Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
Posted Nov 17, 2016, Updated Jul 13, 2024
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This healthy sweet potato casserole recipe is a delicious holiday side dish! It’s sweetened with applesauce, perfectly spiced and velvety smooth.
This healthy sweet potato casserole recipe is a delicious & nutritious side dish for the holidays.
This recipe is bursting with rich fall flavors, is velvety smooth, and is not laden with sugar! You don’t need brown sugar or marshmallows to make a crowd-pleasing sweet potato casserole that everyone will rave about.
Naturally sweetened with applesauce and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, this healthy sweet potato casserole is a sure-fire crowd pleaser! It’s a great dish to make if you have guests with dietary restrictions or allergies because it is paleo, gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free. Everyone at your Thanksgiving celebration can enjoy this dish!
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole: Substitutions
- Coconut oil: Butter, vegan butter or ghee are all good substitutions for coconut oil!
- Unsweetened apple sauce: you can make your own homemade applesauce and use it in this recipe! I do not recommend any other substitutions.
- Pecans: chopped walnuts are a great substitute.
How to Make Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
Not only is this healthy sweet potato casserole delicious, but it’s very easy to make! Let’s walk through the process of making this recipe step-by-step!
Start by baking the sweet potatoes and letting them cool slightly.
Then toss the rest of the ingredients (except for the pecans) into a food proccer or Vitamix (or another high-powered blender) and process or blend until smooth.
The reason I use a blender or food processor is that I am a total texture person, and a lumpy casserole will not do.
Next, spread the mixture out evenly in a baking dish, and top the casserole with chopped pecans and a dash of salt.
If desired, add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar with the chopped pecans.
Then bake for about 25 minutes until the nuts are golden-brown and the sweet potatoes are slightly bubbling. Let cool slightly before serving.
Store
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
How to Prepare in Advance
- Bake the Sweet Potatoes. If you like the idea of a completely fresh baked and made casserole, you can at least bake the sweet potatoes a day or two in advance. Llet them cool and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to make the rest of the recipe.
- Prep & Refrigerate Overnight: Again, if you want to bake it fresh the day of then make the casserole but do not add the pecans on top. Store the dish in the fridge, tightly covered in plastic wrap until you’re ready to bake it. Remove it from the fridge while your oven is preheating and add the topping. Then bake according to the directions.
- Bake & Reheat: You can make this casserole from start to finish and then store it in the fridge. Reheat covered, in the over set to “warm” until it’s heated through.
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe FAQs
Make sure to bake it until it’s bubbly, then let it cool uncovered.
This recipe is done when the filling is slightly bubbling and the nuts on the top are lightly browned.
Yes – see “how to prepare in advance” above or in the recipe card.
Yes! Double the ingredients and bake it in a 9×13″ glass or ceramic baking dish.
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Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes
- 3 Tablespoons coconut oil (or butter)
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Extra salt & cinnamon/sugar for topping optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Wrap sweet potatoes in aluminum foil or place in greased covered baking dish and bake in preheated oven until soft (about 1-1.5 hours). You can also cook them in a slow cooker, in the microwave or boil them!
- Remove from oven, cut in half and let cool.
- Remove skins and set sweet potatoes aside.
- Reduce oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add apple sauce and sweet potatoes to your blender (Vitamix) and blend until smooth
- Add melted coconut oil (butter/earth balance/ghee), cinnamon, salt and nutmeg and blend until combined.
- Transfer to a 9” baking dish and sprinkle the top with pecans and optional topping
- Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes until potatoes begin to slightly bubble and toping is lightly browned.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- Coconut oil: Butter, vegan butter or ghee are all acceptable substitutions for coconut oil!
- Unsweetened apple sauce: you can make your own homemade applesauce and use it in this recipe! I do not recommend any other substitutions!
- Pecans: Walnuts or crushed almonds can be used in place of pecans.
- Bake the Sweet Potatoes. If you like the idea of a completely fresh baked and made casserole, you can at least bake the sweet potatoes a day or two in advance. Llet them cool and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to make the rest of the recipe.
- Prep & Refrigerate Overnight: Again, if you want to bake it fresh the day of then make the casserole but do not add the pecans on top. Store the dish in the fridge, tightly covered in plastic wrap until you’re ready to bake it. Remove it from the fridge while your oven is preheating and add the topping. Then bake according to the directions.
- Bake & Reheat: You can make this casserole from start to finish and then store it in the fridge. Reheat covered, in the over set to “warm” until it’s heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wow this looks so good! Sweet Potato casserole is by far my favorite side dish! Love that you used applesauce too :
I’m totally with you Rachel!
I love sweet potatoes and this looks simply delicious! I’d take this casserole over the buttery sugary one with marshmallows any day!
I love this healthier version of sweet potato casserole! Looks so delicious!
I’m picking up sweet potatoes to make this as I have everything else on hand! Is it weird that this sounds like a delicious breakfast to me?
I love your different make-ahead options! This sweet potato casserole looks so good!
What a great idea! I love sweet potato pie but not all the sugar that is in it! But if you DO want a fantastic Thanksgiving dessert recipe check out my blog hop selection for this week; Mascarpone Sweet Potato Pie! It is amazing!
Great way to make this dish. Looking very delicious, gorgeous & perfect dessert for a party. I like too much your recipe, thank you so much.
The old marshmallow version just never worked for me, it’s why I though I didn’t like sweet potatoes!!! This however sounds like exactly something I’d eat too many servings of!
This looks and sounds delicious! I know how hard these casseroles can be to photograph (#foodbloggerproblems) and your photos are GORGEOUS!
Love the addition of the applesauce to create a delicious, and nutritious, option! Beautiful photos too my friend! I could eat the whole pan!