As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This comforting sweet potato bread is moist, fluffy, warmly spiced, & the easiest version you’ll ever make (no roasting potatoes required!). Plus, it’s egg & dairy-free!
Why You’ll Love This Sweet Potato Bread Recipe
Sweet potato (or pumpkin) combined with warm spices are a fall lover’s dream team, including making vegan sweet potato pie, candied sweet potatoes, sweet potato muffins, sweet potato smoothies, and now this easy recipe for sweet potato bread. This southern-style quick bread is moist, fluffy, comforting, perfectly spiced, and now egg and dairy-free!
It only takes 10 minutes of prep (no mixer required) to prepare easy sweet potato quick bread. You don’t even need to pre-roast sweet potatoes; just shred them directly into the batter for natural sweetness and melt-in-the-mouth texture. It’s great for breakfast, brunch, or dessert all Fall/holiday season – and freezer-friendly, too.
Looking for more simple vegan quick bread recipes to enjoy this fall? Try vegan apple cinnamon bread, vegan pumpkin bread, vegan persimmon bread, or classic, oil-free easy vegan banana bread.
The Ingredients Notes
Refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and their quantities.
Flour: Use all-purpose flour or a 50/50 mix of AP + whole wheat flour for a more healthy sweet potato bread recipe (especially combined with reduced sugar/oil).
Optional add-ins & Recipe Variations
- Pumpkin pie spice: Replace the individual spices with pumpkin spice.
- Using sweet potato puree: Try this vegan pumpkin bread recipe, replacing the pumpkin with sweet potato puree. Roast the potatoes for the best flavor.
- Orange zest: Add 1-2 tbsp for a subtle, citrusy brightness and depth.
- Nuts: I love sweet potato pecan bread, though walnuts also work (raw or toasted).
- Dried fruit: Add ½-¾ cup of dried raisins, cranberries, or finely chopped dates for a sweet, chewy texture in the cinnamon sweet potato bread.
- Vegan chocolate chips: Add up to ¾ cup of your favorite dairy-free white, semi-sweet, or bitter-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (sugar-free chocolate, if preferred).
- Coconut: Add 2-3 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut for flavor/texture.
- Zucchini: Replace a portion of sweet potato with shredded, squeezed zucchini.
- Toppings: Enhance vegan cinnamon sweet potato bread with…
- Coarse turbinado sugar (sprinkled before baking)
- Cinnamon streusel (like I use for this vegan apple crumble)
- Glaze (i.e., vanilla, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice glaze or vegan cream cheese glaze)
How to Make Sweet Potato Bread
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400F/200C and grease a 9×5-inch (25×11 cm) loaf pan. Then, use the largest side of a box grater (or a food processor shredding disk), to grate 1 ½ cups of sweet potato.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Step 3: Add the sweet potato to a medium bowl with the remaining wet ingredients (plant-based milk, vanilla, sugar, and oil). Mix well. Then, combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until just combined – but be careful not to over-mix. A few tiny lumps are fine.
Step 4: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake it for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean (a few moist crumbs are fine, but no wet batter).
Step 5: Leave the vegan sweet potato bread to cool in its pan for at least 10 minutes, then leave it to fully cool on a wire cooling rack. Finally, slice and enjoy!
FAQs
It should be fairly easy to make gluten-free sweet potato bread by replacing the wheat flour with a gluten-free blend, like King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill.
Yes, that should be fine. Divide the batter into a couple of muffin trays and reduce the baking time to about 20-25 minutes.
It’s best to prepare the bowls of wet and dry ingredients separately, storing them for up to 2 days. Bring the wet ingredients back to room temperature for 20-30 minutes, then combine and bake.
Pro Recipe Tips
- Measure the flour correctly: Fluff it in its bag, spoon the flour into your measuring cup (without pressing/packing it), then use the back of a knife to level the top. That way, you’ll avoid dense bakes.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Otherwise, you risk overworking the gluten, and affecting the texture and rise. A few lumps in the batter are fine.
- Leave it to cool: This easy sweet potato bread will be fragile right out of the oven. Leave it to cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then remove it from the pan to cool completely before slicing to avoid crumbling.
Serving Recommendations
- Warm with lashings of dairy-free butter or maple butter
- Spread with seed or nut butter
- A dollop of vegan yogurt or coconut whipped cream with berries/fresh fruit
- Toasted, with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream
Storage Instructions
At room temperature: Store the sweet potato bread loosely covered for 3-4 days.
In the fridge: Store it in an airtight container lined with paper towel for 5-7 days.
In the freezer: Store whole or sliced with parchment paper between the slices (to prevent sticking), wrapped in plastic wrap, then in a Ziplock/Stasher for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Thaw the cinnamon sweet potato bread in the refrigerator overnight, at room temperature for several hours, or quickly thaw/re-heat slices in a microwave/toaster.
Sweet Potato Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon of ginger powder (optional)
- 1 ½ cups of grated raw sweet potato
- 1 cup of plant-based milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- ⅓ cup of neutral oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and line it with parchment paper to make it easier to lift it out of the pan.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (and nutmeg and ginger powder if using) in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Using the largest side of the grater, grate 1 ½ cups of sweet potato. Add the sweet potato to a medium bowl with the plant-based milk, vanilla extract, sugar, and oil. Mix well until all the ingredients are fully combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix well, but do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into a baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a fork inserted into the center comes out clean and top is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and then lift it out of the pan and place it on a cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly: Fluff it in its bag, spoon the flour into your measuring cup (without pressing/packing it), then use the back of a knife to level the top. That way, you’ll avoid dense bakes.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Otherwise, you risk overworking the gluten, and affecting the texture and rise. A few lumps in the batter are fine.
- Leave it to cool: This easy sweet potato bread will be fragile right out of the oven. Leave it to cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then remove it from the pan to cool completely before slicing to avoid crumbling.
Sounds and looks good. I would like to try it. I do wonder how I might reduce the number of carbs. Perhaps a different kind of flour, or replace the brown sugar with agave, maple syrup, date syrup, or ?
All of those suggestions would be great to reduce the number of carbs. Let us know what you end up trying and how it goes 🙂
Hello, can I make the recipe in my bread maker. If so, what changes do I have to make to the recipe?
Nancy Taylor
I made this following the instructions with no substitutions. I did double the recipe, and 2/3 cup of oil was a disaster. It was dripping with oil, no matter how long I baked it. I had to toss it out. My gut told me 2/3 cup of oil was crazy!
Love this sweet potato bread!