These are the BEST 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.

Are you one of the many households that serve up mashed sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving or Christmas? Then you're not alone. 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 leftover 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 absolutely loved these muffins, so much so that we ate them in pairs until they quickly disappeared. These muffins are perfectly spiced and sweetened and taste so light and airy that every bite is perfect.
Why This Recipe Works
- 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.
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🥘 Ingredients
For the muffins, you will need:
All-Purpose Flour- You will need flour for the structural base and gluten in the muffins.
Baking Powder- Use baking powder to help the muffins rise as they bake.
Salt- A natural flavor enhancer, meaning that it makes the other flavors in the recipe taste better.
Granulated Sugar- This will add sweetness and tenderness to the texture in the muffins.
Ground Cinnamon- For added warmth and spice.
Egg- Great for use as a binding agent.
Mashed Sweet Potato- Use mashed sweet potatoes or pumpkin puree for added flavor, color, and texture.
Canola Oil- You will need some canola oil or vegetable oil to give these muffins some necessary fats.
For the streusel topping, you will need:
Flour- Use flour to keep the streusel topping from dissolving as it bakes.
Cinnamon- For added warmth of spice.
Brown Sugar- Adds a sweet depth of flavor and slight crunch once baked.
Shortening- To bind the dry ingredients together, use shortening or cold butter.
For the icing, you will need:
Powdered Sugar- This will make the icing smooth and sweet.
Milk- To get the icing to the right consistency.
Cinnamon- For a little more spice.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make sweet potato muffins with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and, line a muffin tray with paper liners, set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sweet potatoes, and oil until mixed.
Whisk the sugar into the egg mixture until incorporated.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir together until just moistened. Do not overmix.
Fill your muffin cups until they are ⅔ of the way full.
Combine the streusel ingredients until they look like coarse crumbs and then sprinkle over the top of the filled muffin cups.
Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the muffins to cool on a wire rack completely.
In a small bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the muffins.
🧾 Substitutions
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.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Not everyone makes their mashed sweet potatoes the same way. Some are much wetter with butter and milk than others. When using cold leftover sweet potatoes, try to scrape off any solid fats from the top of the mashed potatoes and discard it before measuring out your potatoes.
If needed, you can add in more flour, about ¼-1/2 cup, to accommodate the moisture of your potatoes if they happen to have been really wet. If your muffins turn out really dense, it's because the moisture content was too high, so adding in more flour next time can help to prevent that from happening again.
If your muffins turn out rubbery though, that's usually a sign of overmixing, so be careful not to mix the flour too much because that activates the glutens and creates a rubbery texture. Mix until just combined.
💭 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.
More great muffin recipes to check out soon
- Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins
- Zucchini Carrot Oatmeal Muffins
- Apple Cider Donut Muffins
- Cranberry Eggnog Streusel Muffins
📖 Recipe
Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups All purpose flour ($0.16)
- 3 teaspoon Baking powder ($0.04)
- ½ teaspoon Salt ($0.05)
- 2 cups Granulated sugar ($0.44)
- 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon ($0.20)
- 1 large Egg ($0.08)
- 2 cups Cold mashed sweet potatoes ($1.00)
- 1 cup Canola oil ($0.48)
Streusel
- 6 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour ($0.03)
- 6 Tablespoons Brown Sugar ($0.13)
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon ($0.10)
- 2 Tablespoons Shortening ($0.18)
Glaze
- 1 cup Powdered sugar ($0.23)
- 2 Tablespoons Milk or water ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon ($0.05)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a muffin tray with paper liners, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sweet potatoes, and oil until mixed.
- Whisk the sugar into the egg mixture until incorporated.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir together until just moistened. Do not overmix.
- Fill your muffin cups until they are ⅔ of the way full.
- Combine the streusel ingredients until they look like coarse crumbs and then sprinkle over the top of the filled muffin cups.
- Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the muffins to cool on a wire rack completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the muffins.
Notes
Substitutions
- 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.
- Can I make sweet potato muffins with canned yams? 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.
- Flour: Up to half of the flour used in this recipe can be switched out for whole wheat flour if desired.
Recipe Tips
- Not everyone makes their mashed sweet potatoes the same way. Some are much wetter with butter and milk than others. When using cold leftover sweet potatoes, try to scrape off any solid fats from the top of the mashed potatoes and discard it before measuring out your potatoes.
- If needed you can add in more flour about ¼-1/2 cup to accommodate the moisture of your potatoes if the happened to have been really wet.
Storage
- 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.
- 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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