If there’s an unhealthy food, you can definitely make a healthy version — and make it taste delicious.
That’s what healthy eating is about these days — finding or making a healthy substitute to your once beloved cake, muffin, chocolate, chips [insert whatever else that you craved for here].
Discovering a better, healthier and delicious substitute can make or break your health in the long term. It can help you change your palate (as you get attuned to the taste of real food) so that you no longer enjoy the unhealthy version that you once so dearly craved for. And besides good health, you’ll have a waistline that will love you as much as you love it .
These sweet potato and blueberry muffins wear the label ‘healthy substitute’ remarkably well. They’re moist, dense and delicious. And there’s not one ingredient in them that’s bad for you. Nada. Nil. Zip.
In fact, they’re so good for you that you can have them at any time of day — for a snack or as part of a wholesome breakfast with a green smoothie.
But don’t be fooled by their petite size — they’re full of good energy and protein, with almond meal, eggs and sweet potato. What I’m trying to say is that one muffin will be more than enough to gently curb your hunger.
Oh, and you’ll be happy to know that these muffins are sugar-free. They’re naturally a little sweet because of the sweet potato and juicy blueberries. Yum!
Recipe
These muffins are gluten-free.
Note: texture may vary depending on water content of your sweet potato. I have made these muffins 4 times now and they turn out a little different each time, but they are still very delicious.
Makes 10, 1/3-cup capacity muffins
Total cooking time: 60 minutes (effort time is only 15 minutes)
- 1 1/4 cup sweet potato mash*
- 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
- 1/4 cup (60 ml / 2 oz) melted coconut oil or macadamia nut oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (172 g / 0.38 lbs) almond meal
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp coconut flour (or 2 tbsp brown rice flour)
- 1 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 heaped cup blueberries, frozen or fresh
- desiccated coconut to sprinkle on top (optional)
*to make enough sweet potato mash, peel and dice 400 g (0.9 lbs) sweet potato into 2 cm (0.8 inch) pieces. Lightly coat with some coconut oil and bake for 20 minutes at 180C/355F (160C/320F fan-forced), or until soft enough to mash. Cool and process in a food processor or mash with a potato masher. You can leave it a little chunky if you like. This step can be done up to a couple of days ahead. Just keep your mash in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 180C/355F (160C/320F fan-forced)
Make your sweet potato mash if you haven’t already (see instructions above)
Line a 1/3-cup capacity, 12-hole muffin tray — you will need only 10 holes
In a bowl or food processor, mix together the sweet potato mash, yoghurt, oil and eggs.
In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon, baking powder, chia seeds, flour and almond meal
Combine the wet with the dry mix
Fold in the blueberries
Spoon mixture into lined holes
Sprinkle with desiccated coconut (optional)
Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake skewer comes out clean.
Cool in tray for 5 minutes then turn out muffins onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before devouring.
Store any left overs in an airtight container in the fridge.
Substitutions
- Paleo-friendly and dairy free: replace the natural yoghurt with coconut yoghurt or thick nut milk.
- Sweetener: these muffins are slightly sweet. For more sweetness add a couple of drops of stevia or process 4 pitted medjol dates with the sweet potato (this won’t be sugar-free, though).
- Instead of sweet potato: you could try mashed pumpkin — butternut may work well. Your muffin may have a different texture.
Lesh Karan 
Hi Lesh, could you please let me know if these are ok to freeze ? also what is cashew cream ?
Hi Fiona, yep, these are fine to freeze. Use this recipe for cashew cream, but don’t add the lemon. You can blend a tablespoon of honey to make a sweet cashew cream.
Such a fantastic combination of healthy ingredients here. Based on that I am sure they tasted pretty damn good.
These muffins are super delicious!! They are so moist and perfectly balanced in flavour, I’m going to be making these on a regular basis, they keep so well and don’t dry out! Thanks for the recipe!!
Pleasure Sally! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for coming by and sharing your experience. I am touched x
Hi, I made these today and they are delicious, but VERY moist (almost mushy). I have made 15 and have ended up cooking them higher and for double the time?…
Hi Louise,
First, thank you so much for making the muffins — I am touched that you made and enjoyed them!
Now, as for the mushiness — can I ask whether you steamed/boiled or baked the sweet potato? I ask because I have made these muffins a few times to test the recipe to make sure it works. I found that by baking the sweet potato I didn’t have the mushy problem that I had when I tested the recipe with steamed s.potato. Also, make sure you use 1 1/4 cup mashed s.potato — as depending on the sweet potato, you may get more that 1 1/4 cups. I hope that makes sense.
If you get the mixture right, it should not make more than 10-11, 1/3 cup capacity muffins.
Good luck, and I hope you try the recipe again.
Lesh x
Hi Lesh, thanks for the recipe. Might you have any suggestions to make these nut free? (Ie. a substitute for the almond meal?) Then I can send them in school lunch boxes!
With thanks, Emma
Em! Hey lovey, baking already? I’m going to try it with coconut flour to see how it works. Otherwise you can grind up some sunflower seeds and use sunflower meal instead of almond meal. I have tried buckwheat flour, and didn’t like the texture too much.
Hope you and the bub are well xx
Would you have any ideas for someone who wanted to make this, but needed it to be egg and dairy free?
Hiya Nan, you can skip the yoghurt altogether. But I’m sorry the eggs are needed in this recipe since the muffins won’t hold together. You could try a chia seed gel {grind 2 tsp of chia seeds and mix with 90 ml water and allow it to form into a gel ~ will take about 2 minutes} to replace the eggs ~ but I can’t guarantee if they muffins will hold and what the texture will be like. If you try it, please report back. Would love to hear how you go. Good luck!
Hi, I’ve never been much of a cook but have recently shifted to a more healthy diet. I make these missions for my works Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser. (I don’t normally cook for others). Snyway, they tuned out lovely, very tasty AND I won a prize based on co-workers voting for the ‘healthiest category’ 🙂 thanks for these great recipes.