I feel like sweet potato casserole is one of the main dishes expected to be on the table for holiday dinners... which means it better be good! Enter the most delicious naturally sweetened healthy sweet potato casserole everyone will love. It’s ultra creamy, spiced just right, and topped with a gluten-free toasty pecan and oat topping. Once you give this a try, I’m willing to bet it’ll be a new holiday tradition for you!
I find it almost hard to believe that every single ingredient is a real whole food. Not a single processed or lab-created oil necessary to make the taste take you to dessert heaven. Tell me… how did this dish end up along side of the main course and not in the dessert table in the first place?!
Ingredients & Substitutions for Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
Only a handful of ingredients are needed to whip this recipe up and it’s super simple to make. Simple and easy is the name of the game here at pretty healthy family. I even have two options for you to make it if you want to avoid dirtying up an appliance to save even more time on clean-up.
Sweet potatoes: You’ll only need between 2.5 - 3 pounds of sweet potatoes. You’ll be roasting them in advance to unlock their natural sweetness so go ahead and start warming up your oven.
Coconut palm sugar: I opted for coconut palm sugar here to be able to utilize some other methods to make it creamy (ahem, like butter and milk). But you could absolutely try maple syrup instead if you prefer. You really can’t go wrong with a maple kick in any fall dish.
Milk: I used raw whole cows milk because that’s what I had on hand but you could easily swap this out for another milk of your choice. I think a full-fat coconut milk or cream would taste great! You could get away with an almond milk but I don’t think it would be as creamy or delectable.
Butter: In my opinion, potatoes and butter go together like a horse and carriage. They just belong together. But yes, you could certainly swap the butter out for a coconut oil or even a vegan butter but I highly recommend using a grass-fed salted butter. There’s just nothing like it. Plus it’s packed with easily digestible vitamins like A and K.
Cinnamon & ginger: I love a cinnamon flavor in most any warm dish. You could easily swap it out for a pumpkin spice blend of course. And the ginger gives it a nice kick.
Pecans: Let’s talk about this very important streusel topping for a moment, can we please? There are a lot of pecans in my dishes on Thanksgiving because they’re just so darn flavorful! You could easily swap them out for walnuts or even go half and half if you like!
Oats: I'm a big fan of oats as I find them so easily digestible which is especially important for such a big meal. Quick oats will work just fine too.
Salt: Salt always because for one, sodium is an essential mineral most are deficient in. And two, because the entire purpose (besides nourishing our bodies) is to enhance the flavor! In fact, I think another half a teaspoon would be just right but I didn't want it to be too salty for those who are sensitive to the taste.
As You've Probably Gathered, this Dish is Super Easy to Make.
This recipe starts with tender roasted sweet potatoes so that's the first thing you're going to do, and it's super easy. Preheat your oven to 400 and line your potatoes up on a sheet pan. Use a fork to poke 4-5 holes in each. Once your oven is ready, cook the potatoes for 45 - 70 minutes until fork tender. Mine varied in sizes quite a bit so I took the smaller ones out at just under an hour and let the large ones continue to bake for the full hour and ten minutes. The potatoes will be super moist and tender once finished.
Your next step is to remove the potato skins once they're cool enough to touch. And then add all the streusel topping ingredients to the food processor and process until desired texture. I like to leave out 1/2 cup for added texture and mix them in at the end. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and use add the potatoes and remaining filling ingredients to the food processor and blend until completely smooth. (No need to clean the food processor in between.)
Alternatively, if you'd prefer to not dirty another kitchen appliance, simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl instead. Just note that the filling won't be as creamy! I think it's worth using the food processor to do the job but know that it's not entirely necessary.
And finally, lower the temperature of the oven and bake uncovered for approximately 30 minutes. The crumble topping will have a nice golden color to it once it's done.
How to Prep in Advance
You can easily make this recipe a day early. Assemble the casserole as directed and store it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it. In fact, I think it tastes better the second day! Another option is to roast the potatoes in advance and store them in the fridge overnight. I stored the potatoes in the fridge right in their skins and took them off just prior to starting the recipe.
