Sweet Potato Muffins

This sweet potato muffins recipe is deliciously moist and cinnamon spiced! It’s ideal as a cozy side dish, breakfast or snack.

There’s nothing better than a baked sweet potato, but what about turning this bright orange root vegetable into a baked good? Try these Sweet Potato Muffins! Adding mashed sweet potato to baked goods makes them deliciously moist. These tall, fluffy muffins are perfectly cinnamon spiced and the ideal side dish for a fall meal. They’re also great for snacks or breakfast, slathered with a bit of nut butter! They even made our 4 year old realize he liked sweet potatoes.

Ingredients for sweet potato muffins

These sweet potato muffins use mostly common baked good ingredients you probably already have on hand, outside of the sweet potato. You’ll also need applesauce, which helps to keep the muffins extra light and fluffy. Here’s what’s in these sweet potato muffins:

Mashed sweet potato
All purpose flour
Cinnamon
Baking soda, baking powder and salt
Eggs
Milk
Brown sugar
Neutral oil (like grapeseed, organic vegetable or organic canola)
Unsweetened applesauce

All you have to do? Cook the sweet potato, mix the dries with the wets, bake and enjoy. We’ve customized the muffin batter to make tall, fluffy muffins: because no one likes a stubby muffin! They’re great for fall dinners (like Thanksgiving or Christmas), or quick mornings with a slather of nut butter.

Three ways to cook a sweet potato

There are a few ways to cook the potato for these sweet potato muffins. The most ideal way? Muffins are a great way to use leftover sweet potatoes. But if you don’t have one on hand, our top way to cook them is the microwave. Here’s what to know about each method:

Microwave: This takes around 8 minutes for a medium sweet potato. Go to Microwave Sweet Potato for instructions. The downside? Sometimes they can come out a little dry. If your potato is dry when mashing, add a few teaspoons of water to re-hydrate it.
Steamed: This takes a little longer, about 30 minutes, but comes out with the perfect moist potatoes. Go to Steamed Sweet Potato.
Quick baked: How to bake potatoes quickly? Cut them in half! This method saves loads of time in the oven. Go to Baked Sweet Potato.

Variations and mix-ins

These sweet potato muffins are perfect as is: tall and fluffy with a sprinkle of sugar on top! But want to vary them? Here are some tasty mix-ins and variations:

Nuts: Add ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter, or sprinkle about ⅓ cup on the tops, split between the muffins
Chocolate chips: Why not? Add ½ cup dark chocolate chips to the batter
Drizzle: Drizzle with 1-Minute Powdered Sugar Icing
Cinnamon: Use 1 tablespoon cinnamon instead of 2 teaspoons for a more intense flavor
Cardamom: Use 1 teaspoon cardamom and 2 teaspoons cinnamon for spiced intruige
Dairy free: Use non-dairy milk like oat milk (for vegan, you can try with a flax egg, but we have not tested this variation)
Bread: Make the same batter into Sweet Potato Bread! Bake it in a loaf pan at 350 for 45 minutes, then add foil on top and bake another 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Sweet potato muffin recipe — That’s our 4 year old’s hand: finally convinced he really does like sweet potatoes!

Storage info for sweet potato muffins

How to store sweet potato muffins once you’ve baked them up? Here are best practices:

Room temperature: Store up to 4 days in a sealed container with a paper towel on the bottom and top. This helps to keep the tops from becoming moist and sticky.
Refrigerated: Store refrigerated up to 1 week or more. This tends to dry out the muffins a bit, but helps them to store longer.
Frozen: Place in a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months.

More sweet potato recipes

Are you sweet potato obsessed? (We are.) Here are a few more tasty sweet potato recipes to try:

Try delicious classic Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Make a Baked Sweet Potato, or load it up for Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Opt for a fresh and tasty Sweet Potato Salad
Make fan favorite Easy Sweet Potato Wedges
Go for Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

This sweet potato muffins recipe is….

Vegetarian. For dairy-free, use oat milk or other non-dairy milk.