With a fluffy texture, a naturally sweet flavor, and a hint of cozy spices, these Sweet Potato Muffins are a new favorite veggie muffin in our house. They are lightly sweetened, store well, and are delicious topped with honey, butter, or cream cheese.
These easy muffins are a great option for breakfast, snack, or to serve as a simple side with chili or soup. Once the sweet potato is prepared—you can easily make it at home as crockpot sweet potatoes or start with canned sweet potato puree—making the muffins is as simple as stirring the ingredients together in a bowl.
The result is a homemade batch of muffins that are so darn good topped with a little butter and honey (or on their own if you’re more of a purist!).
We like these for breakfast, snack, or as part of an easy cold lunch. The main thing to know about this recipe is that you’ll need to have some Sweet Potato Puree ready to go. You can do that step a few days ahead or use canned sweet potato puree from the store. Up to you.
(You may also like other yummy sweet potato recipes including Sweet Potato Pancakes, Sweet Potato Waffles, and my Sweet Potato Cookies.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make this sweet potato muffin recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients.
- Mashed sweet potato, very smooth and cool or at room temperature. I usually use homemade mashed sweet potatoes, but you could use canned sweet potato puree, too.
- Milk: Dairy or unsweetened plain nondairy works here.
- Unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt in the recipe.
- Maple syrup: You could use honey if you prefer for kids over age 1.
- Egg: This helps the batter bind together, as well as stay moist and tender.
- Vanilla extract: A little vanilla adds a hint of flavor that works well with the rest of the flavors.
- All-purpose and whole wheat flour: I like to use a mix of flours in this recipe so it’s light and also has some of the nutrients from the whole wheat flour.
- Baking soda: This is key to making sure they bake through well, so be sure yours is fresh.
- Cinnamon: This adds to the cozy, warm spice in the recipe.
- Optional: Chocolate chips or lemon zest. I usually add one or the other to ensure they have plenty of flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make these sweet potato muffins. Scroll down to the bottom of the recipe for the full information.
Step 1. Stir together the wet ingredients, going slowly to get everything well combined.
Step 2. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Step 3. Portion into a muffin tin.
Step 4. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
TIP: I use a spatula to stir the batter together. It’s fairly thick due to the sweet potato, so be gentle but firm to get it mixed.
What’s the best sweet potato to use in muffins?
To make the mashed sweet potato, you can make Mashed Roasted Sweet Potato or Crock-Pot Sweet Potatoes. Blend them very smooth in the blender or in a food processor and be sure to let them cool fully before you add them to the batter.
You can prep the sweet potatoes 3-5 days ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. You can also use store-bought sweet potato puree.
Flavor Additions
You can stir in a handful of chocolate chips to the batter of these sweet potato muffins. Or add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest. Don’t do both, just pick one or the other! They both lend a nice flavor boost to the muffins.
How to Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5, or in the freezer in a zip-top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
Best Tips for Success
- Be sure to puree the sweet potatoes fully before starting the batter. I usually run it through my blender to make sure it’s smooth and lump-free.
- You can also use store-bought sweet potato puree.
- Add fresh lemon zest or chocolate chips to add more flavor.
- Use pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon if you prefer.
- Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the wheat flours.
- Dairy-free: Use nondairy unsweetened plain milk, and use vegetable oil for the butter.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg. Increase the milk to 1 ¼ cups. Bake as directed.
- The baking soda is crucial in this recipe since it helps the batter rise nicely even though the batter is very thick. Be sure to check to make sure yours isn’t expired!
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe, so comment below and give it some stars if your family enjoys them!
Fluffy Sweet Potato Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato (very smooth and cool or at room temperature)
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup melted unsalted butter (slightly cooled; ½ stick)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (the muffins are very lightly sweet, so this is optional for additional sweetness)
- ½ cup chocolate chips (or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a standard-size 12-cup nonstick muffin tin well. (I use classic Pam spray.)
- Add the sweet potato, milk, butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla to a medium bowl. Stir together, going slowly and gently, until fully combined.
- In a separate medium bow, stir together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the optional sugar if using. Stir gently into the sweet potato mixture.
- To add chocolate chips, sprinkle a few on top of each muffin before baking or stir into the batter. To add lemon zest (without chocolate), stir the fresh lemon zest into the batter.
