Pecan Sweet Potato Pie

This southern dessert is not only delicious, it’s a holiday essential. For me, this dish brings back memories of holidays in Chicago, soulfood adventures in Atlanta and dinner with friends in Michigan. It’s my go to dish for any celebratory occasion and holiday. And in case you didn’t know already, it beats pumpkin pie- EVERY SINGLE TIME!

In honour of Black history month and the many amazing southern foods African American chefs have blessed us with, we’ve partnered with Manns Veggies to bring you a recipe for sweet potato pie you’ll love. This is part of our vegetarian Black Foodie feast with Mann’s Veggies honouring the diversity of our Black food roots. We used their ready to cook sweet potatoes to whip up this delish pumpkin pie with out all the peeling, washing and chopping we usually need to prepare this dessert. Here’s our recipe below but feel free to add your own twist.

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 bags of Mann’s Favourites Sweet potato Cubes
• 2/3 cup of brown sugar
• 2/3 cup of condensed sweet milk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 stick butter
• 2 large spoons cinnamon
• 1 spoon vanilla extract
• 3 tsp of Fresh Orange juice (optional) 
• 2 large spoonfuls of cinnamon
• 1/2 spoon  ginger
• 1/2 spoon allspice
• 1/2 spoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of Pecans
• 2 unbaked Pie shells

Brown sugar paste:

• 8 Spoons brown sugar
• 4 spoons Butter

Directions

Brown Sugar Paste

1. Mix brown sugar and butter together to form a thick paste
2. Spread half of the paste on to unbaked pie shell and bake for 10 mins or until it forms a caramelized layer (don’t let the shell get brown)
3. Let pie shell cool as the filling is prepared

Filling

1. In a large pot boil Mann’s Family Favorites Sweet Potato cubes until they become very tender
2. Once sweet potato cubes are tender, drain the water and mash it until it has a smooth consistency.
3. In a bowl blend the sweet potato mash, milk and condensed milk. 
4. Add all of the remaining ingredients sweet potato mixture and blend until it has a creamy consistency. Place the half the filling into pie shell and place pecans on top. Bake for 40 mins at  350.

This recipe will make 2 pies. Or you can use the remaining filling to prepare a sweet potato casserole, topping the mix with marshmallows and baking for the same amount of time.