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This easy vegan Sweet Potato Pie relies on the just easiest to find ingredients, comes packing rich flavor, and has a texture smoother than a fast-talking car salesman that I kinda want to hold hands with. An absolute dream come true for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a Southern-style Sunday din din.
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Let's get real for a sec. Sweet potato pie barely gets half the hype of pumpkin, which is at least a wee bit wild considering it's been stealing the show on my site alongside some of my most famous sweet potato icons: vegan sweet potato casserole, candied yams, my vegan breakfast bowl, and tzimmes.
This homemade pie's filling is flavor-bombed with the spice squad lineup: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom, plus the sweet potato puree, maple syrup, and molasses doing their rich, sweet thing. Meanwhile, the borderline effortless crust's just there in the background doing God's work (playing a soothing culinary saxophone into your heart sanctum) and not getting nearly enough credit.
Forget "as good as the real thing." This is the real thing, just a hotter, vegan-er, version of the traditional sweet potato pie serving ring-ding-ding-a-ling holly jolly Christmas vibes.
Jump to:
🥰 Why you'll adore this Vegan Sweet Potato Pie recipe
💨 Fast Track to Pie Glory: This whole thing takes like 8 minutes of actual hands-on effort, tops.
✊ Vegan AF: Add this one to your list of vegan Thanksgiving recipes that are 100% cruelty-free and 200% delicious.
🛒 Stuff You Can Actually Find: Everything in this pie lives at your local grocery store, not in some mystical "artisan aisle" guarded by an employee named Sage who wears a hat he purchased on Etsy with fake crystals on it.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like every other vegan desserts I've unleashed on the world, this amazing recipe got tested in every time zone known to Google Maps as well as by mad testers in both Brigadoon and the Bermuda Triangle. Now what?
👩🍳 Learn to make the DOPEST desserts
This 5-day guide to the best vegan sweets I have ever made is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🍠 Vegan Sweet Potato Pie Ingredients
Sweet Potato
Regular orange sweet potatoes or garnet yams are what to use here. You can cheat with canned puree if you're short on time, but for the love of all things fluffy, avoid using the canned sweet potatoes in nasty hyper-sweet syrup.
Vegan Butter
My heart belongs to Earth Balance because it's the best tasting commercially available butter, but Trader Joe's version gets the job done too and is a whole lot cheaper. Wanna feel powerful? Make your own. I teach that sorcery in my vegan dairy crash course.
Vegan Cream Cheese
I use my own vegan cream cheese recipe because obviously I trust myself, and the stuff takes 4 ingredients including salt and water to make. But if you're buying it, Tofutti's still the best tasting, nicest texture one you can mess with, no contest.
In a pinch some cashew cream or silken tofu with some vinegar and salt added works if you're DIY-ing.
The Spices
Burlap & Barrel's Cloud Forest Cardamom (and most of their other spices TBH) are phenomenal for baking with, but use whatever's in your pantry as long as they were not a wedding gift you got 20 years ago.
Graham Crackers
Heads up y'all, not all graham crackers are vegan, so keep your eyes peeled for honey. Nabisco's Original Grahams are vegan and great for pies and monster shaped Halloween s'mores alike.
Or pivot and rock a gingersnap crust like I do for my vegan pumpkin cheesecake and vegan pumpkin chiffon pie. You can follow this same recipe just using the cookie of your preference.
Vegan Whipped Cream
Whip up my vegan whipped cream recipe if you're tryna impress your aunt who still thinks vegans only eat salad (because come on aunty, you know we be eating bowl after bowl of whipped cream like whoa). Or just use some partially thawed Cocowhip, coconut cream, or vegan vanilla ice cream as a slice topper instead.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make Vegan Sweet Potato Pie
You ready to turn that kitchen into your personal dessert arena? Scroll for the quick full recipe card if you're on the clock, or stay right here for my full instructions that guarantees pie domination.
Step One
Crustin Bieber:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9-inch (23 cm) pie dish.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, butter, and plant milk in a food processor. Blend until the mixture becomes evenly moistened and holds together like a smooth dough.
Step Two
Crustin Timberbake:
Firmly press the mixture into the bottom and along the sides of the pie dish to create an even homemade pie crust. Place the pie pan in the refrigerator to chill while you assemble the filling.
✅ If the homemade crust sinks down into the pan before baking, gently press it back up the sides with damp fingers.
Step Three
Susan Boil:
Cut the sweet potatoes into large chunks and place them in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium heat and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until they're soft enough to easily pierce with a fork.
Step Four
Purple Drain:
Drain the sweet potatoes well and add them to a food processor along with the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, cream cheese, molasses, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, cornstarch, and salt.
Blend for about 2 minutes until the pie filling is completely smooth and creamy.
Step Five
Roastbusters:
Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust and spread it evenly with an offset spatula or butter knife. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the center is set.
✅If you have a couple to choose from, pick a thicker pie pan which will help you avoid getting cracks in the surface of the pie.
Step Six
Chill Gates:
Take the vegan pie out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving to let the pie filling set properly.
Step Seven
Pecanne of Green Gables:
Serve chilled or at room temperature with vegan whipped cream or ice cream. Optionally, add candied pecans and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top and you'll have the best vegan sweet potato pie of your life.
💡What to serve at a vegan Thanksgiving dinner:
A homemade sweet potato pie shines best at Thanksgiving or any other autumnal feast when following a lineup of dishes that play up its cozy, autumn vibe.
I like to start with a soup course to buy me some more time in the kitchen while guests start eating. Vegan butternut squash soup, roasted mushroom soup or roasted carrot lentil soup, maybe with a basket of cranberry chestnut puff pastries or some pan fried vegan cornbread on the side.
Then go big with a vegan turkey loaded with vegan cornbread stuffing, or serve a pretty terrifying tofu Turkey in the shape of a human to make things awkward (it's what I do at least).
All the usual suspects like dairy-free mashed potatoes, maple bourbon cranberry sauce, vegan green bean casserole, and mushroom gravy 100% must be on the table too for something like this.
👉 Top tips
- Watch those crust edges like a hawk: If they start browning too fast, wrap the rim with foil or throw on a pie shield. You want golden for cleaner slices, not burnt-to-a-crisp disaster.
- Taste the filling before you bake: The cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt should be vibing according to your taste. Tweak till it feels right.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Choose deep-orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (like garnet or Beauregard) because they're naturally sweeter and creamier; paler varieties may result in a drier pie or one that might make your guests complain that it just doesn't have the "right" color.
YES that's exactly what you want! The center will continue to set as it cools, so you want the edges firm but the center just set to avoid a dry or over-cooked result.
❄️ Refrigeration: Leave the pie where it is and cover it loosely with foil or an inverted plate as a pie crust shield, never use an airtight container. Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
✌️You'll love these vegan holiday pie recipes too:
For just $1: Take a fun vegan dessert cooking class with Cinnamon Snail's Chef Adam Sobel and Chef Amanda Bankert from Boneshaker, Paris.
Vegan Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 2 lbs. sweet potatoes peeled (about 4 medium sized)
- ½ cup vegan butter room temperature
- ⅔ cups brown sugar
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup vegan cream cheese room temperature
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ⅓ cup cornstarch or arrowroot
- ¾ teaspoon salt
For The Crust:
- 3 cups ground vegan graham crackers
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened plant-based milk
Optional Stuff for Serving:
- Vegan vanilla ice cream
- Vegan whipped cream
- Candied pecans
- Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9-inch (23 cm) pie dish.
- Place the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter in a food processor. Mix until the crumbs are evenly moistened into a smooth dough.
- Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish, forming an even layer. Place the pie pan into the refrigerator to chill while you assemble the filling. Cut the fresh sweet potatoes into large chunks and place them in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium heat and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain thoroughly and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Place the sweet potatoes into a food processor along with the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, cream cheese, molasses, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, cornstarch, and salt. Mix for 2 minutes until completely smooth.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the center is set and the edges appear firm.
- Remove from the oven and allow the pie to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature with vegan whipped cream or ice cream. Garnish with candied pecans and a light dusting of cinnamon if desired.
Notes
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