- Divide among the prepared muffin tin, using about ¼ cup batter in each, and bake for 16-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. (In my oven it was right at 18 minutes. To make as mini muffins, bake for about 12-14 minutes.) Let cool for a minute in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5, or in the freezer in a zip-top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
- To make the mashed sweet potato, you can make Mashed Roasted Sweet Potato or Crock-Pot Sweet Potatoes. Do this step ahead of time (even up to three days ahead if you store it in an airtight container in the fridge) so the sweet potato is cool when you make the muffin batter.
- These are very lightly sweet. The additional sugar is there if you think your family would prefer them a little sweeter.
- Be sure to puree the sweet potatoes fully before starting the batter. I usually run it through my blender to make sure it’s smooth and lump-free. You can also use store-bought sweet potato puree.
- Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the wheat flours.
- Dairy-free: Use plain unsweetened nondairy milk and vegetable oil instead of butter.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg. Increase the milk to 1 ¼ cups. Bake as directed.
Nutrition
This post was first published October 2020.
Do you think I could omit both the maple syrup and sugar? I am trying not to add unnecessary sweetness. Or would it be too bland without the maple syrup?
If anyone other than the kiddo wants to eat some, I would leave the maple syrup in. You might be able to replace it with applesauce or mashed banana though. Let me know if you try that!
you think I could add a mashed banana my son loves bananas?
You could use some mashed ripe banana in for some of the mashed sweet potato, but I don’t think I’d add more on top since they may not bake through as intended.
These are the best!! They turned out perfectly fluffy and just the right amount of sweetness. Everyone in the house loves them ❤️
These were so yummy! I did a little bit more sweet potato than called for and used pumpkin pie spice. Made mini muffins for my 10 month old (he loved them), and I added pecans for me and hubs 🙂
Thinking about using this for my baby’s first birthday cake!
Super yummy, moist muffins! I am tempted to try canned pumpkin sometime as I just don’t always have sweet potatoes on hand. I added chocolate chips and that was just the right amount of sweetness. So delicious!
These were very yummy and fluffy! I did add the 1/4 cup brown sugar. Would make again 🙂
If I want to add flax meal, what would be the best way to incorporate that ingredient? Thanks!
You could maybe add 2 tablespoons and reduce the amount of flour by that same amount?
These came out great and fun recipe to try. My son gave them 2 thumbs up until I confessed it was sweet potato and then changed his rating lol.
I left them to cool for a few hours before putting them in the fridge and they got moldy I think. Super bright green spots formed unless it was some other reaction? Thoughts?
Hmmm, I have had that happen with muffins that had baking soda or powder and sunflower seed butter, but not with this recipe. I suspect it was something to do with the leavening though and not mold (that would have been really unusually fast for mold!)
These are so good. Super moist snd slightly sweet. I love all of your muffin recipes! Thank you!
I made your sweet potato muffins with purple sweet potatoes, I added the Brown sugar but omitted the chocolate and spices. I divided the recipe into 6 muffins in a silicone muffin Pan and cooked it for 40 minutes. Perfect for this 74 year toddler !
These are DELISH and easy to pull together. Another recipe, another YTF lifesaver.
I’m so glad!
I’ve been making these for my family and we absolutely love them!
I was wondering have you ever tried adding any kind of ground turkey or ground chicken? I have a 19-month-old and for the past month she has refused essentially any meat or beans and I’m trying to find a way to sneak them in was wondering if this muffin might be good for that?
I’m glad to hear that! I haven’t tried adding meat to this and I worry about both taste and texture. Maybe you could add one or the other to one of my savory muffins like my Pizza Muffins or Veggie Muffins? That seems like a more natural fit to me.
These are really good! I made them with raisins that I soaked for a bit before using to make them juicy. I also subbed rye flour for some of the whole wheat flour. I felt that these taste wholesome and satisfying without tasting too “good for you”, if you know what I mean. The kiddo likes them too!
Made these today and my toddler loves them! I made them plain but I’d definitely do the zest or chocolate chips next time. For an adult they’re a little bland so I could taste some of the baking soda at the end of each bite. But I’d totally make them again with the additions!
Hello, can I sub oat flour for the all purpose?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure that it would work the same. I suspect they would hold together fine, but they will be a lot denser I think. Let me know if you try it!