Looking for a healthy sweet treat to serve your entire family? Then this lower sugar Sweet Potato Muffin Recipe is for you. Sweetened with sweet potatoes and filled with wholesome ingredients, you won’t regret adding this into your meal prep routine!
Jump to:
- Why you need to make these Sweet Potato Muffins
- What you need to make these muffins with sweet potato
- How to make this Low Sugar Sweet Potato Muffin Recipe
- Recipe notes + Expert Tips
- FAQ for this Sweet Potato Breakfast Recipe
- Other Sweet Potato Recipes you may enjoy
- Sweet Potato Chia Chocolate Breakfast Cake
Why you need to make these Sweet Potato Muffins
I am a HUGE fan of sweet potatoes! Whether savory, like Sweet Potato Chili, or sweet like Sweet Potato Pancakes, they’re deeply satisfying and full of awesome nutrition!
What’s better than elevating a favorite comfort food recipe like chocolate chip muffins? The ingredients used are probably already in your pantry, come together in a blink, and support your healthy lifestyle by allowing you to enjoy the best of this breakfast treat (with the added nutrient boost)! What are you waiting for– let’s get baking!
What you need to make these muffins with sweet potato
Ingredient Tips
- Sweet Potato: The easiest way to prep your sweet potato for this cake is either steaming or boiling (alternatively, you can purchase canned pureed sweet potato). Start by scrubbing the outside of your medium-sized sweet potato to remove any dirt, then peel. Next, chop into 1 inch cubes. When done, your sweet potato should yield very easily to the pressure of a fork and you can mash away!
- Option 1: Place sweet potato a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover with a plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the lid, stir, and place back in the microwave for 3-5 minutes.
- Option 2: Set up your basket steamer. Add an inch or two of water to the pot you’re using so that it’s just below the basket. Place the heat on high. Once boiling, add your sweet potato to the basket. Steam for 10-15 minutes.
- Option 3: Place your chopped sweet potato in a small saucepan and cover with room temperature water until about 1 inch over the sweet potato. Bring the water to a boil and maintain for 15-20 minutes.
- Flour: I used a mix of whole wheat and AP flour for this recipe since I wanted to keep the cake light and fluffy; sometimes using whole wheat alone can weigh cakes down!
Ingredient Swaps
- Chocolate Chips: I like using semisweet or dark chocolate chips for this recipe!
- Sugar: To reduce the sugar in this Sweet Potato Chia Chocolate Breakfast Cake recipe, here are a few options:
- Replace chocolate chips with cacao nibs.
- Omit brown sugar and use 1/3 cup date syrup.
- For a maple flavor, add 1/4 cup pure monk fruit maple syrup in place of brown sugar.
- Gluten Free: If you’d like to make these gluten free, feel free to use oat flour (pulsed rolled oats) in place of the whole wheat and AP flour.
- Vegan: For a vegan option, use a non-dairy milk, flax egg, organic sugar, and dairy free chips!
How to make this Low Sugar Sweet Potato Muffin Recipe
(1 + 2) Preheat oven and mix the wet ingredients together in a large bowl.
(3 + 4) Add the flours, baking agents, and salt to the wet ingredients. Whisk together.
(5 + 6) Fold in the chocolate chips and chia seeds.
(7) Fill either your 9-inch pie pan or 9 muffin liners evenly with the batter. Bake for 18-22 minutes for muffins or 28 minutes for the pie shape.
(8) Remove and let cool.
It works well with a 9-inch pie shape….and the muffins!
Recipe notes + Expert Tips
Let’s keep things simple (we need more simple right?!)
- I did NOT notice a difference when I tried making this Sweet Potato Chia Chocolate Breakfast Cake first by mixing the flours and baking agents in their own bowl, then combining into the wet ingredients (i.e., the muffin method of baking). Read- let’s save ourselves a dish and make it in one bowl!
- If desired, frost with a yogurt-powdered sugar glaze! Simply make this by whisking 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
- You’ll know the muffins or cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean!
FAQ for this Sweet Potato Breakfast Recipe
Sweet potatoes are a super nutritious food containing antioxidants (like anthocyanins), fiber, and beta-carotene (which is converted to vitamin A in the body). These set of properties come together to improve gut health, support tissues that are exposed to the environment, like skin, lungs, and intestinal lining, mediate immune response, and help with vision. Sweet potatoes are one of those “super foods” that are important to incorporate into a healthy diet as they, like many other fruits and vegetables, provide significant benefits to multiple body systems!
