Easy Southern Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans is the ultimate quick bread! It’s moist, flavorful, and loaded with sweet potatoes and crunchy pecans. Tasty sweet potato bread is the height of quick bread perfection, and trying to resist a slice is futile!
Southern Sweet Potato Bread is incredible right out of the oven while it’s still warm. And, it’s still as delicious the next day when sliced for breakfast. Yesterday, I heated a slice and added a bit of homemade apple butter a friend had given me. Oh my goodness, it was phenomenal!
And, a bonus, you don’t need an electric mixer, and it’s all made in one bowl.
What is Sweet Potato Bread:
Sweet Potato Bread is simply a quick bread that contains sweet potatoes. For this quick bread recipe, I used my favorite banana bread recipe and swapped out mashed sweet potatoes for the bananas. Voila, an amazingly flavorful sweet potato bread with roasted pecans that is perfect for breakfast or snacking.
More Sweet Potato recipes:
It’s fall, and the Internet is loaded with all kinds of pumpkin, everything recipes. But here in the South, we love sweet potatoes, and instead of pumpkin, I have been adding them to salads, soups, desserts, and now bread. Check out some of my most popular sweet potato recipes here:
Fall Harvest Salad with Apples and Sweet Potatoes
Southern Sweet Potato Casserole with Bourbon
Easy Southern Sweet Potato Hash
Southern Candied Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
Easy Creamy Southern Sweet Potato Soup
Easy Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Terry’s Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
If you like sweet potatoes as much as we do, you might also be interested in this sweet potato roundup post: 33 of the Best and Easiest Sweet Potato Recipes for Thanksgiving.
What is a quick bread?
Quick bread is just what it sounds like, a bread that is quick and easy to make. Quick bread doesn’t contain any yeast and uses baking powder and or baking soda as a leavening agent.
More quick bread recipes:
Examples of quick breads on my blog include Zucchini Banana Muffins, Easy Southern Cheddar Biscuits, and Traditional Southern Style Cornbread. Easy Buttermilk Banana Bread with Blueberries, Unforgettable Lemon Bread with Lemon Glaze, Easy Southern Style Apple Bread, and Easy Southern Peach Bread are other examples of quick loaves of bread.
How to make Southern Sweet Potato Quick Bread with Pecans:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Prick sweet potatoes with a fork and microwave for five minutes. Turn them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are very soft when squeezed. Allow to cool for a few minutes and scoop out and mash the flesh.
Combine all ingredients, including the mashed sweet potatoes in a large bowl and mix well.
Pour the batter into a 9×5 inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick baking spray that contains flour.
Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire baking rack. Slice and serve.
Sharon’s Expert Tips – Southern Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans
The banana bread base recipe that I used is courtesy of my friend, Sylvia Fuller. Sylvia says if you are planning to freeze the bread, wrap the loaf tightly in aluminum foil as soon as you take it out of the pan while it is still warm.
If you don’t have a non-stick baking spray with flour, be sure to grease your pan well with butter or shortening. Then take a spoonful of flour and sprinkle it evenly over the pan. Tap the bottom and sides of the pan to spread the flour evenly over the insides of the pan. Pour out any excess and fill and bake as directed.
If you don’t have any buttermilk, you can make your own with whole milk and lemon juice or white vinegar. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to the milk and let it sit for about five minutes before adding it to the batter.
I always roast my pecans before, including in a recipe. You can use raw chopped pecans if you like, and the bread will still be delicious. However, if you would like to roast your pecans, spread them out on a baking sheet and roast in a 350 degree F. oven for about 8 minutes. Eight minutes is for pecan halves. If your pecans are chopped, they only take 3-4 minutes.
You can substitute canned sweet potatoes in this recipe. Be sure to drain and rinse them and mash well before adding to the batter. You will need about one and one-half cups.
If you prefer to cook your sweet potatoes in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the sweet potatoes for 60 minutes or until they are very soft and you can easily squeeze them.
★ If you make Southern Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans, please leave a comment and give this recipe a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
Southern Sweet Potato Quick Bread with Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes medium
- 2 eggs large or extra-large
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup chopped roasted pecans
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup buttermilk plus one tablespoon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Prick sweet potatoes with a fork and microwave for five minutes. Turn them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are very soft when squeezed. All to cool for a few minutes and scoop out and mash the flesh.
- Combine all ingredients, including the mashed sweet potatoes in a large bowl and mix well.
- Pour the batter into a 9x5 inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick baking spray that contains flour.
- Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire baking rack.
This is 100% delicious! I added raisins and pumpkin pie spice, cause why not. Also had to bake quite a bit longer, but my bread pan is tall and narrow. A definite keeper!
Hi, Sharon, Do you know about how many cups of sweet potatoes you use?
Thanks. Drin Apgar
Hi Drin, It’s about one and one-half cups. It doesn’t have to be exact. Hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the bread.
Sharon
Thank you for the sweet potato bread recipe. I am ready to use it for the ‘banana-nut bread’ recipe, but
I don’t have buttermilk or lemons here at the house. I do have white distilled vinegar ( I use it for cleaning).
I also have apple cider vinegar. Pls advs which one of the vinegars I might use for buttermilk, or neither one.
Hi Helen, use your white distilled vinegar with whole milk to make buttermilk.
I hope you enjoy the bread!