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    Recipes » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

    Last updated - July 13, 2021; Published - March 15, 2019 By Rhian Williams 31 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    A collage of two Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream Frosting photos

    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.

    A chocolate cake on a cake stand with a silver palette knife spreading vegan sweet potato chocolate buttercream frosting on top of it

    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 in a food processor.
    Cooked sweet potatoes, coconut oil and cocoa powder in a food processor
    • Whizz until completely smooth.

    Tip: You will have to mix it around a few times.

    Vegan sweet potato chocolate buttercream frosting in a food processor

    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!
    A chocolate sponge on a cake stand with a palette knife spreading vegan sweet potato chocolate buttercream frosting on it

    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

    A chocolate cake on a green cake stand with a silver palette knife spreading chocolate buttercream on top of it

    Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

    This Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is perfectly sweet, luxuriously rich and creamy, and unbelievably healthy.
    4.07 from 47 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American, British
    Keyword: chocolate sweet potato buttercream, paleo chocolate frosting, vegan cake frosting
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 25 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 71kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    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

    *Coconut oil can be omitted for an oil-free version.
    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 71
    % Daily Value*
    Sodium 28mg1%
    Potassium 204mg6%
    Carbohydrates 15g5%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 6g7%
    Protein 1g2%
    Vitamin A 7095IU142%
    Vitamin C 1.2mg1%
    Calcium 25mg3%
    Iron 0.5mg3%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you 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.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Natasha Finch

      June 13, 2020 at 3:25 am

      This recipe is amazing! I added a little coconut extract for flavor twist. Yum! And so healthy. Thanks

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        June 13, 2020 at 2:13 pm

        Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!

      • Amrita

        July 15, 2020 at 1:31 am

        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

        July 15, 2020 at 2:38 pm

        It should keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days. So 3 days should just about be ok!

    2. Anonymous

      August 27, 2020 at 8:22 am

      Hello. Can i use carob powder instead of cocoa powder? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        August 27, 2020 at 2:04 pm

        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

        February 28, 2021 at 11:39 pm

        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

        March 01, 2021 at 7:29 pm

        Thank you so much for sharing your substitutions, that's great to know!

    3. Alexis

      September 06, 2020 at 10:36 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        September 07, 2020 at 12:57 pm

        Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!

    4. Nicole

      November 05, 2020 at 1:18 pm

      About to make with butternut pumpkin instead of sp as I have cooked too much for another recipe. Wish me luck!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        November 05, 2020 at 2:08 pm

        Good luck hope it goes well!

    « Older Comments

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    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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