EASY! Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding (Vegan)

Learn to Make Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding!! This Sweet Potato Pudding is a very popular dessert in Jamaica and the Caribbean. It is easy to make a simple dessert yet super delicious. A delightful treat for any time; breakfast, lunch, dinner, as a snack, or on a special occasion.

Learn to make
Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding

Are you looking for a new sweet potato recipe? If you are a fan of sweet potatoes like me, you’ll love this recipe! Today I am sharing a traditional Jamaican sweet potato pudding recipe.

You’ll find, here, an easy-to-follow recipe with step-by-step instructions, helpful info, and tips. This Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding is a rich, moist, oven-baked dessert with custard topping. I hope you’ll try and enjoy it with your loved ones!! It will be your new favorite.

Are you looking for more International recipes?
Take a quick look at the recipe collection HERE

What is Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding?

Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding is a unique Sweet Potato dessert made with grated raw sweet potatoes. It is a cross between a pudding and a cake. After baking the pudding to set, it is topped with a sweet coconut custard.

Traditional Jamaican sweet potato pudding was baked in a covered pot with hot coals placed on top of the pot and underneath and this method of baking is interestingly referred to as, “hell a top, ‘hell a bottom, and hallelujah in the middle”

In Jamaica, it is served as a dessert for special occasions, family gatherings, Christmas, weddings, holidays, or Sunday dinners.

How do you make it?

This Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding recipe comes together easily.

It is made with grated raw sweet potatoes, coconut milk, brown sugar, flour, and cornmeal. Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are added. It also includes rum-soaked raisins and flavoring like vanilla and rum.

You mix the grated raw sweet potatoes with the rest of the ingredients. Then, you bake it in a baking pan until set. The almost-baked pudding is then topped with a sweet coconut custard and baked further a few minutes.

You can grate the sweet potatoes by hand or using a food processor or powerful blender. Raw sweet potatoes are very firm, so grating them is not such an easy task. A food processor is a great tool for grating sweet potatoes the easy way. It makes the task much quicker and the texture of the pudding is more creamy.

Ingredients

For Sweet Potato Pudding

• Sweet Potatoes – Use white-fleshed sweet potato with purple skin
• Coconut Milk – Use full-fat coconut milk for a rich taste
• Sugar – Brown sugar is preferable
• Flour – Use plain flour
• Cornmeal – You can replace it with plain flour
• Spices – I used ground cinnamon. Nutmeg and allspice are also used
• Ginger – I used ground ginger. You can also use fresh ginger
• Salt – To taste to enhance the other flavors
• Raisins – Optional so feel free to omit
• Rum –  For soaking raisins or as a flavoring, for non-alcoholic versions omit it
• Vanilla Extract – optional

For Custard Topping

• Coconut Milk
• Brown Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon

Sweet Potatoes: A Super Food

Sweet potatoes are gluten-free. They have no saturated fats. They are a great source of healthy starch and fibers. They are also a rich source of vitamins and minerals. It is an amazing vegetable. You can prepare it in different ways: in fries, chips, mashed potatoes, soup, curry, and even in cakes and desserts.

What Kind of Sweet Potatoes to Use?

For this recipe, you will need white-fleshed, purple-skinned sweet potatoes, not orange-fleshed potatoes. Japanese sweet potatoes have purple skin with white flesh and I prefer using Japanese sweet potato called Beni Haruka.

Useful Tips

• Full-fat canned coconut milk makes this dessert rich and creamy. You can also use freshly squeezed thick coconut milk if available
• Adding cornmeal improves the texture, but, if it is not available, you can replace it with plain flour
• This pudding includes rum soaked raisins but it is optional. If you use them, soak them in rum for a few hours. Alternatively, you can soak them overnight. Then, drain them when ready to use.
• Use a spring form pan for baking for easy removal of the baked pudding

Serving Suggestions

This pudding is rich enough on its own. You can serve it just plain. It also goes well with ice cream.

Storing Suggestions

You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to five days. It also freezes well. Keep it in an airtight container, and freeze it for up to 1 month. Then, remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. I usually cut it into slices and then wrap them individually before freezing.

More Delicious Recipes to Try!!

Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding
Step-by-Step Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 60 to 80 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Caribbean, Jamaican

Ingredients

For Pudding

• 400 g sweet potato, peeled
• 250 ml coconut milk, see the notes
• 150 g brown sugar
• 30 g plain flour
• 30 g cornmeal
• 30 g desiccated coconut, see the notes
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder, see the notes
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp rum, optional
• 50 g raisins, see the notes

For Custard

• 200 ml thick coconut milk
• 100 g brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Note:

• I used canned coconut milk, you can also use freshly squeezed thick coconut milk
• I used unsweetened desiccated coconut, you can also use freshly shredded coconut if available.
• Using raisins is optional. If used, soak them in some rum for a few hours or overnight. Then drain them when ready to use.
• You can make a non-alcoholic version omitting rum

Instructions

Preparation

Wash the sweet potatoes well.

Preheat the oven to 170˚ C. Grease a 20 -22 cm round baking pan with butter or margarine and set aside.

Gather the ingredients for making the pudding. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients (except sweet potato, coconut milk, rum, and raisins) then whisk together.

Peel and then cut the sweet potatoes into small pieces. It is optional. I usually place them in water for a few minutes to prevent them from browning. Then, I drain them well. (You can also grate sweet potatoes using a grater, in that case, no need to cut the sweet potatoes)

Make the Pudding

Add the chopped sweet potatoes to a powerful blender or food processor. Blend on high until it becomes a paste adding some coconut milk as needed.

Then add the sweet potato paste into a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining coconut milk. Mix well with a large spoon. Fold all the ingredients (that you mixed before in a separate bowl) into the sweet potato mixture, then mix well. Add the raisins and rum if using then stir lightly.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 60 minutes or until the pudding is set. Use a toothpick to test the center of the pudding for doneness. When it comes out mostly clean, the pudding is ready.

Prepare the Custard

While the pudding is baking, prepare the custard.

Place the custard topping ingredients in a small pan and heat over low heat. Do not bring it to a boil. Whisk well until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let it slightly cool.

To Finish

When the pudding is set, remove the pan from the oven.

Pour the custard mixture over the top of the pudding. Return the pudding to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the custard topping is set. 

Remove the pan from the oven and allow the pudding to cool and set completely before cutting it. You can also let the pudding rest overnight in the refrigerator before slicing it.

When the pudding cools, enjoy it just plain or with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.

Are you looking for more International recipes?
Take a quick look at the recipe collection HERE

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If you make any of my recipes, I’d love to see pics of your creations
#joyofeatingtheworld or @joyofeatingtheworld

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