Sweet Potato Bread with Raisins & Pecans

Let me tell you how this Sweet Potato Bread with Raisins & Pecans came about… We were out of sandwich bread the other day and I thought it would be very Susie Homemaker-ish of me to whip up a homemade loaf. Well, one thing turned into another and I ended up making this awesome quick bread.

Delicious? Yes. Substitute for sandwich bread? No.

By this time my kids were ready for lunch and instead of them eating the healthy sandwiches I had planned on – they were sitting there devouring this quick bread that has sugar in it. I tell myself that it’s not all that bad because the bread has sweet potatoes in it – because potatoes totally zero out sugar, right?

But regardless of how this bread came about or what my kids ate for lunch that day – let’s get to how delicious this Sweet Potato Bread is. Everyone who tried it went back for at least seconds if not thirds. I had ended up using my BIG bread pan, which ended up being a very good thing. The bread was gone within three days – the last of it being devoured by our 2 year old.

It really is that good.

The recipe calls for 1 cup cooked sweet potatoes – I prefer to roast mine in big chunks at 350 in the oven, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg. They take about an hour to cook and will be fork-tender.

I forgot to mention 1 thing. My husband HATES Sweet Potatoes and he ate this bread with the rest of them. Why did we have Sweet Potatoes if he HATES them? Because I was determined to make something with them that he would like – Great Success!!

Sweet Potato Bread with Raisins & Pecans

(PRINTABLE RECIPE)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1 cup cooked sweet potato flesh

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

3. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer – on low-med speed, fully incorporate the sweet potato and sugars. Add butter and continue to mix until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time until mixture is smooth. Mix in vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add half the flour mixture and half the milk, mix on low speed until just combined then add remaining flour and milk. Fold in raisins and pecans.

4. Pour into greased 9x5 bread pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in bread comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then move to wire rack to finish cooling.

5. Enjoy!!