Sweet Potato Pecan Bread

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This Sweet Potato Pecan Bread is perfect for the fall and holiday season. A quick bread made with mashed sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie spice, and pecans for a nice crunch. Serve as a breakfast bread, snack, or even dessert.

Sweet Potato Pecan Bread sliced on cutting board with fall towels behind it and white plates

This is the season for all things sweet potatoes. Don’t just serve sweet potatoes at dinner; serve them for dessert, too! That’s right. This sweet and savory bread goes perfectly with everything from breakfast to an after-dinner treat.

Make sure to check out my strawberry bread, blueberry bread or this Nutella swirled bread. All of these are quick bread recipes that are a hit.

pecan sweet potato bread on cutting board with a few slices cut out of the bread, and plates around the table

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This is an easy quick bread recipe that mixes up in no time.
You get the flavors of a sweet potato pie but in a bread form.
Great for gifting loved ones, serving up for breakfast, or even dessert.
This is a freezer-friendly bread that is wonderful to make ahead of time.

🛒Ingredients

The ingredients for this cocktail are incredibly simple and can be found in minutes at any grocery store. They’re all listed here, but the exact amounts are in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Sweet Potatoes—For this recipe, Use canned sweet potatoes. Mash them to create a creamy texture for the bread batter.
Sugar – You will granulated sugar to sweeten up the bread batter.
Water – I do recommend using filtered water for this.
Oil – The oil will help to keep the bread moist as it bakes up in the oven.
Flour – All purpose flour is used for the base of this quick bread recipe.
Baking Soda and Baking Powder – You will use baking soda and baking powder to help the bread become light and rise properly.
Salt – The salt will help to enhance the flavors of the ingredients.
Pumpkin Pie Spice – The pie spice is going to add rich and warm spice flavor to the bread.
Pecans – Chop up your pecans finely and mix them into the batter for added flavor and a crunch.

🔪 How to Make Sweet Potato Pecan Bread

collage of how to make sweet potato bread with images of the prep

Step 1: Mash Sweet Potatoes And Mix

Start by preheating your oven and then preparing your baking loaf. Then, mash your sweet potatoes in a bowl.

Add your sugar, water, oil, and eggs. Mix well to combine.

Step 2: Mix In Dry Ingredients

Next, you will mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then, you will slowly add the nuts and fold them into the batter.

raw sweet potato bread batter in a loaf pan with nuts on top of the batter in pan

Step 3: Pour Batter Into Pan and Bake

Pour the sweet potato bread batter into the pan and then bake as directed. Make sure the bread is fully baked.

Step 4: Allow Bread to Cool

Then, you will remove the bread and allow it to cool before removing it from the loaf pan. Slice and serve the bread when you are ready!

📝Variations

Do you want to change up this recipe and make it your own? Here are some ways to do that!

Lemon or Orange Zest: To brighten up the flavors even more, you can add lemon or orange zest to the bread.
Wheat Flour: Do half wheat flour and half all-purpose flour to make this a higher-fiber bread and a nuttier taste.
Glaze: Whip up a powdered sugar glaze with powdered sugar and milk and drizzle over the cooled bread.
Nuts: You can swap pecans for walnuts, sunflower seeds, or even pumpkin seeds, or leave out the nuts if you prefer.
Mix-ins: You can add chocolate chips, a swirl of Nutella, peanut butter, crushed cookies, etc., to change up the flavor of the bread.

Sweet Potato Pecan Bread collage showing the bread sliced on a cutting board

💭 Tips

Make sure to fully mash up the sweet potatoes before mixing with the other ingredients. You can use a potato masher to ensure you get all the pieces mashed well.
Do not overmix the bread batter or it can make the bread denser and heavier. You want to mix to combine, and then that is it.
Fold in the nuts at the very end to incorporate them lightly into the batter.
To ensure that the quick bread is fully baked, stick a toothpick in the center of the bread.
If the top of the bread is getting brown too fast, you can lightly make a tent with foil and place it over the bread in the oven to help it not brown so quickly.

Storing

Your sweet potato pecan bread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. To extend the shelf life, you can freeze it for 2-3 months.

Sweet Potato Pecan Bread on a cutting board with a few slices cut on the loaf

⁉️ FAQ

Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.

Can I use fresh sweet potatoes instead of canned ones?

You can use fresh sweet potatoes instead of canned ones. Simply cook your sweet potatoes in the oven or dice and boil on the stovetop. Remove the skins and mash the potatoes. Fully cool the mashed sweet potatoes before mixing them in the bread mixture.

How do I know when the bread is done baking?

Use a toothpick to stick in the center of the bread. You want the toothpick to come out clean of wet batter. If it has wet batter, you will want to bake the bread for a bit longer.

How can I make this recipe gluten-free?

To make this recipe gluten-free, you would swap the regular flour for a gluten-free baking blend. Unless stated differently on the package, the ratio will be 1:1.

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