I enjoyed sweet potato pudding while growing up in Jamaica. It is easy to make, using a food processor or a blender. I must say it wasn’t as easy to make when I was growing up, but it was such a delight to eat and an appreciation of my mother’s labor of love that brings back warm memories!
Vegan Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding
My mom would grate the sweet potatoes by hand using a box grater, this was one of my least favorite tasks! She would mix the grated sweet potatoes with coconut milk (freshly grated), flour, spices, and raisins.
The mixture was then baked outdoors, using a traditional coal stove. She would make a fire with charcoal beneath the baking pan, then cover the baking pan and put more heated coals on top of the baking pan.
In Jamaica, this style of baking is called, “hell a top, hell a bottom and hallelujah in the middle” The results would be a decadent pudding perfectly baked with a sweet custard top.
Nowadays I make my version of Jamaican Sweet Potato pudding vegan and gluten-free. In a jiffy, I peel and chop the potatoes.
Process in a food processor, add canned coconut milk, gluten-free flour, and spices and pop it in an oven. I do a special step to get the custard topping by adding extra sweetened coconut milk halfway during baking.
This recipe is a must-try, there isn’t much room to fail if you are trying it for the first time. You will be happy you tried it! Serve it with my Jamaican Stew Peas with Dumplings and my Jamaican Sorrel Drink for a truly authentic taste of the Island.
How To Make Vegan Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding
To make Jamaican Sweet Potato pudding, you will need a special variety of sweet potato that has white flesh with red skin. It is mainly sold in West Indian, Asian and African grocery stores. But fortunately, it’s getting more popular here in the USA and it can even be found in Walmart. Sometimes it is also sold as ‘batata’.
Here are some of the differences between Jamaican white-flesh sweet potato and American orange-flesh sweet potato
- The Jamaican white flesh sweet potato is white flesh with red skin and the American sweet potato is orange flesh with brown skin.
- The Jamaican sweet potato is sturdier when cooked, the American sweet potato is softer.
- Jamaican sweet potato is starchier in texture than American sweet potato
- Although they are both sweet, there is a distinct difference in their sweetness.
Pro Chef Tip
Update: I have known readers who have replaced gluten-free flours with regular all-purpose flour with great success.
Also, a reader noted that she has doubled the flour and was able to have success using American sweet potatoes. I will have to try it soon.
How To Store Jamaica Sweet Potato Pudding?
I usually keep mine for 1-2 days in a container with a tight-fitting lid, and then refrigerate if any is left. It also freezes well.
Other Jamaican Gluten-Free Vegan Desserts To Try
- Jamaican Cornmeal Pudding
- Jamaican Blue Draws
- Vegan Pineapple Tart
- Gluten-Free Mango Bread
- Vegan Plantain Bread
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Categories
- Categories: Gluten-Free, Vegan
- Course: Dessert
- Cuisine: Jamaican
- Seasons: Christmas, Thanksgiving
Nutrition
(Per portion)- Energy: 274 kcal / 1145 kJ
- Fat: 10 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Carbs: 44 g
Cook Time
- Preparation: 15 min
- Cooking: 1 h 30 min
- Ready in: 1 h 55 min
- For: 12 Slices
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potato, (aka. Batata) *See Notes
- 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
- 1 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup Gluten-Free all purpose flour, or brown rice flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Custard Topping
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch cinnamon, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan. Set aside.
- Peel sweet potatoes and roughly chop. Grate using the grater or a food processor in batches. (If using a food processor or blender, add some coconut milk to help process)
- Transfer grated sweet potatoes to a large bowl, add coconut milk, coconut palm sugar, spices and salt.
- Stir in flour to form a mostly smooth batter.
- Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 45 minutes.
- Combine all topping ingredients in a small bowl and pour evenly on the top of the pudding.
- Return pudding to oven and bake for another 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.
- Delicious served alone or with coconut whipped cream.
- Please double the flour if using regular American sweet potato variety.
Notes
Notes:
- Use the white flesh sweet potato also called Batata or Boniato, with dry white flesh and pink to purple skin. Boniato is not sweet as regular orange flesh sweet potatoes.
- I have used a combination of sweet potato and other Caribbean/African root vegetables, such as yellow yam, white African yam, taro, eddoes, etc. with great success.
- You can omit the spices and just use vanilla or a combination of ground coriander and cardamon. Basically, you can tweak the flavors to suit your taste buds. Cinnamon and nutmeg can be irritating to the lining of the stomach in the long run.
- Make sure you add extra coconut milk or water if you are using a high-speed blender. Chop the sweet potato into smaller pieces, pause and periodically scrape down the sides of the blender.
- Sweet potato pudding gets firmer as it cools. My husband prefers it when it is softer so I sometimes add extra liquid. I don’t care whether it’s soft or firm. So you might want to adjust liquid depending on your preferences.
- If you decide to grate sweet potatoes by hand, make sure you use the smallest hole on the grater to ensure pudding is smooth when baked.
Looks delicious 😋
Does it work if I steamed the potatoes in the microwave, before using it??
Looking forward to trying this
I hope you enjoy!
How much extra liquid did you use to make it soft? I like mine firm but not dry. Should I use extra liquid? And i have a can creamed coconut to try on top. It’s already sweetened.
For a firmer pudding, make the dough more like a thick pancake batter.
I was searching for this recipe ever since I went to Jamaica 7 x + tasted this + fell in love with it. I have all the ingredients, I will use golden monk fruit instead of palm sugar. Ty
Terry, I’m so happy you found my recipe. I hope it brings back great memories.
The pudding turned out a treat!! These were my variations that worked amazing: 1) I used normal plain flour and I doubled the amount. 2) I used half the amount of sugar (normal white sugar) and no sugar in the topping either.
The children devoured it and was a hit. It was such an easy recipe and I’ll definitely be making this again for friends. Thank you Michelle!
Grace that’s so awesome to read. Thank you for sharing your different variations. I’m so happy your children enjoyed it.
Thank you for the recipe
You are welcome
Do you use sweet coconut milk in both the pudding and the topping?
I use plain coconut milk in both the pudding and the topping plus the sweetener in the recipd
Love, Love your vegan cooking
Thank you Marie, I appreciate your feedback.
This looks really good but the greatest thing is that, it comes with alot of health benefits
Hi Michelle,
If I use the Japanese sweet potato would I need to double the flour as well?
Nadine, I made one with Japanese sweet potato on Friday and I didn’t need to. Allow it to cool before slicing, however, it will turn out great either way.