Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole – A Thanksgiving classic with a healthy twist without compromising on flavour! Easy to make with only nine ingredients needed!
![Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole in a 9x13 inch baking dish](https://www.asaucykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paleo-Vegan-Sweet-Potato-Casserole_-copy.jpg)
Possible controversial opinion here: I never liked traditional sweet potato casseroles growing up. The marshmallows threw me off and I’m still not even sure if it’s supposed to be a dessert that you just eat along with the meal or what.
Seriously. Someone enlighten me!
I also never used to like sweet potatoes but I think it’s clear I’ve gotten over that aversion pretty easily as seen in my many sweet potato recipes hanging out in my recipe index!
So naturally it felt right to give this classic another shot which landed me here with this paleo sweet potato casserole. It goes easy on the added sugar and the topping is just a simple, crunchy pecan streusel but these natural flavours really don’t need much needed to shine on their own.
Let’s get to it!
![Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole collage](https://www.asaucykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paleo-Vegan-Sweet-Potato-Casserole-collage.jpg)
Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole
The sweet potato base here is really simple to make made up of:
- Sweet potatoes (duh)
- Maple syrup – just a touch
- Dairy free milk of your choice (sweetened or unsweetened – whatever you got)
- Eggs – vegan options included in the recipe
- Coconut oil – need a little added fat for creaminess
- Salt – brings out he sweetness
Once your potatoes have been peeled and diced – boil them for about 20 minutes until they are perfectly fork tender. Drain away the water and then mash it all up with your base ingredients. Use a fork, a potato masher or throw it all in a blender or food processor if you want.
When you’re ready, spread the mash out in a large casserole dish and bake while you prep your topping.
Pecan Topping
While your casserole is cooking take this time to prep your topping. Roughly chop up your pecans and throw them in a bowl along with a little maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract and coconut oil. Mix it all up to coat in oil and syrup and set aside until you’re ready to top. You don’t want to bake your topping too soon because the pecans will burn quicker than the rest will cook. When you’re about halfway through the casserole bake, take it out of the oven and top with your cinnamon-maple-pecan topping.
Pop it back in the oven and bake another 20 or so minutes until the top is toasty and done & that’s it!
Sweet, crunchy, custard-y paleo sweet potato casserole that’s easy on the sugar and minimal on the ingredients.
![Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole up close](https://www.asaucykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paleo-Vegan-Sweet-Potato-Casserole_-2.jpg)
So what do you think?
Team sweet potato casserole – yay or nay?
![Paleo Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole in a 9x13 inch baking dish](https://www.asaucykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paleo-Vegan-Sweet-Potato-Casserole_-copy.jpg)
Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole
Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole - A Thanksgiving classic with a healthy twist without compromising on flavour!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3-4), peeled & diced
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or other non dairy milk of your choice)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice - whatever you have on hand)
- 2 eggs (see notes for vegan options)
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, (can sub with butter/ghee/non dairy butter)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 2 cups pecans roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Place the diced sweet potato in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce down to a simmer for about 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft, completely tender and easy to mash.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13 inch or 2.5 quart (10 cup) baking dish.
- Drain the water from the sweet potatoes and add to a large mixing bowl along with the maple syrup, milk, coconut oil, eggs, cinnamon and salt. Mash with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth. Taste and season with a little more salt, cinnamon or maple as you see fit.
- Transfer the mashed potato mixture to the prepared baking dish and smooth over in an evenly layer. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.
- In a smaller mixing bowl mix together the topping ingredients until combined. After the casserole has baked for about 20 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle the pecan mixture over the top of the sweet potatoes evenly. Return to oven and bake another 20 minutes until the nuts are toasted and goldened.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Make it Egg Free:
- You can use an egg replacer like Bob's Red Mill or Ener-G for the most similar outcome. Traditional sweet potato casseroles uses eggs for a more custard-like result but you can absolutely just omit the eggs from this dish. It will be more like a typical mash with the binding of the eggs but it still is delicious!
- If you do make this completely egg free you can reduce the cook time to 20-25 minutes.
- Keep in mind that by using an egg replacer like the ones listed above this will no longer be paleo.
Nutrition Information
More Thanksgiving Side You Might Like:
Ilana says
Can you exclude the pecans and just cook the mixture for the initial 20 minutes?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Ilana! Because of the eggs you would still need to bake this for about 30-35 minutes to allow the eggs to fully set. However if you make it egg free (no eggs or egg substitute) you can bake it in about 25 minutes.
Hope that helps!
Kim says
This is a fantastic and simple recipe that comes out terrific every time. The eggs give it a custard texture and the pecans are crispy and sweet. My picky kids love it. We have tried other recipes for sweet potato + pecan casseroles that were soggy; they lacked both the crispness and lightness of this recipe. It’s a fall staple in our house now.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Kim! That makes me so happy to hear – thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know how much you’ve enjoyed it 🙂
samantha says
This was amazing. I’ll be making it for the Holidays this year. I made mine vegan(egg replacer). It is absolutely wonderful. Thank you!!
Do you have other allergy friendly, vegan recipes?
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! Thanks Samantha! So glad you enjoyed it! If you search through this page you’ll be able to find all my vegan recipes! At least half of the recipes on this site are vegan friendly: https://www.asaucykitchen.com/recipe-index/?fwp_diet=vegan If you ever have any specific recipes you’d like to see please let me know! I’m always happy to take on requests 🙂
Ruth Parrish says
This was an absolute hit on the Thanksgiving table tonight!
Sarah says
Yay! I’m so glad you guys liked it! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know what you thought!