Zanzibar Sweet Potato and Coconut Pudding

Name: Zanzibar Sweet Potato and Coconut Pudding
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: West African
Ingredients: 600g orange sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed; 400ml tinned coconut milk; 100ml water; 80g soft light brown sugar; 0.5 tsp ground cardamom; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 0.25 tsp salt; 2 tbsp cornflour; 3 tbsp cold water; 2 tbsp desiccated coconut, toasted

Sweet potato simmered in coconut milk with cardamom and vanilla until thick and spoonable.

Time45 min
LevelEasy
Costabout £0.50 a head

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

6 servings

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

600 gorange sweet potatoespeeled and cubed
400 mltinned coconut milk
100 mlwater
80 gsoft light brown sugar
½ tspground cardamom
1 tspvanilla extract
¼ tspsalt
2 tbspcornflour
3 tbspcold water
2 tbspdesiccated coconuttoasted

Method

1
Put the sweet potato, coconut milk and 100 ml water in a pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 20 minutes until completely soft.
20 min
2
Mash roughly with a potato masher, leaving a few small lumps for texture.
3
Stir in the sugar, cardamom, vanilla and salt. Mix the cornflour with the 3 tablespoons of cold water and stir it in.
4
Cook over a low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes until thick and glossy.
5 min
5
Spoon into a serving dish or small bowls. Scatter over the toasted coconut.
6
Serve warm, or chill for 2 hours and serve cold.

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.