Wholesome sweet potatoes, creamy almond butter, and hearty oats combine to make a slightly sweet and superbly spiced quick bread. This gluten-free recipe uses a handful of pantry staples and is best topped with a generous dab of honey butter.
If you are interested in more delicious gluten-free baking ideas, check out my Pumpkin Bread, loaded with dark chocolate chips , and don’t miss out on the cookies that my husband Jordan has given his 5-star rating, my Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are going to be a new favorite once you try them.
Oh, friend what a very odd time we are living in right now! I am sitting in my new office set up in my apartment in NYC, with my co-workers (Penelope and Jordan) never more than 5 feet away.
We are figuring out our new normal, new routine, and doing the best we can to stay positive.
Do you know what helps?
Baking.
Baking helps.
This easy recipe is so straightforward using super simple ingredients and is easily modifiable to accommodate items you have on hand. My new cooking philosophy is (Tim Gunn inspired) “Make It Work”. Figure it out, make it work, and adjust when necessary.
It’s serendipitous when you find a baking recipe that isn’t fussy and can just hang and adapt to adjustments. Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bread, with its subtle natural sweetness, is exactly what I need right now.
Let’s get cooking.
Ingredients to Make Sweet Potato Bread
- Sweet potato – I used leftover roasted sweet potato, you can easily use canned sweet potato puree.
- Rolled oats – Not quick oats, they will turn too mushy and “glue” like.
- Almond butter – I bet peanut butter would also work!
- Eggs
- Honey – You can easily sub maple syrup but I love honey in this recipe
- Baking soda, salt, and cinnamon
Tools You Will Need
- 8.5″ loaf pan – I love this blue loaf pan from Amazon (affiliate)
- Mixing bowls
- High-speed blender, or food processor
- Mixing spoon
- Spatula
Simple Steps to Make the Perfect Loaf of Sweet Potato Bread
- OAT FLOUR – Prepare your own oat flour by blending oats until they resemble flour, for tips on making perfect oat flour every time check out this post.
- You can also use 1 cup of store-bought oat flour.
- Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl
- In a blender combine sweet potato, almond butter, eggs, and vanilla. Blend until well combined, it will be very thick.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir well to combine
- Pour batter into a prepared loaf pan (either prepare with parchment paper or simply spray with coconut oil or avocado oil.
- Generously sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. This bread is like a cinnamon dream come true with notes throughout the moist dough and a perfectly crispy cinnamon sugar topping.
- Bake until perfect. Cool. Eat. Perfect is achieved after 50 minutes
- Maybe share, maybe don’t, totally up to you 🙂
A Note on Sweet Potatoes
I used leftover sweet potatoes for this recipe. I have a habit of roasting several sweet potatoes early in the week to eat in a variety of ways, stuffed sweet potato, breakfast sweet potato, scooped into smoothies, etc. This practice has been a great way to minimize waste. Follow this simple tutorial to make perfect baked sweet potatoes.
- You will need about 2 large sweet potatoes to yield 1.5 cups of mashed sweet potato
How to cook sweet potato:
You can roast, steam, or even microwave your sweet potato:
- Roast – 400° for 40-50 minutes until easily pierced with a fork. Scoop out the flesh and set aside
- Steam -Peel whole sweet potatoes and chop, place in a steamer basket and steam until tender (about 5 minutes). Remove from steamer and mash with a fork.
- Microwave – For best results, poke holes in the sweet potato before cooking in the microwave for 4-8 minutes or until tender. Scoop out the flesh and set aside.
Canned sweet potato puree, pumpkin puree, or butternut squash puree will also work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chocolate chips, coconut flakes, nuts, and dried berries would all complement this delicious bread.
Yes, generally, sweet potatoes are considered a better source of carbohydrates because they are less processed and contain more fiber, vitamins, and minerals than conventional bread. Per 100 grams sweet potatoes contain 20.12 vs 49.42p grams of carbs in conventional wheat-based bread.
Quick breads are bread made without yeast, no proofing or laborious kneading and rolling of dough is required. Sweet Potato bread is similar to pumpkin bread but with a milder, less assertive flavor. If you find yourself weary of pumpkin by November or just want an elegant alternative to pumpkin bread, sweet potato bread is here to make you very happy
Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins and minerals and certain varieties are considered superfoods. (check out the Secrets Of the Blue Zone documentary on Netflix) This recipe is made only with wholesome natural ingredients and a tiny bit of natural unprocessed palm sugar.
A few metrics:
Per 100 grams sweet potatoes contain 86 vs 266 calories in conventional wheat-based bread.
Per 100 grams sweet potatoes contain 0.05 vs 3.33 grams of fat in conventional wheat-based bread.
Nutrition Nerd Corner 🤓
NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF SWEET POTATO
I need zero convincing to eat sweet potatoes, they are truly one of my favorite foods. Satisfying, sweet, creamy, and I can use them in a million different ways.
A few reasons why I think you should eat more sweet potatoes:
- A good source of fiber, most of the fiber is found in the skin. Make sure to wash your sweet potato well and eat the skin (this recipe does not contain sweet potato skin)
- Rich in vitamins A, C, and manganese. Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for good immune health, bring on the sweet potatoes!
- A good source of antioxidants.
- A recent study found that fiber from sweet potatoes improved the microbiome profile promoting better gut health. This was a mouse study where they found that supplementing with sweet potato fiber increased the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut and improved digestion and absorption in the GI tract, so cool!
Dietary Modifications
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and vegetarian.
- Vegan – Replace the egg with a flax egg or chia egg, and replace the honey with maple syrup.
