A vegan sweet potato pie that holds firm, slices beautifully, tastes delicious and makes the perfect dessert for the holidays. It's soy-free and it can be gluten-free.

Pies are one of my favorite things about the cold weather and the holidays, and this vegan Sweet Potato Pie is one of my favorite pies ever.
This is a gorgeous pie, and I don't just mean to look at (but sure, it looks great too, doesn't it?). It has a flaky, golden, homemade crust (although you could just use storebought crust if you'd rather) and the filling is smooth, creamy, with a hint of coconut, which is great because coconut is a flavor that goes swimmingly with sweet potato.
There are, of course, no eggs in this recipe, but what helps it set is the tapioca starch and a bit of coconut oil, which also adds that wonderful coconut flavor. And they do a beautiful job too, because this pie slices like a dream.
As much as I love sweet potato and pumpkin pies, I find that they tend to look a tad boring. So to add some flair to my sweet tater pie, I made a double crust and cut out some star shapes to adorn the top. I rather loved the look, and since everyone in our home loves to hog the crust, it worked out quite well.
Helpful tips
- You can use a storebought crust, I just like making my own. It's easy to make a pie crust, and it makes you feel like a domestic deity. You can also double the crust if you want a decorative crust, like the one I made.
- I roast my sweet potatoes, partly because I love the flavor of roasted sweet potatoes, with the sugars concentrated, and partly because it's just less work. If you'd rather boil your potatoes, be my guest. You can peel and cube them and then boil them as you would potatoes when you're making mashed potatoes.
- The filling is quite thick, so smooth it down with a spatula as best as you can after pouring it in.
- Your pie won't have become completely firm by the time the baking concludes -- don't worry. So long as your top is firm, and a knife in the center comes our fairly clean, you are fine. The pie will set up as it cools. But don't slice the pie while it's still even slightly warm.
- The filling is gluten-free, so if you want your pie to be gluten-free, use a homemade or storebought gf pie crust.
- Serve your pie with a dollop of vegan vanilla ice cream or vegan whipped cream. Or serve it naked, it really doesn't need any gilding.
Ingredients
- Unbleached all-purpose flour (to make a gluten-free pie, use a gluten-free homemade or storebought crust)
- Sugar
- Vegan butter
- Sweet potatoes
- Raw cashews
- Tapioca starch
- Coconut oil
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Pure vanilla extract
More vegan pie recipes
- Vegan Peanut Butter Oreo Pie
- Vegan Tarte Tatin
- Vegan French Apple Tart
- Vegan Peach Berry Pie
- Vegan Skillet Apple Pie
Vegan Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
For the pie crust (double the recipe if you want a top decorative crust):
- 1 ¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoon vegan butter
- Ice cold water
For the sweet potato filling:
- 2 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 pounds)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 ¼ cups sugar (maple syrup is a fine substitute)
- 3 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil (melted)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the pie crust:
- Place the flour in a bowl with sugar and salt. Whisk together, then add the cold cubes of butter and cut into the flour with a pie cutter or a fork until you have a crumbly mixture with some pea-sized pieces of butter.
- Drizzle in the water, a little at a time, while mixing with a fork. As soon as the dough comes together and holds, turn it out into cling wrap and wrap tightly while shaping into a disc with your palms. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Make the filling:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Blend the cashews with ¼ cup water until very smooth.
- Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a knife or fork. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center slides easily all the way through without pressure. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and place them in a food processor (or you can do this in a bowl), along with the cashew cream, sugar, tapioca starch, coconut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg and pure vanilla extract. Process until you have a very smooth mixture.
Assemble the pie:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- On a floured surface, roll out the pie dough into a circle big enough to fit your pie plate. Place the circle of dough into the pie plate and crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers.
- To make a decorative design the way I did, you'll need extra pie crust dough. I doubled my pie crust recipe and then cut out stars using a cookie cutter. You can make all sorts of designs -- leaves, flowers, hearts, circles, they all work.
- Pour the filling into the pie crust. The filling is quite thick, so smooth it down with a spatula.
- Bake the pie for 15 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350 degrees and bake 40 minutes. At this point, if you have a top crust, tent the pie loosely with aluminum foil and continue baking another 15 minutes or until the top is set and a knife near the center comes out almost clean. Your filling won't set completely in the oven the way it would if you were using eggs, but it will set as it cools down.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let it stand on a rack until completely cool. You can also chill the pie for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Slice and serve.
Hofterzielbeek
Wow! That’s delicious, mouth watering dish. I would surely like to try these at home.
Elisabeth Acheson-Thom
Hi Vaishali
It’s summer down here in Oz but I’m sure your pie will be just as delicious
Did you glaze the top as it looks a bit shiny?
Vaishali
Hi Elisabeth, it wasn't glazed. A bit of the butter did melt off the star crust and flowed onto the top while baking though.