Easy Southern Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans is the ultimate quick bread! It's moist, flavorful and loaded with sweet potatoes and crunchy pecans. This tasty quick bread will soon become a new family favorite.
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.
Notes
Sharon's Expert Tips: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.