Vegan Sweet Potato Pie - with Cashews & Dates!
An insanely rich and smooth sweet potato pie that tastes so indulgent, you wouldn’t even guess it’s vegan! Made with a more nutritious cashew base that creates a super creamy filling, sweetened with brown sugar, and sprinkled with warming fall spices, this pie’s got the perfect texture and flavor that’s enhanced by a (not so) secret ingredient - Medjool dates!
Before going vegan, sweet potato pie had already been a fall staple in our household for several years. I can’t remember the first time I tried sweet potato pie, but I do know that I was instantly hooked. And for good reason - it’s creamy, it’s rich, and it’s insanely delicious. And of course, going vegan wasn’t going to (nor should it) stop me from partaking in my sacred fall ritual every year! Far from it, it actually led me to develop my own recipe - albeit after a few trials and errors and almost abandoning the whole thing for two years in a row 😉. But just when I thought about throwing in the towel again, I finally ended up having that “aha” moment and nailing the recipe!
In my quest to develop a recipe for my dream sweet potato pie, I tested various versions - using silken tofu, coconut cream, a mix of coconut cream and tofu, or cashews for the base, along with various amounts of brown sugar and dates, and dates vs. no dates, for the sweetener - before declaring this recipe to be the winner. The final version strikes the perfect balance of flavors and textures - it tastes rich, perfectly sweetened, and creamy, all while achieving that silky yet firm perfect pie texture. I think you’ll love it as much as I do!
Why You’ll Love this Sweet Potato Pie
Rich and indulgent flavor. This pie uses cashews to create the most delicious tasting base. Although I tested other options like silken tofu (healthier!) and coconut cream (no high-powered blender required!) against cashews, they didn’t even come close to comparing. You just can’t replicate the creamy smooth base that only cashews can give this sweet potato pie! And while pairing sweet potatoes with molasses-y brown sugar (along with some spices and vanilla extract) is a no-brainer, there’s one more secret ingredient that takes this filling over the top - Medjool dates. Sure, the pie is still perfectly delicious without them, but the dates add a delicious extra layer of depth that elevates this pie from a solid 9/10 to a perfect 10 (or 12)/10.
Perfect texture. The texture of the pie is perhaps just as important as the flavors. No matter how good the flavors in a pie might be, they stand on their own if the texture’s all wrong! (Can you just hear Paul Hollywood’s voice saying that?) The texture is smooth yet perfectly firm - just enough to set and hold its shape without being too dense or stodgy.
Made with (some!) whole food ingredients. Since this pie filling is quite rich, you might not immediately guess that aside from the sweetener (brown sugar) and arrowroot starch (the thickener), the filling is made with whole foods! Three whole foods - roasted sweet potato pureé, cashews, and Medjool dates - along with all their fiber and nutrients, make up the base of the filling. So yes, while this pie is certainly an indulgent treat, the filling is still more wholesome than pies made with coconut cream or any non-vegan versions that rely on eggs and dairy. It’s better for you, better for the planet, and better for the animals - triple win!
Easily made using a high-powered blender! There’s nothing quite like throwing some things into a blender and letting it do all the work, am I right?! Thanks to the blender, once you have your sweet potato puree prepared, it only takes a few minutes (about 5-10) to make this filling. However, you do absolutely need a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, to make this filling properly. Without one, you won’t be able to fully process the cashews and dates, so you’ll be left with a slightly chunky, far less satisfying filling. Unfortunately, there isn’t any substitute for a high-powered blender here.
Ingredient Overview
Sweet potatoes. Can’t make sweet potato pie without sweet potatoes, right?! This recipe calls for homemade sweet potato pureé, which is very easy to make by simply roasting fresh sweet potatoes in the oven for about an hour. And not that you’re reading a pie recipe to learn about its nutritional benefits, but it’s worth mentioning that sweet potatoes are insanely nourishing. They’re quite rich in fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins A and C, just to name a few benefits!
Raw cashews and water. Blended together to form a cashew cream that gives the pie its creamy base! No other ingredient can create such a deliciously rich flavor for the pie base as cashews, which, luckily for us, pair wonderfully with sweet potatoes. Plus, unlike coconut cream, dairy, or eggs, cashews are rich in unsaturated fats and also infuse a bit of protein into the pie - in addition to other nutrients and vitamins like copper, magnesium, manganese, and zinc.
Medjool dates and brown sugar. To sweeten the pie! Because brown sugar contains molasses, it’s an obvious complementary flavor pairing for roasted sweet potatoes as it amplifies their sweet, roasted flavor. But adding in just two Medjool dates gives the pie an additional layer of flavor depth that you wouldn’t be able to get if you were just using brown sugar. The dates are the secret ingredient that really make the pie!
Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. To infuse the pie with delicious warming spices!
Vanilla extract. For warmth.
Arrowroot starch. The thickener! Arrowroot helps firm up the pie to help it set and avoid a gloopy mess (nothing sadder than a pie filling that spills out of the crust when it’s cut into).
