Sweet Potato Bread
, Updated Nov 22, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Sweet Potato Bread is incredibly moist, fragrant and absolutely delicious! Made with baked sweet potatoes, packed with warming spices and topped with a maple bourbon glaze. An easy fall baking recipe perfect for cozy mornings, Thanksgiving gatherings, or holiday gifting.
If autumn had a flavor, this Sweet Potato Bread would be it. Baked sweet potatoes give this loaf incredible moisture, beautiful texture and sweetness, while warming spices add that unmistakable fall coziness.
Finished with a drizzle of maple bourbon glaze, this quick bread is cozy, fragrant, and just the thing for crisp mornings or a Thanksgiving dessert table. Best of all, it’s easy to make even for total newbie bakers.
Sweet potato bread is a close cousin to pumpkin bread. Both of these quick breads share the same moist, spiced charm that makes them fall baking staples. While pumpkin often steals the spotlight, sweet potatoes are just as traditional, especially around Thanksgiving, where they appear in pies, casseroles and breads. Roasting the potatoes before mashing and using in the batter, intensifies their natural sweetness, giving this bread great depth of flavor.
Sweet Potato Bread Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes – Baking them concentrates their natural sweetness, bringing out an almost caramel sweetness.
- Wet ingredients: Large eggs at room temperature, buttermilk , vegetable oil and vanilla bean extract.
- Dry ingredients all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking sugar and salt.
- Spices – Part of the dry ingredients but they deserve a special mention! This quick bread is full of the spices we associate with fall – cinnamon, ginger nutmeg and cloves. These spices will fill your house with an enchanting scent and make this sweet potato bread irresistible.
- Maple bourbon glaze – Take the flavor to another level with this simple glaze which uses powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and a little bourbon 😉
How to Make Sweet Potato Bread
Bake the potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) or the air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Scrub the potatoes clean, pierce them with a knife and place on a baking tray.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes in the oven and about 25-30 minutes in an air fryer. or until the potatoes are tender and soft all the way through – a fork should easily pierce the flesh with no resistance.
- Peel back the skin as soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle. Place the caramelized flesh in a large bowl and mash really well. Cool before using – we need 1 cup (280g) of mashed potato.
Make the sweet potato bread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 1lb loaf pan with baking paper, letting the paper hang over the edge for easy lifting.
- Sift the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and spices – into a bowl and set aside.
- Add the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla to the sweet potatoes and vigorously stir to combine or briefly beat together with a hand mixer.
- In separate bowl, add the dry ingredients and fold them in gently until you can see no dry pockets of flour lurking and the batter is smooth. Avoid overmixing the batter as it can make the bread dense.
- Pour batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Drizzle with the glaze and serve
- Place the powdered sugar, vanilla, maple syrup and bourbon (if using) in a small bowl. Add water, a spoonful at a time, until the glaze is smooth and has a thick but pourable consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the bread, letting it drip down the sides. Dust with cinnamon and scatter with a handful of chopped pecans. Cozy fall baking perfection achieved!
Serving Suggestions
- Slice the bread and serve warm with butter, honey, or cream cheese.
- Add it to Thanksgiving brunch spread alongside coffee cake, muffins, and cinnamon rolls.
- Dress it up with the maple bourbon glaze for dessert, or leave plain for a simpler breakfast loaf – it is just as tasty!
- Perfect with a hot coffee, chai, spiced latte or mulled wine.
Storing Instructions
This bread keeps beautifully, with the warm spice flavors intensifying over time. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or refrigerate for up to five days.
For longer storage, skip the glaze and freeze slices individually for up to three 3 months — they thaw quickly and taste just as fresh. Thaw in the fridge and warm up in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.
Your Questions Answered
- Can I use pumpkin instead of the sweet potato? Pumpkin purée has a different texture, is less dense and much less flavorful. Follow this recipe if you want to bake pumpkin bread.
- Can I add nuts or chocolate chips? Of course! Fold half a cup (about 65g) of chopped pecans or chocolate chips into batter after the dry ingredients have been incorporated.
Recipe Tips
- This recipe combines all the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry in another. Once the wet ingredients are mixed you fold the dry ones in to create the batter. Do not mix too vigorously – using a light touch ensures the bread will be soft and fluffy instead of tough and dense.
- Fluff up the flour and spoon into the measuring cup, don’t pack it down or you can end up using more than is required.
I hope this Sweet Potato Bread recipe becomes one of your go-to fall bakes. If you make it, please leave me a comment and rating below — I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to tag me in your baking pics on @Instagram or TikTok so I can see your beautiful bakes!
Sweet Potato Bread
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Bread
- 1 large sweet potato or 2 medium ones
- ¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup (80ml) buttermilk
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups (200g) flour , all-purpose / plain
- 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg , freshly ground if possible
- ½ tsp salt
For the glaze
- 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar , (icing sugar)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp bourbon or brandy (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- water , as needed
To decorate
- ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp chopped pecans
Instructions
Bake the sweet potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) or the air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Scrub the potatoes clean, pierce them with a knife and place on a baking tray or directly in the air fryer basket.1 large sweet potato
- Bake for 45-50 minutes in the oven and about 25-30 minutes in an air fryer. You want the potatoes to get very soft all the way through. A knife should be able to pierce them easily.
- Rest until the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel back the skin and place the caramelized flesh in a large bowl. Mash really well and cool before using – we need 1 cup (280g) of mashed potato.
Make the sweet potato bread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 1lb loaf pan with baking paper, letting the paper hang over the edge for easy lifting.
- Sift the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices – into a bowl and set aside.1 ⅔ cups (200g) flour, 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ½ tsp salt
- Add the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla and buttermilk to the mashed sweet potatoes and vigorously stir to combine or briefly beat together with a hand mixer.¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil, ⅓ cup (80ml) buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- Add the dry ingredients and fold them in gently until you can see no dry pockets of flour lurking and the batter is smooth. Avoid overmixing the batter as it can make the bread dense.
- Pour the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Make the glaze
- Place the powdered sugar, vanilla, maple syrup and bourbon (if using) in a small bowl. Add water, a spoonful at a time, until the glaze is smooth and has a thick but pourable consistency.1 cup (125g) powdered sugar, 3 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp bourbon or brandy, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste , water
- Drizzle the glaze over the bread, letting it drip down the sides. Dust with cinnamon and scatter with a handful of chopped pecans. Cozy fall baking perfection achieved!ground cinnamon, 2 tbsp chopped pecans
Notes
- Replace the spices with two teaspoons of pumpkin spice or speculaas spice blend.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze slices individually for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
It came out great! It was super moist!
So glad you liked the recipe! Thanks for your comment xx