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.
Question for you…my sweet potatoes are white, will that work or do I need yams (orange color)? Do they cook differently? Thanks for any info/advice! Looking forward to making this for Thanksgiving 😀 Happy Holidays
Maris – Great question! For the most part, white and orange sweet potatoes will behave similarly. Sometimes white ones can run on the drier side, so if you find your mash doesn’t seem really smooth and wet, you may want to add a bit more milk to the mixture. I hope you LOVE this!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ve made it with eggs and love it, but I’m going to try it with Ener-G this year. Have you done the “night before” method with Ener-G? For some reason, I’m wary of trying that. I don’t really know why. 🙂 Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Ecfinn – I haven’t actually. I’m making mine with Bob’s Red Mill this year and plan to do it the night before. That one’s made with potato starch, tapioca flour, baking soda, and psyllium husk. Ener-G is made with potato starch, tapioca flour, cream of tartar, cellulose gum & modified cellulose, so the ingredients are pretty similar. I think you shouldn’t have any trouble if you mix it well with the other liquids and into the sweet potatoes. That way, you shouldn’t get any lumps. I’d LOVE to know how it goes if you give it a try!
Just delicious! Thank you!
Oh, I’m SO glad! We just love it!
I made this last year for Thanksgiving. My family totally loved it. My question is will this freeze well? I need to make it in advance now.
Lu – You can freeze it. I recommend freezing the filling in the pan unbaked and covering with foil, then just adding the pecan topping right before baking, if you can.
If you’re going to re-heat it directly from the oven, you’ll need to put it in a cold oven (to avoid glass/ceramic bursting with the temperature change) or freeze it in a flexible aluminum baking pan to allow for temperature changes. I hope that helps!
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!
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!
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!
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 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!
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!!!