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Muffins for babies and toddlers should be packed with healthy ingredients, contain no added sugar, be small in size and be easy to store and transport. These Sweet Potato Muffins tick all the boxes. Although perfect for babies, they are great for kids of all ages and make a great after-school snack or lunchbox filler.
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Reasons to Love these Muffins
- They are mini in size (perfect for little hands and little appetites or if you are looking for healthy lunchbox ideas)
- Packed with healthy ingredients (sweet potato, banana, oats...)
- Sweetened only with fruit
- Freeze well, meaning you can always have a freezer stash to hand.
- Transport well, perfect for taking out and about.
Adapting the Muffins for Different Ages and Stages
- Babies - If making for babies you may wish to skip the sultanas, they are included for sweetness only.
- Big Kids - Both my boys (age 8 & 4) are happy to eat these muffins as per the recipe. However, they don't eat a huge amount of sweet treats and so find the sultanas provide enough sweetness. If your kids are used to sweeter foods then these muffins may have to be adapted slightly to appeal to their taste buds. Add a little extra sweetness (e.g a little sugar, maple syrup, honey, choc chips, extra sultanas etc) to taste.
How to Make Sweet Potato Muffins
Ingredients, Alternatives and Cooking Tips
- Sweet Potato Puree - You can use your preferred method of making sweet potato puree or you can use well mashed sweet potato. I prefer to roast my potato before pureeing but you could steam / microwave. Learn more about making and storing sweet potato puree here.
- Banana - The banana provides sweetness and I don't get a strong taste of banana from the muffin. If you would prefer not to use banana then you could replace it with extra sweet potato puree. The muffin will not be as sweet and you may wish to add a little sweetener to compensate.
- Egg - If your child has an egg allergy then you can replace with a flax egg. I have tested the recipe with a flax egg and it produced good results. You can find other egg substitutions here but I have not tested any others in this recipe.
- Milk - To make the recipe dairy-free you can replace with plant-based milk. I tested the recipe with almond milk and it worked well.
- Whole Wheat Flour - I used plain wholemeal flour, I am currently living in Australia and find their wholemeal flour whiter in colour and it appears more processed than the wholemeal flour I was used to in the UK. I can not guarantee what the results will be like with less processed wholemeal flour as I haven't tested. The recipe will also work well with plain/all-purpose flour or a mix of both if you prefer.
- Oat Flour - Can easily be made by blending rolled oats in a food processor/blender until they are a flour consistency. I usually make a large batch to store and use as needed.
- Spices - Spices are for flavour and can be adjusted to taste. Don't be scared to add spices to the food you serve your baby. It is good to introduce a range of flavours from an early age.
- Baking Powder - Make sure you are organised (have baking tray prepared and ready & sultanas drained) before you add the dry ingredients to the wet. Once the baking powder in the batter is activated, you need to capitalise on this chemical reaction quickly so that the heat of the oven can set the air bubbles in place.
- Sultanas - The sultanas are the main source of sweetness so if you would prefer not to add them then you would need to replace them with something sweet, a different dried fruit, choc chips, a little sugar or maple syrup/honey etc. Soaking is importing to rehydrate the sultanas. Skipping this step will result in the sultanas on top to burn and give a bitter taste to your muffins.
Cooking Equipment
This recipe uses a 24 mini muffin tray and the cooking times reflect this. If you do not have a mini muffin tray you can use a standard tray but will have to cook the muffins for longer (Bake for 20-22 minutes (or more depending on oven) until golden brown and a toothpick in the centre comes out clean.)
Storage Instructions
Before you store your muffins you need to make sure they are completely cooled down. If you pack them away when they are even a tiny bit warm, it will result in condensation and soggy muffins.
- Cool on a wire rack. Transfer your muffins to a wire rack as soon as you can.
- Storing at room temperature - Store in an airtight container for 1-2 days.
- Refrigerating - Personally, I do not recommend refrigerating these muffins as I find that it alters the texture.
- Freezing - If properly frozen, in an airtight container, then the sweet potato muffins will be good for 2-3 months. To reheat - just pop them out of the freezer and place them back in the muffin tin. Cover with foil and reheat at 170c /350f until heated through. Alternatively, reheat them in the microwave.
