Purple Sweet Potato Muffins with a touch of rosemary are a warming and delicious treat. The combination of creamy melting cheese, subtly sweet, sweet potato and fresh herbs, is out of this world! 
Food Science
Well here's something they didn't teach me in culinary school -- baking soda makes purple potatoes turn green!
Seriously folks, I opened the oven door and my jaw dropped. I was expecting to see beautiful, bright purple sweet potato muffins, and instead I saw these not unattractive, but not expected, interesting green creations.
Yep, turns out purple sweet potatoes worked as a natural green food coloring! Bizarre, right!?
Why does purple turn green when mixed with baking soda?
The anthocyanin that provides the purple color reacts with baking soda -- or anything alkaline -- and turns the resulting mixture green, or blue-green.
As you know, I'm a chef, not a scientist, so here's a bit more on that. 😉
Here's the deal, it doesn't matter what color they are because they're so delicious! They have a light, soft texture with a creamy potato vibe.
What's in this recipe?
- purple sweet potatoes
- buttermilk
- eggs
- olive oil
- sugar, salt
- all-purpose flour, baking soda
- fresh rosemary
- butter
- Gruyère cheese
Can you just imagine the soft muffins with the melting Gruyère, which has a wonderful nutty taste, and the lovely earthy, pine-like flavor of rosemary? Delicious!
They're amazing served warm, with or without butter. And they're divine alongside cozy brisket stew.
For this recipe I used the gorgeous Stokes Purple Sweet Potatoes from Frieda's. Here are a couple more of my favorite recipes in which they are the star -- and purple!
Another Purple Potato Recipe I Love
Chile-Lemon Roasted Purple Sweet Potato Fries
Okay, so getting back to the green. . . . think of the possibilities for Saint Patrick's Day!
Whatever their color, I hope you love these Purple Sweet Potato Muffins with Rosemary!
Purple Sweet Potato Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked, mashed purple sweet potato (from about 1 small-medium sized potato -- see notes)
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup Gruyère cheese, divided
- 1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and adjust a rack to the center. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cups. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed sweet potato (see notes on how to mash the potato), buttermilk, eggs, oil, sugar and salt. Mix until smooth -- you can use an electric mixer if that's easier.
- Add the flour and baking soda and mix only until it's incorporated.
- Fold in ⅔ cup of the grated cheese and the rosemary.
- Fill each paper muffin cup about ¾ the way up with the batter.
- In a small bowl, mix the softened butter with the remaining ⅓ cup of grated cheese and then evenly distribute this on top of each batter-filled cup.
- Bake in the preheated 350°F oven until the muffins are set and becoming golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
This is not a sponsored post. Frieda's sent me Stokes Purple Sweet Potatoes for recipe testing and I love them!
Cathy | She Paused 4 Thought
Who knew? They still look great.
valentina
Thanks Cathy -- I never know these things! 🙂
Oakley @ Frieda's
Oh noes! LOL But hey, this also works for Christmas, yes? 😉
We also found that when cleaning up, once in a while, hitting the purple sweet potatoes with soap turns it BLUE...then green. Isn't chemistry fun?
We probably should make a note of that on our product page...
valentina
So interesting, Oakley! I love them whatever color they turn! Though I think they're the most gorgeous raw. Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing them with me!
Terri Lyman
Acid to make them purple, soda to make them green- sort of like red cabbage
valentina
Terri, I'm thinking this year's science fair. 😉 We miss you guys! xoxo
sippitysup
If purple sweet potatoes are anything like purple asparagus then perhaps the culprit is heat as much as it is acid. As with many purple foods, purple asparagus turns green (or greenish) when cooked – though the flavor remains the same. Actually I shouldn’t say purple asparagus turn green, but cooking does cause a chemical reaction in the anthocyanins which reveals the green chlorophyll beneath the purple anthocyanins that was always there. GREG
valentina
Cool, Greg. You more a scientist than I am! 😉 xo
Lauren
I keep trying to read through On Food and Cooking, so I can learn the science, too! It's bedtime reading, but it puts me to sleep way too quickly! Thanks for the lesson Greg.
Valentina, these are so festive and perfect for the holidays!
valentina
Thanks, Lauren! That's so funny about it putting you to sleep quickly. 🙂 Happy Holidays! XOXO
Deb|EastofEdenCooking
Cooking can be so much fun! That's a huge plus in addition to keeping everyone feed and happy! Great post Valentina. I could use one of these scrumptious muffins for my lunch today!
valentina
Thanks, Deb. Truthfully, I almost laughed when I opened the oven door. Fun, it is. Happy Holidays to you and yours! XOXO
Derek
What a creative recipe. I love how you took the savory route on the muffin. It's truly a great idea. Awesome.
valentina
Thanks so much! 🙂 Happy Holidays!
David
Valentina - these sound amazing! I think I will make them for Mardi Gras. They have all the right colors…