What’s chocked full of gorgeous sweet potatoes, naturally-sweetened, made with lighter ingredients, sprinkled with a tasty crunchy pecan topping, and deliciously marshmallow-free?
THIS sweet potato casserole recipe, that’s what.
Oh my goodness, for the first few decades of my life, I didn’t even think I liked sweet potato casserole because of the killer-sweet marshmallow bombs that usually graced the buffet on Thanksgiving. I mean, I love a good toasted marshmallow on a s’more as much as the next girl. But it wasn’t until finally nixed the puffy white topping and tried making a naturally sweet potato casserole that this dish finally made sense to me.
And as it turns out, when made with a few healthier ingredients (including a few tweaks that make this recipe naturally vegan and gluten-free), I think it’s even more delicious than the original.
Who wants some?
Really, the best news about sweet potato casserole is that you can customize the dish just about however you’d like. Just mash up your sweet potatoes with your desired ingredients — however sweet or savory you’d like — and then top them with whatever sounds good!
If it were up to me, I’d probably go with a 100% savory sweet potato casserole recipe, maybe just mashed with some seasoned salt and smoked paprika for flavor, and topped with some toasted pecans. But I’m guessing that most people are still craving the cinnamon-and-sugary classic dish, so don’t fear — I wrote this recipe for you! There’s still plenty of cinnamon, but the cup of sugar is swapped out for just a hint of delicious maple syrup, which complements the sweetness of the potatoes perfectly. Then when mashed with a few other healthier ingredients, and sprinkled with an easy maple-cinnamon pecan topping, I’m tellin’ you — no one is even going to miss those marshmallows. ;)
Another bonus? This sweet potato casserole recipe is naturally vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free. So hopefully even more people at your Thanksgiving feast will be able to enjoy it with you.
So cheers to being able to actually taste and see the sweet potatoes in our sweet potato casseroles this year!!
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients:
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 1 cup milk, warmed (I used 2%, but any milk will work)
- 2 Tablespoons butter (or coconut oil, to make this vegan)
- 1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- maple cinnamon pecan topping (see below)
Maple Cinnamon Pecan Topping:
- 1 cup chopped raw pecans
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- pinch of cayenne (optional)
Instructions
To Make The Sweet Potato Casserole:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Add sweet potato chunks to a large stockpot and cover with water. Heat over high heat until the water reaches a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and continue boiling until the potatoes are fork-tender (can mash easily with a fork). Drain, and then return potatoes to the stockpot.
- Add in the warmed milk, maple syrup, butter, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes, and stir the mixture together until everything is well-combined and the potatoes reach your desired level of smoothness.
- Transfer the potato mixture into a baking dish, then top with the maple cinnamon pecan topping.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the pecans are toasted and fragrant.
- Serve warm.
To Make The Maple Cinnamon Pecan Topping:
- Stir all ingredients together until combined.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Made for Thanksgiving. All that like sweet potatoes loved it! Not too sweet, but still gave a different flavor to traditional cooked sweet potatoes. Thank you!
Delicious! I made this for Thanksgiving per the recipe. At Christmas, I made it again, but went the savory route and instead of maple syrup and cinnamon, I added smoked paprika and your Cajun seasoning. I subbed walnuts for pecans due to a food sensitivity. It was great both ways, but I think I prefer the savory one.
Made this the first time for a Friendsgiving in Nashville. Rave reviews! No one complained about missing marshmallows, either. Making ahead today for family Christmas.
I have only the sweet potatoes put together. Will put in fridge and add topping tomorrow. It is really yummy. Only used one TBSP of syrup
Hi – looking to bring this as pot luck for Christmas dinner! What size dish would you bake this in?
Hi Steph! We would suggest a 9×13-inch baking dish, or something comparable (something a little smaller would probably still work just fine). We hope you enjoy!
I would rather bake the sweet potatoes, can you tell me how I could go about doing that for this recipe.
Thank you
Hi Elisa — you can just put them on a baking sheet and pierce each one a few times with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes (or until tender). Then remove the skins and spoon out the flesh. We hope you enjoy!
Cant wait to make this for thanks giving for my family
We hope you and your family enjoy it, Angela!
This is a perfect recipe for Thanksgiving! I got put in charge of sweet potatoes and this is what I’m planning to bring. Added bonus– Trader Joe’s sells pre-cut (and peeled!) sweet potatoes in 2 lb bags and the rest of the ingredients are things we have on hand. Easy peasy!
Thanks Laura, we hope you enjoy the recipe – and that’s awesome about Trader Joe’s (peeling and cutting potatoes can be such a tiresome task)! Have a great Thanksgiving! :)
Could this dish be made ahead and frozen, or if not frozen, can it be made ahead, refrigerated. brought to room temp. and then baked in the oven? I really want this on my table for Thanksgiving, however we are traveling and I would need to make it early this week. Thanks for any advice.
Hi Tamara! You could make this ahead without the topping (just make sure it’s cooled before you refrigerate.) You can then bring it to room temp, put on the topping and then bake. We hope you enjoy, and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! :)
Could the sweet potatoes be cooked in advance in a slow cooker, then add the rest of the ingredients and bake the casserole in the oven for the last 20 minutes?
We think that should work fine Hope! :)