Sweet Potato Pie Two Ways: No-Bake Cacao Tart and Classic Baked Pie
Two grain-free sweet potato desserts for the holiday table: a no-bake tart in a pistachio-pepita crust with raw chocolate and ginger cream, and a classic baked sweet potato pie in a tender almond crust, warm with cinnamon and cardamom.
Yield: Each makes one 9-inch tart or pie, serves 8–10 · Active: 30–45 min · Total: 3–5½ hours, including roasting and chilling · October through December, when sweet potatoes are freshly harvested in North Carolina, Louisiana, and California · Cuisine: American, farm-to-table · Best eaten: late morning to afternoon
Which one to make?
No-Bake Sweet Potato Tart: the showstopper. It sets in the fridge overnight, so your oven stays free for the turkey.
Classic Baked Sweet Potato Pie: the traditional one, with a warm-spiced custard. It’s simpler, and familiar to everyone at the table.
Planning the whole feast? See my Thanksgiving Centerpiece Turkey with Mushroom Gravy and Spiced Cranberry Sauce.
First, Roast the Sweet Potatoes (Both Versions)
Heat the oven to 400°F. Prick 2–3 medium sweet potatoes all over with a fork, and roast them whole on a parchment-lined sheet for 45–60 minutes, until completely soft and the skins give when pressed. Let them cool, then peel and scoop out the flesh. You’ll need 2 cups for either version. Let it cool completely before using.
Why roast them whole? Roasting in the skin concentrates the sweet potato’s sugars as the water slowly evaporates, the same way Korean street vendors roast sweet potatoes (goguma). The flesh turns denser, sweeter, and creamier than boiled or canned sweet potato, so the filling needs less sweetener and sets beautifully.
Version 1: No-Bake Sweet Potato Tart with Cacao, Ginger Cream, and a Pistachio-Pepita Crust
Serves 8–10 · Active: 45 min · Total: about 5½ hours, including 4 hours chilling (overnight is best)
Ingredients
Pistachio-pepita crust
1 cup raw pistachios
1 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), ideally sprouted
10 Medjool dates, pitted
1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (plus 1 more tbsp if the crust is dry)
Sweet potato filling
2 cups roasted sweet potato flesh
½ cup cashews, soaked 4 hours (or 1 hour in hot water) and drained
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (or the seeds of ½ vanilla bean)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
1 cup grass-fed heavy cream (raw or vat-pasteurized)
1 tbsp grass-fed gelatin, bloomed in ¼ cup cold water
Raw chocolate sauce
⅓ cup raw cacao powder
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Garnish
Ginger-cinnamon cream (recipe below)
Crushed pistachios and pepitas
Cacao nibs or dark chocolate curls
Flaky salt
Optional: edible flowers, like calendula, pansies, or violas
Method
Make the crust. Pulse the pistachios and pepitas in a food processor to a coarse meal (some texture, not flour). Add the dates, cinnamon, and salt, and pulse until the mixture holds together when pinched. Add the coconut oil, and pulse 2–3 more times. Press it firmly and evenly into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, working it up the sides. Freeze while you make the filling.
Bloom the gelatin. Sprinkle the gelatin over the ¼ cup cold water, and let it sit 5 minutes, until it looks like wet sand. Warm it gently over a pot of barely simmering water until melted and clear. Keep it warm.
Blend the base. In a high-speed blender, blend the sweet potato, cashews, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt for 2–3 minutes, scraping down the sides, until completely silky, with no cashew grit.
Add the cream and gelatin. Add the cream, and blend on low for just 10–15 seconds, until combined. (Blending cream longer can make it grainy.) With the blender running on low, drizzle in the warm gelatin, and blend 5 seconds more.
Fill and chill. Pour the filling into the crust, smooth the top, and tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Make the chocolate sauce. Whisk the cacao, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt until glossy. If it thickens as it sits, set the bowl in warm water for a few seconds.
Finish and serve. Unmold the tart onto a plate. Drizzle the chocolate sauce across the top in ribbons, leaving some of the amber filling showing; it firms into a thin chocolate shell on the cold tart. Add dollops of ginger cream around the edge, and scatter with pistachios, pepitas, cacao nibs, edible flowers, and a pinch of flaky salt. Serve slightly chilled, not cold.
Why ground ginger in the filling? Fresh ginger contains an enzyme (zingibain) that breaks down gelatin and keeps it from setting, the same way fresh pineapple does. Ground ginger doesn’t have this problem.
No gelatin? Skip it for a softer, mousse-like filling, and serve it straight from the fridge.
For a showpiece: Pipe the ginger cream into rosettes across the top, and add small dollops of sweet potato cream (1 cup cooked sweet potato blended with ¼ cup maple syrup and 1 tbsp lemon juice) between them. Drizzle the chocolate in neat ribbons, and be generous with the flowers and nuts. For a big gathering, double the recipe in a 10-inch springform pan; it serves 16–20.
Version 2: Classic Baked Sweet Potato Pie with an Almond Crust
Serves 8 · Active: 30 min · Total: about 3 hours, including roasting and cooling
Ingredients
Almond crust
1¾ cups blanched almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp coconut sugar
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
¼ cup coconut oil or grass-fed butter, melted
1 pasture-raised egg
Spiced sweet potato filling
2 cups roasted sweet potato flesh
2 pasture-raised eggs
1 cup grass-fed heavy cream (or full-fat coconut cream, for dairy-free)
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil or grass-fed butter, melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
To serve
Ginger-cinnamon cream (recipe below), or plain whipped cream
A dusting of cinnamon
Method
Heat the oven to 350°F.
