Silky smooth and lightly spiced vegan sweet potato pie with a gluten-free crust (or you can just make the filling and use your own crust!). This delicious, classic pie will become a new welcome addition to your holiday table!
Have you ever tried sweet potato pie?
If you live in the United States, especially in the Southern states, your answer is probably "yes, of course!" You may have even rolled your eyes because it is SO common where you live!
But for those of us here in Canada, sweet potato pie isn't really "a thing."
Pumpkin pie is the popular Canadian choice when it comes to holiday pies, along with the other favourite, apple. But sweet potato? Nope.
But that should change.
I only discovered the magic of sweet potato pie by making it myself a few years back to see what it was all about, and of course, I made it a vegan gluten free sweet potato pie!
Not only is this dairy free sweet potato pie delicious, it also deserves a spot on your holiday dessert table, each and every year.
You should note that my recipe is not the same as traditional Southern sweet potato pie, because it's a vegan sweet potato pie with a gluten free crust! And also because the crust is not made from pastry. It's my take on this famous American dessert. So let's talk about how to make it...
How to Make the Crust
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this gluten free sweet potato pie recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions at the end of this post.)
The first thing you'll do is make the crust. This crust is made with just a few simple ingredients and it's gluten-free.
NOTE: For a nut-free and more traditional pie crust, you can make my vegan gluten-free pie crust or my vegan pie crust instead of this one. Both are delicious, so you can't go wrong!
The main ingredients in the crust are almonds and oats. It's a lightly sweetened crust and even though it seems crumbly, it holds together very well once it's baked. And of course, it's delicious.
You'll first grind the oats and almonds, and then mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Then you'll press it into your pie dish, refrigerate for a few minutes and then bake for 15 minutes for it to set.
This crust adds great contrast to the smooth, creamy sweet potato pie filling, but if you have a favourite crust you like to make or if you prefer to save some time with a store-bought crust, that's okay, just make the filling and go from there. (But, of course, I highly recommend this crust!)
How to Make the Filling
Making the filling is quick and easy. To make this sweet potato pie vegan, there are no eggs, no butter, and no dairy.
And because it's vegan, you may think that one of the ingredients could possibly be tofu, but this is a vegan sweet potato pie with no tofu, just a few simple pantry ingredients.
To make the filling, all you need to do is all the ingredients to a bowl and then mix everything together. That's it! After that, add the filling to the crust, smooth it out and bake. (see images below)
So for those of you who have never had or made sweet potato pie, you may have questions! The one that caused me to make this pie many years ago was, of course:
What Does Sweet Potato Pie Taste Like?
Sweet potato pie is like the more mellow, laid back cousin of pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie gets its flavour from pumpkin pie spices, some of which are common in sweet potato pie, but the flavours aren't as bold as they are in pumpkin pie.
Sweet potato pie is more on the mild side when it comes to those spice flavours and in sweetness, which gives it such an irresistible flavour. And no, the pie does not taste anything like plain sweet potatoes!
Now, you may have a few other questions if this kind of pie is new to you, I've answered a few of them below, if you have others, please feel free to ask me in the comments!
Can You Really Make It Without Eggs?
Of course! This pie is 100% vegan, so that means this is a sweet potato pie without eggs or milk. Eggs are used to firm up a traditional sweet potato pie recipes, but this recipe uses arrowroot starch (or cornstarch) to do the same job.
So yes, it's possible, and very easy to make an eggless sweet potato pie /
no butter sweet potato pie that will get rave reviews from everyone you serve it to.
What's the Best Way to Cook the Sweet Potatoes?
I did a little research on this and the opinions are all over the place.
For this recipe, I make my sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot (<-- Amazon link) using my Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes method. Prior to owning my Instant Pot, I baked the sweet potatoes in the oven.
There were some opinions saying that sweet potatoes for sweet potato pie should never be boiled because the potatoes would make the pie way too watery and mushy, but one of the most famous sweet potato pie recipes (the one by Patti LaBelle) uses boiled potatoes, so who knows.
All I've ever made this pie with is baked and pressure cooked sweet potatoes and both produce perfect results.
Can Canned Sweet Potato Pie Filling be Used? Or Canned Sweet Potatoes?
No, don't use sweet potato pie filling. This isn't something that can be found here in Canada, but I assume it to be the same as canned pumpkin pie filling.
This recipe builds flavour from the bottom up using plain pureed sweet potatoes. Using a canned filling will not allow you to do that since it already has added spices and sugar.
As for canned sweet potatoes, that is not something we can get here in Canada either (I've never seen them, anyways!), so I've never tried it, but if I could, I probably wouldn't because I imagine they would be way too watery/mushy and will affect the consistency of the filling.
How Do You Get the Strings Out of the Sweet Potatoes?
If you're wondering how to get perfectly smooth sweet potato pie filling, you need to do one small thing.
Sweet potatoes can be stringy, so after baking or steaming them, and removing the insides from the skin, puree the insides using a food processor, or a blender.
