The fudgy texture of a brownie and the sweet vanilla flavor of cake combine into the perfect cinnamon-spiced nut-sprinkled Sweet Potato Blondie squares!
The sweet potato that tastes like cake turned into cake that tastes like sweet potato.
Okay fine, blondie that tastes like sweet potato…but close enough.
If you’ve ever eaten a Japanese sweet potato, you’ve probably noticed how much they kind of sort of exactly taste like cake in a “Whoa did this thing really grow underground?” kinda way. It’s mind blowing. And will ruin you for all orange sweet potatoes going forward. But it’s worth the taste experience if you can find them. We’ll find some other yummy use for the orange ones.
Just so we’re clear Japanese sweet potatoes are the purple skin + white flesh ones. That always seems to spark some confusion. The white skin + white flesh ones are good too – somewhere in-between classic orange and Japanese on the sweet potato spectrum. Those would be my next-best recommendation for this recipe if you can’t find the Japanese variety, but I highly recommend you traverse all the grocery stores in the (10-15 mile radius of your house) land because these potatoes are worth a little extra effort.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with the why-blondies-in-the-peak-of-ice-cream-season? part.
Besides the obvious blondie sundae = AMAZING answer, it all started with this pic I share on Instagram a week or so ago. Late night baking turned into next day bloob-topped sweet square sharing, and many of you seemed to want a piece too. I didn’t know exactly how much of anything went into that blender, but I did know that it had to be recreated ASAP. Because it tasted like vanilla + cinnamon + joy in blondie form, and who doesn’t want that in their life?
The key components of this blondie recipe are…
Japanese sweet potato. Other varieties will work as well, but you cannot beat the naturally cake-like flavor of these guys. One large sweet potato will yield enough for a single batch (1 1/2 cups). You can bake it in the oven or microwave, and then mash before measuring.
Cashew butter. Any nut or seed butter will work, but I personally love the flavor of cashew butter in baking. I tried testing a lower fat option as well, but the texture was awful without the nut butter. If you are really craving a low fat sweet potato blondie, I will nudge you in the direction of this brownie recipe – replace cacao with more flour and add cinnamon and vanilla.
Cinnamon + vanilla. Do I really need to explain?
After some trial and error, I found the other essentials to be…
Coconut flour. These blondies are grain-free and mostly made of sweet potato, but a little bit of coconut flour balances the moisture and makes the texture more cake-like.
Baking powder. Even thought blondies are meant to be dense and chewy, a little leavening is still a must.
Maple syrup. But it’s optional. They are quite sweet with just the natural potato flavor, especially if you are using Japanese sweet potatoes. But if you do choose to skip it, you will need extra non-dairy milk to make up for the decreased liquid.
Pinch of salt. The magical little pinch that makes sweet stuff SO much better.
Non-dairy milk. Just enough to get the batter to blend, probably 3-4 tablespoons depending on the consistency of your nut butter and whether or not you use the maple syrup.
Chopped nuts. Very very optional. And switch-out-able. I’ve made a batch with cacao nibs + coconut on top, a batch with chocolate chips on top, a batch with nothing on top – there is no wrong way to go. But personally I prefer a crunchy contrast of some sort.
I’ve made and tweaked and tasted my way through 3 batches in the past week and I’m still not tired of them. However I am out of sweet potatoes. I do hope you try this seemingly-simple-but-actually-spectacular sweet potato recipe and become just as blondie obsessed as I am!
Grain-Free Sweet Potato Blondies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 squares 1x
Description
The fudgy texture of a brownie and the sweet vanilla flavor of cake combine into the perfect cinnamon-spiced nut-sprinkled Sweet Potato Blondie squares!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup baked and mashed sweet potato ((Japanese sweet potato taste the best!))
- 1/2 cup nut or seed butter ((I used cashew butter))
- 2 tbsp maple syrup ((optional))
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of sea salt
- 3–4 tbsp non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine everything except the non-dairy milk in a blender or food processor (or mix by hand).
- Blend, adding the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until combined into a very thick batter. It should be almost crumbly but not quite, don’t add too much milk or they will turn out mushy.
- Press into an 8×5″ baking pan (or a standard loaf pan works too) lined with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle on chopped nuts and press them in lightly.
- Bake for 35 minutes at 350F.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and eating. Keep leftovers in the fridge.
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Can you use a different flour than coconut? I don’t have any on hand and it’s such a small amount I wasn’t sure if it would make a difference.
Yep you sure can! It’s such a small amount almost any flour will work, but you will probably need to double it to 1/4 cup since no flour is as absorptive as coconut.
When I come across easy recipes with surprising ingredients, I really need to try them. Sometimes they are a hit, sometimes a miss… this was definitly a BIG hit! Yummm!
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Haha yes I know exactly what you mean, but I am very happy to hear this fell into the first category! I love having these around for snacking, I tell myself it’s basically just like eating a sweet potato 😀 Enjoy the rest and thanks for the feedback Selma!
