This Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is perfectly sweet, luxuriously rich, creamy and velvety, but secretly healthy and nutritious.! It’s also refined sugar free and requires just 6 simple ingredients! Perfect for using as a frosting for my Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cake! It’s easily spreadable and is also gluten-free, refined sugar free, paleo and oil-free optional.
Why make buttercream frosting using sweet potatoes?
A lot of vegan buttercream recipes I’ve seen rely on ingredients like cashews, coconut whipped cream or avocado, but I wanted to try to make something without using any of these.
Cashew nuts, or any other nuts are deliciously rich and creamy when blended, but to make buttercream out of them you’d have to use huge quantities, and nuts are pretty expensive.
Coconut whipped cream is delicious but I feel like it’s too light and fluffy to pass as a buttercream substitute.
I tried an avocado chocolate cheesecake recipe and it didn’t work out that well because I could still taste the avocado, and I didn’t want another sweet guacamole situation on my hands, so I made sure to steer well clear of that.
Enter sweet potatoes! I just knew sweet potatoes were the solution because I absolutely love using them in new and inventive ways (check out my vegan chocolate sweet potato ice cream, vegan chocolate sweet potato milkshake and matcha sweet potato mochi).
Because of their naturally creamy texture and high sugar content, sweet potatoes make a great alternative. Unlike avocados, their indistinctive taste means they’re great to use as a basis for different flavours.
Unlike nuts, they’re wallet-friendly, and the texture ends up a lot thicker than coconut whipped cream. As a bonus, it also means that this vegan chocolate buttercream frosting is nut-free, unlike a lot of other vegan buttercream frosting recipes!
I got the inspiration to use sweet potatoes for different dessert recipes because they’re used in a lot of traditional Japanese sweet snacks and desserts.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Place all the ingredients into a food processor.
- Whizz until completely smooth.
Tip: You will have to mix it around a few times.
Tip: Best left to cool before using as a frosting.
How to use this frosting
- As a frosting for layer cakes like my Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cake.
- As a frosting for cupcakes like my Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes.
- Spread on toast.
- Spread on Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes or Gluten-Free Vegan Crepes.
- Eat it with a spoon like a chocolate mousse.
- As a frosting for my Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake!
More sweet potato desserts
- Chocolate Sweet Potato Milkshake
- Chocolate Sweet Potato Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
- Peanut Butter Sweet Potato Ice Cream
- Matcha Sweet Potato Mochi
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make this recipe
Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 400 g (7 oz) sweet potatoes (about 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil *
Instructions
- Cook sweet potatoes by boiling, steaming or roasting them until very soft and tender
- Discard any skins, and add to a food processor along with all other ingredients
- Whizz until completely smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary – add more maple syrup for sweetness, more salt for saltiness, more cocoa powder for chocolate flavour etc
- Leave to cool before using as a cake frosting
- Keeps for up to a few days in the fridge
Video
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Natasha Finch
This recipe is amazing! I added a little coconut extract for flavor twist. Yum! And so healthy. Thanks
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Amrita
For how Long can this frosting be enjoyed if stored in the fridge?II am planning to bake a cake with this frosting soon however I will need 3-4 days to finish the complete cake.Will it be fine?
Rhian Williams
It should keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days. So 3 days should just about be ok!
Anonymous
Hello. Can i use carob powder instead of cocoa powder? Thanks!
Rhian Williams
Yes it should work, but I’ve never made it with carob powder so can’t guarantee results and can’t say how much you’d need to use. Would love to hear how it goes if you try it though!
Marilyn
I substituted the cocoa powder with half a cup of carob powder. I omitted the oil and salt. I used one cup of pitted dates to sweeten it instead of maple syrup. It turned out great!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for sharing your substitutions, that’s great to know!
Alexis
Hi!
I made the chocolate buttercream frosting tonight as a test batch with canned sweet potatoes. It had a great texture, was mildly sweet, and my kids never suspected the sweet potatoes. That’s a win. Next time, I will use fresh potatoes and perhaps add a little more maple syrup. Thank you!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Nicole
About to make with butternut pumpkin instead of sp as I have cooked too much for another recipe. Wish me luck!
Rhian Williams
Good luck hope it goes well!