This will ensure there are no strings or chunks in your pie and that the filling is velvety smooth and melt-in-your-mouth. Mmm...
To avoid those strings in your pie, you can also make the filling in your food processor. Just add all the filling ingredients to the processor and process until everything is smooth.
How to Get Flawless Pie Slices, Every Time
You'll want to cool your pie completely and if possible, chill it before slicing. If you slice too quickly, the slices won't come out clean and you'll end up with a mess. This pie is best made the day before you plan on serving.
Read this article for tips on how to make your pie slices picture perfect.
And don't forget to make your vegan sweet potato pie perfect by topping it with coconut whipped cream, as shown in the pictures 🙂
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If you make this vegan gluten free pie for any of your holiday celebrations, or any other time of the year (because you absolutely can, and should, make it outside of the holidays!), tell me about it in the comments below or share a picture with me on Instagram, you know I love seeing your pics!
You can save this recipe for later and at the same time, help me to help others find this vegan sweet potato pie recipe by pinning it to your recipe board on Pinterest! CLICK HERE TO PIN IT NOW!
If you like this recipe, you may also like these other vegan gluten free desserts:
- Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
- Pear Cranberry Crisp
- Vegan Sweet Potato Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Tart
- Vegan Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
- Sweet Potato Bread
- Pumpkin Pudding
- Sweet Potato Pudding
Vegan Sweet Potato Pie
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 1 ¼ cup rolled oats (gluten free, if needed)
- 1 ¼ cup raw almonds
- ¼ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 5 tablespoons melted coconut oil (see note below)
For the pie filling:
- 2 large sweet potatoes (you will need 2 cups of sweet potato puree)
- ½ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- ½ cup unsweetened dairy-free milk
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- coconut whipped cream (optional, for garnish)
Instructions:
Prepare the Sweet Potatoes:
- Pre-heat oven to 400° F (200° C).
- Wash and scrub sweet potatoes, place them on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a fork slides easily into each sweet potato. If you have an Instant Pot, you can pressure cook the sweet potatoes instead, by following these directions.
- After sweet potatoes have finished cooking, slice each of them in half. When they have cooled down enough to handle, scoop out the insides. Using a food processor or blender, puree the sweet potatoes and measure out 2 cups.
- Lower oven temperature to 350° F (177° C).
Make the Crust:
- Add rolled oats, raw almonds, coconut sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger to a food processor or to the dry container of your high speed blender. Blend until ingredients have been broken down into a fine meal.
- Slowly add melted coconut oil and pulse until everything has been combined.
- Transfer mixture a bowl and mix to ensure the coconut oil has been distributed throughout the mixture.
- Put mixture into a 9" pie dish and using your hands, a piece or parchment paper, or the bottom of a measuring cup, press it evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Be sure that the thickness is even all around the sides and bottom of the dish. (see images above)
- Refrigerate the crust for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes have passed, remove from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes have passed, place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, set aside, and make the filling.
Make the Filling:
- Whisk together sweet potato puree, coconut sugar, non-dairy milk, arrowroot starch, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and salt until combined.
- Add the sweet potato mixture to the pie crust and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. (see images above)
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.
Recipe Notes:
- Be sure to also read the Q&A above to ensure your pie turns out perfectly.
- Make sure to use a deep-dish pie plate to make this pie. If you use a smaller dish, you will have extra filling and the baking time will need to be adjusted.
- My vegan gluten free pie crust or my vegan pie crust can be used instead if you prefer a traditional crust.
- If are unsure if your sweet potatoes are large enough, prepare 3 to be certain you'll have enough to make the 2 cups of sweet potato puree needed. If you have leftover sweet potatoes, you can make mashed sweet potatoes or this stuffed sweet potatoes recipe.
- When baking the sweet potatoes, line your baking sheet with parchment paper or foil since sweet potatoes release a sticky sugar when baking, this will make cleanup easier.
- Either virgin or refined coconut oil can be used in the crust, but note that if you use virgin coconut oil, there will be a slight coconut flavour.
- Cornstarch may be used in place of the arrowroot starch.
- Cover and store uneaten sweet potato pie in the fridge. When you are ready to serve again, let it come to room temperature and serve or cover with foil and warm slightly in the oven.
- Crust recipe adapted from this Oat Pecan Crust Recipe.
- Calorie count is for 1 of 10 slices and is only to be used as a rough guide. Click here to learn how nutritional info is calculated on this website.
Cynthia says
This looks delicious! As a US southerner, I can’t wait to try it! Is there a substitute for the almonds in the crust? Could I simply omit it or maybe double the oats? (Nut allergies in my family).
Gwen Leron says
Hi Cynthia! Ahh, the true test would be for a US Southerner to try this! I hope you love it! I'm not 100% sure about doubling the oats since I haven't made the crust without the almonds. You can replace thealmonds with a seed like sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, if you can have them. Doubling the oats may work, but I worry a little that the crust may turn out too crumbly and fall apart. Another option would be a store bought vegan gluten free crust, or another homemade crust that you like. Let me know how things go 🙂