Try our savory sweet potato pie with puff pastry, caramelized balsamic onions, and cheese – the perfect main dish for the holiday season.
If you like sweet potatoes, you will love this savory sweet potato pie! It makes a perfect vegetarian main dish, one that you can definitely serve either for Thanksgiving or Christmas or any other autumn/winter celebration where you are in need of a main vegetarian dish (if using the right kind of vegetarian cheese).
Over the years, I have made quite a few sweet potato pies or casseroles, from the super-easy sweet potato gratin to pies with roasted vegetables, or with Gorgonzola.
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Recipe ingredients and substitutions
The ingredient list is not particularly long or expensive, all common and cheap ingredients, but the result makes you think that the pie is really something quite elaborate and expensive. It just looks so good!
Puff pastry:
- If you want to make it yourself, I am sure it would be wonderful, but I never bother. I like the one I am able to buy; it is delicious and so easy to work with.
- I use refrigerated puff pastry found in the refrigerator section of the supermarket. It is already rolled, which makes it even easier to work with.
- However, if all you can get is frozen, that is perfect as well. Just make sure you remember to thaw it in advance and read the packet's instructions before rolling it.
- One sheet of already rolled puff pastry here weighs 9.7 oz/ 275 g.
Onions:
- I used a mixture of white and red onions to make the caramelized balsamic onions, but if you only have one sort of onion, that will be fine as well.
Cheese:
- I like using Gruyere cheese for this kind of gratin; it is a nice melting type of Swiss cheese.
- If you can't get any Gruyere cheese, you can replace it with another kind of good melting cheese, the one you like best.
- However, if using Gruyere, keep in mind that this particular cheese is not technically vegetarian, as it is made using rennet, an enzyme taken from the stomach of calves. If you want to make this dish vegetarian, make sure you know which kind of melting cheese is suitable for vegetarians.
Otherwise, you will need sweet potatoes, heavy cream, some dried thyme, and eggs.
How to make a savory sweet potato pie?
- Making this roasted sweet potato pie is much easier than you might think. The only thing I think is good to have when making this or any other potato pie or casserole is a mandoline slicer (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
- A mandoline will help you slice the sweet potatoes in really thin and regular slices, a job I find very difficult to achieve with just a knife, no matter how good that knife is.
Saute the sliced onions with balsamic, sugar, and thyme. Cool.
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes thinly. Grate the cheese as well.
Place the rolled pastry in the baking dish.
Add sweet potatoes and season well.
Sprinkle with some onions and cheese, and repeat. End with sweet potato slices. Add cream and egg mixture.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until cooked through.
Tip: If the roasted sweet potato pie with balsamic onions threatens to get too dark too soon, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. I did that after about 30 minutes of cooking time.
How to store leftovers?
- This savory sweet potato pie is best served immediately.
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
- Leftovers can be easily reheated in the oven. However, keep in mind that the puff pastry might become slightly soggy after a while. It will still be delicious, though.
What to serve with it?
Recipe
Savory Sweet Potato Pie
Equipment
- springform aproximately 10 inches/ 26 cm
- Mandoline slicer optional but recommended
Ingredients
- 9 oz white or yellow onions 250 g
- 9 oz red onions 250 g
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1.3 lbs sweet potatoes 600 g
- ¾ cup Gruyere cheese or a vegetarian alternative 150 g (Note 1)
- 10 oz puff pastry 275 g (Note 2)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream about 30% fat, 250 ml
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C. Line the springform with parchment paper.
- Cook onions: Peel and slice the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan and saute the onions on medium-low heat until translucent and starting to get soft, about 8 minutes. Add the thyme, sugar, and balsamic vinegar and continue cooking the onions, stirring often, until the onions start to caramelize and are soft. Remove and let cool slightly while you prepare the rest.9 oz white or yellow onions/ 250 g + 9 oz red onions/ 250 g + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + ½ teaspoon dried thyme + 2 tablespoons sugar + 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Prepare sweet potatoes and cheese: Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into thin slices with the help of a mandoline. Set aside. Grate the cheese and set it aside as well.1.3 lbs sweet potatoes/ 600 g
- Prepare pastry: Thaw it and roll it according to the packet's instructions if using frozen puff pastry. Place it in the prepared tin. Pierce the pastry with a fork all over.10 oz puff pastry/ 275 g
- Assemble the pie: Divide the sweet potatoes into three even portions. Arrange one part of the potatoes into the baking dish and sprinkle generously with sea salt and black pepper. Cover with half of the onions and half of the grated cheese. Repeat with the second portion of sweet potatoes and the remaining onions and cheese. End with a layer of sweet potatoes.¾ cup Gruyere cheese or a vegetarian alternative/ 150 g
- Whisk the eggs and cream. Season well and pour the mixture into the gratin dish.2 eggs + 1 cup heavy cream/ 250 ml + fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Bake for 50 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through. Loosely cover the pie with aluminum foil after about 30 minutes of baking time to prevent the top of the pie from getting too dark. Let the pie rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Cheese: Gruyere is a good melting cheese. You can substitute it with another kind of good melting cheese you like. If you want this pie to be vegetarian, make sure to choose a vegetarian type of cheese.
- Puff pastry: I use already rolled puff pastry found in the refrigerator section of the supermarket. You can use homemade puff pastry or frozen puff pastry, which should be thawed and rolled according to the packet's instructions.
Bill says
Made this yesterday (5/25/24) to serve with BBQ ribs and coleslaw. It sounds corny, but we got a round of applause for this dish. Truly a wonderful side dish. A couple of notes, please. I substituted a rough puff style pastry which was just fine. Thank you for including the metric weights, which I prefer to use, because your recipe states 1.3 ounces of sweet potatoes. I think you meant it to say 1.3 pounds. The 1.3-ish pounds was the perfect amount for our pie. Please consider making the correction to the original recipe. Again, thank you! I have bookmarked your blog and will keep surfing your recipes in my spare time.
Adina says
Hi Bill. I am so happy you liked it, sorry for the measurements mistake. Thank you so much for taking the time for the feedback.
Evi says
This sounds seriously delicious! Sweet potatoes and balsamic onions are a great combo!
Evi says
This pie looks incredibly good! I love those delicious bBalsamic onions there 🙂
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Your savory sweet potato pie sounds very good and certainly would be great to serve during the holiday season. I think it would go especially well with baked ham.
Marvellina|What To Cook Today says
I could imagine the sweet and savory combo in this pie. I absolutely love anything potatoes, yes..that includes sweet potatoes!
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Adina, this looks so delicious! I'm a big fan of sweet potato pie. This savory version looks so good! I bet the balsamic onions add amazing flavor!
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says
It looks so tempting
Adina says
Thanks, Marta. 🙂