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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.
Flour - I only tested these with all purpose, but I'm guessing gluten free all purpose flour would work.
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.)
How to make sweet potato muffins
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.
FAQs and tips
- 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
- Storage: store muffins in a container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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, which is made with butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and pepitas. It’s simple and delicious and 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.
More muffin recipes
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Healthy Sweet Potato Muffins
Ingredients
for the muffins:
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup sweet potato cooked then mashed*
f0r the crumb topping:
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1-2 tbsp pepitas
- 2 tbsp 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!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in October 2018. It was updated with new text in August 2020.
