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Silky Sweet Potato Pie (Gluten-Free)

Silky Sweet Potato Pie with a delicious grain-free crust. This luscious pie recipe is refined sugar-free, paleo friendly, lower in sugar than regular pies, and includes a dairy-free option. Plus, it’s surprisingly good for you! A guilt free treat to enjoy during the holidays and beyond!

Slices of sweet potato pie on white plates

Controversial opinion, but I’ve always loved sweet potato pie more than traditional pumpkin pie.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m a pumpkin pie lover through and through. But there is something about the starchy creaminess of sweet potatoes and yams that levels up the taste and texture of the pie.

I’ll even go so far as to divulge the fact that sweet potato casserole and pie are my favorite parts about Thanksgiving.

This healthier silky sweet potato pie is pure perfection for the holiday season.

It has all the iconic features of classic homemade sweet potato pie, but is allergy-friendly for those with dietary restrictions.

Grain-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free using minimally processed ingredients, this amazing pie is lower in sugar and leaves you feeling great!

Plus, this traditional southern dessert is ultra silky using a couple tricks. The texture is simply sensational!

I can tell you from years of experience, it is difficult to stop at one piece! It is definitely my favorite pie recipe and something I look forward to every fall.

I made this Silky Sweet Potato Pie recipe for the first time way back in 2012 and it has been a staple in my life ever since.

Because my recipe development skills have come a long way in ten years, I am re-visiting this delicious recipe with some enhancements. The changes I have made to the recipe make it easier to prepare than the original recipe while keeping the same level of deliciousness!

In my opinion, this yummy pie recipe is easier to make than a regular sweet potato pie or pumpkin pie because the crust is a low-fuss endeavor. There’s no cutting in chilled butter and cold water, no need to roll dough on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, and no chill time in the refrigerator.

What we’re looking at here is truly low maintenance. An ideal breath of fresh air amid the chaos of holidays!

Whole sweet potato pie in a pie dish with one slice carved out.

Let’s chat about the simple healthy ingredients for sweet potato pie.

Ingredients for Silky Sweet Potato Pie:

For the Pie Crust:

I make the flaky pie crust grain-free using coconut flour, but you can go with your favorite tried and true pie homemade pie crust recipe using all-purpose flour or a store-bought pie crust or pie shell.

Coconut Flour: The wheat-free flour of choice here. Coconut flour is full of fiber and results in a tender buttery pie crust that has a sort of shortbread vibe.

Feel free to make my Almond Flour Pie Crust if you prefer using almond flour over coconut flour in your baking.

Unsalted Butter (or Coconut Oil): The fat portion of the recipe that gets absorbed into the flour to generate a rich and flavorful crust. If you use butter instead of coconut oil, you will need to add an additional 1-2 tablespoons. I’ve found butter is less oily than coconut oil so it isn’t an exact 1:1 replacement.

Pure Maple Syrup: A little pure maple syrup goes a long way in adding a gentle sweetness to the crust so that the pie is perfectly sweet through and through. Swap it out for your favorite granulated sweetener like brown sugar, coconut sugar, or regular cane sugar if you’d prefer. I would avoid using honey here because honey tends to burn easily and you don’t want to end up with an overly cooked crust.

Vanilla Extract: A splash of pure vanilla extract brings warmth to the crust. If you don’t have it on hand, you can omit it.

Eggs: Eggs help keep the crust ingredients held together nicely so that it slices easily and holds together. 

Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the flavor of all of the ingredients, giving the crust a rich, buttery taste.

Sweet Potato Pie Filling:

The ingredients for sweet potato pie filling are basic and simple! You may already have all of them on hand.

Fresh Sweet Potatoes: We need 1 to 2 large whole sweet potatoes (sizes vary greatly, so I recommend buying 2 large potatoes to be sure you get enough flesh). You can roast or boil the potatoes to cook them, and I recommend doing so several hours (up to 3 days) before you want to bake the pie to give the potatoes plenty of time to cool.

Eggs: A couple of eggs help fluff up the otherwise dense sweet potatoes to ensure the pie is light and tender. For a vegan option, omit the eggs and add 3 tablespoons of tapioca flour or cornstarch.

Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk (or Cream): Used to bring richness, full bodied flavor and tender texture to the pie, full-fat canned coconut milk or half and half gives us the absolute best sweet potato pie. I use canned coconut milk to keep it dairy-free, but feel free to swap it out for dairy if you prefer.

Pure Maple Syrup (or Honey): Used to sweeten the sweet potato mixture, we use honey or pure maple syrup to keep the pie refined sugar-free. I find a small amount (¼ cup) of honey works great, but you can increase the amount to up to ½ cup for a very sweet pie.

Pumpkin Pie Spice: If you don’t have pumpkin spice or you prefer using your own blend, feel free to make your own using ground cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. This combination of wonderful warm spices is what gives the sweet potato puree such incredible flavor.

Fresh Ginger: This all star ingredient brings such delightful zingy flavor to the pie! Don’t skip it unless you absolutely need to as it really levels up the flavor.

