This sweet potato casserole is lightly sweetened and topped with an easy pecan-sugar topping. It’s also made a little healthier with dairy free, gluten-free, + refined sugar free options.
Each Thanksgiving, besides the desserts, I look forward to all the side dishes the most. You can keep your turkey, my hubby’s favorite, as long as I have the potatoes, stuffing, veggies, and of course dinner rolls! While I love regular mashed potatoes, I usually reach for sweet potato dish first!
We typically alternate sweet potato dishes each year, going from my kids’ favorite, candied yams, to my favorite, sweet potato casserole! While my kids mostly love the marshmallow topping on candied yams (they basically just eat the topping, leaving the plain yams for the rest of us 🙄) I prefer the crunchy & sweet pecan crumble on casseroles.
It’s such a delicious contrast to the fluffy sweet potato filling too. I love the edges, where the crumble gets super caramelized while baking. So yummy!
The nice thing about this casserole, is that it can be easily adapted to fit dietary restrictions. Use gluten-free flour, unrefined sweeteners, or dairy-free butter/oil if needed. You can even swap the pecans for pumpkin seeds, if you’re nut free.
It’s a delicious and simple side dish to serve at Thanksgiving or for dinner any night of the week! I hope you enjoy it!
Healthier Sweet Potato Casserole
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
This sweet potato casserole is lightly sweetened and topped with an easy pecan-sugar topping. It’s also made a little healthier with dairy free, gluten-free, + refined sugar free options.
Ingredients
- 3 large or 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, brown sugar, or coconut sugar (can use more if you want it sweeter)
- 1/4 cup melted butter (regular or dairy-free) or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (or additional cinnamon)
Topping:
- 1/3 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose, whole wheat, or gluten free flour blend (I used King Arthur Flour measure for measure GF flour)
- pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
- 2/3 cup chopped pecans or almonds (can use pumpkin seeds/pepitas if nut-free)
Instructions
- Place chopped sweet potatoes into a pot of salted water and then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook potatoes until they can be easily pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to the pot.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Make the topping by combining sugar, flour, salt, and butter/coconut oil. Stir in nuts and mix together until crumbly. Set aside.
- Add milk, sweetener, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the cooked potatoes and mash together or beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Transfer to a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish then sprinkle crumble topping evenly over the top. Bake for 25–35 minutes, until topping is golden brown.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Side Dish, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free