Looks delish. You think that adding coconut along with the nuts would work.
Absolutely! Sounds delicious 🙂
These look delicious! Do you think I could substitute protein powder for the coconut flour?
Yep absolutely, great idea! Hope you enjoy 🙂
This pictures are amazing and the ingrediens are sooo healthy! I will definitely try them out. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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These are one of my favorite to have around for snacking, I actually have some leftover baked sweet potato in the fridge right now that will probably end up as blondies 🙂 Hope you love them too!
What if i need more 6 squares? How can i make it? Should i dobble the sweet potato and the coconut flour? Looks delicious i will share it for my baby shower. Thanks.
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You will need to double everything and use a bigger pan too. A square cake pan would be okay, although will only yield 9 squares or so, so a bit bigger would be even better. Or even two loaf size pans. Hope that makes sense and I wish you a wonderful baby shower!
Thank you!
I wasn’t a huge fan of the consistency. They turned out really wet. But I added the milk with everything else and then read that you were supposed to add it one TBSP at a time. So next time I will be careful. That being said, I did not even get to try them. My kids devoured them. Even the sweet potato striking baby!! Definitely one that needs to be made again!
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Hahaha “sweet potato striking baby” I love it😂 Well I am happy your kids approved regardless! They are quite moist and will actually firm up with time/chilling if you prefer a firmer consistency, but yes less milk will help too. Sweet potatoes vary in moisture so that’s why I recommend adding it slowly. Hopefully next time around you can actually snag a bite too!
I think that I will try them again this week!! They really loved them and we have plenty of sweet potatoes!! Ha ha ha
Have you tried these with normal, orange sweet potato? That is the only kind of sweet potato available where I live. These really look amazing and I hope I could use the orange one :).
Yep, it works great with the orange ones too! The orange ones tend to have a bit more moisture, so consider sticking to the lower end of the non-dairy milk range (like 2-3 tbsp or so). Hope you enjoy 🙂
Hi. Any chance this recipe could work using a mini muffin tin? And if so what would the temp and cook time be?
Sure, although the texture is much more dense and brownie like so they won’t be fluffy life muffins. But bake time will probably be around 15 minutes at 350F, just look for golden edges. Happy baking 🙂
How many sweet potatoes should we use? Would 2 come out to about 1 1/2 cups?
It depends on the size, but 1 large or two small potatoes is usually enough to get 1 1/2 cups. But be sure to measure after mashing too 🙂
Can pumpkin be used in place of the sweet potato? Or in addition to? I’m not sure I have enough sweet potato to measure 1.5C. Thanks!
I wouldn’t use all pumpkin as it’s more watery/less starchy but a combo of the two should be fine 🙂
Hi… I would love to have the nutritional information. Ty kindly, Roseanne
I haven’t calculated the stats for this one, but you can plug in all he ingredients here and find out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
I LOVE Japanese sweet potatoes, and I had the same reaction: “These taste like cake! I want to make these into cake!” But I am not a skilled baker so I’m so glad you developed a recipe! Mine did turn out like mush, though. Before I even added any milk the batter was much wetter than yours looked in the video. I decided to add a couple tsp additional coconut flour, but that didn’t seem to help much. My potatoes didn’t seem particularly moist. Any ideas? Should I just keep adding coconut flour till the batter looks like yours next time?
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Oh no!! Hmm so how runny was your nut butter? If it was super oily that could be another variable that would cause the batter to be way too wet. Yes, more coconut flour will help but too much and they may bake to be overly dry/crumbly since coconut flour is VERY drying. Coconut flour baked goods without egg are never going to have the most defined crumb, so if you wanted to go a completely different direction but still with the japanese sweets you could try this recipe instead: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/vegan-vanilla-custard-cake/
Ahhhhhh… That makes sense. I used a combo of trader joe’s almond butter (kinda runny) and coconut butter (definitely runny when warm!). Different butter next time, or just less? I don’t know how to explain the look of my batter. Maybe the way yours would look if it had about a quarter cup of liquid added to it. Thanks for your feedback!
Definitely could have been the coconut butter, that is quite different than other nut butters. I wouldn’t use less, but try all almond butter next time and see how that goes 🙂
Do you reckon tahini would work well? Or is the texture too different as well?
Hmm tahini tends to be quite runny so I worry it may make them too moist/mushy. It would taste delish though, so might be worth a shot! I haven’t tested it so can’t say for sure 🙂
Hi, Natalie! Would it make a difference if I were to use 1/4 cup banana (mashed) to replace half of the peanut butter? Thanks!
Since these have so little flour, it’s in large part the nut butter that gives them that baked texture. Swapping in banana will make them mushier with a less defined crumb, so I don’t recommend it. But peanut butter will be fine! Extra delicious even 🙂
Do you think I could perhaps add more flour to it, then? Or maybe use powdered peanut butter?