While chia seeds are an impressive food on their own, loaded with fiber, protein, and a slew of vitamins and minerals, it’s their omega-3 content which is especially meaningful in this recipe! Vitamin A (which, as mentioned, comes from beta-carotene) is a fat soluble vitamin so when paired with fat-containing foods, it’s absorption is optimized. These two “super foods” are quite the dynamic duo!
Ideally, a balanced meal will include a source of protein, some fat, and carbohydrates which includes fiber. A serving of this cake provides carbohydrate, fiber, and a small amount of fat, so to balance this out, we need to include some more protein and fat! I’d suggest:
– a cup of 2% Greek yogurt
– two eggs (optional: scrambled with veggies)
– a tofu scramble with veggies
– smoothie: 8 oz milk with half a scoop of protein powder or 2 Tbsp peanut butter and berries or banana
Other Sweet Potato Recipes you may enjoy
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Sweet Potato Chia Chocolate Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsps chocolate chips
- 2 tbsps chia seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Begin by mixing sweet potatoes, brown sugar, egg, oil, vanilla, and milk in a large bowl.
- Once combined, add in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Continue to mix.
- Fold in the chia seeds and chocolate chips.
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners, or spray an 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. Evenly distribute batter into muffin tins or pour directly into pan.
- Bake muffins for 22 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned and wooden toothpick when inserted comes out clean. For the pie pan shape, bake for 28 minutes.
- Let cool 5 minutes to firm up, then cut and enjoy warm! Store in an airtight container on the counter for 4 days, in the fridge for 7, or freeze for up to 3 months!
Notes
- I did NOT notice a difference when I tried making this Sweet Potato Chia Chocolate Breakfast Cake first by mixing the flours and baking agents in their own bowl, then combining into the wet ingredients (i.e., the muffin method of baking). Read- let’s save ourselves a dish and make it in one bowl!
- If desired, frost with a yogurt-powdered sugar glaze! Simply make this by whisking 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
- You’ll know the muffins or cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean!
- Sweet Potato: The easiest way to prep your sweet potato for this cake is either steaming or boiling (alternatively, you can purchase canned pureed sweet potato). Start by scrubbing the outside of your medium-sized sweet potato to remove any dirt, then peel. Next, chop into 1 inch cubes. When done, your sweet potato should yield very easily to the pressure of a fork and you can mash away!
- Option 1: Place sweet potato a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover with a plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the lid, stir, and place back in the microwave for 3-5 minutes.
- Option 2: Set up your basket steamer. Add an inch or two of water to the pot you’re using so that it’s just below the basket. Place the heat on high. Once boiling, add your sweet potato to the basket. Steam for 10-15 minutes.
- Option 3: Place your chopped sweet potato in a small saucepan and cover with room temperature water until about 1 inch over the sweet potato. Bring the water to a boil and maintain for 15-20 minutes.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Andrea @ The Baking Dietitian says
UM…okay I’m dying over this! It looks incredible! What an awesome idea. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks so much for sharing more pumpkin awesomeness for fall! 🙂
Elizabeth Shaw says
Of course- thanks for checking it out! I will have to check out some of your pumpkin awesomeness now… with Baking Dietitian as your name, I’m sure you’ve got an arsenal!
rachel @ athletic avocado says
i wish i would have seen this sooner bc i would have put this in my sweet potato breakfast round up! Pinned 🙂
Elizabeth Shaw says
Awww thanks Rachel! SP roundup- now I’m on the lookout for that!!! 🙂
Farrah says
Oh hecks yes, breakfast cakes! <3 This looks delicious! 😀 I love that you used sweet potato for it!
Elizabeth Shaw says
Thanks! I have an #obsession with #sweetpotato – but really, what’s not to love about it?!
Kalee @ The Crowded Table says
This does look pretty, I think pretty things always taste better. 🙂 And who could turn down cake for breakfast?!? Looks delicious!
Elizabeth Shaw says
Aw thanks Kalee! I agree- if the presentation is there, it’s already 100% better 🙂
Melanie says
I love cake, and cake for breakfast sounds like a perfect thing! It’s never too early to have some Christmas cheer if it means cake in the morning. 🙂
Elizabeth Shaw says
Right?! I feel the holly in the air already 🙂
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
Cake for breakfast??? YES!!!! I’m in!!! And seeing it’s so full of goodness, I can have seconds -right?
Elizabeth Shaw says
Of course- 2nds are A Okay approved!