Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
This Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole recipe is an easy way to get a healthy holiday side dish on the table. The sweet potato filling and crunchy pecan topping is made with clean ingredients that are paleo and gluten free. It can also be easily modified to make a Whole30 sweet potato casserole.
One of my favorite holiday side dishes is sweet potato casserole. As much as I love the traditional way it’s made with loads of brown sugar and marshmallow topping, it can be made in a healthy way with clean ingredients that everyone will love.
🍠Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sweet Potatoes: The star of the dish! Make sure you purchase sweet potatoes and not yams.
- Dairy Free Milk: Choose coconut, almond or cashew milk to keep it paleo or Whole30.
- Coconut Oil: This is a clean oil and goes well with sweet potatoes and for the topping.
- Vanilla Extract or Ground Vanilla Beans: Gives this healthy side dish a warm comfort food flavor.
- Eggs: This will bind together the filling a bit so it’s not like mashed sweet potatoes.
- Cinnamon: A common flavor used in sweet potato casserole.
- Pecans: The best type of nut to make a crumbly nut topping for the casserole.
- Unsweetened Coconut Shreds: Adds a slightly sweet flavor without adding any extra sweetness.
- Coconut Sugar or Chopped Dates: Depending on if you want to make this casserole Whole30 or Paleo, use coconut sugar or chopped dates. See notes below for a Whole30 Sweet Potato Casserole option.
🍳How To Cook Sweet Potatoes
You’ll need to cook your sweet potatoes so they can get mashed into the filling. There are many ways to do this!
- Sous Vide Sweet Potatoes
- Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes – Peel sweet potatoes and chop into large pieces. Place on trivet and add 1 cup of water. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Baked Sweet Potatoes – Preheat the oven to 400. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork to let out steam. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until tender about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool completely and peel.
- Boiled Sweet Potatoes – Add peeled sweet potatoes cut into large chunks into a pot. Add water up to 1 inch above sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil. Once it’s boiled, turn the heat down to medium and simmer until potatoes are cooked through and tender. Drain in a colander. This will take about 15-20 minutes.
How To Make Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
1️⃣ Preheat Oven & Prep Casserole Dish: Lightly grease a casserole dish with coconut oil and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2️⃣ Make Sweet Potato Filling: Add cooked and cooled sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Add in milk, eggs, coconut oil, salt, vanilla, coconut sugar and cinnamon. Combine using a potato masher, whisk or hand mixer to blend together until all ingredients are incorporated. Add sweet potato filling to the greased casserole dish and even out using a rubber spatula.
3️⃣ Make Crumbly Pecan Topping: To a food processor, add pecans, coconut oil, coconut sugar, cinnamon, salt and coconut flakes. Pulse until mixture is crumbly and pecans have broken down into small pieces.
4️⃣ Top The Casserole And Bake: Evenly distribute pecan topping on top of the sweet potato filling. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot.
🍎Whole30 Sweet Potato Casserole
To make this sweet potato casserole compliant with a Whole30 reset, make these simple swaps:
- Use ⅛ tsp ground vanilla bean powder instead of vanilla extract.
- Instead of using coconut sugar in the topping, use ½ cup chopped dates.
- Do not sweeten the filling with anything. Sweet potato is sweet on it’s own and doesn’t technically need anything else to make it sweeter unless you’d like it to be.
🧊Can You Freeze Sweet Potato Casserole?
Sweet potato casserole can be frozen if it is prepared in a disposable aluminum sheet pan. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, make sure it is thawed to room temperature before baking.
⏰Make Sweet Potato Casserole Ahead Of Time
Casserole can be prepared up through Step 2 one day in advance. Store refrigerated with plastic wrap over the top of the dish. Let come to room temperature prior to baking.
More Healthy Holiday Recipes
- Green Chile Yellow Squash Casserole
- Keto Green Bean Casserole
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
- Keto Cranberry Sauce
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Sweet Potatoes peeled and cooked
- ½ cup Coconut Milk
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Eggs
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
Pecan Topping
- 1 cup Pecans
- ¼ cup Coconut Oil
- ¼ cup Coconut Sugar
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Coconut Shreds
Instructions
- Preheat Oven & Prep Casserole Dish: Lightly grease a casserole dish with coconut oil and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make Sweet Potato Filling: Add cooked and cooled sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Add in milk, eggs, coconut oil, salt, vanilla, coconut sugar and cinnamon. Combine using a potato masher, whisk or hand mixer to blend together until all ingredients are incorporated. Add sweet potato filling to the greased casserole dish and even out using a rubber spatula.
- Make Crumbly Pecan Topping: To a food processor, add pecans, coconut oil, coconut sugar, cinnamon, salt and coconut flakes. Pulse until mixture is crumbly and pecans have broken down into small pieces.
- Top The Casserole And Bake: Evenly distribute pecan topping on top of the sweet potato filling. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot.
Notes
WHOLE30 SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
To make this sweet potato casserole compliant with a Whole30 reset, make these simple swaps:- Use ⅛ tsp ground vanilla bean powder instead of vanilla extract.
- Instead of using coconut sugar in the topping, use ½ cup chopped dates.
- Do not sweeten the filling with anything. Sweet potato is sweet on it’s own and doesn’t technically need anything else to make it sweeter unless you’d like it to be.
HOW TO COOK SWEET POTATOES:
You’ll need to cook your sweet potatoes so they can get mashed into the filling. There are many ways to do this!- Sous Vide Sweet Potatoes
- Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes – Peel sweet potatoes and chop into large pieces. Place on trivet and add 1 cup of water. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Baked Sweet Potatoes – Preheat the oven to 400. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork to let out steam. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until tender about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool completely and peel.
- Boiled Sweet Potatoes – Add peeled sweet potatoes cut into large chunks into a pot. Add water up to 1 inch above sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil. Once it’s boiled, turn the heat down to medium and simmer until potatoes are cooked through and tender. Drain in a colander. This will take about 15-20 minutes.
Very easy and delicious!
I agree! Thanks, Jamie! -Krista (Team Thyme & JOY)