Sweet Potato Flatbread

This is a very easy recipe for vegan sweet potato flatbread, made with spelt flour and a handful of other ingredients. The original recipe used yeast for something more naan-like, but I’ve switched it out for an instant no knead option instead, as a kind of yeast-free naan.

If you like to bake sweet potatoes in bulk and keep them in the refrigerator to use throughout the week, this’ll come together even faster. It has a lovely fluffy, chewy texture and slightly sweet flavour.

Since this comes together so quickly, it’s a great weeknight dinner option if you need a quick side. It’s been a lifesaver the past several months while my oven has been broken!

Scroll to the bottom of the post or click “skip to recipe” above to see the recipe card with full ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

• Sweet Potato: adds flavour and colour! Either roast or steam – see more on that below.
• Water: I tested with both water and milk and preferred water.
• Olive Oil: this helps with pliancy of the bread and improves flavour.
• Spelt Flour: light, whole grain, or a mix of the two.
• Baking Powder: adds lightness to the flatbread, but don’t mix it up with baking soda.
• Sea Salt: obviously, for flavour.

Method

Place the cooked sweet potato in a large mixing bowl and mash well with a fork. Add the water and olive oil, then mix well to combine.

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Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix until no streaks of flour remain and you have a soft ball of dough.

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Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut it into eight equal pieces. Use your hands to roll each piece into a ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking. Roll each ball into a round about 1cm (~1/4 in.) thick.

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Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil and start to fry the flatbreads. You’ll need about 45 seconds for each side, flipping once the first side is browned. The bread should start to bubble and puff up as soon as it hits the pan (if not, it’s not hot enough).

Continue to roll out the flatbreads as you cook, and repeat the frying process until all of the dough has been used. Serve warm.

Tips and Notes

The flavour and texture is better if the sweet potato is roasted beforehand. Simply halve lengthwise, place cut-side down on a parchment lined sheet, and bake at 200C until easily pierced with a fork. You can steam pieces if preferred, which takes less time, but doesn’t taste as nice.

Sweet potatoes do vary significantly in terms of the water content. You can see the consistency of mine after roasting, but if yours is quite liquid, just add some more flour. If steaming it might contain a bit more water as well, so keep that in mind.

The dough is quite soft, but it shouldn’t be very sticky. Just sprinkle more flour as needed when rolling out the flatbreads and you’ll be fine.

Make sure the pan is quite hot before frying. The bread should start to bubble up immediately after it hits the pan, just like naan or tortillas.

Substitutions

Any wheat flour can be subbed for the spelt. White, whole wheat, or ww pastry flour are all fine. I haven’t tested with GF flour but I think buckwheat would work, though you may have to alter the amounts slightly.

You can probably sub pumpkin puree for the sweet potato, but depending on the winter squash type, the flour amount will need to be adjusted slightly. Just use a little more or less as needed.

Try adding some herbs or spices to the flatbread to change up the flavour. Cumin, turmeric, garlic, thyme, whatever you like.

I usually fry these in olive oil, but it does tend to splatter more than other oils. You may prefer to use coconut oil (which is a bit easier) and certainly use a splash guard if you have one.

More Savoury Sides

Zucchini Cornbread Muffins
Spelt Tortillas
Coconut Oil Spelt Biscuits
Easy Spelt Naan
Crispy Smashed Fingerling Potatoes

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This was originally posted in November 2015. It has been updated with some alterations to the recipe as of March 2021.