These Sweet Potato Muffins are delicious, gluten free and incredibly easy to make. Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber, so baked muffins made with sweet potatoes are a healthy breakfast you can enjoy without guilt.

Sweet Potato Muffins

I know a lot of you think of pumpkin in the Fall, and I do too. However, my favorite part of Fall is really anything orange related, with sweet potatoes being very high on that list. I make this amazing roasted butternut squash, sweet potato and carrot soup that combines ALL THINGS orange!

So when I think of sweet potatoes I think of sweet, savory and incredibly delicious and I wanted to try them in muffins. I figured since so many people use pumpkin in muffins, why not sweet potatoes? They add a ton of moisture, flavor and natural sweetness which allows us to cut back on the added sugar in this recipe.

So, what do we need to make these delicious muffins?

How to Make Sweet Potato Muffins

I’m pretty sure most of you know how to make muffins, so I won’t add too much here. What I do want to highlight though is the difference between using regular flour and gluten free flours:

Gluten free flour absorbs a whole lot more moisture, therefore to help with this we used 3 eggs in this recipe.
Another issue we came across with these muffins is the density of the sweet potato and the gluten free flour combined. To offset this, the muffins need more ‘lift’ which comes from baking powder. This recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon, which is A LOT. I personally use Hain’s SODIUM FREE baking powder. You can purchase it on Amazon. If you don’t have it or just don’t want to purchase it, I would leave out the added salt for these muffins.

Step 1 and 2

Add the eggs to a bowl and whisk.
Add the sweet potato puree, vanilla, milk, apple cider vinegar, and melted butter

Step 3 and 4

Fold in sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.
Allow the batter to sit for 30 minutes for the flour to hydrate.

Step 6 -8

Fill each cup with the batter.
Prepare the streusel and spread 1 teaspoon on top of each muffin.

Recipe FAQs:

Is it necessary to use Xanthan gum with GF flour?

Yes and no. Xanthan gum is used in GF baking for elasticity and helping the baked good stay together. As you can see by the photos I didn’t feel it needed any. These muffins help up very well and are super moist.

Why do you remove the muffins immediately after baking?

Good question! Due to the sweet potatoes, if these muffins are left to cool in the tin they will get what is known as “the soggy muffin bottom”. When baked goods come out of the oven they are naturally hot and the steam needs to escape as they cool. This steam goes to the sides of the pan and and condenses, causing the soggy bottom. Placing them on a baking cooling rack prevents this from happening.

Can I use mashed sweet potatoes instead of puree?

Sorry, but no. Mashed potatoes will also have plenty of butter, spices and milk. A puree is simply the sweet potato cooked until very tender and pureed in a food processor until smooth. See Note 1 in the recipe card for detailed instructions if needed.

Gluten Free Sweet Potato Muffins

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5 from 2 reviews

Total Time: 55 – 70 min
Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Diet: Gluten Free

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Ingredients

Scale

For the muffins:

1 Cup Sweet Potato Puree (see Note 1)
3 Large Eggs
⅓ Cup Melted Butter
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
⅓ Cup Milk (regular or plant based)
¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar
2 ¼ Cups Gluten-free Flour
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Tbsp. Baking powder (I use Hain’s no sodium)
½ teaspoon Sea Salt

For the Streusel Topping:

1 Tbsp. Melted Butter
2 Tbsp. Sugar
3 Tbsp. Gluten-free Flour
½ teaspoon Cinnamon

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Instructions

Beat the eggs in a large bowl using a whisk or electric mixer.
Add the sweet potato puree, vanilla extract, milk, apple cider vinegar, and melted butter. Whisk to combine.
Fold in sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.
Allow the batter to sit for 30 minutes for the flour to hydrate.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners.
Fill each cup with the batter.
Prepare the streusel by mixing all its ingredients in a small bowl until a grainy consistency.
Spread 1 teaspoon of streusel on top of each muffin.
Bake the muffins for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Due to the ingredients in these muffins they may require an additional 10 minutes so they don’t turn out gummy.
Once out of the oven, transfer the muffins out of the pan and onto a cooking rack so they don’t get wet on the base.

Note 1:

Sweet potato puree can be found in the supermarket next to the pumpkin, however I find it next to impossible to find. To make sweet potato puree, simply bake a sweet potato in a 400°F oven for 40-55 min depending on size. Once cool enough to handle, peel the skin off and place it in a food processor and blend for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides and adding a teaspoon or 2 of milk until smooth.

Prep Time: 25 min + 30 activation
Cook Time: 30-40 min
Category: Breakfast
Method: Baking