Any of these changes will affect the texture and I can’t really say for sure without testing it, so you will just have to experiment and see 🙂
Hi Natalie! So … I went on ahead and made the blondies with 1/4 cup bananas and 1/4 cup peanut butter. When it first came out, the top was browned but the inside was definitely a lot more moist. I was a bit skeptical at first about the texture, but then I put it in the fridge overnight to chill and … OH MY! It was DELICIOUS! Your pictures look absolutely divine so I’m still going to try to find a way for it to be crumbly without too much fat … You’re amazing, Natalie!
WOOHOO!! I was worried about the texture, but I am so so happy to hear it was still delicious🤗 And I bet the peanut butter taste with the sweet potato and banana is super yum, and I love these even more chilled too. Thanks for sharing your results Cynthia!
Made these tonight for our easter dessert. It was delicious. Every family member loved it. I used sunflower seed butter and cooked it in a round baking tray and served with a paleo type custard. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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Woohoo!! I am so happy it was a success Nicola, and with custard it sounds absolutely delish😋 Thanks for the feedback and I hope you had a wonderful Easter!
can i use regular butter instead of nut butter?
Regular butter will not work here since it melts to a liquid whereas nut butter does not so the texture would be very different and potentially just a pan of mush. Butter can sub for coconut oil, but not nut butter most of the time, sorry!
I was wondering if it’s okay if I bake the Japanese sweet potatoes right before I bake the blonde? Like is it okay if the potato is just cooked and still warm when I put all of the ingredients together? Or should I cook the sweet potato before and let it cool or put it in the fridge before making these blondes?
Sure, you can use a freshly baked sweet potato! It’ll actually be better and easier to mix if it’s fresh, but I do recommend letting it cool a little bit (warm not hot). Hope you enjoy them!
okay i have these in the oven, and at 35 minutes they weren’t close to set, so im cooking them more. So how do you tell if they are done? should a toothpick come out clean?
These probably won’t pass the toothpick test, they are going to be much fudgier than a cake or muffin. Look for golden brown edges and the center shouldn’t feel too mushy although a little soft is okay. Sorry I know it’s a bit late, but I hope it worked out okay!
I’m looking make healthier options for my family. I do not like sweet potato at all but decided i would give it a try. I couldn’t find Japanese sweet potato anywhere so just used regular sweet potato and rather then putting nuts on top i topped it with Coconut and it was such a hit. Going to be making these again.
Woohoo!! I am so happy you gave them a try even if a little skeptical about the sweet potato part🤗 Thanks for the awesome feedback, Crystal!
I am sitting in my living room writing this. The blondies are in the kitchen. It’s been about ten minutes. FIVE MINUTES IS TOO LONG TO WAIT! AAAAAAAHH!! GIVE ME BLONDIES NOW! They are especially irresistible as I subbed chocolate chips of the chopped nuts.
Hahahahaha!! SO the recipe would be better if I found a way to bake them in 5 minutes tops?😆😂 And I very much approve of the chocolate chip swap🙌 Ahhhhh I can’t wait for you to taste them, I hope they are everything you’ve dreamed of and more🤗
Yes, they were. Sadly, now they are gone 🙁
★★★★★
Holy cannoli – SO GOOD!!! Made it with Japanese sweet potatoes and cashew butter. Holy freaking cannoli
Oh that sounds heavenly, I am so happy you liked them!
Remarkable. I tasted a tiny bit right after I got it out of the oven and it’s incredibly delicious. I made it with a combo of about 80/20 purple/orange sweet potatoes. My purple (tiny) potatoes are the ones with purple flesh as well, since I can’t get the white-fleshed ones. I used a combination of hazelnut and sunflower seed butters, pretty runny but delicious. I put some exquisite pecans on top. So, great recipe and great-quality ingredients = win-win.
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I am so happy you tried these! I am loving the sound of that hazelnut + sunflower seed butter combo, two of my faves😋 Thank you for the feedback, and enjoy the rest of the batch Keren!
This recipe, because it relies on so few ingredients, requires absolute top quality ones. And this is exactly what I had: fresh potatoes, sprouted nut/seed butters and exquisite pecans I spread on top, all bought directly from the people who grow/make them. And so such great results. It reminds me of most of my experiences in Italian restaurants IN Italy: fresh, local, ingredients and just the minimum of seasoning. Then you get to taste pure flavours of the ingredients themselves, with a few extras. Superb. As in this recipe. Thanks, Natalie.
These look so good! What a fun way to use sweet potatoes! Japanese sweet potatoes are so delicious they are pretty much dessert! Do you have any other dessert ideas for them?
I love Japanese sweet potatoes too! You could use them in any sweet potato recipe instead of the orange ones, I always think they are better for baking tbh 🙂
This is my favorite sweet potato recipe: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/sweet-potato-pumpkin-pie/
And this one is popular too: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/chocolate-mousse-cake/