Vegan Japanese Sweet Potato (Suito Poteto with Almond Milk)
In Japan, *suito poteto* ("sweet potato") means one specific treat: sweet potato mashed with sugar and dairy, shaped into little mounds and baked until the tops turn golden. It's a familiar sight in Japanese bakeries and pastry shops, especially in fall. This version keeps the method and swaps the butter and cream for almond milk, which mashes into a smooth, soft filling on its own.
It's only five ingredients: Japanese sweet potato, sugar, a pinch of salt, almond milk and a brush of oil. That makes it an easy weekend bake and a good after-school snack, and it's naturally free of dairy, eggs and gluten.
Ingredients
- Japanese sweet potatosee substitutions7 oz
- Beet sugaror cane sugar1 oz (about 2 1/2 Tbsp)
- Salta pinch
- Almond milk1.4 oz (2 Tbsp + 2 tsp)
Topping
- Rice bran oilor any neutral oilas needed
- Beet sugaras needed
Nutrition
per serving🛒 Ingredient notes & substitutions
Japanese sweet potato: The pale-fleshed, purple-skinned kind (satsumaimo / murasaki) — denser, drier and more chestnut-like than orange sweet potatoes. Look for them at Asian groceries, Trader Joe's or well-stocked supermarkets. Orange sweet potatoes work too, but the mash will be wetter, so add the almond milk a little at a time.
Beet sugar: Regular cane sugar or raw cane sugar works the same way, both in the mash and on top.
Instructions
Peel the sweet potato thickly and steam it for about 15 minutes, until tender.
While it's still hot, mash the sweet potato with a potato masher.
Mix in the beet sugar and the pinch of salt.
Add the almond milk and stir until the mixture is smooth.
Shape the mixture into pieces of whatever size you like.
Brush the tops with rice bran oil using a pastry brush.
Sprinkle beet sugar over the oiled tops and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 15–20 minutes. They're done when the surface is lightly golden.
Tips
Don't skip the pinch of salt — it tightens up the sweetness so the flavor doesn't taste flat.
For a classic bakery look, press a few black sesame seeds onto the tops after brushing on the oil.
The batch makes about 10 small pieces; the nutrition is calculated with half the batch as one serving.