Moist Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Bread (Dairy-Free)

Quick Breads to the Rescue

Have you ever woken up to realize that you’d finished the last few slices of gluten-free bread yesterday, the fruit basket is empty, and there’s nothing to eat for breakfast?

That’s tough, because a morning with an empty stomach isn’t conducive for getting a productive start to the day, or being in a good mood in general.

We’ve had quite a few mornings like that, but thankfully, now that we *try* to plan ahead, I usually make a loaf of quick bread when I know we’ll be needing something easy for breakfast, or even a snack during the afternoon lull.

You might already know how much I love baking bread. Yeast breads definitely make my day – and we love this gluten-free white bread and our popular soft, fluffy buckwheat bread.

However yeast breads require yeast, and time and patience (in order for the bread to rise), and some days I’m short of yeast, and on other days I’m short of time, patience or both.

Some of Our Favorite Quick Breads

Here’s where quick breads come to the rescue, because they don’t require yeast to rise, but instead only require a bit of baking powder for the leavening effect (magic!).

Once you’ve mixed your batter and poured it into the loaf pan, all you need is to bake it and you can literally make a loaf of quick bread in about an hour!

Among our favorite recipes include this easy honey oat bread, this amazing banana bread, or this delicious flaxseed bread.

The Best Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Bread

Most recently, we’ve fallen in love with a new recipe. We’ve made this absolutely amazing sweet potato bread TWICE in two weeks and each time we’ve literally devoured it (very quickly if I’m honest).

In fact, we brought a loaf along on our road trip and pretty much had it for breakfast, snack and even dessert (triple duty)!

(If you eat gluten-free and travel on the road much, take it from me and bring along this sweet potato loaf because it’s easy to transport, keeps moist, and is so flavorful!)

As we enter into holiday season, this loaf is the perfect healthy snack for this time of year. So you’ll want to keep this recipe handy, because I know you’ll be making it again and again. Plus, it’s a great way to use up any leftover sweet potatoes (apart from making sweet potato casserole)!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Here’s a visual overview of the ingredients required to make this gluten-free sweet potato bread recipe.

(For exact measurements, please scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.)

Recipe Notes + Substitutions:

• Sugar: I used granulated white sugar in this sweet potato bread recipe, but you may also use brown sugar if you prefer. If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, I highly recommend that you use monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute that is zero glycemic-index and does not raise blood sugar).
• Sunflower Oil: I like using sunflower oil because I always have a bottle of it on hand. You may also use other vegetable oils, melted coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil in the same quantities. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use melted butter instead.
• Eggs: Eggs help to bind the ingredients together, add moisture, as well as help the batter to rise more. If you are allergic to eggs, or would simply prefer to keep this recipe vegan, feel free to substitute the eggs with aquafaba or an egg-replacer.
• Sweet Potato Puree: I like to use fresh sweet potato puree for their natural sweetness – simply bake a few sweet potatoes in the oven (or cook them in the microwave) with their skins on until a fork can be easily poked into the flesh. Slice the sweet potatoes open, and then scoop out the flesh, which should be creamy and easily mashable. Mash the cooked fleshed very well or process it in a blender or food processor. Alternatively, if you don’t have sweet potato puree, you may also use pumpkin puree or butternut squash puree.
• Water: Adding a little bit of water helps to keep this sweet potato loaf moist. You may also use unsweetened non-dairy milks such as almond milk, cashew milk, rice milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. If you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal dairy milk instead.
• Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend: I strongly recommend using a good-quality gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that is made of lighter flours/starches (such as rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch or potato starch) to get a light and fluffy texture. I do NOT recommend using flour blends that include heavier flours (such as garbanzo bean flour) as that will result in a denser final texture.
• Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is the replacement for gluten in gluten-free flours, and helps to bind the ingredients together. For best results, make sure you add xanthan gum if your gluten-free flour blend does not already include it.
• Baking Powder: Since this is a quick bread recipe, baking powder is required for leavening and making the batter rise. If you have Celiac disease or are gluten-intolerant, make sure to use certified gluten-free baking powder.
• Spices: I used a mix of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg in this recipe, but you may also add ground ginger or substitute the spices with equal amounts of pumpkin pie spice if you prefer.
• Nuts: I used chopped walnuts in this recipe, but you may also use chopped pecans, hazelnuts, or even pistachio nuts. Alternatively, you may also use a mix of different chopped nuts.

How to Make Sweet Potato Bread (Step by Step):

1. Preheat and Grease

Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8″ x 4″ metal loaf pan.

(Alternatively, you may also line the loaf pan with parchment paper if you prefer.)

3. Add Eggs, Puree, and Water

Add the beaten eggs, sweet potato puree and water to the sugar mixture. Mix well until you get a bright orange liquid mixture.

4. Whisk Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk the gluten-free all-purpose flour, xanthan gum (if using), baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg to combine.

5. Prepare the Batter

Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well until you get a thick and homogeneous batter.

6. Fold in Chopped Nuts

Fold in the chopped nuts until they are evenly distributed.

7. Transfer the Batter into Loaf Pan

Transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.

8. Bake Until Ready

Bake the batter for 1 hour until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

9. Cool Completely

Allow the sweet potato bread to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing and letting it cool completely to room temperature on a wire rack.

10. Slice and Enjoy

Once cooled, slice into this gluten-free sweet potato loaf and enjoy!

Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks

• Use a Metal Loaf Pan: I always recommend using a metal loaf pan because that helps the bread to cook well on all surfaces (including the sides as well as the bottom.
• Make Muffins: Prefer to make sweet potato muffins instead of a loaf? Go right ahead! Simply divide the batter in the cavities of a muffin tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Swap Out the Sweet Potato Puree: If you don’t have sweet potato puree on hand, but happen to have pumpkin puree or butternut squash puree instead, simply swap it out in equal quantities!
• Spices: Feel free to add in more warming spices such as ground ginger, ground cloves and all spice.
• Extra Flavor: For a little bit more flavor, go ahead and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter.
• Optional Add-Ins: I’ve used nuts (use the ones you love!) in this recipe, but you could swap out the nuts for chocolate chips or even dried cranberries!

Recipes FAQs: