Without question, this is the best sweet potato casserole recipe I've had! A nutty pecan topping covers a creamy ginger-spiced layer of sweet potatoes.
Growing up, I only had sweet potatoes once a year at Thanksgiving, where they were layered into a sweet potato casserole loaded with mini marshmallows. For years, I thought I didn’t like sweet potatoes. But if you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that I actually love sweet potatoes. What I don’t like are marshmallows. In my opinion, sweet potatoes are sweet enough on their own, so why make them sweeter, especially in a dinner side dish?
Since sweet potatoes are one of my favorite fall veggies, I’ve always wanted to make a vegan sweet potato casserole recipe that I’d enjoy at Thanksgiving dinner. This seemed like the perfect time to take on the challenge. And guess what? I liked it so much that I ate the leftovers for breakfast!
Whatever your opinion on traditional sweet potato casserole, you have to try this recipe. I make a simple, creamy filling that really lets the sweet potatoes shine. Then, instead of covering it with a marshmallow topping, I sprinkle it with a savory blend of chopped pecans, walnuts, and herbs. The toasty, nutty topping offers a delicious crunchy contrast to the velvety sweet potato mixture, and the cozy herbs make it perfect for fall.
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe Ingredients
And the best part? This easy sweet potato casserole recipe comes together with basic pantry ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Sweet potatoes, of course! I blend them with almond milk to make the filling nice and smooth.
- Pecans and walnuts – I pulse some into the crumble topping and leave a few whole for garnish.
- Old fashioned oats – Along with the nuts, they give the crumble topping plenty of hearty texture.
- Ginger – It adds a refreshing kick to the creamy sweet potato filling.
- Fresh rosemary, sage, and dried thyme – If I’m cooking with sweet potatoes in the fall, chances are, I’m using rosemary, sage, and thyme as well. They’re the perfect autumn flavor combination.
- Garlic – Along with the herbs, garlic is key for giving this sweet potato casserole its delicious savory taste.
- Pure maple syrup – It adds a touch of sweetness to the nutty topping. I may not love sweet potatoes and marshmallows, but sweet potatoes and maple are a combination I can get behind.
Just grab some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and you’re good to go!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
This easy sweet potato casserole recipe has 4 basic steps:
1. First, roast the sweet potatoes. You can find my best tips on baking sweet potatoes here!
2. While the sweet potatoes are baking, make the pecan topping. Pulse the nuts, oats, herbs, garlic, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor until just combined. The mixture should clump a bit, but it should still have lots of texture.
3. Then, blend up the filling. Instead of using a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes, I use a food processor to get them super smooth. Peel the cooked sweet potatoes, and blend the soft flesh with almond milk, olive oil, ground ginger, and salt.
4. Layer and bake! Spread the creamy sweet potato mixture at the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle it with the crumble topping, and add a few whole pecans and sage leaves for garnish. Then, bake at 425° until the topping is nicely browned and crisp, and enjoy!
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe Tips
- Bake your sweet potatoes until they’re super tender. You want the filling of this casserole to be luscious and creamy, without any chunks. Make sure that a fork can easily slide through the potatoes when you take them out of the oven. This way, they’ll blend into a perfectly smooth puree.
- Save some whole nuts for garnish! The best bites of this casserole combine creamy sweet potato with big, toasty nuts. When you blend up the crumble, reserve a few whole nuts to dot on top. You’ll thank yourself later.
- Make it ahead. Like all great Thanksgiving recipes, this healthy sweet potato casserole is easy to prep ahead of time. You can do almost everything a day or two before your feast: blend up the sweet potato filling, pulse together the crumble topping, and store them in separate containers in the fridge. Right before serving, sprinkle the crumble over the filling, and bake! (If you bake the entire casserole ahead of time, the topping will lose its crispness in the fridge.)
Serving Suggestions
This sweet potato casserole would be a wonderful addition to any autumn dinner, but it’s especially at home at Thanksgiving. Serve it alongside stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, homemade mac and cheese, or any of these delicious side dishes:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Roasted Delicata Squash with Apples and Sage
- Maple Roasted Acorn Squash
- Creamed Spinach
- Pear Salad with Balsamic and Walnuts
- Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Simple Roasted Beets with Citrus
For more favorite Thanksgiving side dishes, check out this post. And don’t forget the pumpkin pie (or apple crumble) for dessert!
Crazy for sweet potatoes? Try one of these tasty recipes next:
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Lasagna
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 5 large sweet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1¼ cups unsweetened almond milk, plus more if necessary
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh sage leaves, for garnish
Crumble Topping
- ⅔ cup whole rolled oats
- ½ cup pecans, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup walnuts, plus more for garnish
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush an 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
- Use a fork to poke a few holes into the sweet potatoes. Place on the baking sheet and roast until very tender, about 60 minutes.
- Make the crumble topping: In a food processor, place the oats, pecans, walnuts, garlic, maple syrup, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper and pulse until just combined. Remove and set aside.
- Scoop the cooked sweet potato flesh out of the skins and place in a food processor. Add the olive oil, almond milk, ginger, salt, and pepper and process to combine. Spread the mixture into the baking dish.
- Sprinkle with the crumble topping, additional nuts, and sage leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping is browned and crisp.
This post is in partnership with ALDI.
Question? Could this be made the day before and then reheated the day of Thanksgiving? What changes would I need to make? Thank you so much in advance!
You can totally prep this recipe ahead of time! Make the filling and spread it in a baking dish, cover, and refrigerate. Then make the crumble topping and store it in a separate container in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, sprinkle on the crumble topping and bake according to the recipe. We recommend keeping the crumble and filling separate when you make this recipe ahead so that the crumble doesn’t lose its crisp texture. Hope this helps!
