Sweet Potato Buns (Grain Free/Nut Free) are a hidden gem on this blog that get rave reviews but often disappear amongst Instant Pot recipes and other goodies!
Truth be told, I have been living without buns for so long now that I am past the mourning period. I mean sure, it really stunk for a long time but then I realized how bloaty and gross most bread-stuff made me, even the gluten free varieties. So I put on my big girl pants and adapted to my non-bun lifestyle.
And really for the most part I am ok with it. I get to avoid feeling grody and weighed down afterwards. And bonus alert: I get to keep my pants buttoned. Those around me seem to appreciate that. Anyway, there are times that the idea of a bun creeps into my head and I also realized that there are many people who have not gotten over the absence of the bread.
So for you my friends, I know your loss well and I empathize. This bun is a little crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It holds together well for sandwiches, burgers, or for eating straight out of the oven – not that I would ever do that. Ever. Nor would my kids. Swear.
Sweet Potato Buns (Grain Free/Nut Free)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup palm shortening melted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato
- 1/2 cup arrowroot flour
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal (I grind my own)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Combine all ingredients in blender, I use the Nutribullet
- Let batter sit for a few minutes to thicken
- Spoon batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet, you can decide how big you want your buns
- Bake for 20 minutes for smaller buns, 25 minutes for bigger ones
- Remove from oven and cool slightly
Stop it right now! You are totally convincing me to make these.
do it!
If I make smaller buns, about how many does this make?
my guess is about half a dozen but would depend on size. enjoy!!
I have made these twice now and they are absolutely delicious! Thank you so much
Yay Candance! I am so happy to hear you are loving them! Thinkin’ about doing some burgers or meatloaf sandwiches on these. NOM!
These look delicious!! Can these be keep for a day or so? Or do they have to be eaten straight away? Thanks 🙂
They should keep for a day or two I THINK! I need to make them again soon!
My husband LOVES these! When I make them, I triple the recipe! I always use coconut oil, for no other reason except that’s what I have on hand. I shape them in circles for hamburger buns and large and small “hoagie” roles. They freeze perfectly! I just place them between parchment paper in an air tight container. I pull two out to thaw the night before and make my husband grilled chicken sandwiches, turkey burger, and once when I knew we were attending a small get together with a tray of Primo’s, I brought our own rolls to use instead of the Primo’s rolls. This has definitely become part of my regular prep routine. I just started my own blog and I would love to name the Sweet Potato Buns with a link to your site. Would that be okay? Thank you!!
Wow Tara! That’s absolutely amazing, thanks so much for sharing! Messages like this remind me why I do this! I would love if you post about the buns on your site. All I request is that the recipe is not printed in full on your site, but rather is mentioned with a referral link back to Predominantly Paleo as you suggested. Thanks so much for thinking of me and good luck with your blog!
Thank you so much! I have pictures of my own after making them, so check out our success with your buns! When I mention them to my friends, they are begging for the recipe!
@ Tara Geisel , thank you for posting your success with coconut oil. I can’t wait to try these!
could I substitute coconut oil for palm oil?
I think that should work!
I’ve been looking for something like this for so long! I’m definitely not past the pining-for-bread stage and I’m about 12 months in. (I don’t think I’ll ever get over it!)
Is there something I could replace the flax seed meal with? I thought an egg, but I see there are already 2 eggs in the recipe. Flax and Chia are ridiculously overpriced where I am in Australia because they’ve now become “trendy”.
Thank you! 🙂 🙂
Hey Erin, I am glad you found this! Hmmm to replace the flax meal, you could try adding another egg and maybe a bit of coconut flour? But only a little, like a tablespoon. Really I don’t know if it might change the entire texture though – maybe split a bag of flax seed with a friend? Or if you can buy in bulk just buy a tiny amount? Hope this helps a little bit!! Good luck!
Ahh you’re lovely, thank you! I’ll try that in the near and see what happens. I’ll try and remember to let you know how it went as well 🙂 Thanks again!
What can I use in place of arrowroot and would I need to change the amount? These look really promising but I only have tapioca and potato starch.
You can try your tapioca starch!
Flaxseed meal doesn’t sit well with me. Wondering if Erin tried substituting with extra egg and coconut flour, and if it turned out?
I have not tried those substitutions so I cannot say for sure but I would imagine the extra egg would certainly help!
Recently convinced my husband to join me in our no sugar, no gluten, no soy diet. He was definitely missing bread. Made these with our turkey burgers and he LOVED them. Thanks for sharing!!
That’s great Tara! Thanks for letting me know! Bread is a tricky one and hard to mimic!
This sounds very promising. Do you think almond flour could be substituted for the arrowroot flour? Thanks for your input!
You could try, though I have not experimented with nut flours on this particular recipe. Good luck to you, lemme know how it works out!
You cannot substitute almond flour for arrowroot flour. Arrowroot flour as a thickener and you use it instead of cornstarch.
I tried the sweet potato buns and the taste was great. But, the texture was not as fluffy as your looked on your photo. Can you give me some tips or suggestions to try these again. Mine were just kinda thick and flat. Thanks!
Hmmm Gina, Not sure. You could try adding a little extra baking soda? Or try blending in a blender to get a lot of air infused before baking?
