bright orange root vegetable into a baked good? Try these Sweet Potato Muffins! Adding mashed sweet potato to baked goods makes them deliciously moist. These tall, fluffy muffins are perfectly cinnamon spiced and the ideal side dish for a fall meal. They’re also great for snacks or breakfast, slathered with a bit of nut butter! They even made our 4 year old realize he liked sweet potatoes.
Ingredients for sweet potato muffins
These sweet potato muffins use mostly common baked good ingredients you probably already have on hand, outside of the sweet potato. You’ll also need applesauce, which helps to keep the muffins extra light and fluffy. Here’s what’s in these sweet potato muffins:
- Mashed sweet potato
- All purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda, baking powder and salt
- Eggs
- Milk
- Brown sugar
- Neutral oil (like grapeseed, organic vegetable or organic canola)
- Unsweetened applesauce
All you have to do? Cook the sweet potato, mix the dries with the wets, bake and enjoy. We’ve customized the muffin batter to make tall, fluffy muffins: because no one likes a stubby muffin! They’re great for fall dinners (like Thanksgiving or Christmas), or quick mornings with a slather of nut butter.
Three ways to cook a sweet potato
There are a few ways to cook the potato for these sweet potato muffins. The most ideal way? Muffins are a great way to use leftover roasted sweet potatoes. But you can cook them up especially for this recipe. Here’s what to know about each method:
- Steamed: This takes a little longer, about 30 minutes, but comes out with the perfect moist potatoes. Go to Steamed Sweet Potato.
- Quick baked: How to bake potatoes quickly? Cut them in half! This method saves loads of time in the oven. Go to Baked Sweet Potato.
Important: We don’t recommend using our Microwave Sweet Potato method here: the sweet potato can come out very dry and make for a very thick dough (depending on the age of the potatoes and the power of your microwave). Because of the variability, we suggest using either steamed or baked sweet potatoes.
Variations and mix-ins
These sweet potato muffins are perfect as is: tall and fluffy with a sprinkle of sugar on top! But want to vary them? Here are some tasty mix-ins and variations:
- Nuts: Add ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter, or sprinkle about ⅓ cup on the tops, split between the muffins
- Chocolate chips: Why not? Add ½ cup dark chocolate chips to the batter
- Drizzle: Drizzle with 1-Minute Powdered Sugar Icing
- Cinnamon: Use 1 tablespoon cinnamon instead of 2 teaspoons for a more intense flavor
- Cardamom: Use 1 teaspoon cardamom and 2 teaspoons cinnamon for spiced intruige
- Dairy free: Use non-dairy milk like oat milk (for vegan, you can try with a flax egg, but we have not tested this variation)
- Bread: Make the same batter into Sweet Potato Bread! Bake it in a loaf pan at 350 for 45 minutes, then add foil on top and bake another 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Storage info for sweet potato muffins
How to store sweet potato muffins once you’ve baked them up? Here are best practices:
- Room temperature: Store up to 4 days in a sealed container with a paper towel on the bottom and top. This helps to keep the tops from becoming moist and sticky.
- Refrigerated: Store refrigerated up to 1 week or more. This tends to dry out the muffins a bit, but helps them to store longer.
- Frozen: Place in a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months.
More sweet potato recipes
Are you sweet potato obsessed? (We are.) Here are a few more tasty sweet potato recipes to try:
- Try delicious classic Roasted Sweet Potatoes or Sweet Potato Soup
- Make a Baked Sweet Potato, Steamed, or Microwaved, and load it up for Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Sweet Potato Puree
- Opt for a fresh and tasty Sweet Potato Salad or Sweet Potato Curry
- Make fan favorite Easy Sweet Potato Wedges or Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
This sweet potato muffins recipe is….
Vegetarian. For dairy-free, use oat milk or other non-dairy milk.
Sweet Potato Muffins
This sweet potato muffins recipe is deliciously moist and cinnamon spiced! It’s ideal as a cozy side dish, breakfast or snack.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Muffin
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Baked
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato (1 medium sweet potato)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup milk (or non-dairy milk)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup neutral oil (or substitute melted butter)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- Granulated sugar, for the topping
Instructions
- Cook the sweet potato: Make a or Steamed Sweet Potato (30 minutes), Quick Baked Sweet Potato (35 minutes), or Boiled Sweet Potato (peeled first; 15 minutes)*. Scrape the flesh out of the skin and use a fork to mash it in a bowl. Measure out 1 cup of puree. While the potato cooks, preheat and prep the batter.
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 12 muffin cups to a muffin tin.
- Meanwhile, mix the batter: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, then the milk, brown sugar, sweet potato puree, oil and applesauce. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fill the muffin cups evenly (there will be a good amount of batter, which makes for tall muffins). Sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar.
- Bake: Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins and place them on a cooling rack to fully cool. Store up to 4 days in a sealed container with a paper towel on the bottom and top, refrigerated up to 1 week or more, or frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
*We don’t recommend using our Microwave Sweet Potato method here: the sweet potato can come out very dry and make for a very thick dough (depending on the age of the potatoes and the power of your microwave). Because of the variability, we suggest using either steamed, baked or boiled sweet potatoes.
I made these muffins this morning. I used some sprouted einkorn flour that I had made instead of the oats, I replaced the sugar with allulose and added a few dark chocolate chips. They still turned out great! I will definitely make them again. Thanks!
So glad to hear!
Not one to leave a recipe as it is, I substituted one cup of corn meal for the flour and added pumpkin pie spice. Definitely a keeper. Absolutely perfect!