Sweet potatoes and pecans are a classic combination but are often paired with copious amounts of butter and sugar. Instead, try a healthier approach with this good and good-for-you Sweet Potato Breakfast Bread.
This is a quick bread, a type of bread that uses baking powder or baking soda as a leavening agent instead of yeast and doesn’t require any rising time. Quick breads are often prepared with oil, but to increase the nutritional density in this recipe, I’m substituting applesauce and using whole wheat pastry flour.
Sweet Potato Breakfast Bread is a fantastic quick bread for family and guests that keeps up to a week in the refrigerator. Serve it plain or topped with nut butter for a healthy start to your day.
Sweet Potato Breakfast Bread
Roasting the sweet potato brings out the natural sugars and intensifies its rich, earthy flavor. However, if you want to take a shortcut, you can use 1 15-ounce can of unsweetened sweet potato puree or canned pumpkin.
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 1⁄2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1⁄2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1⁄2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1⁄2 cup chopped pecans, divided
- 2 tablespoons ground or milled flaxseed
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the loaf pan with a rectangular piece of parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the sides by 2 to 3 inches. (This creates a sling, allowing easy removal of the cooked bread from the loaf pan.) Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Line a small rimmed baking sheet or skillet with aluminum foil. (This will help with clean-up.) Place the sweet potato on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and roast until tender, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked sweet potato to a bowl and cover with a lid or a plate. As the sweet potato cools, the steam will help loosen the skin. Once it’s cool to the touch, trim the tough ends and peel, discarding the ends and skin. Using a potato masher, mash the potato until smooth.
- Decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add the brown sugar, applesauce and eggs to the mashed sweet potato. Stir with a spatula to combine. Add the flour mixture, 1/4 cup pecans and the flaxseed; stir to combine.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and top with the remaining 1/4 cup pecans. Bake until rich brown and the temperature registers 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center, about 65 minutes.
- Transfer loaf pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Lift the bread from the pan using the parchment paper. Let bread cool until no longer hot, then, using a serrated knife, slice and serve. The bread will keep up to 1 week wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Serves 16.
Per serving: 112 calories (percent of calories from fat, 32), 3 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams total sugars, 2 grams fiber, 4 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), 23 milligrams cholesterol, 284 milligrams sodium.
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