Salt: It may seem like one teaspoon is a ton of salt but keep in mind, we’re using a lot of mashed potatoes! Be sure to use sea salt, not iodized salt as iodized table salt has much saltier flavor. If you only have iodized salt on hand, decrease the amount to ¼ teaspoon. 

Two plates of slices of sweet potato pie

Tip For the Silkiest Sweet Potato Pie:

If you’ve ever had a lusciously silky sweet potato pie, here’s the trick! Cook the sweet potatoes with the peel on (whether you’re boiling them or baking them). When you remove the peel, also remove the first layer of sweet potato flesh. As long as the potatoes have had a chance to cool, this layer peels off very easily and is also very noticeable. 

Peeling the outer skin off the the sweet potato

This leaves you with the moist, tender, deliciously creamy sweet potato, which makes for the silkiest pie and lighter texture!

Another trick to light and fluffy sweet potato pie is using plenty of canned coconut milk (or heavy cream) in the filling to bring moisture, fat content, and tenderness to the filling. For this particular recipe, you can use ⅔ cup to 1 ¼ cups of full-fat canned coconut milk, half & half, or heavy cream.

Now that we have the basics down for this gluten-free sweet potato pie, let’s bake it, shall we?

How to Make Silky Sweet Potato Pie:

Cook the Sweet Potato:

Cook the sweet potato using your preferred method. I cut mine into 1-inch rounds (with the peel still on) then boil them for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chunks are very tender when poked with a fork. Drain potatoes into a colander and allow them to cool to room temperature.

cooked sweet potatoes in a colander, ready to be put into sweet potato pie

To speed up the process, you can transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to an airtight container and refrigerate them until chilled.

As an alternative, you can poke several holes in the potatoes, wrap them in foil, and bake them at 400 degrees F for 40 to 60 minutes or until they are very mushy.

I often cook the sweet potatoes at least 1 to 2 days before baking the pie so that I have ample time to allow them to cool.

While the potatoes will end up getting blended in a blender for the sweet potato filling, I do recommend measuring them out so you can mash them with a fork or potato masher in order to measure out 3 cups.

Prepare the Pie Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease or spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking oil or coconut oil. 

Add the coconut flour, coconut oil (or butter), pure maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt to a stand mixer (or food processor) and beat until well-combined. Note: You can also use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer if you don’t own an electric mixer.

Beat until ingredients are well combined

Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs.

Add the eggs to the mixer

Beat until completely combined and a thick dough forms.

Finished dough in a stand mixer

Press the dough into the pie pan into an even layer. There is enough pie dough to form pleated sides if you choose to make them. Go ahead and crimp edges if desired.

Coconut flour crust for sweet potato pie

Poke the dough with a fork many times to allow it to bake evenly. This also prevents the dough from bowing out in various areas during the baking process.

Bake the pie crust on the center rack of the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust begins to show a little color on the edges.

Remove the pie crust from the oven and allow it to cool before proceeding with the rest of your pie recipe.

Make the Pie:

Transfer the cooked sweet potato to a blender or food processor along with the rest of the ingredients for the pie filling. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth.

sweet potatoes in a blender with coconut milk, eggs, salt and cinnamon
Blended sweet potato mixture for pie in a blender

Note: you can blend all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl with an immersion blender if you prefer.

Pour the sweet potato pie filling into the prepared pie crust and spread it into an even layer.

Sweet potato pie ready to go into the oven.

Use thin sheets of aluminum foil to cover the exposed crust to keep it from burning.

Pie with crust covered with foil

Bake the pie on the center rack of the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the center of the pie looks like it has completely set up.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature before transferring it to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.

When you’re ready to serve, use a sharp knife to slice the pie into individual slices and serve with your choice of whipped cream, coconut whipped cream (for a dairy-free option), or vanilla ice cream.

Whole sweet potato pie, fresh out of the oven.

Sweet Potato Pie is always more flavorful and delicious the next day (and a few days) following baking. For the best result, bake the pie 1 to 3 days before you want to serve it to give it plenty of time to set up and develop deeper flavor.

And that’s it! A deliciously creamy, perfectly sweet and warmly-spiced silky sweet potato pie with gluten-free crust. Make it for any event that necessitates pie and put it on your Thanksgiving table this year!

Top down photo of two white plates with slices of sweet potato pie with whipped cream on top and gold forks.

If you’re looking for more pie inspiration, check out these reader favorites!

More Healthy Pie Recipes:

Sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth.

Original post published on November 5, 2012.

