Vegan Purple Sweet Potato Pie is as delicious as it is pretty. It's made with purple yams which give it a totally natural bright purple color. It's a showstopper!
The man standing behind me in line at the grocery store today asked if I had any plans for my days off. It took a solid few seconds of looking at him with scrunched eyebrows before I realized what he was talking about. Easter! Now it makes so much more sense why all the Cadbury Easter Eggs have been showing up at checkout tills all over town.
There must have been some sort of intuition thing going on since I made this purple sweet potato pie for you and it just so happens that it would be perrrrrfect with Easter dinner. I must have ESP.
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→ Disclaimer ← This pretty purple sweet potato pie is actually made with a type of yam called ube yams or purple yams. I didn't think yam pie sounded as good as sweet potato pie, and since everyone always mixes the two up anyway, I thought I'd just go with it. But hey, now you know!
These extra sweet yams sit on top of a crust made with nothing but healthy, good for you ingredients. I'm a girl who loves her pies with super flaky, buttery crust, but I don't miss it one bit with this coconut almond crust. And dolloped on top is a vegan whipped cream that (I swear!) I like better than the real thing. It might sound crazy, but it's true.
Oh ya, this purple sweet potato pie just so happens to be paleo and gluten-free too. Just sayin'.
So where do you find purple ube yams?
If you live in Vancouver, you head on over to Sunrise Market or T&T. If you and I don't both call this lovely city home, then your best bet is to head to the nearest Asian market. They look just like a regular yam only their skin is a dark purple color and, normally, they are skinnier.
If you can't find any, you could easily substitute regular orange sweet potatoes instead.
If you find some make sure to buy a few extra so you can make this purple sweet potato pie AND this Mashed Purple Yams with Sesame Brown Butter recipe.
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Favorite vegan dessert recipes:
- Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
- Healthy Almond Joy Stuffed Dates
- Amaretto Peach Cobbler
- Vanilla Cashew Butter Cups
- Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Whiskey Frosting
- Pretty Pink Vegan Strawberry Cream Pie
Vegan Purple Sweet Potato Pie with Coconut Almond Crust
Prep Time: 30 mins- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 8-10 servings
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Vegan Purple Sweet Potato Pie is as delicious as it is pretty. It's made with purple yams which give it a totally natural bright purple color. It's a showstopper!
| vegan + gluten-free |
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
For the pie filling:
- 2 lb. purple yams, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds (about 4 cups worth)
- 3/4 cup canned coconut milk (not low fat)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (see notes)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 – 1/2 cayenne pepper (neither amounts are very spicy but the 1/2 teaspoon does stand out more)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
For the coconut whipped cream:
- 1 can of full fat, additive free coconut milk (make sure it does not contain guar gum)
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9″ pie pan with coconut oil.
- Mix all the crust ingredients in a large bowl then transfer them to the prepared pie pan. Wet your hands lightly to prevent the crust from sticking to them then press the crust into the pan, making sure it is even on the sides and bottom.
- Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. When you remove it from the oven, the crust will have puffed up and be light golden brown. Use the back of a spoon to gently push the crust down so there is room for the filling.
For the filling:
- Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Add the purple yams and boil for 10 minutes, or until the yams can be pierced with a fork. Drain the yams then put them in a high-powered blender or food processor.
- Add the rest of the pie filling ingredients and blend on high until everything is smooth and creamy.
- Pour the pie filling into the baked pie shell and smooth out the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the pie has set but still has some jiggle in the middle. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool completely before serving it.
For the coconut whipped cream:
- Set the can of coconut milk in the fridge for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight. You want the cream and the milk to separate, and this is easier if it is very cold.
- Separate the hard cream from the watery milk. Put the cream in a large bowl and add the powdered sugar. Using electric beaters, beat the cream for 2-3 minutes. It won't form stiff peaks like regular whipped cream, but it will be stiff enough to dollop.
Notes
This amount of sweetness is perfect for me. Taste the pie filling before you add it to the crust and, if you'd like it a little sweeter, add some more maple syrup or some sugar.
Kristen Stevens
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Hi, I’m Kristen! 
Hi there! I cannot find purple sweet potatoes anywhere nearby 🙁 Would adding beet juice to orange sweet potatoes create a vibrant color as well? Thanks!
