With only 7 ingredients plus a couple of spices, this soul food sweet potato pie is easy enough for any home cook to master with ease. You'll find the unmistakable flavor of sweet potatoes pairs up beautifully with vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg to promise an incredible soul food experience.
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Using readymade pie dough speeds up the process, and for the filling, you simply mix the ingredients together. There's hardly any hands-on time involved in making this nutritious, antioxidant-rich pie. Once your potatoes are cooked, it will only take 5 minutes to get the pie oven-ready.
Your kitchen is going to smell incredible for an hour while this soul food pie is baking in the oven and then you won't believe how delicious it tastes.
Do you have more sweet potatoes than you know what to do with? This sweet potato cobbler, these delicious sweet potato cupcakes, and my popular sweet potato souffle are other favorite recipes of mine to make this time of year.
Main Ingredients
Soul food, or Southern comfort food, definitely applies to this tasty pie. Let's take a closer look at the main ingredients you need to make it:
- Sweet potatoes: The main flavor of the dish. You will need peeled and cooked sweet potatoes to make this. If you have leftover sweet potatoes (not the kind mashed with salt or with marshmallows on top!) they'd work great. Feel free to substitute pumpkin or butternut squash in this recipe since they taste so similar.
- Piecrust: A time-saving shortcut. I've made my own piecrusts and I've used the readymade kind. Usually, I'll use readymade pie crust dough because it's easy to work with and always comes out perfect.
- Spices: To complement the sweet potato flavor. Cinnamon and nutmeg add a warm, earthy appeal to this easy soul food pie and taste great with the sweet potatoes. You can add a little less or some more or try a pinch of allspice too. Substitute ginger for the nutmeg if you prefer.
- Sugar: For sweetness. Sweet potatoes do have their own natural sweetness, but once you mix in the other ingredients that sweet taste is diluted. This is why I like to add sugar to this pie. Regular granulated white sugar works fine or you could try golden brown sugar for more of a molasses-type taste.
- Milk: For the perfect texture. If the filling is too thick, it will be tricky to spoon into the pie crust. A splash of milk helps achieve great consistency. Use any kind of milk you want here or even a non-dairy milk substitute.
Instructions Overview
You know the phrase “easy as pie”? Well, that could very well have been based on this soul food sweet potato pie recipe!
Once your potatoes are tender you can mash them in a bowl with the butter. Next, go ahead and mix in the sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and spices.
Unroll the pie crust and press it into a pie dish, and then spoon in the filling and bake for an hour.
Common Questions
This is one of those questions everyone has their own answer to! As for me, I love both kinds. The flavor is very similar although sweet potatoes contain more sugar than pumpkin making them naturally sweeter. Try pumpkin pie bars and also this sweet potato pie recipe and let me know which one you like best!
If you chop the potato, it will cook faster. Chopped sweet potatoes will be tender in about 15 minutes, while whole ones can take up to 45 minutes. By the way, fresh sweet potatoes taste much fresher and better than the canned version, so it's worth taking the time to boil your own.
Cover it loosely and it should be fine on the countertop overnight. Any longer than that though and you will want to refrigerate it.
This pie doesn't need a topping but if you want to garnish it, consider flaked almonds, pecans, or coconut flakes on top.
In Africa, sweet potatoes and yams were native. When Africans came to the United States, they used these root veggies instead of pumpkin. That’s how this delicious pie came to be. While it is a must-serve dish at many African-American homes during the holidays, everyone who has discovered it serves it as well, particularly in the south.
Sweet potato pie temperature is a personal preference. Some prefer it cold while others prefer it warm. Regardless of temperature, many people love a little whipped cream on top.
Your sweet potato pie needs to cool at room temperature for about 2 to 4 hours. After that, it should go in the fridge. It will keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge, assuming there are any leftovers.
Sweet potato pie might be one of the best to freeze. Simply prepare the entire pie as instructed, but instead of baking, wrap it in plastic wrap in about 3 layers, then slide into a freezer bag. It should keep for up to 6 months.
Boiling your sweet potatoes takes less time than baking, plus it can retain more of the nutrients this root veggie has for your health.
Chopnotch Tips
- Boil or bake the sweet potatoes or use the flesh from leftover cooked ones.
- Serve a slice of pie with whipped cream on top or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Sweet potato pie contains fiber, iron, and vitamins B, C, and D, so don't feel bad about having that second slice!
Soul food sweet potato pie combines sweet potatoes with a readymade crust, vanilla, spices, and more, so you can expect a wealth of amazing flavors in every mouthful.
Related Recipes
Let us know what you think! Give this recipe a rating in the comments section below.
Recipe
How to Make
Soul Food Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie crust
- 1 pound sweet potatos, cooked, peeled
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Mash potatoes in a bowl. Add butter and beat well to combine.
- Add the remaining ingredients except for the pie crust and stir well to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a pie pan. Unroll the pie crust and press into the pie pan. Add the filling on top and bake for 55-60 minutes.
Notes
- Make sure the bars are completely cool or else you won't be able to cut them cleanly.
- Optional add-ins you might like to try include chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and vanilla sprinkles.
- Set a timer so you don't forget to turn the oven temperature down after the first 15 minutes.
Wonderful, Wonderful recipe. I loved the info on freezing. Great Thanksgiving dessert.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Vicky! I'm glad you love the recipe, and I agree, it's one of the best for Thanksgiving!
I've been looking for a sweet potato pie recipe - wanted to make it for a family dinner! thanks!
You’re welcome, Heather!
This sweet potato pie looks seriously delicious! I love the lightness of it and the ready made pastry seems a simple idea.
This looks so delicious and yummy! Can't wait to give this a try! My family is going to love this!
I've never had sweet potato in a dessert but it looks darn tasty!
I had no idea that this pie was so easy to make, its one of our favorites we always had it made from a good friend I am going to make this tomorrow I just bought everything thank you it looks fantastic
Enjoy!