Paleo (or Vegan!) Sweet Potato Casserole. You never need to miss out during the holidays because of dietary restrictions. This naturally sweetened, gluten free, dairy free sweet potato casserole is the real deal!
The first time we faced a Thanksgiving after going gluten and dairy free was really daunting. In addition to avoiding gluten and dairy, we also tried to avoid as much refined sugar as possible. And what is the holiday season without gluten, dairy, and sugar?!? I remember the feeling of “we won’t be able to eat anything!” so profoundly. Thankfully, we’ve gotten better and better at going into the holiday season with confidence. I’ve learned that while there are definitely some swaps to be made, we don’t ever need to miss out on the joy of holiday feasting.
This naturally-sweetened paleo sweet potato casserole is a perfect example. It’s gluten free, grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free, and can be made either paleo (with eggs) or vegan (with an egg substitute). And if you’re thinking, “well, does it even taste good?” I invite you to make it and taste it for yourself.
It’s the real deal.
Velvety smooth sweet potato puree is dressed up with a little bit of milk (almond or cashew are my favorites), some pure maple syrup to enhance the sweet potatoes’ natural sweetness, a little healthy fat for a touch of decadence, and a little salt and vanilla to round things out. The topping is as good as ever. Sweet candied pecans stud the surface like little cinnamon-dusted jewels and make every bite taste close-your-eyes good. Plus, since the sugar is so much lower, you’ll have plenty of room for pie later!
I’ve tested this with eggs and with powdered egg substitute for my egg-free and vegan friends. I love it both ways! The eggs/egg sub bind everything together and give it a little structure so it doesn’t fall apart on your plate.
Michael can be a tough crowd when it comes to comparing new recipes to old favorites and he LOVED this. The first bite had barely gone in his mouth before he exclaimed how good it was. I’d feel confident bringing this to a family dinner where there’d be all kinds of different diets included.
It’s another recipe in my Thanksgiving arsenal I’m so glad to have sorted out. This Thanksgiving will be our best (gluten and dairy free one) yet! And whether you make this a paleo sweet potato casserole or a vegan sweet potato casserole, I hope it will be yours, too!
Notes on the Recipe:
Make it ahead! The beauty of sweet potato casserole is that you can assemble the ingredients ahead of time. This puree can be made the day before, then you can mix up the topping right before you bake it. One fewer thing to do on Thanksgiving Day!
If you’re going egg-free… I tried this recipe using eggs or Ener-G egg replacer. Another one that has worked well for me is The Neat Egg. I haven’t tried this yet with a flax or chia egg, so I can’t speak to how well it would turn out using those. If you’d rather omit the egg/egg sub, you won’t miss anything in flavor, but the texture will be a bit looser and more like a puree than a cohesive mash. You can use a little less milk for a thicker mash to compensate for this.
If you want to skip the topping…If you’re allergic to nuts or simply don’t care for them, you can absolutely serve this as a mash on its own. You’ll want to reduce the milk to about 1/4 cup and you’ll probably want to add the cinnamon to the mash (since you won’t be adding it to the topping).
Looking for a good old-fashioned sweet potato recipe? This is my all-time favorite before we switched to a GF/DF diet. The topping is mind-blowing. It’s super sweet (almost like a sweet potato pie), and it was always my favorite Thanksgiving indulgence.
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Paleo (or Vegan!) Sweet Potato Casserole
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Prep Time: 30 minutes -
Cook Time: 40 minutes
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Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
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Yield: 8-9 servings -
Category: Side Dish -
Method: Oven, Baking -
Cuisine: American, Homestyle
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
If you’re using egg replacer – follow the directions on your package. Most call for about 1 Tbsp of water per 1 Tbsp of powder.
Ingredients
For the sweet potato mash:
- 2lbs sweet potatoes (about 3 medium potatoes), peeled and diced
- 1/3c milk (I use unsweetened almond, cashew, or coconut milk)
- 3 Tbsp butter, ghee, vegan butter, or coconut oil (melted)
- 1/4c pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs or 2 Tbsp egg substitute (such as Ener-G egg replacer or The Neat Egg)
For the pecan topping:
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp butter, ghee, vegan butter, or coconut oil (melted)
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch salt
Instructions
For the sweet potato mash:
- Place sweet potatoes in a large pot and cover by at least 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until completely tender (potatoes will pierce easily with a fork). Drain sweet potatoes.
- Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Add milk, butter/oil, syrup, salt, vanilla, and egg/egg sub. Mash until no lumps remain. If needed, add 2-3 Tbsp additional milk if your mixture seems too thick.
