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Sweet Potato Muffins are the perfect blend of sweet and spice, with a moist and fluffy texture inside and a brown sugar and pecan streusel topping on top. These tasty muffins are perfect for breakfast, snacks, or dessert!

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The blend of sweet potatoes and spices in this sweet potato muffin recipe gives them a unique flavor that stands out from the crowd of ordinary muffins. Similar to our banana muffins or pumpkin muffins, they have a soft, moist texture and natural sweetness that goes perfectly with the sweet crunchy streusel topping.

Why I love this recipe

The sweet potatoes and spices create a cozy, comforting flavor, making it perfect for any time of day.
The sweet potatoes gives a nice does of beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Read more about the benefits of eating sweet potatoes here.
I love how moist and tender it is, thanks to the sweet potato puree.
The streusel topping adds a crunchy contrast to the soft muffin and the crunchy pecan filling is a pleasant surprise.
Although there are a lot of ingredients, they are easy to find and you probably already have them on hand. The best part is that they are easy to make!

Ingredients

salt
eggs
canned sweet potato, mashed
flour
baking powder
sugar
dark brown sugar
milk
oil
maple extract
pecans
oats
butter
spices: ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and cinnamon

Have extra sweet potatoes? Try our sweet potato casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, or slow cooker bacon sweet potatoes.

Step by step

Preheat your oven and line a muffin pan with paper muffin liners.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger together. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, milk, oil, and maple extract together until well combined. Add in the sweet potatoes and mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until the batter is well combined.

flour, sugar and spices with whisk in white bowl

For the filling, in a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon and stir together.
For the streusel, in another small bowl, combine dark brown sugar, oats, flour, pecans, salt, and cinnamon. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Mix with your hands or a pastry cutter until the streusel is crumbly.
Using a cookie scoop, add a scoop of muffin batter to each liner, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the filling, then cover with more batter, and spread evenly.

brown sugar and chopped pecans in white bowl

cubed butter with brown sugar and pecans in bowl for streusel topping

Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the filling on top, gently press it down, then cover with another scoop of batter and spread it over the filling using the back of a spoon.
Top with a tablespoon of streusel and gently press it into the batter to keep it from falling off during baking. Repeat until all the batter is used.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

sweet potato muffins batter in muffin cups before baking

sweet potato muffins with streusel topping before baking

Tips for best results

Sweet potatoes: You can mash canned sweet potatoes with a potato masher or fork, buy canned sweet potato puree, roast and puree fresh sweet potatoes (like we do in our sweet potato pie recipe), or even use sweet potato baby food!
Maple extract: If you don’t have maple extract you can substitute vanilla extract.
Spices: You can substitute an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice for the combined cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in the batter if needed.
Don’t Overmix: Stir the batter until combined to keep the muffins tender.
Check for Doneness: Bake until a toothpick comes out clean to avoid undercooked centers.

Variations

For a sweet twist, add a handful of chocolate chips to the batter, or swap out the pecans for another kind of nut like walnuts or almonds.

You can also omit the nuts all together, leave off the streusel topping, or omit the filling if desired.

Storage

Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

These muffins freeze well also. Wrap individual muffins in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

If you try this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!