- Low Fodmap – Replace the honey with equal parts maple syrup
- Paleo – I imagine this recipe would work with almond flour 1:1, but I haven’t tested it. If you try let me know!
Ways to Eat Sweet Potato Bread
- A generous dab of honey butter (my preferred way)
- A drizzle of almond butter or pure maple syrup
- Cream cheese – oh man this would be so good!
- Tahini drizzle
- Peanut butter and sliced banana
- Strawberry chia seed jam generously smeared on top of a big thick slice!
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating
- Cool Completely: Allow the sweet potato loaf to cool completely at room temperature. This helps prevent condensation inside the storage container, which can lead to sogginess.
- Wrap Well: Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Ensure that the wrapping is secure to prevent air from reaching the bread.
- Place in an Airtight Container: If you prefer, you can place the wrapped sweet potato bread in an airtight container. This further protects it from exposure to air and helps maintain freshness.
- If you don’t plan to consume the sweet potato bread within a few days, consider refrigerating or freezing it. Refrigeration can extend its freshness for about a week while freezing allows for longer storage. Consider slicing the bread before freezing for easier portioning.
- Reheat (if desired): the best way to enjoy the sweet potato bread warm is to lightly toast individual slices in a toaster or warm them in the oven.
- Freezing: This bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw the sweet potato bread in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Avoid thawing it in the microwave, as this can affect the texture.
For similar tasty dishes, check out my cozy November recipes roundup!
I hope you love this super easy cinnamon sweet potato bread recipe! If you make it be sure to tag me, @abrapappa on Instagram so I can see your masterpiece!
Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats or 1 cup of oat flour
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups mashed (cooked) sweet potato *See notes*
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
Honey Butter (optional)
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°, prepare an 8.5" loaf pan by lining with parchment paper.
- Place oats in a high speed blender and process until the oats are broken down and resemble flour.
- Add oats (now oat flour) to a large bowl and whisk together with remaining dry ingredients.
- In a blender combine all wet ingredients, blend until smooth. It will be very thick.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well incorporated.
- Pour batter into loaf pan.
- In a small bowl combine coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar) and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of loaf.
- Bake in oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool before eating.
- Whisk together softened butter and honey. Serve sweet potato bread with honey butter.
Video
Notes
- You will need about 2 large sweet potato to yield 1.5 cups of mashed sweet potato
Nutrition
More Sweet Potato Recipe You Will Love
Pineapple Sweet Potato Muffins
LouAnn says
Can I sub flax eggs for the two eggs.?
Can I sub date paste for the honey?!
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
You can certainly try both, but I can’t guarantee as I haven’t tested the recipe that way
Sara says
Hi, thanks for the recipe. Would it work with flax ‘eggs’ instead of regular eggs? I saw your reply mentioning it would be fine to add some flax seeds to the batter but that was not as an egg replacement so just checking if it would still work without eggs. Thanks!
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
Hi Sara, it should but I can’t guarantee as I haven’t tested it this way.
Sarah says
Well… I put regular flour instead of oats. Also some frozen blueberries. Also used purple sweet potatoes instead. Also added some pecans. The batter was soo dry, I had to add some almond milk to make it right.
Turned out very good.
.
Kristen says
How much oat flour do you end up with? Can I use store bought oat flour instead?
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
1 cup of oat flour and you can absolutely use store bought
Julie says
Any thoughts on subbing the oats for a different flour like Cassava, arrowroot or coconut to make this paleo too?
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
Hi Julie,
I haven’t tested this recipe with anything but oat flour. Coconut or arrowroot wouldn’t work but cassava may. Let me know if you’ve tried and how it turned out! Oh almond flour would work, I have tried it that way.
Kate says
I would like to add Flaxseed, either ground or oil, to the recipe. Do you recommend one form over the other for this recipe? If yes, how should I work that form in?
Thanks for your help!
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
I never recommend cooking with flax oil, due to its sensitivity to heat. A few tbsp (2) of flaxseeds (ground) can just be stirred into the batter without a problem
Micheline says
Nice recipe…but i will try to replace almond butter with greek yogourt to bring fat content lower 🙂
Mary says
Can I make this in my bread machine? What size loaf does this make? 1 lb or larger?
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
Hi Mary, I do not have a bread machine so I honestly cannot tell you. This is more of a quick bread recipe (think banana bread)
Debra says
These are amazing! I did substitute Greek yogurt for the almond butter. I also added some pumpkin seeds, raisins and coconut(also increased cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg)
I made muffins instead of a loaf.
Joy says
Can I use applesauce instead if almond butter?
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
Hi Joy, I don’t think that will work, but I haven’t tried so I can’t say for sure. The almond butter consistency is important
CYNTHIA B RODRIGUEZ says
Hi I am allergic to almonds can I use walnut butter instead?
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
Absolutely, or cashew butter works really well.
CYNTHIA B RODRIGUEZ says
Hi I’m allergic to almonds can I make this with walnut butter instead?
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
Haven’t tried it but I can’t imagine why that woudn’t work!
Maegen Wilson says
Do you think this would freeze ok
Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN says
I do. I haven’t tried it myself, but I typically freeze all of my baked goods without a problem.
Catherine Maxey says
Great flavor and texture. Used 4T almond butter and 4T applesauce. Added 2ouncess pecans
Maria Tulovsky says
If I make it without adding honey, will it still come out ok?
AbraPappa says
You can easily replace the honey for maple syrup but I haven’t tested the recipe without any sweetener at all.
Ghulam Mohyudin says
Good to know that works too! I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Dana Suss says
Scrumptious! Made this for my family who are total skeptics of anything gluten free (they think it all “tastes like cardboard!” lol) … Proved them WAY wrong with this delicious recipe!