Japanese Sweet Potato Bread (Vegan)
Creamy, caramelized roasted Japanese sweet potato makes this bread deliciously dense, moist, and sweet. Vegan, whole grain, and oil-free!
Sweet potatoes are in season and what better way to celebrate than with this Japanese sweet potato bread! If you’ve never had a roasted Japanese sweet potato (or yaki-imo 焼き芋), they’re almost like cake in that they’re very sweet, moist, and dense but also fluffy. I love eating them as is or with peanut butter, but they’re also extremely delicious baked into breads and cakes. This sweet potato bread is slightly denser than banana bread but isn’t gummy; it’s tender, nutty, not-too-sweet, and made with wholesome ingredients!
Key Ingredients
- Roasted Japanese Sweet Potato⟶ Also known as yaki-imo 焼き芋. In Japan you can find yaki-imo at many supermarkets or street vendors. Roasting the sweet potato brings out its natural sugars and results in a fluffy, creamy texture.
- Japanese sweet potatoes have purple skin and yellow flesh. You can also use Korean sweet potatoes which are similar.
- Yogurt⟶ Adds moisture and healthy fats to give the bread a tender texture.
- Use plain, unsweetened non-dairy yogurt (or unsweetened vanilla and omit the vanilla extract). I prefer Trader Joe’s or Forager Project’s unsweetened cashew yogurt.
- Japanese or Chinese Sesame Paste* ⟶ Instead of oil or butter, this sweet potato bread gets most of its fat from sesame seeds (or whatever nut/seed butter you choose). The roasted sesame flavor pairs perfectly with Japanese sweet potato!
- Make sure your paste is made from roasted sesame seeds. This is not the same as tahini, which is made from raw or very lightly toasted sesame seeds, which have a more bitter flavor.
- Whole Wheat Flour ⟶ Preferably white whole wheat flour which is a bit softer than whole wheat flour. You can also use all purpose flour or half all purpose and half whole wheat
- Roasted Black Sesame Seeds ⟶ Japanese sweet potato and black sesame is a very popular combination in Japan. The nuttiness from the sesame pairs deliciously with the sweet, creamy sweet potato. You can use roasted white sesame seeds, they just won’t be as noticeable.
Tips for Success
Bake for an hour or more ⟶ Most quick breads are done in about an hour, but there is a lot of sweet potato in this bread which means there’s also a lot of moisture! If you take it out of the oven too early, the bread will look very dense and uncooked inside and the bread will likely fall flat. So be patient and keep baking until your toothpick comes out clean or with cooked crumbs! This could take up to 90 minutes, depending on your pan and oven.
Roast sweet potatoes ⟶ You may be tempted to just boil or steam the potatoes to save time, but roasted sweet potatoes are so much sweeter and creamier! I recommend roasting the sweet potato a day or two before you bake this bread.
Batter should be thick ⟶ The batter will be very thick, but don’t add extra milk! The sweet potatoes release more moisture as the bread bakes. If you add extra liquid, your bread will not bake in the center.
Use gram measurements ⟶ I highly recommend getting a kitchen scale*, especially if you do a lot of baking, because gram measurements are much more accurate.
Japanese Sweet Potato Bread FAQ
More Wholesome Quick Breads
- Blueberry Lemon Okara Bread
- Zucchini Bread
- Cinnamon Apple Bread
- Best Healthy Banana Bread
- Chocolate Banana Bread
If you make this Japanese sweet potato bread, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating down below and tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking. I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Japanese Sweet Potato Bread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 190 grams (1 ½ cups + 4 tsp) white whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp roasted black sesame seeds
Wet Ingredients
- 240 grams roasted sweet potato**1 about 1 medium
- 90 grams (6 tbsp) unsweetened non-dairy yogurt
- 120 ml (½ cup) soy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 72 grams (6 tbsp) sugar
- 60 grams (¼ cup)
Japanese/Chinese sesame paste* - 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground flaxseeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F for convection oven). Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and black sesame seeds) in a bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash roasted sweet potato until mostly smooth (a few small lumps are fine).
- Whisk in remaining wet ingredients (yogurt, soy milk, vinegar, sugar, sesame paste, vanilla extract, and ground flaxseeds).
- Add dry ingredients to wet and fold with a spatula to combine. Be careful not to overmix. Batter will be thick.
- Pour batter into lined loaf pan. If you have leftover roasted sweet potato, you can cut some into chunks and add to the batter.
- Bake for 60-90 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Tent with foil if the top of the loaf is browning too quickly.
- Cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the bread from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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