Make the crust. Mix the almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, and salt, then stir in the oil and egg until a soft dough forms. Press it evenly into a 9-inch pie plate, building up the edges. Prick the bottom all over with a fork.
Pre-bake the crust. Bake 12–15 minutes, until lightly golden. Let it cool slightly. (Pre-baking the crust keeps it from turning soggy under the wet filling.)
Blend the filling. Blend all the filling ingredients until completely smooth.
Bake. Pour the filling into the crust, and smooth the top. Bake 40–50 minutes, until the edges are set and the center still jiggles slightly, like set Jell-O. If the crust edge browns too quickly, cover it with a ring of foil.
Cool and chill. Let it cool completely on a rack, then chill at least 2 hours. The filling firms as it sets, so it slices cleanly.
Serve with ginger-cinnamon cream and a dusting of cinnamon.
Why cardamom? It takes the pie a step beyond the classic American pumpkin pie spices, toward Middle Eastern and Scandinavian baking, and it’s lovely with sweet potato’s deep orange sweetness.
Ginger-Cinnamon Cream (for Both Versions)
1 cup grass-fed heavy cream, very cold
1–2 tsp fresh ginger juice (from about 2 tbsp finely grated ginger, squeezed through a fine sieve or cheesecloth)
1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Chill your bowl and whisk in the freezer for 15 minutes. Whip the cold cream to soft peaks (don’t overwhip), then fold in the ginger juice, cinnamon, maple syrup, and vanilla. Dairy-free: Whip the thick cream from a can of full-fat coconut cream chilled overnight.
Storage
Refrigerator: covered, up to 5 days. Both are even better on the second day, as the spices settle in.
Freezer: the no-bake tart freezes well, wrapped, up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the fridge. (The baked pie is best not frozen.)
Make ahead: Make either one 1–2 days ahead. Whip the cream and add the garnishes within an hour of serving.
Nourishment Notes
Sweet potato — beta-carotene, which your body turns into vitamin A for healthy eyes, skin, and the mucous membranes that help protect you in cold and flu season, plus potassium, vitamin C, and fiber.
Pistachios (Version 1) — magnesium, vitamin B6, copper, and lutein and zeaxanthin, the carotenoids that collect in the center of the retina.
Pumpkin seeds (Version 1) — zinc, which supports the immune system and helps your body use vitamin A, plus magnesium, iron, and tryptophan, a building block for serotonin and melatonin.
Raw cacao (Version 1) — magnesium, iron, and flavanols, some of the highest polyphenol levels of any food. Long before it became candy, cacao was prized in Mesoamerica as both food and medicine. Its theobromine gives a gentle, steady lift that feels different from caffeine’s sharper edge.
Almond flour (Version 2) — vitamin E, magnesium, and healthy fats.
Pasture-raised eggs (Version 2) — protein, choline, and vitamins A, D, and B12. They set the custard, in place of flour or starch.
Grass-fed cream — vitamins A, D, E, and K2, plus butyrate, a fatty acid that feeds the cells of the gut lining. In the no-bake tart, raw cream from a trusted farm stays raw, since it’s never heated.
Grass-fed gelatin (Version 1) — glycine and proline, amino acids that support the gut lining, skin, joints, and restful sleep.
Maple syrup and coconut sugar — unrefined, with trace minerals. Paired with the fat, protein, and fiber here, they’re gentler on blood sugar than white sugar.
Ceylon cinnamon — studied for supporting healthy blood sugar, a nice partner for a sweet dessert. What sets Ceylon apart from the more common cassia cinnamon is how little coumarin it contains; cassia is high in coumarin, which can harm the liver in large amounts.
Ginger and cardamom — warming spices traditionally used to support digestion, helpful with a rich holiday dessert.
As a circadian food, these desserts are best from late morning to afternoon, when your body handles natural sugars most easily (and the cacao in the tart has time to wear off before bed). If you serve them after dinner, keep the slices small, and pair them with something warm and bitter, like roasted dandelion tea.
For your cycle: With magnesium, zinc, and steady carbohydrates from the sweet potato, both are especially comforting in the luteal phase, and the cacao tart is lovely when chocolate cravings peak.
Sourcing
Sweet potatoes — organic, from a farmers’ market
Pistachios — organic, ideally California-grown
Pumpkin seeds — organic and sprouted, from a source like Living Intentions or Blue Mountain Organics
Cashews — organic
Medjool dates — organic, from a source like Bautista Family Organic
Almond flour and coconut flour — organic; keep almond flour in the fridge
Eggs — organic and pasture-raised, from a local farm
Heavy cream — grass-fed, raw from a farm you trust, or vat-pasteurized (avoid ultra-pasteurized, which doesn’t whip as well)
Gelatin — grass-fed, like Great Lakes
Raw cacao powder and nibs — organic, and ideally tested for heavy metals
Maple syrup and coconut sugar — organic Grade A dark maple syrup; organic, unrefined coconut sugar
Coconut oil — organic and unrefined
Ginger — fresh, organic ginger root, plus organic ground ginger
Spices — organic and non-irradiated Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom, and whole nutmeg
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract or vanilla beans
Edible flowers (optional) — organic and pesticide-free
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt; Maldon for finishing
— Anna aka Food Marshall