Purple Sweet Potato Pie

Sick of pumpkin pie? Try something new this year with this vegan purple sweet potato pie with a buttery, gluten free gingersnap crust! It's just as delicious as it is beautiful.

Last month, our team was discussing what kind of Thanksgiving dessert recipes we should share this year. We wanted something relatively traditional, but we're all kind of sick of pumpkin pie. Not sure about you, but I'm getting bored with the same menu year after year!

How to upgrade a traditional recipe? First we thought regular sweet potato pie - still a classic. Then, we thought why not make it purple?!

Purple sweet potatoes are becoming easier to find in grocery stores (like Whole Foods) as they become more popular in the US. They're incredibly gorgeous. The vibrant purple almost looks fake! They also have a rich flavor and creamy texture that lends itself perfectly to pie.

Paired with a gluten free gingersnap crust and our favorite dairy free whipped cream, this vegan purple sweet potato pie is a showstopper! Before we get to the recipe, we have a few important notes to ensure this comes out perfectly.

What are purple sweet potatoes and where can I find them?

Good question(s).

There are actually a few different varieties of purple sweet potatoes that differ significantly in texture, taste and color. The type we used here (found at our local Whole Foods) is a Stokes Purple Sweet Potato.

They're grown in California and have a purple skin and a deep purple flesh that actually intensifies as it cooks. (See below for evidence!) The texture is more dense and dry than a regular sweet potato. I personally prefer these over regular sweet potatoes in both taste and texture!

Two other varieties of purple sweet potatoes include Ube and Okinawan Sweet Potatoes.

Okinawan sweet potatoes originate from Japan and have a beige exterior and a deep purple interior. They're not to be confused with Japanese sweet potatoes, which have a purple skin and creamy white interior. Confusing, I know.

Lastly, Ube (also known as purple yam) originates from the Philippines. It's a popular ingredient in restaurants in bakeries around the country, but it's quite hard to find. (At least where we live!) If you can find Ube, you should be able to use them in this recipe.

If you want to start experimenting with purple sweet potatoes in your kitchen, here are a few more recipes to try:

• Vegan purple sweet potato cheesecake bars
• Roasted vegetable and tofu sheet pan dinner
• Sub them for regular potatoes in these vegan mashed potatoes
• Purple sweet potato fries with herby tahini sauce
• Vegan purple sweet potato ice cream with a blackberry swirl

Instructions

Instead of a regular pie crust, we opt for an easier gingersnap cookie crust. It's buttery, rich, flavorful and perfectly complements the sweet filling.

We used gluten free gingersnap cookies and vegan butter for the perfect crust. If you're not gluten free, of course feel free to substitute with regular gingersnaps! And if you can't find (or don't like) gingersnaps, sub with gluten free or regular graham crackers.

Simply pulse everything together in your food processor until it forms a crumbly texture. Press it into a pan, and that's it! No pre-baking required.

Filling

The filling is pretty easy (made in a blender!), but there are a few things to note to ensure a perfect baked texture.

Instead of roasting the potatoes, we steam ours for this recipe. Of course, you'll have to start by peeling the potatoes. This is not the kind of recipe where skins are optional!

Roughly chop the potatoes and add them to your steamer so they cook quickly. The color will actually intensify, and they're ready when they are perfectly fork tender. For the smoothest possible texture, I run the steamed potatoes through a ricer before adding to the blender. You can also use a traditional masher.

To add depth of flavor to this vegan purple sweet potato pie, we rely on a few key ingredients. These include fresh orange zest, as well as a splash of orange juice. Freshly squeezed is best, but store-bought is perfectly fine.

Coconut cream makes for a super creamy filling with just a hint of coconut flavor. We always call for canned full fat coconut milk or cream. The stuff that comes in a carton is not at all the same thing.

We round out the flavors with vanilla extract and a large pinch of pumpkin pie spice for those quintessential fall flavors. The best part? You can just throw everything into the blender and let it do its thing!

The most important ingredient in this recipe is arrowroot starch. Since this purple sweet potato pie is vegan, there are obviously no eggs to help bind everything together.

That's where arrowroot powder comes in. It's a natural ingredient derived from a starchy root, similar to cassava or yucca. It works similarly to cornstarch as a thickener. It's available in most grocery stores these days, so you shouldn't have trouble finding it.

Without arrowroot powder, the pie won't set. Believe me. I accidentally left it in one of our many test runs of this recipe and it was not pretty. On that same note...

Let cool COMPLETELY before serving

I'm not kidding - this is the single most important part of the recipe. When the pie comes out of the oven, it may look a little jiggly still. It's essential to let the pie cool completely before cutting, otherwise it won't set.

We suggest at least 3 hours of cool time to ensure perfect results. After about an hour of cooling, you can pop it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.

Only when the pie is completely cool to the touch can you add the whipped cream topping! Speaking of whipped cream, we use store bought. Sure, you could make your own. But you're already making a whole pie from scratch - why dirty another bowl?

Yay! Your purple sweet potato pie is now ready to enjoy. Isn't it just a beaut?

More vegan Thanksgiving desserts

Feeding a big crowd this year? Here are a few more recipes to add to your dessert spread.

• Creamy Pumpkin Mousse with Maple Nut Brittle
• Vegan & GF Apple Crisp
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (Vegan, GF)
• Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

If you give this vegan purple sweet potato pie recipe a try, we’d love for you to leave a rating and review below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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