Sweet potato blondies with crunchy pecans are a lightly sweet dessert (or snack) that’s full of fall flavors! These sweet potato bars are made with almond butter for a hint of nutty flavor and moist texture.
Enjoy them on their own, or add a topping like cream cheese frosting or maple syrup. Either way: delish!
They’re sort of a cross between a blondie and a banana bread (but with mashed sweet potato instead of banana). You don’t need an electric mixer to make these, so there’s less cleanup to worry about!
Sweet Potato Bars with Pecans
Even though sweet potatoes are available year-round where I live, I still get extra excited about them in the fall. I just can’t help it!
Sweet potato is a classic fall flavor, but I don’t think it gets quite as much love as it deserves (probably because it’s overshadowed by the pumpkin).
These bars bring together the fabulous flavor combination of sweet potato, nutty pecans, caramelized brown sugar, and creamy almond butter.
They aren’t overly sweet, so they make a great breakfast or snack in addition to a dessert. If you want to make them more decadent, feel free to add whipped cream, maple syrup, or a quick icing on top!
For another must-try fall dessert, try these white chocolate pumpkin spice bars! So tender, sweet, and perfectly spiced. These mini apple crumb tarts are also delicious for autumn.
Recipe Ingredients
A few notes on the ingredients in these sweet potato pecan blondies:
- These bars call for mashed sweet potato, not canned sweet potato puree. Sweet potato puree has a lot of excess moisture, and would change the texture. Plus, it has less flavor. Fortunately, it’s easy to make your own mashed sweet potato – either in the oven, or the microwave (super quick)!
- You’ll also need creamy almond butter for this recipe. This helps give the bars a moist texture and adds a nice complimentary flavor.
- I love chopped pecans in these bars for a nutty crunch, but you can use walnuts or even chocolate chips instead!
Have an extra sweet potato? Try this double chocolate sweet potato bread! Have extra pecans? Try these pecan chai oatmeal cookies.
How to Make Sweet Potato Blondies
Start by making your homemade mashed sweet potato. Don’t worry, it’s easier than it might sound! Either roast a sweet potato in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit until tender (usually around 45 minutes), or use this method to microwave a sweet potato (much quicker!).
Then, let it cool, slice it open, and mash it well before measuring out the right amount.
While you wait for the sweet potato to cool, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar in a bowl. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk again to incorporate.
Then, add the almond butter and the mashed sweet potato, and whisk until smooth.
Next, sift in the dry ingredients. Stir with a spatula until just combined. Don’t over-mix!
Then, gently fold in chopped pecans.
Spoon the batter into a square baking pan lined with parchment paper and smooth out on top with a spatula. Then, bake until the edges are lightly golden (about 25-28 minutes at 350 degrees F).
Let the bars cool, then use the edges of the parchment paper to lift the bars from the pan. Slice into bars with a sharp knife.
Add topping if desired (see further down in the post for ideas), then enjoy!
How to Store Sweet Potato Blondies
Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
If you do choose to add a dairy-based frosting (like cream cheese frosting), you’ll need to store these bars in the fridge. (Unfortunately, refrigerating the bars can dry them out, so I don’t recommend making them too far in advance).
Can I use canned sweet potato puree?
I don’t recommend using canned sweet potato puree here. It’s a lot more watery than homemade mashed sweet potato – which would affect the texture – and it doesn’t have as much flavor.
Topping & Mix-In Ideas
Want to switch up this recipe a bit? You can swap out the pecans for:
- semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- chopped walnuts
- shredded coconut
- dried fruit
And if you want, add some topping! Here are some ideas:
- cream cheese frosting
- maple syrup
- icing (super easy to make – just powdered sugar with a splash of milk!)
- chocolate ganache
I may have enjoyed these sweet potato bars for breakfast, snack, AND dessert at some point this week…just goes to show how versatile they are! 🙂
If you make these sweet potato blondies, I’d love if you shared your thoughts with a rating and comment below!
More dessert bars to try:
- Blueberry Walnut Blondie Bars
- Pumpkin Spice Bars with White Chocolate
- Raspberry Almond Blondies
- White Chocolate Matcha Brownies
- Peanut Butter Banana Brownies
- Almond Butter Cookie Bars
Pecan Sweet Potato Blondie Bars
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted (1/2 a stick)
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1 egg yolk (at room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup creamy almond butter (at room temperature)
- ¾ cup mashed sweet potato*, cooled (about 1 medium to large sweet potato)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup chopped pecans (plus more for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius). Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, vigorously whisk melted butter and brown sugar. Whisk in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Add almond butter and mashed sweet potato (see notes). Whisk until smooth.
- Sift in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir with a spatula until just combined. (Don't over-mix!). Gently fold in chopped pecans.
- Spoon batter into a lined baking pan. Smooth out on top with a spatula. Sprinkle with additional chopped pecans if desired.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Let cool. Remove from the pan and slice into bars with a sharp knife.