spiced sweet potato zucchini muffins

Must make muffin —2 vegetables, no added oil, & anti-inflammatory spices. How-to video included!

I’m always dreaming up a new muffin. I just think the muffin is brilliant — versatile, satisfying and can serve as snack, breakfast, or treat.

And when I create a new flavor or whole food combo, like this sweet potato and zucchini muffin, that not only works but is delicious, I burst into childlike glee. I clap and dance and nod to myself as I keep nibbling and tasting. Then I feed the muffin to anyone who is willing to try it. When they like it too, I can’t hold back! I rant about how it’s oil free and egg free and made without processed flours. Most people are impressed by this.

I know I still am.

I made these sweet potato muffins for the first time about a year ago and they’re now in my monthly rotation (which also currently includes the much loved Blueberry Banana Chia Muffin from The Plant-Based Cookbook and The Good Morning Muffin from Plant-Based Delicious). I was hanging onto this particular recipe for my next cookbook, but I’ve decided that this Substack subscription right here is my next cookbook! If you’re wondering why I came to Substack, you might be interested in this post.

I’m givin’ it my all, and I couldn’t be happier about it!

When I started creating plant-based recipes, baked goods were my biggest challenge. Back then you couldn’t really google “vegan and gluten-free muffin”. I mean of course you could, but the results were unappealing or intimidating. Most recipes involved 5 or more flours or starches which I had to go to the ends of the earth to find — sorghum flour, potato starch, xanthum gums. Have you had this experience?

These gluten-free products achieve outstanding crumb and texture when combined in just the right ratio, but I was a little too….lazy? Yup, lazy. I’m not an expert in gluten-free baking, and I know it’s improved by leaps and bounds but I yearned for a simpler approach.

I wanted an easier, healthier, whole food muffin solution. I trialed and errored a lot until I realized all I needed was oats and almond flour.

Even though I’m generally not the kind of chef/cook/baker who is willing to sacrifice quality for time-saving hacks, these 2 ingredients remain the crux of my baking style.*

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How-To Video

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I tell you where this muffin idea came from, I needed a break from the banana.

I love adding mashed or blended banana to muffins — it solves so many oil-free baking problems. It helps with texture and moisture and sweetness and flavor. But cue banana boredom or just my own incessant curiosity, and I moved onto the sweet potato which has a litany of nutritional benefits (scroll to Nutritional Highlights below for more on that).