Easy + Delicious sweet potato flatbread! Gluten free and vegan recipe made with 5 simple ingredients. Fluffy and foldable bread everyone will love.
My favorite quick bread to make is this sweet potato flatbread. It has only a few ingredients and comes together so fast in the pan or on an electric skillet. Similar to naan or a chewy pita, this bread is perfect for everything from dipping into hummus, folding around tacos, or just eating with a little jam!
Free From: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, and more
Making a vegan and gluten free flatbread doesn’t have to be difficult! In fact, it’s quite simple to make and even more fun to eat. The recipe gets the structure from the sweet potato and the tapioca starch that turn it into a pillow-y dough that turns into the softest flatbread after cooking.
You’ll love this recipe even more when you find out how simple it is to make. Simply start with some left-over sweet potatoes, add your gluten free flour of choice, tapioca starch, salt, and baking powder. Combine and let rest for 10 minutes. Press it out between two sheets of parchment and cook it up on either a cast iron skillet on the stove or an electric griddle - both work fantastically!
Sweet Potato Flatbread
Why do I use sweet potatoes and not regular potatoes? Well, you can use potatoes if you like! The normal potato will result in a dough that is a little easier to work with, but the end flatbread won’t be as fluffy as the sweet potato version. Also, as the name implies, the sweet potato flatbread will be, well, sweeter!
The role of a sweet potato (or a potato) in gluten free bread is twofold: One is that it helps to retain moisture into the bread. The starch of potatoes attract and hold more moisture in the dough, making the dough softer and easier to work with. Two, potatoes help with the final crumb of gluten free dough, since they replace the gluten strings and allow for a lighter, and more delicate structure of your final baked good.
In this recipe, the sweet potato helps to give structure to the flatbread, while binding it together, negating the need for an egg.
Basically, adding a bit of sweet potato to your gluten free baking is going to help you become a better gluten free baker!
But the main reason for why I’m using sweet potato is that it does not qualify as a nightshade.
What are Nightshades?
Nightshades are a group of vegetables that contain two chemicals in their structure, alkaloids and saponin, that cause gastrointestinal upset in some people. For some reason, nightshade intolerances are higher in people with gluten and dairy allergies and intolerances. It can be difficult to diagnose since the symptoms overlap so much. But a good way to start your investigation into your health is to see how you feel after eating them if you’ve been gluten and dairy free for some time!
Nightshade plants include: Tomatoes, white potatoes, all colors of peppers, and eggplants
Pepper, the kind you sprinkle on your food at dinner, is not considered a nightshade so you are free to use that as much as you want!
Tips for Gluten Free and Vegan Flatbread
Making this sweet potato flatbread can seem a little tricky at first if you've never made flatbread before! But I promise it's super easy.
First, make sure that you roll your dough out between two pieces of parchment paper! Gluten free dough is a wetter dough than wheat dough and you want to make sure that you are able to get the dough off of the paper and into the pan! If you find that your dough is still sticking to the paper, simply spray the paper with a bit of oil or water before pressing the dough out.
You can use a rolling pin to shape your flatbread, but I find my hands work best for getting the right shape and thickness.
Place your fully cooked flatbreads under a tea towel while you are making the remaining flatbreads to keep them warm.
To store your flatbreads, wrap them in plastic or keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. These can be frozen for up to 3 months.
To reheat your flatbread, you can wrap them in a damp paper towel and warm them in the microwave or toast them in a toaster for a crunchier version!
What to Make with Your Flatbread
This gluten free flatbread can be enjoyed in so many ways! Here are some of my favorite to get your ideas cooking:
- Pita sandwich
- Taco night (related: no onion taco seasoning recipe!)
- With cinnamon and fruit for a breakfast
- With butter and herbs for a snack
- As a side to any main entrée
- In place of sandwich bread
- Baked in the oven into mini pizzas!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet potato, mashed
- 1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water, optional if needed - see instructions
Instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl, combine your gluten free flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well to combine. Add your mashed sweet potatoes and knead until a soft dough forms. You may need additional water if your potatoes did not provide enough moisture. No worries, just add until you have a nice dough formed. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
- Heat your cast iron skillet to medium high or your electric griddle to 400°F/ 205°C. Do not oil the pan.
- Between two pieces of parchment paper, place your first dough ball. Gently press into the desired size and shape. Mine were about a 1cm thick.
- Transfer your flatbread to your skillet or griddle. Let it cook until bubbles form and have turned a nice color. The darker the color, the more flavor is added! Just make sure you don't burn them. Flip and repeat on the other side. Mine generally take about 5 minutes in total and I am able to get two on my griddle top at once.
- Remove from the skillet and place under a tea towel to keep warm while the remaining flatbreads cook. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how this turned out for you! Pop over to the Facebook Page to share your success or tag me over on Instagram with the hashtag #livingbeyondallergies I love to see your creations!
aspoonfulpofvanilla says
These look utterly delicious!
Laura says
Thank you! They are so amazing I've tried them as snacks, in sandwiches, and even as a taco shell! Sooooo good! Let me know when you try them 🙂
mehsi says
I like the sound of this flatbread! I definitely am going to try it out, though I probably will be using normal potatoes as I am not a big fan of sweet potatoes. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Laura says
Thank you! I'm so excited for you to try this recipe out. Using regular white potatoes might result in a more tacky dough so you may need to spray some cooking oil onto your parchment paper each time to make sure everything works and it doesn't stick! Let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂
mehsi says
Thanks for the extra tips on what to do. I will add some extra cooking oil to my parchment paper then. I will let you know, going to try it out next weekend. 🙂