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.
Sweet Potato Muffins
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 roast it at home 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.
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Ingredients You Need
To make this 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 muffins. Scroll down to the bottom of the recipe for the full information.
- Stir together the wet ingredients, going slowly to get everything well combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients.
- Portion into a muffin tin.
- 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. 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!
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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.
These are a hit!!! 2 and 4 year old gobbled them up. So fluffy and moist! Thanks Amy!
So yummy! Light fluffy and such a warm cozy smell and taste! Skipped the sugar and they were perfectly sweet as is! I was lazy and just microwaved the sweet potato to cook but I may try roasting next time for an even cozier flavor
These are divine! Thank you! I added a tablespoon of sugar plus some chocolate chips and my picky eater ate them saying yummy! That’s a huge win for me 😁
I substituted canned pumpkin for the sweet potato, worked great for a pantry version of this.
Perhaps less depth of flavor since the sweet potato isn’t roasted to caramelize, but still delicious! Yet another great recipe we’ll be saving, thanks!
Love them, love them, love them and I will be making them more often! I did the lemon version, 2 tsp sugar, served with some cream cheese and wow! Second batch loading…
The first time I made these I wasn’t too fond of them. They tasted a little bland but I also didn’t add sugar and the sweet potato was not mashed well so I take fault from that. I made these again today and wow! They came out so good 🤤. I did have to make a couple tweaks since I didn’t have everything I needed. I used whole wheat instead of part AP flour, honey in place of maple syrup, and purple sweet potato in place of regular sweet potato. I also threw the sweet potato in the blender to puree it vs hand mashing. They came out really tasty and my muffins turned a dark teal color 😂. Not sure why but thankfully my 2 yr old was turned off by the color and happily scarfed down his muffin🙌🏻. Also we didn’t have regular chocolate chips so I topped a few muffins with these edible glitter sparkly chocolate chips I found in the back of the pantry 😁. I can’t wait to make these again 😀
Have anyone tried baking in air fryer? What’s the temp and for how long?
These came out great. I went light on sugar for my toddlers and they liked them. I used the blender to puree the sweet potato and mix all the wet ingredients – very smooth and the muffin texture was moist and light.
Great! Subbed butter for canola oil & corn syrup for maple to make it cheaper and turned out great!
These turned out soooo good. I subbed coconut oil for the butter, doubled the cinnamon bc I didn’t have chocolate chips or lemon zest, and added a big spoonful of coconut sugar. My 3 year old and 1 year old and I all loved them. Will def make again! Thanks for always having awesome recipes!!
I had a sweet potato I needed to use up and saw this recipe and decided to try it, so glad I did!! I made a couple tweaks to the recipe but they turned out great!! I didn’t have whole wheat flour so I just used regular. And instead of maple syrup I substituted the same amount in applesauce because I didn’t want to do maple syrup AND sugar. I also added 1/4c infant cereal for some iron. It took mine 18 minutes to be fully cooked. They are cakey in the center and just the right amount of sweetness! Will definitely make again!!
Looking forward to trying this! I’m hoping to use applesauce instead of maple syrup — if I did that, would you make any other modifications to the recipe?
I haven’t tried that so I can’t say for sure, but it may make the muffins moister and a little harder to bake through. Maybe add 1-2 tbsp more flour if you do this. That’s my best guess. Let me know how it goes!
Should I add more flour if I do not have wheat flour available?
hello would sweet potato baby purée (gerber) work? that’s all i have on hand
I haven’t tested that so I can’t say for sure, but it may be a slightly different texture at the end since that is likely a thinner puree than what you’d have if you made it from a whole potato.
These were great. I didn’t have whole wheat flour, so I used oat flour instead, and topped with mini chocolate chips. My toddler is a happy camper.
Just made these. I made them for my baby, but if I was making them for myself, it would have tasted better with the added sugar and a little more salt.