IMG_0007IMG_0005Pie is scary food.

Tedious crusts. Fillings that have to be set just perfectly. Lots of waiting to eat it after it comes out of the oven.

The people who think that cake is the queen of bougie desserts have clearly forgotten about pie. Homemade pie crusts have become taboo, most fillings come from a box, and good pies are sold for $9 a slice at inner-city hipster joints.

I’m over it.

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I want pie and I want to eat it too. My way: Flaky crust. Sweet filling. Crunchy topping. Warm sensations of pleasure. And no compromise of diet.

Let’s just dive into the nitty gritty of it, shall we?

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Classic Sweet Potato Pie (sugar-free, vegan, & gluten-free)

  • Servings: 8-12 slices
  • Difficulty: Experienced
  • Print

Flaky crust, spiced sweet potato custard, and crunchy toasted pecans. A pure classic.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 112 g cassava flour (1 c minus 2 tbsp)
  • 34 g sorghum flour (1/4 c)
  • 12 g xylitol or erythritol (1 tbsp)
  • 1 g salt (1/4 tsp)
  • 60 g coconut oil or buttery coconut oil (1/4 c), chilled
  • 4-6 oz chilled water

Filling

  • 1 lb + 6 oz orange sweet potato (roughly 2 medium potatoes), peeled and chopped into small chunks
  • 8 oz full-fat coconut milk (1 c)
  • 48 g xylitol or erythritol (1/4 c)
  • 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice*
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp liquid stevia extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Topping

  • 4 oz crushed pecans (1 c)

Directions

  1. Place coconut oil & 3/4 c water into fridge to chill. The fat should be solid, but not as hard as a rock; 15-20 minutes.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine cassava flour, sorghum flour, xylitol, & salt. Pule a few times to combine.
  3. Spoon out small chunks of chilled coconut oil into the dry ingredients and pulse a few times until the dough has a large, crumbly texture.
  4. Add in 1/2 c of the chilled water and pulse until it’s incorporated; 5-10 seconds. The dough hold together if you pick it up and squeeze it in your hand but remain crumbly in the bowl. If it doesn’t stick together, add a splash more water, pulse, and test again.
  5. Note: Don’t overwork the dough. If it’s blended too much, the fat will become too finely incorporated and the dough won’t be flaky. It’s important to have visible chunks of fat.
  6. Remove dough from bowl, mold into a round with your hands, wrap in parchment paper, and place in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. This will allow the fat to re-solidify and the flour to hydrate.
  7. While the dough chills, place peeled & cubed sweet potatoes in a large, high-walled sauté pan and add enough water to barely cover. Place over high heat and cook until extremely tender; 10-15 minutes. Add more water if it all evaporates.
  8. Remove any excess water and transfer sweet potato to the bowl of a food processor, along with the rest of the filling ingredients. Blitz on high – scraping down sides as needed – until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
  9. Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease rims and surface of a 9.5 inch pie pan with coconut oil.
  10. To roll out dough, grab two large sheets of parchment paper. Place one on the counter and dust it with cassava flour. Plop dough round on top, and dust with flour as well. Cover with second sheet of paper.
  11. For even rolling, roll out from the middle towards one direction, rotate, and roll in a different direction. Do this until the dough is large enough to cover the surface of the pie pan.
  12. To transfer dough to pan, place pan upside down on the dough, and flip the parchment paper so that the dough lands in the pan.
  13. There will likely be some holes in the crust – that’s okay. Patch them up with excess dough using wet fingers to mold it back together – it doesn’t have to be fine art.
  14. Bake empty crust in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
  15. Remove, fill with sweet potato mixture, and smooth out the top with a spatula. Top with pecans and place back in oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the edges are set, the center is lightly jiggly, and the pecans are just beginning to burn.
  16. Allow the pie to rest on a cooling rack for at least an hour and a half before trying to cut into it. However, I recommend allowing the pie to rest for two hours at room temp, then refrigerating it overnight before serving.
  17. Use a sharp pairing knife to cut into slices. Serve as is, or with vanilla ice cream (SoDelicious makes a bomb sugar-free version), coconut whipped cream, cranberry jam, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and/or a pinch of smoked salt; the options are limitless.
  18. Store in fridge – covered with plastic wrap – for up to 5 days.

*For the strongest flavor, I highly recommend you use the toasted pumpkin pie spice from the linked recipe. However, to whip some up fast, use a mixture of 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp ginger (dried), 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp cloves instead.

15 thoughts on “ Classic Sweet Potato Pie (sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan & Plant Paradox friendly) ”

  2. When I went to print the recipe it only printed with the title and a few other parts, but not any portion of the recipe. Is it just me? Is there a printable version? Thanks!

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    1. Hey Krista! Our apologies—our old format didn’t take to printing too well.

      We’ve just updated the page, so give it another shot! Let us know if you run into any problems :)

      Best,
      Ryan

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  3. Pingback: Sweet Potato Milk Tea with Brown Sugar Boba – No Eggs or Ham

  4. I just put the pie in the oven….it smells delicious…only thing, I totally forgot to prebaked the crust! I was just decorating the edges before putting it in. Got distracted with something and instead of remembering I was prebaking, I filled the pie instead 😳! I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m assuming it will be soft and mushy crust? Eeeekkk!!!

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    1. Hey Nicole,

      I assume by now you’ve tried your pie, so I’d love to hear how it came out! Although, I don’t think that forgetting about the pre-baking step will ruin your pie – you’ll most likely just have a softer pie crust.

      Hoping it came out good for you!

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  6. Pingback: Classic Sweet Potato Pie (sugar-free, vegan, & gluten-free) – Edward & Sons Recipe Blog

    1. Hey Albert!

      First off, we’re stoked you made the pie!

      Was the entire crust hard, or just the edges of the crust?

      If the entire crust came out hard, my only guess is that either the oven was running inaccurately hot during the phase where it’s baked it on its own, or that the butter/coconut oil was overworked into the dough. If there aren’t visible chunks of butter remaining in the dough, it will come out more snappy – like a cracker – than flaky.

      The rim of the crust, however, is overall more crispy than a typical wheat pie crust, which tend to be more on the tender side.

      Although, another possibility could be that too much moisture was worked into the dough (contradictory, the more moisture that’s added to the dough, the tougher it will be). If you decide to make it again, just keep an eye on how much moisture is added (you only need enough to roll out the dough), don’t overwork the fat in the dough, and possibly add in an extra two tablespoons of butter/coconut oil for an even more tender crust, if that’s what you’re going for.

      I sincerely hope this helps out in some way!

      All the best,
      Ryan

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