Is your child muffin daft? Then they may like some of my other muffin recipes
- Zucchini Muffins
- Savoury Vegetable Muffins
- Carrot and Apple Muffins
- Mini Blender Muffins
- Baby Blueberry Muffins
Full Recipe
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Sweet Potato Muffins
Mini sweet potato muffins that are naturally sweetened with fruit and delicately spiced with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Serves:23 mini muffins
Hover over "serves" value to reveal recipe scaler
Equipment
- Mini Muffin Tray
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Small Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 85g (½ cup) Sultanas / Raisins *SEE NOTE 1
- 125g (½ cup) Sweet Potato Puree *SEE NOTE 2
- 65g (¼ cup) Ripe Banana, mashed
- 1 Egg *SEE NOTE 3 (for tested egg alternative)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
- 185ml (¾ cup) Milk *SEE NOTE 4 (for tested dairy-free alternative)
- 125g (1 cup) Whole Wheat Flour
- 50g (½ cup) Oat Flour *SEE NOTE 5
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190C / 375F and grease a 24 cup mini muffin tray with cooking spray or butter.
- Place sultanas in a bowl and soak in boiling water.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sweet potato puree, mashed banana, coconut oil, , eggs and vanilla extract. Mix them with a whisk/fork until they are combined. Add the milk and mix again until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl add the flour, oat flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg baking powder. Gently stir to mix through
- Drain the sultanas.
- Add the dry flour mix to the wet ingredients and fold in gently until just combined. Then add the sultanas giving it one more gentle stir.
- Divide the batter evenly between 23 muffin cups. Bake muffins for 12-15 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
Recipe Notes
- Soaking is importing to rehydrate the SULTANAS. Skipping this step will result in the sultanas on top to burn and give a bitter taste to your muffins.
- I always roast my sweet potato when making puree, if you prefer you can steam / microwave. How to Make SWEET POTATO PUREE
- To make this EGG FREE you can replace with a flax egg (this has been tested and produced good results)
- To make this DAIRY FREE you can replace with almond milk (this has been tested and produced good results)
- OAT FLOUR can easily be made by blending rolled oats in a food process until they are a flour consistency. I usually make a large batch to store and use as needed.
- STIRRING - Don't be tempted to over stir the mixture. The mixture should be lumpy, thick and look very messy.
- BAKING - Every oven is different, so while you should still follow the bake time in this recipe, use a skewer to test your muffins after 10 mins. Your skewer will come out clean if they are ready.
- Babies - If making for babies you may wish to skip the sultanas, they are included for sweetness only.
- Big Kids - Both my boys (age 8 & 4) are happy to eat these muffins as per the recipe. However, they don't eat a huge amount of sweet treats and so find the sultanas provide enough sweetness. If your kids are used to sweeter foods then these muffins may have to be adapted slightly to appeal to their taste buds. Add a little extra sweetness (e.g a little sugar, maple syrup, honey, choc chips, extra sultanas etc) to taste.
Nutritional facts
Calories: 65kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1068IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg
Paula Fanning
to make it gluten free, I used 1/2 oat flour, 1/2 almond flour and 1/2 cup brown rice flour, and used almond milk. They were delicious. I needed to add a couple extra minutes in baking.
Amy
Great to know, thanks Paula 🙂
Lucy
Kids have stuffed these down so quickly! Love that they’re sugar free with fruit & veg.
Amy
Fantastic! Thanks Lucy 🙂
AK
Having made these once with just baking powder, they turned out very dense.
Decided to try again today and modified it to 1tsp baking powder + 1/4 TSP baking soda and they turned out perfectly fluffy. Also added 1 date blended with the puree and it was a bit sweeter
Amy
Thanks for the feedback AK 🙂
Claire
A very delicious muffin recipe. Loved the balance of cinnamon with the sultanas. I sifted the flour and the muffins were very light in texture. Substituted coconut oil for vegetable oil. My 14 mth old and I enjoyed them for morning tea today, warm with some butter ☺️
Amy
So glad you both enjoyed them 🙂
Courtney Squires
I've made this recipe a few times now and really like it, however my issue and I see a few similar comments, is that they end up a bit dense...I'm wondering if there is supposed to be baking soda in the recipe, as right now there is only baking powder? My other muffin recipes have baking soda as well which seems to help with the rise and texture. Thanks!