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!
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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 Easy Vegan Sweet Potato Pie
(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.
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 Vegan Sweet Potato Pie 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 Make Sweet Potato Pie 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 Sweet Potato Pie?
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!
If you like this gluten-free vegan sweet potato pie 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
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 🙂