Vegan Sweet Potato Muffins for a Wholesome Breakfast

These vegan sweet potato muffins are made with spelt flour and applesauce. So much goodness in one little muffin! If you’re looking for a wholesome muffin to add to your morning routine, these might be it.

Love the ease of breakfast muffins but prefer something savory? Try these vegan muffins with kale and chives. 

Originally published January 2018; this post has been updated.

Sweet potato puree, with its creamy sweetness, lends itself well to flavorful baked goods. But if you didn’t happen to bake sweet potatoes the day before, or don’t have the 45 minutes it takes to bake sweet potatoes until tender, shredding raw sweet potatoes accomplishes much the same thing in less time.

The shredded bits of sweet potato will cook quickly, imparting their sweet flavor in these spiced muffins in just the time it takes the muffins to bake. Sweet potato muffins in less time? Perfect!

If you’ve got sourdough starter on hand, you might always want to try these Sourdough Banana Nut Muffins!

Ready to DIY your pantry with more wholesome ingredients? Check out my new book from National Geographic! Attainable Sustainable Pantry is filled with delicious recipes for some of your favorite condiments, snacks, and toppings, along with an entire section on home food preservation. It’s the guide you need to start skipping packaged products and embrace homemade.

Sweet Potato Muffins

Sweet potatoes from the cellar and applesauce canned in the fall give these breakfast muffins a light sweetness. Whole grain spelt flour, an heirloom wheat variety, gives them a lovely nutty undertone reminiscent of a bran muffin.

Ingredients

Spelt flour — While it is a wheat flour that contains gluten, this is an ancient grain variety that is often easier for people to digest, even if they have minor issues with modern wheat.

Cane sugar — Use your favorite brand of granulated cane sugar. I prefer organic.

Applesauce — Unsweetened applesauce is so sweet on its own, and it also adds some great moisture to these vegan sweet potato muffins.

Sweet potato — My trick is grating it raw. No need to cook and mash first – think of it as similar to carrot muffins!

Coconut milk — This dairy-free milk helps us with vegan baking to get all the liquid we need. It also eliminates the need to use oil.

How to Make Sweet Potato Muffins

Preheat the oven and grease a 12 cup muffin tin. I like ones similar to this with a nonstick ceramic surface. 

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk well until combined.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add remaining ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients together first before incorporating the dry. Don’t over mix!

Either grease the muffin tin or line with cupcake liners. (I use the If You Care baking cups; they’re compostable.) Fill the tin and bake for about 20 minutes.

I use a vintage ice cream scoop (1/4 cup capacity) to easily fill the muffin tin with batter. 

Allow these sweet potato muffins to cool in pan for five minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

FAQs

Can I make these muffins a different size?

I stick with regular sized muffins but you can also use a mini-muffin tin for fun-sized muffins! Keep in mind those will take less time to bake so keep watch. Whatever size you make, the batter should fill the muffin cups about 2/3 of the way. More than that and these vegan muffins will overflow as they bake.

What can I use instead of applesauce?

You can also try a super ripe mashed banana or even pumpkin to really add in the fall flavors. It needs to be semi-liquidy in order to give the muffins the correct texture.

How do I store vegan sweet potato muffins?

Let them cool completely on a rack before popping into a bag or container in the freezer. They thaw quickly so you can either take them out to pack for lunch, or let them rest on the counter while you go for a walk. Breakfast is served!

★ Did you make these sweet potato muffins? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! ★

Vegan sweet potato muffins

Made with spelt flour and applesauce, these wholesome muffins are great for breakfast or an easy-to-grab snack.

4.74 from 15 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Author: Shannon Stonger

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole grain spelt flour
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ cup granulated organic cane sugar
• ¾ cup applesauce
• 1 ½ cups shredded sweet potato raw
• ¾ cup coconut milk

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
• Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger in a large mixing bowl.
  2 cups whole grain spelt flour, 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• Whisk well until all dry ingredients are well combined.
• Make a well in the dry ingredients and into the well add in the sugar, applesauce, shredded sweet potato, and coconut milk. Stir the wet ingredients together in the well and then begin mixing the dry ingredients into the wet. Stir just until all ingredients are combined.
  1/2 cup granulated organic cane sugar, 3/4 cup applesauce, 1 1/2 cups shredded sweet potato, 3/4 cup coconut milk
• Divide the muffin batter between the 12 cups and place pan in preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Allow these sweet potato muffins to cool in pan for five minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Notes

• Need a gluten free muffin recipe? I've had luck replacing the spelt flour with one cup of brown rice flour and one cup sorghum flour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 285mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2364IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 3mg

Did you make this recipe?Mention @attainablesustainable or tag #attainablesustainable!

Originally contributed by Shannon Stonger in January 2018; this post has been completely edited and updated.

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