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spoon scooping into a pan of vegan sweet potato casserole

Paleo (or Vegan!) Sweet Potato Casserole

4.99 from 56 votes
Emily Dixon, One Lovely Life
A healthy take on a classic recipe! This paleo or vegan sweet potato casserole recipe has never been better. Tender mashed sweet potatoes topped with a crunchy pecan topping, and no refined sugar in sight! 
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
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Servings: 8 -9 servings
Calories: 306kcal

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 8x8 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 9x13 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

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: gluten free, paleo, paleo sweet potato casserole, paleo sweet potato casserole recipe, sweet potato casserole, vegan, vegan sweet potato casserole

Nutrition

Serving: 0.11(1/9th recipe) | Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.1g | Protein: 4.4g | Fat: 19.9g | Saturated Fat: 5.4g | Cholesterol: 58.3mg | Sodium: 361.9mg | Potassium: 347.8mg | Fiber: 4.1g | Sugar: 15.7g | Vitamin C: 12.4mg | Calcium: 82.5mg

Nutrition facts are an estimate only and will vary based on brands and amounts used.