- Pour mash into an 8×8 or 2 quart baking dish and smooth the surface. (You can make the sweet potato casserole up to this point the day before Thanksgiving, if desired. Simple cover the baking dish and refrigerate)
For the topping:
- When ready to bake the sweet potatoes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and make the topping. In a medium bowl, combine pecans, butter/oil, syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mash.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
- Remove foil and bake another 20-25 minutes. If pecans begin to brown too quickly, simply cover with foil again.
- **If you’ve got multiple things in the oven (like on Thanksgiving), allow yourself some extra time. If your oven is set to a lower temperature or full of other dishes, you’ll need to bake this closer to an hour. Be sure to watch your pecans (I only remove the foil when there’s about 20 minutes to go).
Keywords: sweet potato casserole, vegan, paleo, vegan sweet potato casserole, sweet potato casserole, gluten free
This looks amazing! We’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, and I think this needs to make an appearance on the menu!
I’m delighted you found a way to include this in your feasting. It sound super yummy!!
Do you peel the potatoes first? Thanks!
Kari – Yes! I’ll be sure to specify that in the recipe 🙂
Making this tomorrow! Thanks for clarifying on the peeling of the potatoes. I found the recipe this morning and by the time I came back you’d answered my question. Can’t wait to feast on this.
I hope you love it! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi, I’m making this today. For the egg replacer–I’m using energ egg replacer. Should I follow the box instructions and use warm water or just add 2 Tbspn. of egg replacer without the water?
Thank you so much!
Minna – Your choice! It will work either way, but I prefer to add the water. I’ll update my directions to say that! Good luck today!
Made this for Mother’s Day…just dumped the egg replacer powder in. My wife told me I ruined it! She told me I had to follow the box directions. Please clarify your instructions to give the options…help save other marriages the turmoil of this argument!!!
Just kidding (except we did debate it until I found your comment). Our casserole turned out great!
So glad it turned out great! (And sorry for the confusion!)
Making this morning for a vegan family member. Happy Thanksgiving!
Lynn – I hope everyone enjoys it! Happy Thanksgiving!
Just found your blog this week. Thank you so much for this recipe! I made this for my two vegan daughters and they loved it. More important, the whole family loved it – a very delicious dish and something that will become a holiday tradition for our family.
★★★★★
Oh, I’m so glad to hear it Patrick! Hope it was a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hi Emily! We are doing Christmas in the woods this year in our trailer and I wanted to make this a few days in advance (make on Wed and bake on Sunday). I will be using real eggs. Is it ok to assemble all but the topping and store the sweet potato casserole uncooked for a few days? Or should I fully assemble and bake completely and then reheat? I’m just not sure what is the best approach since there are raw eggs involved. But I also don’t want it to dry out. Thanks so much! This looks awesome!
Celia – What an adventure! I haven’t made it that far in advance (I’ve only ever done the day ahead), but I think all your concerns are spot on! You may want to fully bake it and then heat it up the day you plan to serve it. I’d love to know how it turns out for you! Enjoy your Christmas in the woods!
I made this for a Boxing Day feast and it was SO GOOD! Thanks for the great recipe.
★★★★★
Oh, I’m so happy to hear it Christina! Hope you have a happy New Year!
Made this for Easter and the whole family loved it. I used coconut oil and honey in the potatoes, and even could have cut back on the honey.
★★★★★
I’m SO glad to hear that! It’s remarkable how sweet everything is on its own! The cinnamon and vanilla really make you feel like it’s sweeter than it is!
This looks yummy! Can you add orange juice to this casserole?
That sounds delicious! I haven’t tried that, but I’d LOVE to know what you think if you give it a try!
How would you add orange juice? I mean, where would you add it in the recipe and would you be adding it in place of something else or in addition?
Thanks!
Fantastic dish.
★★★★★
Thank you Fiona! It’s one of my FAVORITE holiday dishes!
I have always wanted to make this . I tasted this in our church and it was really good but he added marshmallows to it.
★★★★★
Oh how fun!
Would a 12 x 8.75 crate and barrel rectangle casserole fish be too big? I have a 9.35 x 7 but it appears to be too small. Novice cook here who is trying to learn gluten and dairy free cooking! 😉 Thinking of making this for Thanksgiving so there’s something more on the table I personally can eat. 🙂
Rachel – That would probably be too big a pan unless you doubled your recipe. I’m not sure how deep your 9.35×7 pan is, but it actually might work! You just want about 2 quart (8 cups) capacity. If you’re nervous, you can test it with that much water and see if it’ll hold!
