These Cranberry Muffins with Sweet Potato and Pecans are hearty, filling, and delicious. Best of all, they are made with No Sugar Added!
Do you make New Year's resolutions? I typically don't, but it is often a time that I focus on healthy eating. Especially after the many indulgences that come with the Holidays.
I do, however, have a couple of priorities when it comes to my family's nutrition at the moment. We've been working on both for some time now.
- Cut down on added sugar.
- Eat less meat, especially red and processed meats.
I'm not a huge stickler on either of these things. I still let my kids eat the occasional treat, and include meat at some of our meals.
But I believe that cutting down on these two things will offer my family the most benefits in terms of improved health.
So for you, my dear readers, this means that you will see some lower sugar and plant-based meals coming up in the near future.
Like these Cranberry Muffins with Sweet Potato and Pecans. Can you believe that the recipe for these muffins does not include sugar or any other type of sweetener?
The sweetness only comes from the dried cranberries (which on their own, most likely DO contain added sugar) and sweet potatoes.
Now, I have made no-sugar-added muffins before, but that was because I actually just forgot to put the sugar in. And they didn't taste nearly as good as these ones.
Mr. Dreamboat almost never eats things like muffins, but when I offered him one of these freshly baked beauties, he said "these are blog-worthy", which he only says about things that he really likes.
How to make Cranberry Muffins with Sweet Potato and Pecans:
Making these muffins starts with browning the butter in them. This adds nutty flavor, which is helpful since these muffins don't have any extra sugar in them. Browning butter is best accomplished in a stainless steel skillet, as it's easier to see when it's ready than if you were doing it in a dark-colored skillet.
After the butter is browned, making these muffins is similar to making most muffins. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl or large measuring cup. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate large bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold in the "chunky" ingredients like the cranberries, pecans, and shredded sweet potato.
Divide the batter into 12 greased or lined muffin cups, topping each with a little reserved cranberries and pecans. Bake, and soon you'll be eating these healthier, but still delicious muffins.
Cranberry Muffins with Sweet Potato and Pecans Ingredients:
- Pecans
- Unsalted butter
- Dried cranberries
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Buttermilk or plain kefir: see below for more substitution ideas
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground allspice
- Salt
- Small sweet potato
Cranberry Muffins with Sweet Potato and Pecans Substitutions:
Buttermilk or Kefir
- You could try plain or vanilla yogurt (though keep in mind that vanilla yogurt will add extra sugar
- A mixture of Greek yogurt and milk or water. In this case I would probably use a mixture of ⅓ cup Greek yogurt and ⅓ cup milk/water
- Soured milk: pour 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar into a measuring cup. Fill up to the ⅔ line with milk (any fat percentage will work). Let it sit for 5 minutes, then add it to the recipe.
- Dried buttermilk powder: follow the instructions on the package to use. Usually you add the powder to the dry ingredients, then add an equal amount of water to the buttermilk from the recipe to the wet ingredients.
Dried Cranberries:
You could replace them with your favorite dried fruit. I think cherries, blueberries, or chopped dried apricots would be great here.
Want more Muffin Recipes?
Cranberry Muffins with Sweet Potato and Pecans Nutrition Notes
These muffins are made in a healthier manner, with no added sugar. But the dried cranberries still provide sugar (and sweetness) as they are typically sweetened.
The calories in these muffins are still on the high side to be considered a healthy snack. However, they are perfect as a light breakfast, especially when paired with fresh fruit or Greek yogurt.
Cranberry Muffins with Sweet Potato and Pecans
Equipment
- 1 Small stainless steel skillet
- 12 Muffin Pan Liners optional
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pecans
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅔ cup buttermilk or plain kefir
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 small sweet potato peeled and shredded (about 1 ¼ cups)
Instructions
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Toast ¾ cup pecans until they become fragrant, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to cutting board to cool.
- Return skillet to medium heat, and cook 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, stirring often until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a medium heat-proof bowl to cool.
- Coarsely chop ¼ cup of the dried cranberries and transfer to a small bowl. Coarsely chop the toasted pecans and mix ¼ cup of them with the chopped cranberries.
- Move an oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 375°F. Grease the cups of a 12 cup muffin pan with any remaining browned butter from the skillet, or with canola oil, or line them with muffin pan liners.
- Whisk ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce, ⅔ cup buttermilk or plain kefir, 2 large eggs, and 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract into the browned butter. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground allspice, and ½ teaspoon salt. Gently stir in butter mixture with a large silicone spoon or spatula. Fold in the shredded sweet potato, remaining 1 cup of dried cranberries and remaining ½ cup of the toasted pecans until incorporated.
- Divide batter equally among 12 muffin cups. Top each muffin with a portion of the chopped cranberries and pecans. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 18-20 minutes.
Nutrition
Christine says
This recipe is everything I love about muffins: low sugar, lots of fruits and nuts (and veggies in this case). Thank you for the inspiration! I sprinkled sugar on the top with the cranberries and pecans for a more enticing first bite. The taste was good, but the consistency came out a bit gluey. I will try it again and play around with the technique (maybe stir less?) and proportions (a little less flour?) to see if I can get it right.