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.
I made this the other day, I am not sure what I did wrong but mine didn’t get firm at all, it was way too creamy. I did like the taste though and happy that it was a healthy version. I am the only one who loves sweet potatoes and although it was too much for me. I refused to waste it, so I have been making smoothies with it, I add this to unsweetened almond milk. Half of a small frozen banana and add my protein mix all in the blender for a few seconds and I have a healthy breakfast and it is so creamy.
How many people will this recipe feed? It looks delicious!!
HI! This looks delicious. Do you think you can make this ahead of time and freeze it, then bake when needed (adding toppings when ready to bake)
I want to make the Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole and it calls for a 9″ baking dish but gives no other dimensions….I have a 2 qt round Pyrex baking dish…will that be big enough?
Hello Brenda! My 9×9″ dish has a 1 1/2 quart capacity! So your 2 quart dish will absolutely work!
Laura, help! Working on the healthy sweet potato casserole and the recipe calls for a 9″ baking dish but gives no other dimensions….I have a 2 qt round Pyrex dish…will that work?
Very tasty, but mine turned out a littl,e runny. Too much blending?
Hey Ann! Hmmm…it’s possible you could have blended the sweet potatoes too much. Did you alter any ingredients? You can always bake for longer to thicken it up, or add less applesauce next time!
Thanks! It is quite likely I over blended. I have a Vitamix.
This was so tasty, I’m still thinking of how it tasted. I did use all ingredients as set out in the recipe. I made applesauce in the Vitamix too.
Perfect! Homemade applesauce can definitely be a little more watery than store-bought! But I LOVE that you made your own! Makes the recipe even better in my opinion! 🙂
Ooh wow, we love sweet potato casserole. I should try a spin like this. The idea of adding applesauce sounds so good Laura! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Thankful for you.
I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving Emily!
Love this! I was just thinking I needed to find a healthier sweet potato casserole recipe and here it is! Thanks 🙂
Yay! I hope you enjoy it Carly!
A MUST to have on the Thanksgiving table! MUST!
Absolutely Rebecca!!!
ALL the sweet potato love going on here! Definitely bookmarking this 🙂
Thank you Kaitlin! Sweet potatoes are the best!