Mini Sweet Potato Pie Tartlets

A gluten-free, refined sugar-free vegan dessert is not all that easy to find. Especially if you still want it to be incredibly delicious and loved by everyone. Here at vegan.io, we like a challenge. We did a bit of experimenting and we came up with a sweet potato pie recipe that checks all the boxes. 

The holidays are around the corner and we know it can be hard to keep up a healthy lifestyle during this season. I like to indulge a bit more than the rest of the year because it is a special time to be with family and your loved ones. And, in my world, food brings us all together in a very special way. 

This sweet potato pie recipe is made to indulge. It has all the flavours of fall without the complexity of many other dessert recipes out there. It is quite calorie dense, but don't let that term scare you away. Caloric dense food is not as bad as it may sound. 

Calorie dense food can be called energy dense food instead. This term is a lot less harsh to the ear. And that's exactly what we get out of food with a lot of calories. Energy! But don't think you can eat any kind of calorie dense food all the time and end up with the same energy as Speedy Gonzalez! Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

The problem with calorie dense food is that most come from processed food or fast food. This kind of food is packed with calories derived from saturated fat or processed sugar. This is quite unhealthy for many reasons and, if overeaten, can lead to many diseases. 

There are healthy sources of calorie dense food and those are the ones we want to consume. Things such as tahini, nuts, sweet potatoes, raisins, olive oil, coconut milk, dates, and quinoa are just some of the many options.

Our sweet potato pie includes some of the ingredients from the above list and a few more. All the ingredients are from my local store, and they are available year round. You don't have to wait for the holiday season to enjoy this delicious bites of joy. 

Instead of making a big sweet potato pie I like making little individual or bite-sized portions. It's a lot more fun to eat them this way, you save yourself the hassle of cutting slices for everyone and it makes it a great treat for big gatherings. You can opt for a big pie or smaller portions, it's entirely up to you! 

If you ask me, there's nothing worse than a dessert that it isn't sweet. For this reason, I suggest using ripe bananas for the filling. This is what will add that extra touch of sweetness we need while avoiding refined sugar.

Take this sweet potato pie to your next reunion or grab a blanket, some chai tea and curl up on your couch to watch your favourite holiday movie!