Purple Sweet Potato Pie

Add a pop of color to your holiday dessert table with a Purple Sweet Potato Pie. Nestled on a homemade gingersnap crust, this delicious custard pie is a show stopping alternative to pumpkin on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It’s Monday, the first day of a new workweek and the first day of my new job. I woke up ready to jump headfirst into my role only to find I was out of coffee, my corporate email had yet to be set up and my laptop wasn’t functioning properly. Mondays don’t get any more Monday than this one. Still, I won’t let this deter my excitement. Sharks don’t care if they have caffeine and access to Outlook, nor do they care what day it is. They do scary shark stuff 7 days a week regardless. Monday or not, they’re seizing the day, terrifying beachgoers and biting people with their 5 rows of teeth.

I can think of a few people I’d like to bite and it’s no coincidence they all happen to work for my previous employer. But since biting fellow team members is frowned upon by HR, I resigned and redirected my biting urges from people to pie. Besides, sinking my teeth into a creamy slice of pie tastes a lot better than sinking them into the limbs of corporate executives. Especially when that pie is Purple Sweet Potato Pie.

Naturally colored and antioxidant packed, purple sweet potatoes are the shining star of this perfect-for-fall pie. Nestled in a nutty gingersnap crust, the custard filling is made with mashed purple sweet potatoes and warm spices. A unique alternative to traditional sweet potato pie, the taste, texture and stunning purple hue will wow guests this holiday season. Have a nibble or chomp on a slice like a shark going in for the attack; big bites or small, you’ll adore this delicious twist on dessert.

Before sharing the recipe for Purple Sweet Potato Pie, here are a few tips to help you out:

Ingredient Tips

If you’re wondering where to buy purple sweet potatoes, check grocery stores such as Whole Foods, Fresh Market and Sprouts. The purples sweet potatoes tested in the recipe were the famous Stokes brand that I found at Sprouts.

Thin, crispy gingersnaps work best for the crust. I used a private label brand from my local grocery store.

To make your own purple sweet potato puree, pierce purple sweet potatoes all over with a fork then bake at 400 degrees for approximately 1 hour. After cooling, discard skins and puree flesh in a food processor.

Preparation Tips

Bake pie until the edges set but the center is still a bit jiggly. My pie baked 45 minutes at 325 degrees.

You can make the crust 1 day in advance. Cover and store at room temperature until ready to use.

How to Store Purple Sweet Potato Pie

To store pie, cover tightly with plastic wrap then refrigerate up to 5 days.

Pie can be made ahead and frozen up to 3 months. After baked pie has cooled completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap then with aluminum foil and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

I hope you enjoy this Purple Sweet Potato Pie recipe. Please leave a comment and review below when you try it for yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.

Finally, if you like fall pies then you’ll love this recipe for Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie. Spiced apples and tart cranberries mingle with oat streusel and a flaky buttermilk crust for a sweet slice of heaven.

Purple Sweet Potato Pie

Heather Wolf

Add a pop of color to your holiday dessert table with a Purple Sweet Potato Pie. Nestled on a homemade gingersnap crust, this delicious custard pie is a show stopping alternative to pumpkin on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Pies and Tarts

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Equipment

• Food Processor
• 9 inch pie plate

Ingredients

  

Gingersnap Crust

• 6 ounces gingersnap cookies
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 tbsp dark brown sugar packed
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted

Purple Sweet Potato Filling

• 1 lb purple sweet potatoes scrubbed and rinsed
• 8 ounces evaporated milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 1 tsp vanilla extract pure
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp sea salt fine

Instructions

 

Gingersnap Crust

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly grease the bottom and the sides of a 9-inch pie dish with butter or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• Place gingersnap cookies in a food processor then pulse until fine crumbs form.
• Add chopped walnuts, brown sugar sugar and cinnamon to the food processor then pulse until walnuts are finely ground.
• Add melted butter then pulse a few times until the mixture is evenly moistened.
• Press mixture into bottom and up sides of your greased pie dish.
• Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until crust is lightly brown. Avoid overbaking; crust will continue to brown when it returns to the oven with the filling.
• Remove from the oven and and allow crust to cool while you prepare the filling.

Purple Sweet Potato Filling

• Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.
• Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.
• Pierce purple sweet potatoes all over with a fork.
• Place potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour or until tender. *Note, larger potatoes will require additional bake time and smaller potatoes less.
• Remove potatoes from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare the remaining filling ingredients.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• Add evaporated milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
• Next, add brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Whisk until incorporated. Set aside.
• Remove and discard skins from purple sweet potatoes.
• Add sweet potato flesh to a food processor then puree until smooth. Yield will be approximately 1.5 to 2 cups of puree.
• Add puree to the mixing bowl with filling ingredients then whisk until evenly combined.
• Pour filling into gingersnap crust. Pie will be very full. If you prefer to have more crust exposed, do not fill all the way.
• Bake for 45 – 50 minutes until edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly. Avoid overbaking.
• Place pie plate on a wire rack to cool completely before serving, approximately 3 hours.
• To store, cover pie with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Keyword pie, purple, sweet potato