These soft and moist sweet potato muffins are packed with nutrition from wholesome ingredients like whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed, pureed sweet potatoes, applesauce, and Greek yogurt. The muffin batter is also made without butter or oil, and features shredded coconut and sweet-tart dried cranberries for tons of flavor! Ready in 35 minutes, this easy recipe yields 12 muffins.
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Coconut Sweet Potato Muffins
As a registered dietitian, I am all for baked goods – I just like to make mine more nutrient-dense (but still packed with flavor). That way, they’ll keep you satiated and energized for hours, instead of leaving you hungry again an hour later.
I’ve always been a big fan of homemade muffins (as you can tell by the sheer number of delicious muffin recipes on my blog!).
Muffins are so easy to make, they’re great as a breakfast or snack, and they’re super portable. They’re also really versatile – you can put just about anything in them (even vegetables!).
This whole wheat sweet potato muffin recipe is simple, tasty, and nutritious. It’s made with healthier ingredients, and it’s plenty moist without the need for any butter or oil. (The trick is to make your muffins with applesauce and Greek yogurt instead!).
Did I mention these muffins are really simple to make? You basically just mix together the ingredients, pour into a muffin tin, and bake.
They even have some pumpkin pie spice in them, so they’re especially perfect for fall (but can definitely be made year-round). Be sure to try my healthier pumpkin muffins, too!
Looking for even more wholesome muffins with Greek yogurt to try? You’ll love these whole wheat pear ginger muffins and these healthy banana spelt muffins!
What You’ll Need
To make these healthy sweet potato muffins, you’ll need:
- whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose flour also works if needed)
- brown sugar (I love brown sugar here, as it adds a deeper, molasses-like flavor and extra moisture. But you can use white sugar if preferred.)
- ground flax
- pumpkin pie spice (or, you can make your own with ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves)
- baking soda
- pureed sweet potato (or raw sweet potato – see later in this post for cooking instructions)
- dried cranberries (these are optional – can be swapped for another dried fruit or nuts)
- Greek yogurt (I prefer using plain Greek yogurt here, because flavored yogurts tend to have a lot of added sugars)
- milk
- applesauce (unsweetened)
- shredded coconut (unsweetened)
- eggs
Feel free to get creative with the mix-ins here! If you aren’t a fan of dried cranberries, swap them out for a different dried fruit, crunchy chopped nuts, or even chocolate chips. You do you!
Have extra sweet potatoes leftover? Here are even more sweet potato breakfast ideas! You might also love this spiced sweet potato smoothie.
How to Make Sweet Potato Muffins
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Then combine, adding the wet ingredients into the dry and stirring gently until the mixture is mostly uniform. Gently fold in the dried cranberries and shredded coconut.
Spoon the mixture into a cooking-sprayed or nonstick muffin tin. (Or, use muffin cups to save yourself some cleanup). Sprinkle some extra unsweetened coconut on top of the muffins for texture. (Plus, it makes them look even prettier!). 🙂
Pop them in the oven for about 25 minutes. Check them with a toothpick near the end. If the toothpick comes out mostly dry, they’re done. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then enjoy!
Can I use a raw sweet potato instead of canned sweet potato?
Yes! If you don’t have any canned sweet potato on hand, you can cook and puree a raw sweet potato yourself. I promise it’s easier than it sounds!
To save time, start by microwaving your sweet potato until it’s very soft (here’s how to cook a sweet potato in the microwave).
Then, puree the cooked sweet potato in a food processor, and you’re good to go! Just be sure to let it cool to room temperature before adding it to your muffin batter.
Why use whole wheat pastry flour?
I highly recommend making these muffins with whole wheat pastry flour. It’s finer than regular whole wheat flour, ensuring a softer texture when making baked goods like these muffins!
You can also use regular all-purpose flour if preferred, but the muffins won’t be quite as nutrient-dense.
You’ll find the full sweet potato muffin recipe is at the bottom of this post. I hope you love them!
Looking for more muffin & bread recipe inspiration? I’ve got you covered:
- Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins
- Pear Ginger Honey Muffins
- Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Peanut Butter
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins (or Bread)
- Healthy Rhubarb Strawberry Bread
- Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins
- Dairy & Gluten-free Peach Muffins
- Zesty Lemon Zucchini Muffins
Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Muffins with Greek Yogurt
These whole wheat muffins with sweet potato are not only soft and delicious, but healthy! There's no butter or oil, and they're packed with nutrients from the whole wheat pastry flour, flax, Greek yogurt, and more wholesome ingredients.
Ingredients:
Dry:
- 1.5 C whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 1/4 C finely ground flax
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Wet:
- 1 C canned pureed sweet potato
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 C plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 C milk
- 1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 C unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 C dried cranberries
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (whole wheat pastry flour, brown sugar, flax, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda).
- In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients (pureed sweet potato, eggs, milk, Greek yogurt, and applesauce). Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stirring gently until mostly uniform. Fold in dried cranberries and shredded coconut.
- Spoon or scoop equal amounts of mixture into a cooking-sprayed or nonstick muffin tin. Sprinkle some extra unsweetened coconut on top of the muffins, if desired.
- Pop them in the oven for about 25 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean) and voila! Let cool and enjoy.