Here is a great way to get some healthy sweet potatoes into your little nuggets diet. Muffins are a huge hit with little ones. What’s not to love with the subtle sweet flavor and fluffy texture.
These sweet potato muffins are a great option for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up snack. Even my husband and myself enjoy snacking on these muffins when we need a healthier snack option!
These toddler friendly sweet potato muffins freeze very well so you can make them ahead and heat it up for a healthy hearty breakfast for your little one.
Muffins are great way to serve healthy foods to your baby or toddler. Here are a few more muffin recipes to try:
- Easy Fruity Raspberry Muffins
- Kid Friendly Banana Blueberry Muffins
- Protein Rich Egg and Veggie Muffins
Why Sweet Potatoes?
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source for vitamin A which benefits vision. Vitamin A keeps eyes healthy and also helps support the immune system.
They also offer a great flavor and add so much moisture to these muffins. Your toddler would hardly know these are actually healthy for them!
How do you make sweet potato muffins?
These muffins are one of those recipes that are perfect for a relaxing baking evening. Perfect for a make-ahead breakfast or snack to have on hand. So be sure to set aside about an hour or two to make these.
We use 2 bowls for this recipe, one for dry ingredients and one for wet ingredients.
First you start with cooking and mashing your sweet potatoes in a larger mixing bowl. Allow them to cool. Usually allowing them about an hour is a good amount of time.
Then you whisk your dry ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.
In the larger mixing bowl with your mashed sweet potatoes, add in the eggs and mix with a hand mixer. Then add remaining ingredients and mix again until combined.
Add your dry ingredients into wet 1/4 cup at a time and fold in using a spatula or wooden spoon until combined and no remaining dry ingredients can be seen.
Bake at 425° for 5 minutes and then, without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 350° and bake for an additional 12 minutes. This helps activate the baking powder and baking soda so you get a nice fluffy muffin.
Tips for the best muffins!
- You can use fresh sweet potatoes or frozen steamable sweet potatoes in a bag. I found some lightly seasoned with cinnamon and brown sugar. They made the perfect consistency for the muffins. But using fresh is always great too.
- Sometimes in baking you add the wet ingredients to dry, however that can lead to dry ingredients being left behind. I recommend adding your dry to wet 1/4 cup at a time and folding it in so you can make sure your dry ingredients are absorbed properly.
- Baking at 425°F for 5 minutes first helps activate the baking powder and baking soda to make the muffins have beautiful, tall muffin tops and a fluffy muffin.
- Make ahead of time to store for later use. These are perfect for a Sunday night bake to have for the week ahead.
How to store and reheat:
Simply store in a sealable container in a cool, dry place for up to 5 days.
To reheat, microwave for 8-10 seconds.
Substitutes
Wheat flour – you can sub in oat flour for the wheat flour. Just do 1 1/2 cups oat flour per 1 cup flour.
Maple syrup – swapping the maple syrup out for honey is a great option.
Eggs – since flaxseed meal is already called for in this list, you can easily make a baking binder from the flaxseed meal and water to replace the eggs. Simply do 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal to 3 tablespoons of water per egg.
Add ins:
Level these muffins up with these add ins
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Walnuts or pecans (make sure to chop into bit size pieces though!)
- Chia seeds
- Hemp seeds
Toddler Sweet Potato Muffin Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of mashed sweet potato (see notes above for potato tips)
- 2 cups wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- ¾ cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup oat milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup ground flaxseed meal
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425°
- If using fresh, whole sweet potatoes, you’ll need to boil them first. To do this, wash them and peel them and cube into 1 inch cubes. Then boil them for 5-10 minutes or until completely tender. You’ll want to do this first and let them cool for about an hour.
- If using steam-able sweet potatoes, you’ll need 2 9oz bags of steam fresh sweet potatoes. Steam in microwave as directed in the bag and allow to cool completely before using.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside
- Transfer potato into a large mixing bowl and mash with a hand mixer until completely smooth.
- Add in your eggs to the sweet potatoes and mix with hand mixer again for about 30 seconds until smooth.
- Add in remaining wet ingredients into sweet potato mixer and blend again until combined.
- Take your dry ingredients and add onto your wet ingredients 1/4 cup at a time and fold in with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined.
- Spray a muffin pan and fill with about 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin hole.
- Bake at 425° for 5 minutes, then without opening the oven, lower temperature to 350° and bake for another 12 minutes.
- Cool completely before serving.
How to Serve Sweet Potato Muffins to Toddler:
- Mini muffins are a great size for toddlers. You can even cut these muffins in half or into small pieces to serve it for your toddler. I always say that size matters. Picky toddlers might refuse to eat mini muffins as is but will gobble them up when cut into small pieces. So try a different sizes to see what might work for your toddler.
- Serve these muffins with yogurt or cream cheese as a side. My toddlers would love to try new food as long as there was yogurt to dip it with.
- Add fresh or frozen fruits to add color to the plate. One tip to keep in mind when introducing a new food is to serve if with your toddler’s favorite food item. It encourages them to eat and as they eat they are more likely to try the new food in their plate.
