This Dairy Free Sweet Potato Casserole is made with wholesome ingredients and topped with a sweet and crunchy pecan topping. It's everything you love about the traditional sweet potato casserole with a healthy twist. It's gluten-free, refined sugar free and vegan.
Looking to make a healthy sweet potato casserole recipe for your holiday dinner? This dairy free sweet potato casserole consists of sweet potatoes that are velvety smooth and a pecan mixture with rich fall flavors. It has just the right amount of sweet, crunchy, and comfort all in one dish. And the best part? It's healthy! It's almost as good as my mini sweet potato pie recipe.
The creamy sweet potatoes are sweetened with maple syrup and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. Your whole family is sure to go back for seconds! That's right, there's no brown sugar and no marshmallows needed to make this delicious healthy sweet potato casserole! The pecan topping is made with pecans, dates and pumpkin seeds to add to the sweetness of the dish and to give it some crunch.
This easy vegan sweet potato casserole is perfect for the holiday season or any large gatherings during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or you can make it as a side dish for your Sunday dinners. It's easy to make and can be made ahead of time. It's a southern favorite classic dish with a healthy twist. You'll want to make it again and again.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Wholesome, easy to find ingredients
- Packed with flavor
- Easy to make
- Naturally sweetened
- Free from artificial flavors and refined sugars.
- Gluten-free and Vegan friendly
- Topped with a sweet and crunchy pecan topping
Equipment You'll Need
- Large Pot
- Strainer
- Large Bowl
- Potato Masher
Ingredients You'll Need
- Sweet potatoes - you'll need 4 medium sized fresh sweet potatoes, that will be boiled, instead of roasted, and then mashed.
- Coconut milk - use plain, unsweetened full-fat coconut milk to help make the casserole creamy, while keeping it dairy free. You can also use any other plain non-dairy milk you prefer.
- Vegan butter - Use your favorite dairy-free butter to add a creamy rich flavor.
- Maple syrup - helps naturally sweeten the dish, use pure maple syrup.
- Vanilla extract - use pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla, for the best taste.
- Spices - ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg helps add warming flavor.
- Pecan Topping - consist of pecan pralines, pitted Medjool dates, pepitas (or pumpkin seeds), ground cinnamon, almond flour, and vegan butter.
How to Make the Dairy Free Sweet Potato Casserole
This is the perfect side dish that's easy and healthy with just a few simple steps. Here's how to make it:
- Boil the sweet potatoes. Cook the potatoes in a large pot of water for 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes in the sink over a colander and let them slightly cool.
- Mash the sweet potatoes. While the potatoes are still warm, yet cool enough to handle, remove the skin and place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher, Mash them until there are no lumps.
- Add the remainder of the ingredients to the sweet potato puree, the coconut milk, butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg into the bowl and stir together with a large spoon until creamy.
- Make the topping. First, roughly chop the pecans and dates and toss them in a medium bowl. Then add the pepitas, ground cinnamon, almond flour and melted vegan butter and mix until everything is combined.
- Spread the sweet potato mixture in an even layer into a casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the topping on top of the casserole in an even layer.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top becomes a nice golden brown.
- Let it cool once you take it out of the oven, about 10 minutes, then serve.
How to Prepare This Casserole Ahead of Time
Need to make this casserole ahead of time? To do this:
- Keep your mashed sweet potatoes and crumble topping separate and tightly covered in the fridge.
- The next day, take the mixtures out of the fridge and let the sweet potatoes thaw for about 30 minutes.
- Then, spread the sweet potato into an even layer in the baking dish and sprinkle the pecan crumble on top.
- Place the dish into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Storage and Reheat
- Storing - store leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
- Reheating - when reheating the whole dish, let the casserole dish sit at room temperature, for about 30 minutes. Then cover the dish with foil and bake at 325 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes until warm. You can also reheat single servings in the microwave, in a microwavable dish at 15 - 20 increments until warmed to liking.
Substitutes and Variations
- Nut Free - the sweet potato casserole does contain tree nuts (pecans). As an alternative, use oat milk in the mashed sweet potatoes, and leave out the pecans in the topping. Also, some vegan butters contain nuts, so check the ingredients.
- Gluten-Free - almond flour is naturally gluten free, just make sure to check the package before using. You can also swap out the almond flour with all-purpose flour in the topping.
- Milk - using a creamy coconut milk is great to use because it's thicker than most non-dairy milks but almond milk, soy milk, oat milk or any milk will work great for this recipe.
- Sweeteners - if maple syrup is not your thing then feel free to use other sweeteners like date syrup, honey or agave.
- Marshmallow Topping - if you prefer your sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, you can skip the pecan topping and add some regular or vegan marshmallows during the last 5-10 minutes just to brown them.
Is It a Thyroid-Friendly Recipe? The sweet potato is an excellent source of beta-carotene, as well as Vitamin C and potassium. Cooked sweet potatoes are also a good source of fiber.
Recipe FAQ
Yes. You can bake the potatoes ahead of time and then use them in the dish however boiling the potatoes saves more time. If you choose to bake them, you may need a little extra almond milk when making the dish since they will lose some moisture in the oven.
This recipe is naturally vegan.
The leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. You can reheat single serving portions in the microwave or reheat the entire casserole in the oven.
If you plan to reheat the dish in the oven I recommend letting the casserole dish sit at room temperature, leaving it out for about 30 minutes. Then cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes until warm.
The casserole will also reheat great in the microwave, in a microwavable safe dish.
Yes. For best results, make the sweet potato mash and add to the casserole dish and cover it with plastic wrap. Store the pecan crumble in a separate container. Refrigerate both containers. Before baking, add the topping to the casserole, cover with foil and bake as directed.
For best results, the sweet potato casserole tastes better when fresh however it can be frozen. Mix together the sweet potato mash and add to the casserole dish and cover it tightly with plastic wrap, without baking it. It can be frozen for up to a month. When you're ready to bake it, move it to the refrigerator the night before to allow time for thawing. Once thawed, add the topping and bake as directed.
More Recipes You May Like:
Meatless Southern Collard Greens
Dairy Free Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
Sweet potato
- 4 sweet potatoes medium-size, wash
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or any dairy-free milk
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
- 3/4 cup pecan pralines chopped
- 4 dates pitted and chopped
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter melted
Instructions
Sweet Potatoes
- Bring a large pot of water to boil on high heat.
- Place the potatoes in the pot, making sure to cover them completely with water. Cook the potatoes for 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Rotate the potatoes in the pot halfway through for even cooking and add more water to the pot if needed.
- Drain the potatoes in the sink over a colander and let them slightly cool.
- After the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skin and place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
- Mash them with a potato masher until there are no lumps.
- Add the coconut milk, butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg into the mixture and stir together with a large spoon until creamy. Set aside.
Topping
- Roughly chop the pecans and dates and then add it to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add to the mixing bowl the pumpkin seeds, ground cinnamon, almond flour and butter. Mix thoroughly with a large spoon until combined.
Assemble Sweet Potato Casserole
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spread the sweet potato into an even layer in a medium sized baking dish. Then sprinkle on the topping mixture and cover the dish with foil.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Let it cool once you take it out of the oven, about 10 minutes, then serve.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Although HalfPastHungry.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on which products you use, the brand that was purchased, or in other unforeseeable ways. HalfPastHungry.com will not be held liable for any reliance on given nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your physician first.
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