These are the BEST leftover mashed sweet potato muffins! Made with sweet potatoes, spices, a streusel topping, and a spiced glaze on top making them perfect treats to enjoy all Autumn long.

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Got leftover mashed sweet potatoes from holiday dinners? Turn them into delicious mashed sweet potato muffins! These treats are moist, fluffy, and simple to make.
Sweet potatoes are a southern favorite but can be found on the table in many homes, especially during the holidays, in recipes like Candied Sweet Potatoes. But what do you do with the leftovers?
Introducing these easy mashed sweet potato muffins, made with yesterday's mashed sweet potatoes and turned into today's tasty snack. These muffins are easy to make and turn out super moist and fluffy.
We love Reusing Leftover Food any day of the year, from leftover spaghetti to Southern Baked Spaghetti or turning leftover turkey into Thanksgiving Tamales and Creamy Turkey Dumpling Soup. But sweet potato muffins are on another level of awesome.
We devoured these muffins in pairs until they vanished. Perfectly spiced and sweetened, they're light and airy with every bite.
Jump to:
💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's great for leftovers! If you find yourself with leftover mashed sweet potatoes from your holiday feasts, turn them into something tasty- like muffins.
- They're flavorful. From the sweet potato to the warm spices, these muffins are delicious. Perfect for breakfast or a snack.
- You can use pumpkin instead. If you don't have mashed sweet potatoes handy, a little canned pumpkin puree can be used in its place. The results are still pretty fantastic. This is perfect for when you have leftover puree after making Pumpkin Banana Bread or Pumpkin Hand Pies.
🛒 Ingredients
Mashed Sweet Potato- Use mashed sweet potatoes or pumpkin puree for added flavor, color, and texture.
Streusel topping- Make a crispy topping out of flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and shortening. This is the same as the streusel topping used in my Cinnamon Streusel Dessert Pizza.
Icing- Make a simple icing out of powdered sugar, milk and cinnamon.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
Sweet potatoes: If you do not have leftover mashed sweet potatoes on hand then you can replace them with canned mashed sweet potatoes or even pumpkin puree instead.
Flour: Up to half of the flour used in this recipe can be switched out for whole wheat flour if desired.
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Use Leftovers: Cold mashed sweet potatoes from dinner work great and prevent waste.
Store Brands: Flour, sugar, oil, and spices are usually cheaper when bought store-brand.
Skip the Glaze: Leave off the glaze or make a smaller batch to save on ingredients.
🥄 Instructions for Leftover Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and, line a muffin tray with paper liners, set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
Step 3: In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sweet potatoes, and oil until mixed.
Step 4: Whisk the sugar into the egg mixture until incorporated.
Step 5: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir together until just moistened. Do not overmix.
Step 6: Fill your muffin cups until they are ⅔ of the way full.

Step 7: Combine the streusel ingredients until they look like coarse crumbs and then sprinkle over the top of the filled muffin cups.

Step 8: Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
Step 9: Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the muffins to cool on a wire rack completely.
Step 10: In a small bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the muffins.

👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Don't Overmix: Stir just until combined; overmixing leads to dense muffins.
- Adjust For Moisture: If the potatoes are very wet, add ¼-½ cup extra flour.
- Test With a Toothpick: Start checking at 15 minutes; ovens vary.
- Glaze Cool: Let muffins cool completely before glazing so it doesn't melt off.
❄️ Storage, Reheating & Make Ahead
Storage: Room temp in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Reheating: Microwave 20-30 seconds to refresh texture.
Make Ahead: Freeze muffins (unglazed) up to 3 months. Thaw, warm briefly, then glaze before serving.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
Serve with scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, fruit, yogurt, or a warm cup of coffee for a cozy breakfast or brunch.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can freeze these muffins after they've cooled and before they've been glazed in an airtight container. Freeze for up to three months and thaw on the counter or place them one at a time, into a microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Then, add the glaze and enjoy.
Yes, these muffins can be made with canned yams instead of sweet potatoes, just make sure to drain out as much of the excess syrup in the can because we don't want the added moisture in our muffins.
These muffins can be left in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and still taste amazing.

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🐝 If you tried these Leftover Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Leftover Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour - ($0.26)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon - ($0.16)
- 3 teaspoon baking powder - ($0.15)
- ½ teaspoon salt - ($0.01)
- 1 large egg - ($0.15)
- 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes, cold - ($1.00)
- 1 cup vegetable oil - ($0.70)
- 2 cups granulated sugar - ($0.72)
Streusel
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour - ($0.05)
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar - ($0.17)
- 2 tablespoons shortening - ($0.24)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - ($0.08)
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar - ($0.36)
- 2 tablespoons milk or water - ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon - ($0.04)
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed sweet potatoes, and vegetable oil until smooth. Whisk in the granulated sugar until fully incorporated.
- Combine batter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Do not overmix.
- Fill pan. Divide the batter evenly between muffin cups, filling each about ⅔ full.
- Make streusel. In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over the muffin batter.
- Bake. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and glaze. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth and drizzle over cooled muffins.
Notes
- Sweet potatoes. If using cold leftovers, scrape off any solid fat before measuring.
- Moist batter. If the batter seems overly wet, add ¼ to ½ cup additional flour.
- Storage. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezing. Freeze fully cooled, unglazed muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw, warm briefly, then glaze before serving.
Nutritional Information
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