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.
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.

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.

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.

Be sure to check out my other favorite muffin recipe: Lemon Blueberry Muffins

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.
Doris
Thursday 12th of May 2022
Excellent recipe!
May a few changes: 1. instead of sugar, used 1/2 cup of maple syrup (next time will experiment with using an over ripe banana to sweeten) - plenty sweet for our taste
2. used 1 cup of gluten free flour (Bob's Red Mill 1:1) and 1 cup almond flour (Aldi brand)
3. for oil, used 1/4 cup of coconut oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce
Muffins were EXCEPTIONALLY delicious but almost too moist. Next time I will add a couple of TBSP of flour to compensate for the changes I've made.
Also, it likely my oven as these had to bake for an extra 7 minutes
Truly outstanding muffin recipe, can be easily tailored to your taste!
Tafiya
Saturday 7th of May 2022
I made these muffins today and they are delicious I was a bit concerned because of the mixed reviews I followed the recipe except I only had 3 small sweet potatoes I used a can pumpkin puree and one banana to make up the 3 cups.
I fold the sweet potatoe mixture in instead of stiring it in didn’t want muffins to be overly mixed they turned out moist and tender and wasn't to sweet either I did not use the flax seed.
I taste tested one muffin and am anticipating having one with my coffee in the morning! Delish it's a keeper
Kate
Monday 9th of May 2022
So glad to hear!! Keep in mind that most written reviews are skewed towards the negative because people typically only take the time to write a review when complaining about something ;) This recipe has 4.8 stars from 118 votes, so it couldn't have been bad! Lol keep this in mind for browsing recipes in the future :)
Frances
Thursday 28th of April 2022
Delicious & nutritious! I used already-baked yams/sweet potatoes that measured only 2 cups, so I added 1 cup of cooked carrots & chopped walnuts to the batter. Kept 6 muffins & gave a dozen to neighbor kids w/ a can of cream cheese frosting & sprinkles.
Kate
Saturday 30th of April 2022
That sounds really good!!
Nelson
Friday 22nd of April 2022
These muffins were phenomenal! The only reason I gave 4 stars is because I think the original recipe would be far too sweet--I halved the sugar and it was plenty sweet, so I can't imagine how it might have been with a full cup.
Kate
Saturday 30th of April 2022
Thanks for the feedback!! Good to know it was good with half the sugar!
Nan
Friday 8th of April 2022
Made the recipe as is and my family deemed them excellent. I baked the batter in a 9X13 for easy cut and eat serving.