Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole made with fresh sweet potatoes, sweetened with a touch of maple syrup, and finished with the perfect pecan streusel topping.
The Best Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
This is the best every healthy sweet potato casserole! Can I say that? I’m saying that.
This healthy sweet potato casserole is made with roasted sweet potatoes, cozy cinnamon, creamy coconut milk, and real maple syrup for the most delicious sweet potato filling. Then, we take things to the next level with a delicious and super easy to make pecan streusel topping.
This healthier spin on the classic side dish is absolutely delicious and such a crowd pleasing dish. Plus, it’s entirely gluten-free and I include dairy-free and nut-free options below just in case you need those, too.
Watch How to Make This Recipe
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
- Sweet Potato and Sausage Frittata
- Vanilla Cardamom Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Tacos
- BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients
Note: full ingredients list & measurements provided in the Recipe Card, below.
- Sweet potatoes
- Full fat coconut milk
- Maple syrup
- Ghee or butter
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Ground nutmeg
- Egg
- Gluten-free oats
- Almond flour
- Pecans
- Dark brown sugar
The Best Way to Cook Sweet Potatoes
Roast: This is my preferred way of cooking the sweet potatoes in this casserole because it is incredibly easy, develops flavor, and is also a very hands off way of prepping the sweet potatoes. All you have to do is prick the sweet potatoes on the outside with a fork or knife and then roast them on a lined sheet pan for forty-five minutes to an hour until tender. You can check out this post on how to roast sweet potatoes for all my favorite tips and tricks!
Boil: If you do not want to roast the sweet potatoes, boiling them is another great option. All you need is a large stock pot filled with water to do this. You can boil the sweet potatoes whole, with the skin on, or peel them and dice them into large chunks. Boil the sweet potatoes until tender.
Microwave: If you are really pressed for time, you can also microwave your sweet potatoes. To do this, just prick the sweet potatoes on the outside with a knife or fork, four or five times. Place a single potato on a microwave safe plate and microwave for five minutes. The potato should be fork tender all the way to the center once it is done. If the potato is still hard, you can continue to microwave if for one minutes at a time until fully tender.
How to Make Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
Note: full ingredients list & measurements provided in the Recipe Card, below.
Step One: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and place them on a sheet pan lined with foil or parchment paper. Bake the sweet potatoes until they are fork tender. This usually takes around one hour. Once the potatoes are tender, remove them from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Step Two: Peel the sweet potatoes (the skins should easily slip off) and add the sweet potato flesh to a large mixing bowl. Next, add the coconut milk, maple syrup, ghee, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and egg to the mixing bowl. Use an electric beater to beat everything until smooth and creamy. You can add an extra splash of coconut milk if you want the potatoes to be creamier.
Step Three: Transfer the sweet potatoes to a 9×13 baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the potatoes evenly in the casserole dish.
Step Four: Next, make the pecan streusel topping. Combine the oats, pecans, almond flour, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Use your hands to work the butter into the oat mixture until the butter is fully incorporated and you have a crumb like streusel topping.
Step Five: Sprinkle the streusel topping over the sweet potatoes. Bake the casserole at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until the casserole is golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!
How to Make a Dairy Free or Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
I like to use butter in this casserole, but if you need to keep things entirely dairy-free, feel free to substitute it for ghee or coconut oil. If you are choosing to use ghee or coconut oil in the streusel topping, be sure that it is room temperature and semi-solid, not melted.
Need to Make The Casserole Nut-Free?
If you need to keep this sweet potato casserole nut free, you can use oat flour, all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour instead of almond flour in the streusel topping. You can also leave leave out the pecans altogether. If the streusel topping seems a little too sticky without the pecans, just add in another half cup of oats to the mix.
All About Prepping The Casserole Ahead of Time
- Cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time. One way to prep this casserole in advance is to cook your sweet potatoes in advance. Once they are cooked, just store them in the fridge until you are ready to make the casserole.
- Prep and assemble the sweet potato casserole. If you want to go ahead and do most of the work, you can prep the sweet potato casserole in advance and store covered in the fridge until you are ready to bake the next day. Let the casserole come to room temperature before baking.
- Bake the sweet potato casserole and heat the next day. If you would like, you can also fully make and bake the casserole a day in advance and just warm it up before serving!
More Thanksgiving Recipes to Serve
Here are few more of our reader favorite Thanksgiving recipes to add your menu this holiday season:
- Healthy Cranberry Sauce
- Brussel Sprouts Au Gratin
- Gluten Free Honey Cornbread Muffins
- Honey Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Mustard Vinaigrette
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Balsamic, and Cranberries
- Loaded Mashed Cauliflower
- Shredded Brussels sprouts Salad
- Rosemary and White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
- Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Perfectly Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Get all of our best Thanksgiving recipes, here!
I hope you give this Sweet Potato Casserole a try! They are so easy to make and delicious! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know!
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Print
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Healthy sweet potato casserole made with fresh sweet potatoes, sweetened with a touch of maple syrup, and finished with the perfect pecan streusel topping.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes (roughly 3 large sweet potatoes)
- 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon ghee or butter (melted)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 egg, whisked
- Pinch of sea salt
For the Pecan Streusel Topping
- 1 ½ cups gluten free oats
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and place them on a sheet pan lined with foil or parchment paper. Bake the sweet potatoes until they are fork tender. This usually takes around one hour. Once the potatoes are tender, remove them from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- Peel the sweet potatoes (the skins should easily slip off) and add the sweet potato flesh to a large mixing bowl. Next, add the coconut milk, maple syrup, ghee, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and egg to the mixing bowl. Use an electric beater to beat everything until smooth and creamy. You can add an extra splash of coconut milk if you want the potatoes to be creamier.
- Transfer the sweet potatoes to a 9×13 baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the potatoes evenly in the casserole dish.
- Next, make the pecan streusel topping. Combine the oats, pecans, almond flour, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Use your hands to work the butter into the oat mixture until the butter is fully incorporated and you have a crumb like streusel topping.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping over the sweet potatoes. Bake the casserole at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until the casserole is golden brown.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe by: Ashlea Carver / All the Healthy Things | Photography by: Casey Colodny / THE MINDFUL HAPA
