These delicious dairy-free Sweet Potato Muffins are fluffy, flavorful, and perfect for breakfast, brunch, and all your Fall snacking needs!
Around here we like to sneak vegetables into pretty much everything. Baked goods especially!
Fluffy muffins are a breeze to make and are one of my favorite ways to pack in hidden veggies like pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, butternut squash, and sweet potato.
These tasty sweet potato muffins quickly became a family favorite of ours. They’re soft and fluffy, sweet without being too sweet, and a fantastic grab and go breakfast option during a busy school/work week.
If 12 muffins is too many, you can easily halve the recipe or freeze some for later — they reheat like a dream and can also be kept on the counter in an airtight container for a few days. I typically make a batch on Sunday or Monday with the intention of scarfing the extras as breakfast or a speedy snack.
Muffin Ingredients
- sweet potato
- avocado oil
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- sugar
- all-purpose flour
- cinnamon
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
Since most of these ingredients are pantry staples, they’re pretty easy to whip up at a moment’s notice without running to the grocery store.
To keep things super simple, this recipe uses cinnamon for a delicious burst of flavor that compliments the sweet potato oh so well. If you are looking for more complexity, use 2 tsp cinnamon along with 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice blend or 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
Sweet Potato Muffins
This rockin’ recipe yields 12 large tender and tasty sweet potato muffins.
I have made these marvelous muffins with fresh sweet potato as well as with a canned pureed sweet potato and they’re great both ways! Feel free to use whichever you prefer.
Sweet Potato Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 cup avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup light brown sugar or granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- 2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
OPTIONAL CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING
- 3 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon or extra, to taste
Instructions
PREP + MEASURE
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment paper liners.
- Clean and scrub sweet potato then pierce a few times with a fork. Wrap in a slightly damp paper towel and microwave for 7-8 minutes or until sweet potato is tender and cooked through.
- While the sweet potato cooks, measure the remaining ingredients.
- Measure flour by weight with a scale or via the spoon and sweep method: Fluff the flour with a spoon then gently add spoonfuls into a dry measuring cup until a little over-full. Then use the flat edge of a butter knife to scrape the excess flour so its level with the top edge of the measuring cup. Packing the four into the cup or using the measuring cup to scoop itself full of flour will yield dry muffins.
- Once the sweet potato is cooked and cool enough to handle, slice in half and scoop out the insides. Puree sweet potato using a small food processor or blend using an immersion blender.
- Measure out 1 cup of sweet potato puree (there will be a little left over) and store any leftover puree in the fridge for up to 4 days and use it as a mix-in for baked goods, soups, or chilis. It's even great mixed into taco filling!
COMBINE
- To a large mixing bowl, add wet ingredients: sweet potato puree, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Then add 1 cup of sugar and mix well.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Mix well.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a large spoon until just moistened and incorporated.
- For extra fluff factor, allow batter to rest for 15-20 minutes. (optional)
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, adding a little over ¼ cup to each.
- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the tops of each muffin. (optional)
LET'S BAKE SOME MUFFINS!
- Bake in preheated oven on the center rack for 24-25 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick inserted to the center of the muffin. Baking times may vary based on pan material/color and oven temperament.
- Allow muffins 10 minutes to cool in the pan then remove. and transfer to a wire baking rack to cool completely. (Flavors will be more pronounced once fully cooled.) Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Tasty Topping Options
My daughter is quite the cinnamon enthusiast so we amp the flavor even further by sprinkling a little cinnamon sugar on top of each muffin before baking.
It adds a slightly crisp crust to the muffin top (amazing texture without being crunchy) and makes them feel like a fancy bakery muffin. I make a little jar of it and keep it in my spice drawer. For every 3 teaspoons sugar (1 TBSP) add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
If you love a crunchy topping, you can opt for coarse turbinado style sugar on top along with the sprinkling of cinnamon. I don’t typically do a streusel for these since we eat them for breakfast, but the streusel from my Banana Nut Muffins or Apple Cinnamon Muffins is always a delicious option for a brunch-worthy dessert muffin.
Muffin Top Tips
Craving a nice domed muffin top on your muffins? Here’s how I get mine:
Let the batter sit 15-30 minutes in the mixing bowl before scooping. This allows the dry ingredients to hydrate, thicken, and rise.
Fill the muffin cups to the top. I use a little over 1/4 cup batter for each muffin.
I don’t do this every time, but filling every other muffin well helps with heat circulation and muffin rise too. I’ll take two 12-count muffin trays and fill 6 alternating cups per tray, then bake them side by side on the center rack.
Q: Can I use a different oil?
If needed you can replace the avocado oil with any mild baking oil such as canola oil or vegetable oil. Olive oil or coconut oil will both slightly change the flavor of the muffins.
If you get a chance to try this recipe, let me know! Leave me a comment here via the form below (LOVE checking those daily!) and tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your tasty creations.
Questions & Reviews
This is my go-to muffin recipe!
Yay! I’m so thrilled you’re loving the muffins!