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If you love pumpkin pie, you might want to make room on the holiday table for my vegan sweet potato pie. It has a smooth, creamy filling, warm spices, brown sugar, and a touch of maple syrup, all in a flaky pie crust. It shares some of the familiar cozy flavors of pumpkin pie, but sweet potato brings its own richer, earthier sweetness.

I’ll be upfront that I’m not an expert on traditional sweet potato pie, and I didn’t set out to reinvent an authentic Southern family recipe. I simply wanted to develop a version that I truly loved, using my Vegan Pumpkin Pie as a starting point. It took rounds of testing to get to a version I felt was right, and some key adjustments along the way made all the difference.

How I Developed My Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

My first thought was to simply swap the pumpkin purée in my existing recipe with an equal amount of sweet potato and I’d be done. It was a logical start, but the results weren’t what I felt it should taste like even though I only remember having it once before I was vegan. A lot of additional research led me to revise not only some measurements but ingredients as well.

After all this adjusting, I landed on what I feel is a winning combination. I added some melted vegan butter for richness, slightly less potato starch than my pumpkin pie to reduce stodginess as sweet potatoes already contain a lot of starch, regular unsweetened plant milk instead of vegan cream for simplicity and accessibility, and a splash of maple syrup for complexity.

Sweet Potato Pie vs. Pumpkin Pie

Sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie are close cousins as they both feature a creamy, spiced filling baked inside a pie crust, but they aren’t exactly the same. Sweet potato has a naturally sweet, earthy flavor that feels a bit more robust than pumpkin. In my recipe, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves add traditional warmth like pumpkin pie but I toned them down to not mask the star ingredient, and a pinch of orange zest was the missing piece that brought everything together in the final bake.

Sweet Potato Pie’s History

Sweet potato pie holds a deeply respected place in Southern cooking and African American food traditions, having been passed down through generations for holiday gatherings and celebrations like Kwanzaa. As I developed this recipe, I read up on its history and looked at traditional methods, and while this is my own vegan adaptation born from years of tweaking my pumpkin pie recipe, it feels important to acknowledge the roots of the dish as I don’t claim to have a truly authentic recipe. Many families have their own versions they swear by with secret ingredients and methods so it would be hard to judge mine against one of those but I hope this recipe brings back familiar flavors for some.

How to Prepare the Sweet Potatoes

For this recipe, I boiled the sweet potatoes with their skins on. It’s foolproof and saves you the arm workout of peeling raw sweet potatoes. I tried a version with roasted sweet potatoes first and I felt it made the filling too starchy. Sweet potatoes all differ a bit in their varieties and where they’re grown so choose deep orange or red tinged potatoes like garnet, jewel or Beauregard. I’ve noticed this year that they are starchier and drier than in years past but that could just be my local availability in my area.

Poke each potato a few times with a fork so steam can escape.
Start in cold water that covers them and bring to a boil and simmer until they are completely tender all the way through (about 20 minutes depending on their size), then drain and let them cool just enough to handle.
The skins should slip right off. Mash or purée the flesh until completely smooth, then measure by weight for accuracy but it’s roughly 2 full cups of mashed sweet potatoes.

Tips for Success

Weigh your sweet potato: Use 15 ounces (425 grams) of peeled mashed sweet potato flesh. Weighing is more accurate but measure out two cups if you don’t have a kitchen scale.
Keep the milk plain: Use unsweetened, unflavored vegan milk so it doesn’t skew the flavor profile.
Blend until silky: A blender or food processor is your best friend here for eliminating lumps and achieving a velvety consistency.
Don’t panic if it cracks: My test pie developed some small cracks on top, but the slices still held together beautifully. A crack doesn’t mean the interior texture is ruined.
Let it chill: Give the pie plenty of time to cool and set in the fridge before slicing. It makes cutting clean slices infinitely easier.

