Sweet Potato Chocolate Frosting

Use this Sweet Potato Chocolate Frosting on cakes, cupcakes, and brownies for a rich and creamy decadent enhancement! Only 3 basic ingredients are needed for this healthier frosting recipe. 

If you know me in real life, it won’t come as a shock to you that I made cake frosting out of sweet potatoes. Some of you are nodding your head, saying, “That tracks.”

At a minimum, all we need to make this healthy chocolate frosting happen is two basic ingredients: chocolate chips and sweet potato. I add in a touch of butter (or coconut oil for dairy-free) for some extra creamy action.

I also sprinkle in some salt because salt just makes every flavor pop.

I was inspired to make a healthier chocolate frosting recipe because I have several recipes on this site that call for chocolate buttercream.

Now. I’m all about enjoying sinful treats from time to time, so ingesting a squirt of buttercream doesn’t sound the alarm bells; however, I just absolutely love creating delicious journeys out of the most unexpected ingredients. 

Enter: chocolate frosting made with sweet potato.

The texture? Incredibly silky. The flavor? Remarkably chocolatey!

The sweet potato flavor is not detectable, as the rich chocolate masks it and leaves you with a healthy sweet potato chocolate frosting that tastes like chocolate mousse (in my opinion).

You’d never guess this silky smooth, rich, perfectly sweet, bursting with chocolate flavor frosting is mostly made out of cooked sweet potatoes. 

If you’ve made my Healthy Sweet Potato Brownies, the logical next step is to smear them with this chocolate sweet potato frosting. That’s just proven science.

Let’s go over the simple ingredients in detail, as each serves an important function.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:

Sweet Potato: We need one large sweet potato. While I prefer microwaving the sweet potato for expediency, you can also roast it (more on that below). You can use any kind of sweet potato you like.

Orange sweet potatoes, white sweet potatoes, or yams work great, as do purple sweet potatoes. Note: You need 1 to 1.5 cups of mashed sweet potato to make this creamy sweet potato frosting recipe. 

Chocolate Chips: Pick your favorite kind of chocolate chips. You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips (this is what I do), sugar-free chocolate chips, dairy-free chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chips.

Just note that this is the primary flavor you will be tasting, so pick a brand you love.

Unsalted Butter: When melting chocolate chips, I like adding some butter or coconut oil to make the melted chocolate even smoother. This ingredient is optional, so no worries if you decide to skip it.

Sea Salt: A pinch of salt makes everything taste more joyful. Truly, don’t skip the salt!

If you have pure vanilla extract on hand, feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon for some warm flavor.

Now that we have the simple ingredients down, let’s make some delicious rich and creamy chocolate frosting out of sweet potatoes!

How to Make Sweet Potato Chocolate Frosting:

This simple recipe requires three basic steps:

1. Cook the sweet potato.
2. Melt the chocolate.
3. Blend the two together.

Choose your preferred cooking method to cook the sweet potato.

How To Microwave Sweet Potatoes:

Rinse the sweet potato thoroughly under warm water, then poke it with a fork several times.

Wrap it in a paper towel (trust me here folks, and buckle up because it gets weirder).

Run the paper towel-wrapped potato under the faucet water to saturate the paper towel.

Place the wet paper towel-ed potato on a large plate and microwave for 5 minutes per side, until the potato is very soft when gently squeezed (it took my potato 16 minutes total). Let the sweet potato cool to room temperature before handling it. 

How To Roast Sweet Potatoes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scrub the sweet potato then poke it several times with a fork.

Wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until it is very tender when poked with a fork.

Large sweet potatoes typically require over an hour to bake. Allow the baked sweet potato to cool.

Make Sweet Potato Frosting:

Remove and discard the sweet potato skin and mash the soft flesh into a sweet potato puree.

Transfer the sweet potato puree to a food processor or a high-speed blender. I find the former works better.

Microwave the chocolate chips and butter (or coconut oil) in a large bowl for 20-second intervals, stirring between each interval, until melted and smooth, about 60 to 80 seconds total.

Pour the melted chocolate and sea salt into the food processor with the cooked sweet potato.

Process until a very smooth, thick frosting forms. You may need to stop the food processor several times to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula in order to get everything to blend evenly. 

Taste the sweet potato frosting for flavor and add more sea salt if desired.

Use this easy chocolate frosting recipe on any kind of cake, cupcakes, brownies, or cookies.

Store leftover frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

I love the idea of offering an amazing chocolate frosting recipe using better-for-you ingredients (and slightly less added sugar). Now let’s discuss where you can use it.

Where to Use This Frosting:

1. Cakes: Use it on your favorite cakes just as you would traditional frosting. The whole reason I wanted to make this frosting is because my recipe for The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake calls for buttercream and I wanted a dairy-free option. This recipe would also be great on my Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake or my Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake.  For layer cakes that include two cake layers or more, double or triple this healthy frosting, as one batch won’t be enough to fill and cover layer cakes. 
2. Cupcakes: Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a frosting tip and pipe it onto cupcakes. All kinds of cupcakes are happy recipients of this delightful chocolate frosting!
3. Brownies: Enhance your fudge brownies with a thick layer of chocolate sweet potato frosting! Make my sweet potato brownie recipe (linked above), or my Fudgy Double Chocolate Black Bean Brownies. 

Stay tuned for a new cake recipe coming tomorrow that features this tasty treat!

Refined Sugar-Free Option:

If you’re like me and you prefer less sugar or unrefined sugars whenever possible, no sweat.

Simply combine the cooked sweet potato with ⅓ cup of pure maple syrup, ⅓ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder (or raw cacao powder), and 2 tablespoons of melted butter or coconut oil in a food processor. 

I have included this version in the recipe card below as well. In essence, we’re replacing the chocolate chips with cocoa powder and pure maple syrup.

Be sure to blend until you have a creamy texture to avoid any lumps of potato or clumps of cocoa powder.

For the best results, I recommend using raw cacao powder instead of Dutch-processed cocoa powder because cacao powder has a creamier flavor. Dutch process cocoa powder tends to have a bitter flavor and often requires more sweetener.

And that’s it!

A better-for-you frosting option to elevate all of your baked goods! Serve it to your friends and family and see if they can guess the secret ingredient!

You don’t need to wait for the next special occasion to enjoy this healthy sweet potato frosting.

Drop me a comment below letting me know what you use this vegan chocolate buttercream frosting.

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