Our favorite holiday side dish is better than ever! This paleo or vegan sweet potato casserole recipe is a naturally sweetened combination of mashed sweet potato filling and a crunchy maple pecan topping your whole family will LOVE.
Since 2016, this paleo sweet potato casserole recipe has been a staple on our holiday table and hundreds of your holiday tables. It’s THE BEST!
- It’s EASY to make. No fancy skills or special equipment required! You won’t need any fancy flours or hard-to-find ingredients either.
- It’s DELICIOUS. Velvety smooth sweet potato puree is topped with a crunchy maple pecan topping. Every bite has a delicious combination of textures and balanced flavor.
- It’s HEALTHIER than classic sweet potato casserole. This gluten-free sweet potato casserole is naturally sweetened, easily dairy-free, and paleo AND vegan friendly. It works for so many different dietary needs!
- It’s a CROWD FAVORITE. This is always one of the first Thanksgiving side dishes to disappear! The creamy sweet potatoes, the perfect crunch of the pecans? ALWAYS a hit!
- It’s MAKE-AHEAD FRIENDLY. Another great thing about this classic side dish is that you can absolutely make it in advance, which frees up time on Thanksgiving Day!
Here’s all you need to get started on this healthy sweet potato casserole recipe…
Simple Ingredients To Start
So, what makes this paleo/vegan sweet potato casserole different from traditional sweet potato casserole? A few simple ingredient swaps! Let’s take a look:
- Fresh Sweet Potatoes. To start, you’ll need peeled, diced sweet potatoes. Look for orange-flesh sweet potatoes, rather than purple sweet potatoes or white sweet potatoes. (Some stores in the U.S. label these as yams).
- Dairy-Free Milk. Next up is your favorite non-dairy milk. Use whatever you drink at home–almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, coconut milk, and soy milk all work! (For paleo, avoid soy milk.)
- A Little Fat. Next, you’ll need some melted butter, ghee, melted vegan butter (like Earth Balance), or melted coconut oil. Choose the one that fits your dietary needs best!
- Pure Maple Syrup. No white sugar or brown sugar here! Maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup!) adds just the right amount of subtle sweetness to both the sweet potato filling and the crunchy pecan topping.
- Salt & Vanilla. Some kosher salt and vanilla extract round out the flavors beautifully.
- Eggs or An Egg Substitute. For paleo, feel free to use regular eggs. For vegan, use 2 Tablespoons powdered egg substitute (such as Ener-G egg replacer or The Neat Egg), or 1 Tablespoon cornstarch).
- Raw Pecans. For the maple pecan topping, you’ll need RAW pecans. If you use toasted or roasted pecans, they’ll burn in the oven. Start with raw pecans for best results!
- Cinnamon. A little bit of cinnamon adds the perfect finishing flavor!
How To Make Vegan or Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.
First, Make The Sweet Potato Filling
- Cook Sweet Potatoes. Place sweet potato cubes in a large pot and cover by at least 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until fork tender (potatoes will pierce easily with a fork). Drain sweet potatoes.
- Combine. Transfer cooked sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Add milk, butter/oil, syrup, salt, vanilla, and egg/egg sub.
- Mash with a potato masher, fork, or hand mixer until no lumps remain. If needed, add 2-3 Tbsp additional milk if your mixture seems too thick. (For perfectly smooth mash, you can work in batches and puree in a food processor or blender!)
- Transfer. Pour the mashed sweet potato mixture 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. Simply cover the baking dish and refrigerate)
Next, Make The Pecan Topping & Bake
- Preheat. When ready to bake the sweet potatoes, preheat the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
- Combine. In a medium bowl, combine pecans, butter/oil, syrup, cinnamon, and salt.
- Sprinkle pecan crumble mixture on top of the sweet potatoes.
- 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.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy warm from the oven. Store leftovers covered with plastic wrap or foil in the fridge 2-3 days. (You *can* transfer it to an airtight container, but I find the layers preserve better in the casserole dish.)
A Tip For Holiday Meals
If you’ve got multiple things in the oven (like for Thanksgiving Dinner!), 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, so they don’t burn. (I only remove the foil when there’s about 20 minutes to go.)
FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Paleo or Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
Make-Ahead Tips. For best results, I recommend making the sweet potato filling and pecan topping and storing them separately until right before baking. You can keep them both in the fridge 1 day in advance, then assemble right before baking the next day.
Vegan Notes. For vegan, be sure to use dairy-free milk, vegan butter or coconut oil in place of butter, and either cornstarch or powdered egg substitute. If using powdered egg substitute, follow the directions on the package. Most call for about 1 Tbsp of water per 1 Tbsp of powder.
Double The Recipe. If you’re feeding a crowd, feel free to double the recipe to fit a 9×13 casserole dish! The bake time & instructions will stay the same.
CAN I MAKE THIS WITH MARSHMALLOW TOPPING INSTEAD? If you prefer your sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, you can use vegan marshmallows or try this paleo marshmallow fluff or this vegan marshmallow fluff topping!
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Healthy Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Paleo (or Vegan!) Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Mash Ingredients:
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes about 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk I use unsweetened almond milk, cashew milk, or coconut milk
- 3 Tablespoons butter ghee, vegan butter, or coconut oil (melted)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs 2 Tbsp egg substitute (such as Ener-G egg replacer or The Neat Egg), or 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Pecan Topping Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups pecans roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoons butter ghee, vegan butter, or coconut oil (melted)
- 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch kosher salt or sea salt
Instructions
Make The Sweet Potato Mash:
- Cook Sweet Potatoes. Place sweet potato cubes in a large pot and cover by at least 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 8-10 min or until fork tender (potatoes will pierce easily with a fork). Drain sweet potatoes.
- Combine. Transfer cooked sweet potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Add milk, butter/oil, syrup, salt, vanilla, and egg/egg sub.
- Mash with a potato masher, fork, or hand mixer until no lumps remain. If needed, add 2-3 Tbsp additional milk if your mixture seems too thick. (For perfectly smooth mash, you can work in batches and puree in a food processor or blender!)
- Transfer. Pour the mashed sweet potatoes mixture 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)
Make The Topping & Bake:
- Preheat. When ready to bake the sweet potatoes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Combine. In a medium bowl, combine pecans, butter/oil, syrup, cinnamon, and salt.
- Sprinkle pecan streusel topping 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.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy warm from the oven. Store leftover sweet potato casserole covered in the fridge 2-3 days. (You *can* transfer it to an airtight container, but I find the layers preserve better in the casserole dish.)
- **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).
Notes
- Vegan Notes. For vegan, be sure to use dairy-free milk, vegan butter or coconut oil, and either cornstarch or powdered egg substitute. If using powdered egg substitute, follow the directions on the package. Most call for about 1 Tbsp of water per 1 Tbsp of powder.
- Double The Recipe. If you’re feeding a crowd, feel free to double the recipe to fit a 9×13 casserole dish! The bake time & instructions will stay the same.
- Make-Ahead Tips. For best results, I recommend making the sweet potato filling and pecan topping and storing them separately until right before baking. You can keep them both in the fridge 1 day in advance, then assemble right before baking.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are an estimate only and will vary based on brands and amounts used.
Originally shared November 2016. Updated Nov 2021, then updated and republished again October 2024.
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!
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!
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!
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 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! 😀
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!!!
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!
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!
Fantastic dish.
Thank you Fiona! It’s one of my FAVORITE holiday dishes!
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!