These sweet potato muffins are extremely moist, packed with nutrients, and DELICIOUS!
If you're looking for a muffin recipe that's nutritious and requires less sugar than most other muffin recipes, this is the one for you! Because of the natural sweetness of the potatoes, you don't need a ton of sugar to make these muffins flavorful. The sweet potatoes also give this recipe a really moist texture.
Freezer friendly muffins:
Whenever I make sweet potato muffins, I leave a few out to eat right away, and put the rest into the freezer after they've cooled. All it takes is a few seconds in the microwave, and they'll taste just as good as they did out of the oven.
Related recipe: Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Are yams and sweet potatoes the same thing?
They are similar, but not the same. It can get confusing because yams are often incorrectly labeled in stores, in recipes, and even on cans.
Yam vs. sweet potato
While you may see sweet potatoes incorrectly labeled as yams (especially in the south), true yams are actually pretty rare in the United States.
Yams are characterized by a lighter flesh and a darker skin with a rough texture. Since yams are also starchier than sweet potatoes, you’ll want to be sure to use sweet potatoes for this recipe.
There are many varieties of sweet potatoes in available in the U.S., and they come in all different colors. For this recipe, I look for a sweet potato with tapered ends and a bright orange flesh.
Related recipe: Small Batch Cinnamon Pancakes
Make ahead tip:
I recommend cooking the sweet potatoes a day ahead or a few hours ahead of when you want to make the sweet potato muffins. This will allow them time to cool and also make them easier to peel.
More breakfast recipes to try: Baguette French Toast Bites
How many sweet potatoes to use:
I used 3 very large sweet potatoes and they equaled about 3 cups of mashed potato. So if you are buying small-medium potatoes, I'd recommend using approximately 5-6.
You can always use the leftover potato to make smoothies, pancakes, or anything else you like!
Try the topping!
If you think flaxseed is something only crazy health-nut types enjoy, I challenge you to sprinkle some on top of these muffins before baking. It's delicious, and adds a nutritional boost.
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Sweet Potato Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 cups of mashed sweet potato see below for instructions
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup ground flaxseed meal optional
Instructions
- To prep the sweet potatoes (this can be done a day or so ahead if you want to break up the muffin-making process): Pierce the potatoes with a fork and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, or until the inside is soft when poked with a fork. Remove and let cool. When the potatoes are cool, peel off the skin and mash the sweet potato filling with a fork or masher until any big lumps are gone. Measure out 3 cups worth of filling.
- To make the muffins: In a large bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then add the sweet potato.
- Pour into muffin tins/cups. If using flaxseed, sprinkle on top of the muffins. Bake at 325 for approximately 30 minutes.
Linda Ewing
Wednesday 26th of March 2025
I read all of the comments and, can absolutely say these were amazing. I split the recipe into thirds so I could try different mix ins as people suggested marshmallows, cream cheese, chocolate chips flaxseed. It made seven muffins. I wish I could send a picture to show how amazing they were and I substituted applesauce for the oil. Use trivia brown sugar, due to health issue and it came out as 80 cal each. The bad part is trying not to eat these all at once. Wonderful wonderful, wonderful recipe.
Jillian
Friday 10th of January 2025
These are the best muffins I have ever made or tasted. I will absolutely be making these for decades to come! Thank you for creating this recipe and sharing with all of us.
Suzanne
Sunday 3rd of November 2024
I am usually amused by people that leave reviews that reveal that they changed almost everything about the recipe, and darned if that didn’t bite me in the butt, so to speak.:) So I admit I used maple syrup instead of sugar (and compensated with a little bit more flour) and that was probably fine, and I’ve used applesauce as a substitute for oil/butter with good results before. I think my downfall was substituting 1/2 almond and 1/2 coconut flour for the wheat flour. The muffins after cooking had the texture of raw cookie dough, no matter how long I cooked them. Lesson learned! The flavor is good, just the texture is a fail. Maybe I should have kept 1/2 the wheat flour, and only substitute with 1/2 gluten free? Anyone have any suggestions?
G
Wednesday 30th of October 2024
How should these muffins be stored after baking- do they need to be refrigerated or can they be left at room temp? Thanks.
Kate
Wednesday 20th of November 2024
This might depend on your room temperature, humidity, and general comfort with baked goods being out on the counter. I typically keep these muffins out for about 24-36 hours, then put the rest in the fridge. If refrigerated, I heat them up in the toaster oven to get the "soggy" feeling off.
Srk
Tuesday 1st of October 2024
I was looking for a sweet potato muffin recipe, hoping to figure out how to add flaxseed to it. Lo and behold, this one already has it! Can't wait to make.