Oh no! Ya, they are tough to find sometimes. I’m really not sure if that would work, but I have to admit it is a brilliant idea. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Hi! Since coming back from the Philippines, I’ve been addicted to ube.
Can I use arrowroot powder instead of the tapioca starch?
I haven’t tried it, but it should work jsut fine. Those two are pretty interchangable. Hope you love the recipe as much as I do!
Can I make any part of the recipe ahead? Crust? Filling?
Thanks! It is going on my T-giving menu this year to appease my vegan relatives 😉
You can definitely make the crust ahead of time! You could probably make the filling ahead of time, too. I haven’t actually tried making that part ahead though so I can’t say 100%. If you baked the whole thing in the morning it will still be great at dinner. Happy thanksgiving!
I made this pie yesterday and it was thick I think there was to much ube used
Hi Linda! Yes, the filling is quite thick. As there are no eggs in this recipe to bind the filling together (like in a traditional sweet potato pie) the extra ube keeps the filling from being runny.
Made this tonight as a trial Thanksgiving pie recipe…so delicious! Thank you for this fun recipe.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you like it! Yay!!
Hi when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. I LOVE sweet potatoes!!! One question though, can I mash the sweet potatoes by hand, or do they have to go into a food processor? ( Unfortunately I don’t have a food processor, just a little Ninja.)
You can definitely mash them by hand, it will just take a little more work. 🙂
Would this recipe still be standout without the addition of ginger? I am unfortunately allergic, but would love to try this!
Absolutely! Just leave it out. 🙂
Made it (for a close cousin) good stuff! One extra I added is a little coconut manna aka coconut butter.
★★★★★
Great idea about adding some coconut butter!
Mmmm. Love coconut butter!! How much? And did you add to the crust or to the pie filling??
★★★★
Do you mean coconut oil? There’s 1/4 cup in the crust. 🙂
Look at that color!! Gorgeous! That’s a show-stopping dessert!
Thank you!!!
I love purple and I love hidden vegetable desserts so this is going to be a must try for me! Thanks for sharing!
Hiding veggies in desserts is the best, right?! I’m actually working on a veggies cookie recipe right now. 🙂
Do you think it would change much to bake the ube instead of boil them?
This is so beautiful I can’t wait to try it.
W/a Smile, Tiana
I haven’t tried making the pie with baked ube, but I suspect it would turn out great that way, too. 🙂
I so want to try this. This was another one of the first things I saw on your blog that totally caught my eye, and I’m not a sweet potato yam person. IIt’s just so colorful! n this little corner of the world, I’ll not find almond flour, and if I did, it would be priced soooo high. I saw someone else asking you about coconut flour, which I do have. I found another blogger that tells how to use it and make pie crusts and more with it. That said, I tried it for our American thanksgiving and really wasn’t too fond of it. Now, we did have a power outage, so my oven didn’t work and had to use a neighbors. His oven cooks hot and my crust burnt a bit, so maybe it could be useable. Definitely a different texture though, no matter what you make and it does take a “lot” more moisture and eggs.
★★★★★
That’s been my (limited) experience with coconut flour, too. I really can’t understand what people like about it. It tastes like sawdust to me lol. Do you eat gluten free? If not you could try a traditional pie crust, or even use graham crackers. 🙂
You can make almond flour with almonds and a food processor. The amount of time you process is the difference between almond meal and flour. You store the result in a seal container in the fridge.
Yes, you definitely can. It’s a bit more time consuming though so I tend to just buy almond flour. 🙂
We just found your recipe via Buzzfeed. And wow! What gorgeous color!
We also distribute Stokes Purple Sweet Potatoes that are available in many supermarkets across the country. Maybe we should send some to you to try as well….since it seems to me you like purple food? 🙂 Email me back and I’ll send you some.
Thank you! I usually pick up my purple sweet potatoes from the market up the road (and I don’t think you’d be able to ship to Canada) but thank you for the offer. So sweet of you.
And you’d be right about that! 🙂
I haven’t tried leaving it out, but I suspect you could. I would sub equal parts of almond flour instead. I’d love to hear how it goes if you make it!
