Non-vegans will love the decadence of the Alfredo sauce in this sweet potato recipe so much that they won't even realize that what they are eating is very healthy and completely animal-free. Vegans also love this dish because it has a hearty combination of ingredients, which will provide them with a delicious main entree alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.

This is one of several creative ways to use sweet potatoes in vegan dishes that are in the cookbook, "Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining and Everyday" written by award-winning vegan home cook, Lauren Ulm.  (The recipe is provided to CNN iReport with permission.) This particular recipe is a great examples of Lauren's personal mission to make vegan food appealing to non-vegans.

Ingredients:

3 cups fusili pasta (or other similar shape)

1 head kale, deveined and chopped

1 1/2 pound sweet potatoes

Alfredo Sauce:

1 1/4 cups soy milk

1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons low-sodium tamari

2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

1 tablespoon tahini

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

1 pinch nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika, sweet or smoked (optional)

Black pepper, to taste

Bread crumbs, for topping (optional)

Step 1:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the pasta.

Step 2:

Two or three minutes before the pasta is completely cooked, add the chopped kale to the boiling water. When pasta is cooked and the kale is bright green but tender, drain and set aside.

Step 3:

Chop the sweet potatoes into bite-size chunks. Boil in salted water until tender, but not falling apart. Drain.

Step 4:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Step 5:

To make the Alfredo sauce, blend the soy milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, tamari, margarine, tahini, lemon juice, mustard, ginger, nutmeg, thyme, paprika, and black pepper in a blender. Blend well for several minutes until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste and season, if necessary.

Step 6:

Combine the pasta, kale, and the sweet potatoes with the sauce and stir well. Place in a casserole dish and top with bread crumbs, if desired. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve.

Recipe reprinted with the permission of Health Communications, Inc.)