Thank you! I found an 8×8 I can use. 🙂
Hooray! Hope you LOVE it!
Just found this recipe and we are new to Paleo. I was wondering if you could make the mash and freeze it several days ahead? Thaw, place topping and cook.
Thank you,
Faith
Faith – I haven’t done it that way before, but it would probably work? I think I’d actually assemble the whole thing and freeze it ready to bake. Otherwise, you can absolutely prep the mash a day in advance, store it in the fridge, and keep the topping separate until you’re ready to bake.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
This recipe looks amazing Emily, I can’t wait to try it this Thanksgiving. If I were to double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan would I need to keep it in the oven longer? (sorry, I’m a beginner)
★★★★★
Breanne – Oh, don’t apologize! It’s a great question! You may want to add 5-8 minutes or so, but it really shouldn’t need much longer than that. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!
Awesome! Thanks so much for replying, Happy Thanksgiving to you too! 😀
This may be a silly question, but can I use and electric beater to mix, or would that make it too runny?
Not silly at all! You can absolutely use an electric hand mixer!
This is about the third time I have made this and I have to say this is my absolute favorite sweet potato dish I have ever made..paleo or not!!! Everyone who tries it loves it!!! Thank you so much for sharing and have a great Thanksgiving!!
★★★★★
Melissa – Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me know! You totally made my day! Happy Thanksgiving!
New to be vegetarian and making this for my family right now!
Carrie – I hope you LOVE it! It’s a HUGE hit at our house!
Hi! Recipe sounds great. Want to make for my vegan son but don’t have any egg substitute. 🙁
Did you see the directions for that in the notes section? “If you’d rather omit the egg/egg sub, you won’t miss anything in flavor, but the texture will be a bit looser and more like a puree than a cohesive mash. You can use a little less milk for a thicker mash to compensate for this.”
I used 1 banana to replace for each egg and it turned out perfect!!!
That’s so clever! Glad you enjoyed it!
Wonderful recipe! Made this for Thanksgiving instead of the regular family recipe and everyone raved about how good it was. Only after I received multiple compliments, I revealed that is was healthy. Gasp! Even the non-paelo/vegans took seconds. This WILL be the new (holiday) staple recipe!
★★★★★
Angelle – I’m SO happy to hear that! So glad you loved it!!!
I love this recipe! I used neat egg and it was delicious. I may try it without next time, just to see :). We will definitely be making this again! Thank you!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Alicia!
Hello! I’m excited about making this recipe for a late family thanksgiving tonight! I have honey pecans I bought from the store that I wanted to just chop up a bit and put on the top (they’re already cooked/glazed and ready to go. I got them from the organic section at my grocery store) so I was wondering, most importantly, how long do I cook the sweet potato mash without the topping and do I add the ready pecans 5 minutes or so before it’s all done just to get them nice and warm? Or do I not cook with them at all and just put them on after I take the mash out of the oven? Sorry for all the questions! Novice cook! 🙂
Sonia – I apologize for not getting back to you sooner! I’ve been with family all day. I think you can add them as usual, and then just un-cover the pan for the last 5-10 minutes or so. I think they’d be fine! Hope you LOVE it!
I’ve made this for Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts where no one suspected how much better it was for them than the original – perfect texture, not too sweet and I’ve been asked for the recipe every time. Delish 🙂
★★★★★
Janice – I’m SO happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing and brightening my day!
This is the only way (to date) that I have been able to get my 5-year old son to eat sweet potatoes (he even cleans his plate of them).
I’ve made this dish twice now; my first preparation was made exactly as the instructions call for (this preparation I give a 4-star rating).
Tonight I’ve made it again; this time I’d brushed the sweet potatoes with olive oil (after washing and drying the skin) and baked for 1 hour on 350 (the oil causes the skin to separate from the potato during baking). By this preparation, I found the mash has far less water content, and causes the pecan topping to turn out so much better (a *5-star* rating)!
★★★★
Wow! I’ll have to try it your way next time! I’m so happy to hear they’re a hit with your son!
Emily I’m making this for a Paleo friend for Easter. Can I bake this the day before and heat it up?
You can totally make it ahead. My first recommendation is to make each part (the filling + the topping) and store separately overnight, then sprinkle the topping on and baking right before serving. If you don’t have time, you can bake it the day before, then re-heat it on Easter. Hope you all love it!