I LOVE the sweet and savory mix of this dish. Thank you for another delicious recipe. I really enjoy this cooking club a ton as it gives me good reason and inspiration to try new things 🙂
Hi Diane, I’m so glad you love the recipe (and the club)!
I enjoyed the ginger in this and it was a delicious dish. One suggestion that I would like to make is that for fruits and vegetables, since they are in a variety of sizes in nature, it would be helpful to be given a weight measure in grams instead of just a description of small, medium or large.
Great choice for the cooking club..
Hi Brenda, Thanks for your feedback! So glad you enjoyed the casserole.
Love this casserole! Sweet potato casseroles don’t have to be too sweet and I loved how this was savory and so perfect for Thanksgiving.
Hi Shira, I’m so glad you loved it!
I was a little hesitant making this sweet potato casserole since I was convinced that I just don’t care for them. I gave it a shot though and am so glad I did. It was absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to eat the leftovers. It was very easy to make and came out perfect. I will definitely make this again. Such a perfect fall dish!
Hi Annika, I’m so glad you loved it!
I have some questions about the directions. In the ingredient portion for the crumble topping it lists 1/4 black pepper but it is not mentioned again in the directions. I left it out of my crumble topping but just wanted to touch base and make sure I did it correctly.
Also, the sage is just a garnish correct? It is listed with the sweet potato part in the ingredients section so I just wanted to clarify.
I left it out of my sweet potatoes and planning to put it on top as a garnish only.
Looking forward to baking the dish. It looks delicious!
Hi Samantha, Thanks for noting that about the pepper! That’s our mistake–it should be in the crumble, but I think yours will turn out just fine without it. The sage is just for garnish. I’ve updated that for clarity as well. I hope you enjoy the casserole!
Hi Phoebe,
Thank you for your quick reply. I wanted to give you an update. It came out great even without the black pepper in the crumble topping but I made a note to add it for next time. Planning to make this dish again for Thanksgiving. This was my test-run for Thanksgiving and I also made it for the contest entry! An added plus is that not only is it delicious but the aroma of the sage on top made my home smell so good when it was baking! P.S. I love the serving fork in the first picture on the page. Any idea where it is from?
Hi Samantha, So glad it came out well! The serving spatula is vintage from Etsy. Have a great Thanksgiving!
This was very good, savory and delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Would a nut free version for allergies be workable? Would you recommend regular milk, half and half, or cream? And then just omitting the nuts in the crumble? Thanks.
Hi Jane, Yes I think this would be totally doable! I would use regular milk instead of the almond milk. If seeds are ok for you, I would replace the 1 cup nuts in the crumble with 2/3 cup pepitas. Hope this helps!
I have to admit, I was skeptical. I have been experimenting with more plant-based recipes, and I had my suspicions about this one. But, wow, it was packed with flavor. Each ingredient came through; it was delicious. I served it at a dinner party; my guests loved it and wanted the recipe. This will become a go-to recipe to share with friends and family. I will be making it again. Excellent!
Hi Lisa, I’m so glad you all loved the recipe!
Can’t have oil. Any subs or just leave it out?
Hi Jean, if you can have melted butter, it would be a great sub. If not, I’d skip the oil in the sweet potato mixture. You might need to add a little water to the crumble mixture to help it clump together without the oil.
Are you using the whole sage leaves as a fresh garnish, or baking the casserole with them already on top? I don’t see any mention of garnishing after baking.
Thank you,
~Sue
Hi Sue, we bake the casserole with the sage leaves on top.
Thank you for your reply. I made the sweet potato casserole for dinner tonight because I couldn’t wait until Thanksgiving! lol! The savory flavor was a nice change from the “too sweet” traditional marshmallow variations. I should tell you, my husband is really loving this friendly competition! He reaps the rewards happily! =)
By the way, my sage (I used 1/2 t. dried in the half recipe) went into the sweet potato mix…tasted great!
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it!
Lighter casserole that’s a nice balance between sweet and savory. I really enjoyed the ginger in it.
I’m so glad you love the recipe!
I made this for a dinner party last night and it was very good. The only changes I’d suggest include: a large stand mixer with a metal beater (since I don’t have a food processor), a little less salt in the crumble (I put in 1 tsp instead of 1 1/2, and it was still a bit salty for me), and a bit more herbs and ginger in the purée, as it was a bit bland without the additions. But overall? A lovely alternative to the typical and overly sweet casseroles I usually see. It went well with a Honey Baked Ham. Well done! .
Hi Brenda, I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Made for my first Thanksgiving and this got rave reviews. I think my sweet potatoes were a touch small, so I should have gone lighter on the ginger. I also made it the night previous and followed the separate container advice. Pulling it together day of was seamless. Everyone loved it. Different than the typical sweet potato casserole.
This dish got mixed reactions at Thanksgiving dinner. Some seemed to really like it while others just left it on their plates. I personally was not crazy about the texture, but I thought the flavor was okay.
It would’ve been nice to specify the type of sweet potato because it is yams that you are using not sweet potatoes.
Yams or sweet potatoes will both work in the recipe.
About how many pounds of sweet potato is in this? Not sure how to convert 5 large sweet potatoes to the small ones that I have!
Hi, I’m sorry, I didn’t weigh the potatoes, but it doesn’t have to be exact – if your potatoes are very small, you can use one extra and that should be fine.
Hi –
Love your recipes!
Have you made this the day before needed?
Thanks!
SAS
Hi, yes, you can make it the day before and bake it before you’re ready to eat.
Can anything be substituted for the oats ? For carb free folks ?
Hi Regina, you can add extra walnuts and pecans in place of the oats (but note that there are carbs in the sweet potatoes).
Hi! Your recipes are fantastic. For this one, could one use unsweetened coconut milk?
I’m glad you’ve been enjoying them! Yes, you could use coconut milk.