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functional image purple sweet potato pie decorated with purple flowers uncut in a clear pie dish on an abstract background

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.
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Prep Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
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