Hi I wanted to know how necessary the shredded coconut is. I generally don’t like the texture of shredded coconut in my desserts and find it over takes the softness of moist desserts. What I mean is that it doesn’t blend in with the recipe and you can taste the pieces. Is it possible to do this recipe without the shredded coconut or will it taste weird or not bond well without it? Or is there a substitute I can use? Or will the shredded coconut texture not be obvious when I taste it? Just to clarify I like coconut flavoured deserts but don’t like the texture of actual coconut.
I haven’t tried leaving it out, but I suspect you could. I would sub equal parts of almond flour (almond meal) instead. I’d love to hear how it goes if you make it!
★★★★★
Yummmmmmm
I was home sick on thanksgiving & when I was finally hungry I made a sweet potato soup.
Had leftover potato & made a mini pie in a tart pan & this was to die for!!!!!!!!!!!
I made another today as I had extra filling but had run out of shredded coconut.
I wanted to try coconut flour as my mother in law doesn’t like the texture.
How much coconut flour should I use?
it’s not a one to one ratio with the shredded coconut.
Should I add any liquid or more coconut oil & maple syrup??
Thanks ???
★★★★★
Pie two days in a row … I love it! Lucky lady!
As far as the coconut flour goes, I have to admit that I agree with your mother in law. I’m really not a fan of the texture either so I never use it. I know that it’s not something that can be easily substituted in recipes and it tends to absorb a lot of liquid and turn kinda sawdusty. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help!
If you end up experimenting do let us all know how it goes. I’d love to hear the results!
this looks beautiful! I really hope I can find purple yams so I can make this! Purple is my favorite color!
Thanks, Heather! I’ll cross my fingers that you find purple yams!
I’m pretty much in your neck of the woods (New West.) and I’ve never seen purple yams….(although I have to admit I haven’t been looking for them,) Where did you find them?
Hi Lea!
I generally have pretty good luck finding them at T&T (I shop at their Chinatown store, but I’m sure they have similar produce at all of them) or I get them from Sunrise Market, a little grocer on Powell Street
I don’t know the grocery stores in New West very well, but if there is an Asian market close to you I’d start by looking there.
I hope that helps!
Thanks Kristen. If I don’t find them at an Asian Mkt nearby, I will hit T&T the next time I am in Metrotown. I want to make this pie!!
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you find them there! Most of the time they do carry them. 🙂
I just made this! It’s amazing! I ended up using honey instead of maple syrup, since I didn’t have any, and it took a bit more to make it as sweet as I like. I think next time I will try it with syrup and without cayenne. It was a bit too spicy for me. Overall, this is the best healthy dessert recipe I have ever made. And holy moly…. The crust…. I might just make it by itself. It’s incredible.
I’m so happy it turned out for you! And thanks for the note about the spice … I have a serious love for anything spicy so sometimes my perception can be way off lol. 🙂
uhm, yes please! i just found purple sweet potatoes at my local market!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you found them! They’re so sweet and delicious!!
This is stunning! Purple food just makes me so happy and hungry 🙂 I have a purple sweet potato frosting recipe, but I think this is even cooler!
Whoa … purple sweet potato frosting? That sounds amazing! Heading over to check that out now. 🙂
Love the color, too bad that I had never seen purple sweet potatoes in Mexico. Maybe will try it with yellow sweet potatoes, but the color will be lost. Pinned!
That is too bad! You could definitely sub regular sweet potatoes if you wanted to forgo the colour but keep all the vegan-y, grain-free goodness of this pie. Thanks for the pin!
Wow that looks amazing!! I am saving this recipe. I love purple sweet potatoes, the color is just astounding–this is certainly a good use for it 🙂
Thanks, June! They really are amazing, aren’t they?! 🙂
Whoa, a grain free dessert just for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?! Thank you! Haha. 🙂 This looks insane, yo. I’m going to have to pin/share this mofo right now. 🙂 🙂
★★★★★
Just for you, my friend! Thanks so much for pinning!! 🙂
Wow this looks absolutely beautiful. I love the color of the purple yams. I hope I come across some in my area!
Thanks, Michelle! I just read somewhere that you can sometimes find frozen purple yams. I’ve never seen them but if you’re having trouble sourcing them it might be worth looking there. 🙂