Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

Vegan sweet potato pie is a delicious dessert made with sweet potato puree, almond milk, warming spices, and a flaky homemade crust. It's the perfect treat for the holidays! 

If you’re a pumpkin pie lover like me, you’ve got to give this one a try! Sweet potato pie delivers all of the festive goodness I love about pumpkin--except it’s made with the super sweet flavor and ultra creamy texture of sweet potatoes instead. 

In addition to the subtly spiced, creamy sweet potato filling, I’m also sharing my perfectly flaky, easy vegan pie crust recipe. If your time is running short, you can certainly make this recipe even easier by using a store bought crust. Just check the ingredients to make sure it is vegan. 

Next time you’re about to pull out the old tried and true pumpkin pie recipe, give this soul food staple a shot instead!  

Vegan Sweet Potato Pie Ingredients

For the Pie Crust:

• All-purpose flour - Using all-purpose flour gives pie crusts good structure, helping them hold together even when filled with moisture-rich ingredients like this sweet potato pie filling. 
• Organic cane sugar - Gives the pie crust some sweetness (it is dessert after all!). You’ll need to use sugar once to make the pie crust and then again when making the filling. Make sure to use organic cane sugar as refined white sugar often goes through a non-vegan processing method. 
• Vegan butter - I recommend using a vegan butter that comes in sticks or a block here, as some varieties that come in a tub tend to be too soft for pie crust. Use whatever brand of vegan butter you like best, just make sure that it is nice and cold when you start working with it. Cold butter is the key to flaky, tender vegan pie crust! 
• Vegetable shortening - Just like the butter, you want to make sure your shortening is very cold too. Since it melts at a higher temperature, shortening gives the pie crust more structure than using vegan butter alone. 
• Ice-cold water - One more cold ingredient for the pie crust! Before I start cooking, I like to fill a large bowl or pitcher with water and ice cubes, then scoop out as many tablespoons as I need when the time comes to incorporate the water. 

For the Pie Filling:

• Sweet potato puree - Making your own sweet potato puree is easy and if you’d like to do so, just refer to the notes below. Using store bought puree is just as good though too, I've tried some that have amazing sweet potato flavor! Just make sure to buy canned puree that bears sweet potatoes as the sole ingredient--we don’t want any added sugars or flavors here.
• Ground cinnamon + nutmeg - These two spices work together to bring a warm, slightly spicy, and sweet nutty flavor to your sweet potato pie filling. 
• Vanilla extract - Adds a floral and decidedly dessert-like flavor to your sweet potato pie. 
• Salt - A touch of salt helps to accentuate the natural flavors of the sweet potatoes and spices in your pie. 
• Maple syrup - I like a combo of both cane sugar and maple syrup in this pie filling. The maple adds a bit of extra moisture, plus it contributes to the autumnal flavor profile. 
• Almond milk - The extra liquid gets your pie filling to just the right consistency and creates a smooth, silky texture. I like the mellow flavor of almond milk here but you could also use oat milk, soy milk, or coconut milk. 

How to Prepare Homemade Sweet Potato Puree

1. Peel and cube two large sweet potatoes. 
2. Add them to a pot of boiling water. 
3. Boil until tender when pierced with a fork, then drain. 
4. Mash and stir until you have a smooth puree. 

How to Make Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400℉ and lightly grease a pie dish with vegan butter or vegan cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour and organic cane sugar. 
2. Cut in butter + shortening. Add very cold diced vegan butter and very cold vegetable shortening to the bowl with the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter, fork, firm spatula, or your fingers to work the solid fats into the flour mixture, breaking them up into smaller pieces as you do so. The mixture should look coarse and crumbly when it’s done--a few larger pieces of butter or shortening are ok!
3. Add ice water. Pour ice cold water into the flour and butter mixture. Add a few tablespoons to start, then stir and check the consistency of the dough.
4. Form the dough. Keep adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time, stirring after each addition, until the dough just holds together. My mixture took about 7 Tbsp. of water to reach the perfect consistency. 
5. Roll the dough. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface such as your countertop or a rimless baking sheet. Use a rolling pin to roll it out slightly larger than your pie pan, so that it is large enough to cover the bottom and up the sides of your pie pan. 
6. Shape the crust. Place the dough in your prepared pie pan, making sure to tuck it all the way into the corners and pinching the top edge as needed.

7. Make the filling. In a second mixing bowl, combine ingredients for the pie filling: sweet potato puree, organic cane sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, vanilla extract, salt, maple syrup, and almond milk. Stir or whisk until very smooth. 
8. Fill and bake. Spoon the filling into the prepared pie crust and use a rubber spatula or spoon to smooth the top. Transfer your pie to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350℉ and continue baking for about 30 more minutes. Your vegan sweet potato pie is done cooking when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. You can also test for doneness by giving the pie a gentle shake--the center should be set and no longer jiggly and the pie crust should be a nice golden brown.
9. Cool and slice. Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool in the pie pan, placed on a wire rack. Once cool, you can remove it from the dish and slice as desired. 
10. Garnish and serve. Top your vegan sweet potato pie with a dollop of whipped coconut cream or vegan vanilla ice cream! 

Watch Us Make Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

Chef Tips 

When Cutting In the Butter & Shortening: 

You can use a food processor to make the task go more quickly. Just place the dry ingredient mixture and the cold, diced butter and shortening in the bowl of your processor. Pulse several times until the mixture is crumbly and coarse. Again, it’s very important that the fats are cold and solid here--warm or softened butter and shortening will blend up too smoothly. A coarse mixture is key to a flaky pie crust. 

How to Store 

Refrigerating. Store your leftover sweet potato pie in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 5 days. 

Freezing. Ensure the pie is completely cooled. If you are freezing the pie whole, place it in a freezer-safe pie tin or dish and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then place the entire pie in a large freezer-safe zip top bag. If freezing sliced pie, carefully wrap each slice individually in plastic wrap, then arrange the slices in a freezer-safe airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 months. 

Thawing. Transfer the frozen pie to your refrigerator and let it thaw overnight. Serve it chilled, or put it in a low oven for a couple of minutes to warm it up. 

📋 Recipe