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Way back in 2011 these sweet potato macaroons were the very first recipe I shared on my YouTube channel. Ten years later this is still one of my favorite vegan dessert recipes. It’s easy to make, on the healthier side, and I love the delicious combination of chewy, nutty, and sweet. They’re perfect!
These sweet potato macaroons are basically the best coconut macaroons ever. Instead of a macaroon with just chewy coconut, they are made more amazing with shredded sweet potato and chopped walnuts. Where regular coconut macaroons are all chewy and gooey, the texture of these walnut macaroons is so much more interesting and delicious. The sweet potato and walnut also give these cookies a more complex flavor.
I discovered this recipe the year I became vegan in The Artful Vegan cookbook. I was drawn to it because of the sweet potato, of course, but also because it’s such an interesting take on macaroons. I haven’t changed that original recipe hardly at all. To make them you combine shredded sweet potato and coconut, chopped walnuts, sugar, vanilla, and molasses, plus a few other ingredients. This is a one bowl recipe, and truly one of the easiest vegan desserts you will ever make.
These sweet potato macaroons take me back to my early vegan days living in New York, starting Sweet Potato Soul, and hustling my personal chef business. I would make these little cookies as treats for my clients, and presents for friends. I would also send them to media outlets like Well + Good in the hopes that they’d notice me and feature me on their blog––which totally worked, by the way! These macaroons take me back to a pivotal moment in my life. So much has happened in these last 10 years, and they remind me that the journey has always been sweet.
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Before we get to the recipe, here are some links to my other favorite vegan cookie recipes: life-changing tahini cookies, the best chocolate chip cookies, and tahini fig cookies.
Sweet Potato Walnut Macaroons
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp peeled and shredded raw sweet potato
- ½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
- ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
- ¼ cup sucanat, or raw cane sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp rice flour, or arrowroot flour or cornstarch
- â…› tsp Ener-G egg replacer or potato starch
- â…› tsp molasses
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, {or aluminum foil shiny side down.}
- Place the sweet potato, coconut, nuts, sucanat, salt, rice flour {or arrowroot}, and egg replacer in a bowl. Using your hands {or a fork}, toss well, making sure the potato does not lump up. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. In the well, place the molasses, vanilla, and coconut oil. Slowly add the boiling water to dissolve the molasses and soften the coconut oil. Still using your hands, mix until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
- Using a spoon, drop about 2 tablespoons {I did 1 tablespoon} of the batter onto the baking sheet for each macaroon. Lightly press them down with the palm of your hand to flatten. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly brown. Let cool on the baking sheet, and then serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
How can just 2 TBS of sweet potato work?
Is the quality for sweet potatoes correct, 2 tbsp? Do you mean 2 cups?
No, just 2 tablespoons 🙂