A Sweet Potato Pie Just Right For The Holidays

A Sweet Potato Pie Just Right For The Holidays

sweet potato mini pies hero

While we love fruit or chocolate baked goods, there’s something about a dessert loaded with vegetables that makes us feel extra good. We’ve amped up the healthy ingredients in our version of a classic sweet potato pie. Not only is this dessert cleanse-friendly, but we’ve packaged it up in mini-pie form so you’ll get the perfect portion every time!

Sweet potato goodness

Potatoes often get a bad rap in our carb-conscious world but we love sweet potatoes both on and off the 21-day cleanse diet. These starchy, brightly colored vegetables are rich in beta carotene, fiber, and a variety of other vitamins and minerals. Sweet potatoes are high in a nutrient called pantothenic acid, also known as B5. Like all b vitamins, it helps the body convert food into usable energy.

It’s important to note that certain nutrients, such as fat-soluble vitamins, require a counterpart nutrient to be properly utilized by the body. Regardless of how much vitamins A, D, E, and K (these are fat-soluble vitamins) you consume, if your diet lacks healthy fats your body won’t be able to use these important nutrients. That’s one reason why we love pairing our nutrient-rich sweet potatoes with foods high in healthy fats like ghee, coconut oil, almond meal, and nuts.

The spice of life

One of the things we love about fall and winter food is the use of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. The cinnamon is a shining star in the recipe and helps bring out the natural sweetness of the sweet potato, so we can use less sweetener than traditional desserts. Cinnamon contains a compound called catechins, which helps the body release insulin, the hormone that helps our body use sugar in the blood for energy and helps balance our blood sugar levels.

Ingredients:

Sweet potato pie filling:

2 cups sweet potato (about two large sweet potatoes)
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup maple syrup or coconut nectar
1/4 cup ghee or coconut oil
3 tablespoons tapioca powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Crust:

1/2 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ghee or coconut oil
1/2 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup ghee or coconut oil, at room temp
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tartlet pans

sweet potato pie ingredients

Preheat oven to 375. Combine dry crust ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until finely minced and fully combined. Once dry ingredients are combined, stir in butter. Cream together until everything is evenly combined. Using your fingers, press batter evenly into mini tart pans. Place tarts on a baking sheet, then place in the preheated oven. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until crust is just slightly golden. Remove from heat and let crusts cool.

ingredients in processor

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Peel the sweet potato and cut into large chunks. Add sweet potato to boiling water, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover potatoes. Cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork (about 15-20 minutes). Drain potatoes. Now that potatoes are tender, slightly mash so that you can properly measure 2 cups, then add to blender.

Add all remaining filling ingredients to the blender with sweet potatoes. Blend on high until creamy and smooth.

Spoon crust mixture evenly between tartlet pans and press down evenly.

mini pies crusts
sweet potato mini pies blender

Pour filling evenly into mini-tarts and smooth out tops. Place tarts on a baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes, until sweet potato is slightly firmer and lightly browned (the tarts may jiggle slightly in the middle).

sweet potato pie in pan

Let tarts cool before serving. Sweet potato pie goes well with a bit of coconut cream or pecans on top!

sweet potato pie bite

Recipe and photography by Kaitlyn Noble

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