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Sweet Potato Pie Bars

Sweet potato pie bars topped with coconut cream and pecan on marble serving tray

4.9 from 15 reviews

These Sweet Potato Pie Bars are Gluten-Free, Vegan, and made with only 9 healthy ingredients! Perfectly spiced, Refined Sugar-Free, and Oil-Free. 

Ingredients

Scale

For the Crust:

  • 2 tablespoons ground flax + 5 tablespoons filtered water
  • 1 cup (105 g) pecans
  • 1 cup (92 g) rolled oats, gluten-free if necessary
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

  • 4 cups (580 g) sweet potato, peeled & diced (about 2 medium)
  • 1/2 cup (120 mL) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used Soy)
  • 1/2 cup (120 mL) grade A maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder*
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F and grease or line a 9×9″ baking pan. Mix the flax and water together in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes, to let thicken.
  2. Steam: Add the diced sweet potatoes to a vegetable steamer or a pot + colander combination with 3″ of water. Cover and steam for 15 minutes, or until fork tender.
  3. Crust: In the meantime, prepare the base layer for the bars. Add the pecans, oats, and salt to a food processor with an S-blade attached. Process until a fine crumble forms. Add the flax egg to the mixture and pulse until well-combined. A sticky “dough” should form. Press the dough into the baking dish; I like to use a spatula to make sure it is really packed down and even. Quickly rinse out the food processor, then return it to its base.
  4. Filling: Add the steamed sweet potato to the container with the milk, maple syrup, arrowroot powder, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt.Process for at least 60 seconds, or until the mixture is thick and smooth. Spread this mixture over top of the crust, using a spatula again to smooth out the top.
  5. Bake: Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Let the bars cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing. Top as desired (I like to serve mine with some coco whip and a pecan). Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Notes

  • Nut-free: use pumpkin seeds instead of pecans
  • If you do not have pumpkin pie spice, you can use 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
  • Substitutions: Ground flax may be substituted with ground chia seed. Rolled oats may be substituted with quick oats, but not steel cut oats. I do not recommend substituting the arrowroot powder in this recipe; it acts differently than cornstarch and the final result will not be the same.

Keywords: Sweet Potato Bars, Sweet Potato Pie Bars, Vegan Sweet Potato Bars, Vegan Sweet Potato Pie Bars