Prepared pie crust. This recipe calls for your choice of a pre-made pie crust. Feel free to use any store bought or homemade option you like!
Tips for Baking this Sweet Potato Pie
Prep (or buy) the crust and make sweet potato purée ahead of time for faster assembly. If you’re looking to streamline making your pie filling, you can roast the sweet potatoes up to 1-2 days ahead of time and refrigerate the purée until you’re ready to make the pie. As for the crust, make sure it’s ready to go (whether store bought or homemade) before you start prepping the filling.
Use a high-powered blender. There’s really no way around this one - regular blenders simply aren’t powerful enough to fully break down cashews, so you really do need a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) to make this recipe. Without one, you won’t be able to transform the cashews into an ultra silky smooth cashew cream and the filling will be left with little bits of cashew throughout. Not ideal for a pie!
Use the tamper while blending. The filling is quite thick, so you’ll need to use a tamper to help your blender incorporate all the ingredients together, particularly after adding in the sweet potato and sugar (in step #4 in the recipe below).
Is my pie done? The pie will take approximately 55-60 minutes to bake, but since everyone’s oven is different, use these visual cues to gauge when your pie is ready. Bake the pie until the outside edges look lightly browned and the middle has mostly set but there is a bit of wobble in the very middle. Your pie will also look like it has inflated slightly during baking - this is normal and expected! - it will flatten out again during the first few minutes of cooling.
Avoid cracks by not overbaking! No one likes cracks in their pie. If a pie recipe is structurally sound, it actually shouldn’t crack. And don’t worry, because this pie is structurally sound, it won’t crack - as long as you don’t over bake it! If you start seeing some very small fractures forming on the outside edges (this may start happening after 60+ minutes of baking), the pie is signaling that it’s time to come out of the oven.
Let the pie cool fully before serving. Once it’s done, make sure to cool the pie fully at room temperature (about 3 hours) before transferring to the fridge so that it can further set for another ~8 hours or overnight before it’s ready to serve.
Fairly straightforward, right? Let’s get into baking this!
Sweet Potato Pie with Cashews & Dates
Vegan
Yields one 9-inch pie to serve ~8-10
Ingredients
For the pie:
2 lbs. sweet potatoes (roughly 2 large or 3 medium), to yield 2 cups (500 grams) sweet potato purée
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (120 grams) raw cashews*
½ cup water
2 Medjool dates, pitted
¾ cup (lightly packed) (144 grams) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons arrowroot starch
1 prepared 9-inch vegan pie crust (either store bought or homemade)
To serve:
Vegan whipped cream
Directions
Make the sweet potato purée. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F. Use a fork to prick holes all over the sweet potatoes and wrap each potato tightly in aluminum foil. Place them on a baking sheet and roast until completely soft and you’re able to pierce a fork through them, about 50-60 minutes (depending on the size of your potatoes). Remove from the oven and allow the potatoes to cool briefly until safe to handle. Scoop out the flesh and measure out 2 cups for the pie filling. Save any extra purée to use in overnight oats, granola, oatmeal, smoothies, etc.
Note: You can roast the potatoes up to 1-2 days ahead of time and refrigerate the purée in a covered container until you’re ready to make the pie.
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
In a high-powered blender (such as a Vitamix)**, combine the cashews, water, and pitted dates and blend on high until creamy, about 60-75 seconds.
Add 2 cups of sweet potato purée, brown sugar, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves), salt, and vanilla extract. Blend on high until very creamy, about 60-90 more seconds, using a tamper to help the blender incorporate all the ingredients.
Add the arrowroot starch and blend again briefly to incorporate, using the tamper as needed.
Add the blended filling to your prepared pie crust and use a spatula to smooth out the top.
Transfer the pie to the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the outside edges look lightly browned and the middle has mostly set (a bit of wobble is ok) - the filling will continue to set as it cools. Once you remove the pie from the oven, it will look like it has inflated slightly during baking - this is normal and expected! It will fall flatten out as it cools.
Let the pie cool completely at room temperature, about 3 hours. Then, transfer it to the fridge and chill it for 8 hours (or preferably overnight) to allow it to fully set before serving.
Serve with your favorite vegan whipped cream.
Notes:
*Because the recipe calls for a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, to make this filling, you don’t need to soak the cashews beforehand. However, feel free to do so if you’d like - soaking them does aid with digestion!
**A regular blender isn’t powerful enough to fully break down cashews and will leave little bits of cashews in the filling. You really do need a high-powered blender to make this recipe.
***Recipe originally published 12/8/2021; last updated 11/28/2022.
I hope you found this sweet potato pie to be delicious as I did! I very much would appreciate it if you left a review in the comments below and shared the recipe with a friend (or pinned it on Pinterest!). And if you snap a pic, tag me on Instagram (@teostinykitchen) so I can see how lovely your pie turned out!