Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Candied Pecans

It’s November, and do you know what that means? Thanksgiving!! 

Probably like most families in America, Thanksgiving is a huge food affair for my family. We usually have:

• Dressing
• Sweet potato casserole
• Chicken and dumplings
• Green beans
• Broccoli and cheese casserole
• Turkey
• Dinner rolls
• Candied yams

And of course, we always have at least five different kinds of pie. One fun fact about me and my family: we hate pumpkin pie. I’ll die on the hill that sweet potato pie beats pumpkin, every time.

Anyway, this week I wanted to try recreating a family favorite: sweet potato casserole. It’s one of my favorites, but the recipe I grew up making has marshmallows on top. Marshmallows aren’t vegan and obviously don’t fit in a plant-based lifestyle, so I set out to make a healthy-ish version.

And boy, did I hit the jackpot with this one.

The beauty of sweet potatoes

Let’s talk for a second about just how amazing sweet potatoes are. Did you know they’re considered a superfood?

Sweet potatoes are a complex carbohydrate — which basically means they digest slower than simple carbs (think donuts or a piece of cake), leaving you feeling full longer. 

They’re also rich in vitamins and give you many necessary nutrients, such as:

• Fiber
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Manganese
• Vitamin B6
• Potassium

One cup of sweet potatoes has 769% of your daily value of Vitamin A. Whaaaatttt??? 

Why do we care about Vitamin A? So glad you asked. Vitamin A helps preserve our eyesight (although if you already need glasses/contacts, it won’t magically help you see clearly again, unfortunately) and supports a healthy immune system. If you’re interested in the many health benefits of Vitamin A, read more here. 

In a world where thousands of people are getting sick every day due to COVID-19 and we’re also heading into flu season in the States, I’m all about keeping my immune system as healthy as I possibly can! 

One of the goals of a plant-based diet is to eat primarily nutrient-rich foods so that you don’t eat empty calories and constantly feel hungry all day. Sweet potatoes are the perfect food to do just that!

If you haven’t already made sweet potatoes a regular part of your diet, you should definitely consider it. What do you have to lose??

About this vegan sweet potato casserole recipe

As usual when I’m creating a new recipe, I went through several different versions before I got to this one. 

If you notice, I didn’t put any sort of sweetener in the mashed sweet potatoes (hello to minimizing our sugar intake, even on holidays). Personally, I think cooked sweet potatoes are sweet enough, and I don’t like to mess with their already-perfect sweetness. If you prefer sweeter foods, feel free to add 1-2 Tablespoons of maple syrup to the sweet potatoes as well as what’s in the topping, but I highly recommend you at least try it without the extra maple syrup. 

You can always make the sweet potatoes 1-2 days in advance if you’re concerned about a time crunch on the day (I usually am, since everything tends to move so fast on holidays)! I recommend cooking and peeling the potatoes, adding the sweet potato ingredients, and putting the mixture in an air-tight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use them. 

I decided to candy the pecans in my cast iron skillet to bring out the flavor of both the maple syrup and the pecans, and I will say it DEFINITELY made a difference. If you don’t have time for that, you can always skip this step and add the pecan/oat mixture to the sweet potatoes without cooking — but going the extra mile really does make a difference in this case. 

This vegan sweet potato casserole recipe is more of a side than a dessert, so it’s the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving spread. If you’re looking for healthy desserts to serve on Thanksgiving as well, check out my guilt-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies recipe and thank me later!

Let us know if you try this recipe by rating and commenting on this post! 

Happy Eating! 
Elana

Sweet Potato Casserole with Candied Pecans

This whole-food take on a Thanksgiving classic will let you indulge without sacrificing healthy nutrition!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  

Sweet Potatoes:

• 4-6 medium-sized sweet potatoes
• coconut oil for brushing onto sweet potatoes
• 2 Tablespoons oat milk
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil melted
• dash of salt

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cup pecans chopped
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup maple syrup*
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Instructions

 

Sweet Potatoes

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Halve sweet potatoes, brush lightly with coconut oil, and place on cookie sheet.
• Cook for 30-35 minutes, until fork tender. *Do not turn oven off yet*
• Allow sweet potatoes to cool slightly while you prepare the topping.
• Once cool, pull the peeling off the sweet potato and place insides into a medium-sized bowl. Whisk/mash sweet potatoes until they have a mashed consistency.
• Add oat milk (2 Tblsp), coconut oil (2 Tblsp), and salt (dash) and mix until well-blended.
• Pour sweet potato mixture into an 8×8 oven-safe baking dish.

Topping:

• Heat cast iron skillet on medium heat until warm.
• Add coconut oil (1 Tblsp), pecans (1.5c), rolled oats (1/2c), and maple syrup (2-4Tblsp). Cook for 5-7 minutes, until darker in color and fragrant.
• layer on top of sweet potato mixture in 8×8 dish.
• Bake sweet potato with topping in preheated oven (375 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20-25 minutes, until topping is slightly browned.

Notes

*How much maple syrup you use REALLY depends on your preferences. Elana likes 1/4 cup (not a sweets person) and Nicole likes 1/2 cup (huge sweet tooth). We encourage you to play around and add less or more sweetness level dependent on your own taste buds. 

Keyword gluten-free, healthy, Thanksgiving food, vegan, vegetarian