Frequently Asked Questions

I haven’t tested this recipe with canned purée because it often has a different moisture content than fresh boiled potatoes. If you experiment with it, be sure to measure by weight and keep in mind the texture might vary somewhat.

Cracks happen as the filling sets and contracts while cooling. It’s totally normal and doesn’t affect how the pie tastes or how the slices hold together.

Yes! You can bake it a day in advance, let it cool completely, and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Serve it chilled or let a slice sit at room temperature for a few minutes before eating.

A generous dollop of vegan whipped cream is a simple, classic choice that adds a creamy contrast without hiding the pie’s flavor. It’s also delicious all on its own or with vegan vanilla ice cream.

Give It a Try!

Developing this recipe took a few test rounds, but I’m so excited to finally share this version with you. I think it strikes just the right balance between familiar flavors and celebrates the rich, natural sweetness of sweet potatoes. I hope this pie brings a little extra warmth to your table this season. Happy baking, and don’t forget to let me know in the comments how yours turned out!

Check out my full Thanksgiving recipe roundup here!🥧

Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

Recipe by Kreg Sterns

5.0 from 2 votes

Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

hour

minutes

Smooth, creamy, and warmly spiced, my sweet potato pie offers a richer, earthier take on classic pumpkin pie.

Cook Mode

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Ingredients

US Metric

1 1 unbaked 9-inch vegan pie crust
15 oz 15 oz peeled, boiled sweet potato purée (about 2 cups or 425 g)
1/4 cup 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted
1 1/4 cups 1 1/4 cups plain vegan milk
3/4 cup 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons 2 tablespoons creamy almond butter (see notes)
3 tablespoons 3 tablespoons potato starch (see notes)
1 1/2 teaspoons 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (also know as a “pinch”)
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

Directions

Cook the sweet potatoes. Poke the sweet potatoes several times with a fork. You can cut very large sweet potatoes in half or thirds even. Place them in a pot of cold water until it covers them completely, and boil until tender (depending on the size of your sweet potatoes, it could take anywhere from 10-25 minutes). Drain and allow them to cool enough to handle. Slip off the skins and mash the flesh until smooth. Weigh out 15 ounces (425 g) or roughly 2 cups.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare your unbaked pie crust according to your usual instructions and keep chilled until needed.
Mix the filling. Combine the sweet potato purée, melted vegan butter, vegan milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, almond butter, potato starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, salt, and orange zest. Blend until smooth. I prefer to use a food processor for this step but you can use a blender as well. You could mix by hand but using a potato masher at the start is recommended at first then you could switch to a large spoon. The goal is to make the mixture smooth but not like baby food. You want it well blended with no pieces of sweet potato showing but not completely liquified.
Fill the crust. Place your chilled pie pan on a baking sheet (makes it easier to move the pie in and out of the oven) and pour the filling evenly into the unbaked pie crust and smooth the top. I find a rubber or offset spatula works well to smooth it out.
Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, until the filling is mostly firm. The edges should be set, and the center should no longer look liquid but can jiggle ever so slightly if moved back and forth. Baking time can vary with the moisture in the sweet potatoes and the type of pie pan used so start checking sooner than later. All ovens also vary and my convection heat oven bakes faster than traditional ovens so you know your oven and check accordingly.
Cool and chill. Allow the pie to cool completely, then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled before slicing. I chill in the fridge uncovered so as not to disturb the surface of the pie but if you happen to own a pie container, it would be a perfect time to use it. Slice and serve with vegan whipped cream or ice cream, if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Notes

If you can’t find potato starch you can use cornstarch or arrowroot powder instead, but I prefer potato.
Use your favorite nut butter (I like to use almond or cashew) or if nut-free or allergic, use a seed butter like sunflower. I would avoid peanut butter or tahini as they both have pronounced flavors.
If using a convection oven, you could reduce the temperature to 325°F and begin checking for doneness around 40 minutes so the crust doesn’t brown too much. Baking times may vary by oven.