Slices of sweet potato pie on white plates

Silky Smooth Sweet Potato Pie (Gluten-Free)

Silky gluten-free sweet potato pie that is dairy-free, naturally sweetened, and healthier! This smooth and delicious healthy sweet potato pie is a true delight for sharing with friends and family for Thanksgiving or other holiday celebrations.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
1 (9-inch) pie

Ingredients

Grain-Free Crust:

  • ¾ cup coconut flour
  • ½ cup coconut oil, softened (not melted)*
  • 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup**
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 2 large eggs

Sweet Potato Pie Filling:

Instructions

Cook the Sweet Potato:

  • Cook the sweet potato using your preferred method. I cut mine into 1-inch rounds (with the peel still on) then boil them for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chunks are very tender when poked with a fork. Drain potatoes into a colander and allow them to cool to room temperature. To speed up the process, you can transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to an airtight container and refrigerate them until chilled.
    cooked sweet potatoes in a colander, ready to be put into sweet potato pie
  • As an alternative, you can poke several holes in the potatoes, wrap them in foil, and bake them at 400 degrees F for 40 to 60 minutes or until they are very mushy.
  • Note: I often cook the sweet potatoes at least 1 to 2 days before baking the pie so that I have ample time to allow them to cool.
  • When the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and the first layer of flesh (this ensures the pie turns out very creamy and silky).
    Peeling the outer skin off the the sweet potato

Prepare the Pie Crust:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease or spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking oil or coconut oil. 
  • Add the coconut flour, butter (or coconut oil), pure maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt to a stand mixer (or food processor) and beat until well-combined. Note: You can also use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer if you don’t own an electric mixer.
    Add coconut flour, coconut oil and pure maple syrup to a stand mixer and beat
  • Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs.
    Add the eggs to the mixer
  • Beat until completely combined and a thick dough forms.
    Finished dough in a stand mixer
  • Press the dough into the pie pan into an even layer. There is enough pie dough to form pleated sides if you choose to make them. Go ahead and crimp edges if desired.
    Coconut flour crust for sweet potato pie
  • Poke the dough with a fork many times to allow it to bake evenly. This also prevents the dough from bowing out in various areas during the baking process.
  • Bake the pie crust on the center rack of the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust begins to show a little color on the edges.
  • Remove the pie crust from the oven and allow it to cool before proceeding with the rest of your pie recipe.

Make the Pie:

  • Transfer the cooked sweet potato to a blender or food processor along with the rest of the ingredients for the pie filling.
    sweet potatoes in a blender with coconut milk, eggs, salt and cinnamon
  • Blend until the mixture is completely smooth.
    Blended sweet potato mixture for pie in a blender
  • Note: you can blend all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl with an immersion blender if you prefer.
  • Pour the sweet potato pie filling into the prepared pie crust and spread it into an even layer.
    Sweet potato pie ready to go into the oven.
  • Use thin sheets of aluminum foil to cover the exposed crust to keep it from burning.
    Pie with crust covered with foil
  • Bake the pie on the center rack of the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the center of the pie looks like it has completely set up.
  • Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature before transferring it to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
  • When you’re ready to serve, use a sharp knife to slice the pie into individual slices and serve with your choice of whipped cream, coconut whipped cream (for a dairy-free option), or vanilla ice cream.
    Whole sweet potato pie, fresh out of the oven.

Notes

*You can replace the coconut oil with 2/3 cup of softened butter if you prefer. Butter is not a 1:1 replacement for coconut oil in baked recipes like this, as coconut oil is greasier.
**Or granulated sweetener of choice
***You’ll need 1 to 2 large sweet potatoes to get 3 cups of mashed sweet potato.
***For a very sweet pie, use up to ½ cup of honey or pure maple syrup. I personally think the pie turns out perfectly sweet with just ¼ cup of honey.
I posted this recipe on November 5, 2012. Feel free to send me an email if you’d like the original version of the recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice of 10Calories: 175kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 4gFat: 9gFiber: 4gSugar: 11g
Course: Desserts & Treats
Cuisine: American
Keyword: dairy free sweet potato pie, gluten free recipes, gluten free sweet potato pie, grain free pies, healthy sweet potato pie, paleo desserts, paleo sweet potato pie, silky sweet potato pie, sweet potato pie
Servings: 1 (9-inch) pie
Calories: 175kcal
Author: Julia

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Recipe Rating




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Susan Hayes

Tuesday 6th of June 2023

Can this be frozen? Unbaked? Baked?

Julia

Monday 12th of June 2023

Hi Susan! You can definitely freeze this pie. I would freeze it for no longer than 3 months, and I would bake it prior to freezing it. Hope you enjoy! xo

Adam

Tuesday 22nd of November 2022

Wow this is bloody delicious. My 6 year old devoured his slice and asked for more. Thank you

Julia

Tuesday 22nd of November 2022

I'm so happy to hear you and your kid enjoy the pie! It's my favorite pie recipe, hands down! xoxo

Laura

Friday 11th of November 2022

Julia, you are spot on about sweet potatoes, they are not really a potato, they're a super food, I use the sweet potato and the red potato only. I am anxious to try your coconut crust recipe, thank you so much!

Julia

Tuesday 15th of November 2022

My pleasure, Laura! I hope you enjoy it! xoxo

Brittany

Tuesday 24th of November 2020

Help! I can’t find tapioca flour. What can I use instead?

Julia

Friday 27th of November 2020

Hi Brittany!

You can swap tapioca flour 1:1 for rice flour, potato flour, almond flour, arrowroot starch, or even cornstarch. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Andrea A.

Tuesday 29th of October 2019

I've made this pie twice now and it is a SMASH HIT with everyone who tries it. Simply amazing recipe - delish and guilt free. Thank you!!!

Julia

Wednesday 30th of October 2019

I'm so happy you like it, Andrea!! Thanks so much for the sweet note! :D xo

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