Think you could make ahead and freeze? I’m wanting to stock the freezer with some convenience gluten free/paleo foods to keep me from raiding the bread drawer.
Yes I think you could! I haven’t frozen them because we always eat them up!
Instead of the flaxseed, you suggest one more egg and one tablespoon of coconut flour? Also, have you ever made these with white potato and probably a little coconut milk for more moisture?
I have not made them with white potato. Let me know if you experiment how they turn out!
Would this recipe work with chia or flax seed egg replacements?
I have not made it alternative ways, please let me know if it works with an egg sub, I’d love to know!
Last question was about a sub for the eggs by Lois, was wondering if anyone has tried that yet?
I use the Ener-G Egg replacer and these ~work~ they’re just not as fluffy as the picture. I bake triple batches and freeze them between sheets of wax paper. They’re fine re-heated.
Egg-cellent! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Thanks Jen, LOVE these! I have made (and thrown away) sooooo many bread alternatives the last twelve months, and these are the best ever! I always find nut based breads too heavy and cake like, so these not only tasted good but had a great texture too. And it was such a treat to have a quick throw together lunch today, a turkey and salad sarnie on the table in less than 5 minutes. Blissful simplicity
Hi Jen,
I’ve been experimenting with this recipe for some time and I’ve discovered that a great alternative to the sweet potato is one cup of cooked (left over) packed brown rice. I just put it in the food processor (cold from the fridge) to grind it up a bit (so that it becomes more flour-like) and no more than 20 seconds. Then I add all of the ingredients like your recipe calls for. It is a great little bun which really resembles a light wheat bread bun. My family loves it!
You need to try it! I think you’ll really like it too.
Thanks Maria! That sounds delicious!! Sadly I don’t eat rice as my body doesn’t like it so I typically don’t keep it in the house. But if I have some in the house some time, I will give it a go! Glad you found a tasty alternative!
just made these!!!! Omg I got buns!!!!
You like!?
I made these last night!….they are delicious! Thank you!!!!
Oh yay! Thanks for the feedback Yusmar!
I love these buns we had sloppy joes (homemade of course) for the first time in years. Today I thought I would try them with a different root vegetable – parsnips oh my they are so yummy!
Oh wow! That sounds delicious, thanks for sharing!
I have followed your recipe accordingly except sub the shortening with coconut oil and it tastes great & they bake and rise nice & fluffy but when I take them out of the oven too cool they always get deflated & end up flat & dense. Any suggestions to remedy this?
Hi Greyson, cooling does make them lose their fluff some. I recommend serving right away or as soon as they aren’t too hot. I have some readers that make ahead and freeze as well but I imagine the reheated versions are probably less fluffy. Using sweet potato flour might yield a different product but you’d need more eggs for sure. Hope that helps a little bit!
Can an egg replacement be used in this recipe?
I have not tried, please let me know if you play around and make it work, I’d love to know!
Are these sweet, due to the sweet potato? Also, do these get split, or do you use 2 buns for top & bottom? Do they rise/spread much, or is the diameter the same coming out as going in (for spacing purposes and to make sure I get the right size to start with). Hoping you can help. I’d also like to know of a “tried/tested” flax substitute. I went off flax several weeks ago due to GI challenges, and have been scared to try it again. But I want good buns, and am hoping to do the hot-dog bun style of this too, if I can figure out how to make the foil work.
And maybe if they ARE sweet, maybe I could just add some seasonings (thinking garlic, italian herbs etc) to help mask the sweet?
These are amazing- I have only used them for breakfast sandwiches- eggs, avacado, spinach and bacon= heaven
That’s genius!
I’m a little behind the curve ball here, but I still want to tell you how excited I am about these sweet potato buns!! Since going grain free, I have really missed the bun on my burgers. I made these last night (substituted coconut oil & left out flax seed) & I did a happy dance!! They were amazingly quick &easy but the taste & feel of them on my burger was so divine. My family didn’t use the buns on their burgers, they picked them up with their fingers & shoveled them in! This is saying a lot because I have extremely picky eaters. They said they tasted like pancakes, so I think I will serve the leftovers heated with real maple syrup. Just a note (helpful, I hope), I used my 1\4 cup cookie scoop to ensure uniform size. They were only a tad bit larger than my burgers, but I personally thought they were perfect in every way. They baked in exactly 25 minutes.
Great idea using the cookie scoop!
Can you do w out flax? (Whats it for..binding?)
Subs?
Tx!
The flax does help bind, I’ve not tried it without at this time!
can the flax seed be subbed with something else?
You could possibly try chia seeds but I haven’t personally tried it before!
Hello! I’m excited to try these. Any great substitutions for palm oil? I saw coconut oil was used in someone’s recipe. Any other thoughts? Thanks!
You could try another fat like avocado oil.
This recipe is from 2014, and I hate that I only just found it! It was worth commenting even though I’m so late to the game 🙂 My husband’s grandparents gave us loads of sweet potatoes from their local farm, and I’ve made a 2nd batch this week to freeze. I ran out of flaxseed so I used beef gelatin powder and it still turned out perfect. Great recipe, thanks!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I love these but if I do not use them immediately they mold. On the counter, in the fridge (even just overnight in an air tight container). Why?
★★★★
With no preservatives they can spoil – consider slicing and freezing for later!