Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins

These Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins are made with cooked sweet potato and topped with a salty-sweet cinnamon pepita crumb topping. They're healthier because they're made with a bit less sugar and use coconut oil instead of butter in the actual muffin recipe.

It's here—my new favorite healthy sweet potato muffins recipe is here!

If you would’ve asked me a year ago—ok, maybe two years ago—if I liked sweet potatoes, I would have said not really. But now? Now I eat sweet potatoes at least 4 times each week. I suppose I have Whole30 to thank for that, because when your options are limited, you learn to expand your horizons and embrace sweet potatoes for all that they are.

Normally, I prefer savory sweet potatoes cooked with a little garlic and a lot of black pepper, but occasionally I hop on the “sweet” sweet potato train. These healthy sweet potato muffins might be my favorite “sweet” way to enjoy the starchy vegetable.

Recipe features

• They're made with less sugar than most muffin recipes
• The brown sugar crumb topping is INCREDIBLE
• It's a great excuse to use up sweet potatoes -- if you buy several at a time like I do, this is one way to utilize them

Ingredient notes

This is simply to provide further clarification on a few of the ingredients. The full ingredient list is listed below in the recipe card.

• All purpose flour - I only tested these with all purpose flour, but I'm guessing gluten free all purpose flour would work, along with white whole wheat, though the texture may be slightly varied.

• Brown sugar - I used dark brown sugar, but light works too.

• Oil - I always use coconut oil in baking, but any kind of oil will work (olive, avocado, etc.)

• Eggs - I haven't tested these without eggs, but I'm sure you could substitute flax eggs instead. To do so, combine 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal with 5 tablespoons of water.

• Almond milk - Feel free to use ANY milk you have on hand (my go-to's are almond and oat).

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Cook the sweet potato. There are several different ways to cook a sweet potato, but this is my method. Rinse and scrub the sweet potato, then pat it dry. Use a fork to pierce several holes into the sweet potato, then set it on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 5-6 minutes.

Set it aside and allow time for it to cool, then you can carefully remove the skin and mash it.

Step 2: Combine wet ingredients, then dry. I like to melt the coconut oil first and then wait to add it so that it has time to cool. Warm coconut oil mixed with cold eggs don't mix well! Once the wet ingredients are mixed, add them into the bowl with the mashed sweet potato (I like to use an electric mixer for this part). The dough should be a little sticky but not too sticky.

Step 3: Make the crumb topping. Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pepitas in a small bowl, then add the cold butter. Use your hands to combine everything until small crumbs form.

Step 4: Divide and bake. Line your muffin tin with muffin liners, then spray each one with nonstick spray. Divide the batter (you'll have to do this in batches because the recipe makes 18 muffins), then add the crumb topping.

Bake the muffins for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

FAQs and tips

• Check out my microwave sweet potato recipe if you're looking for extra tips on how to microwave a sweet potato.
• After you line the muffin tin with muffin liners, make sure to spray each one with nonstick spray so the muffins don't stick to the paper
• Allow the coconut oil to come to room temperature before adding it in with the eggs; otherwise, it'll solidify.

Do I have to microwave the sweet potato?

Nope! You can roast it in the oven if you prefer. This way takes longer, but it definitely works and you can always roast and mash the sweet potato a day or a few hours ahead of time if you prefer.

Is the crumb topping a "must"?

No. The highlight of all crumb muffins is the crumb topping because adds just a little bit of salty-sweetness to these sweet potato muffins. But, if you want these to be less sweet, simply omit the crumb topping.

Storage

• Room temperature: Storage muffins in a sealed container on the kitchen counter for up to 2 days.
• Freezer: If you're not going to eat all of the muffins within 2 days, you can freeze them. Individually wrap them in plastic wrap, then keep them in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months.

More muffin recipes

• cranberry orange muffins
• cinnamon pear muffins
• morning glory muffins
• almond flour blueberry muffins

If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!

Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins

Sweet potato crumb muffins made with a cooked and mashed sweet potato and topped with a salty-sweet cinnamon pepita crumb topping.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 18 muffins

Author: Erin

Ingredients

for the muffins:

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup coconut oil melted
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ½ cup almond milk
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup sweet potato cooked then mashed*

for the crumb topping:

• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1-2 tablespoon pepitas
• 2 tablespoon cold butter
• Pinch of sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Whisk eggs, oil, syrup, and milk together in a bowl.
• Add flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to that bowl and stir to combine.
• Last, add the cooked and mashed sweet potato to the bowl and stir to combine. You may want to use an electric mixer to get more of the lumps out, but don't worry if the batter isn't completely smooth.
• Line a muffin tin with muffin liners and spray them with nonstick spray, then divide the batter evenly.
• For the crumb topping: combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and pepitas in a small bowl. Add the butter then use a fork or your hand to mix everything together really well until the butter is no longer in large chunks. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over top of muffins, then sprinkle a tiny bit of salt over each muffin.
• Bake muffins for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait a few minutes, then carefully remove muffins and place them on a cooling rack.
• Enjoy!

Video

Notes

-1 cup mashed sweet potato is about 1 large sweet potato 

*Calories are per muffin and are an estimation 

Nutrition

Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 171mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1075IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

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UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in October 2018. It was updated with new text in August 2020.