Get ready for the most delicious, most decadent sweet potato casserole with pecans and a sweet pastry and oat crumble topping! This scrumptious vegan side dish is bursting with flavor and a must-have at your holiday table.
Can we just get something out into the open here: sweet potato casserole is basically a dessert that we eat as a side dish on special days.
There. I said it.
Don't get me wrong: sweet potato casseroles are wonderful! They're among favorite holiday side dishes. But, after developing two vegan sweet potato casserole recipes for this blog (the first being this marshmallow-topped one. See my point?) and eating these dishes on regular non-holidays, it's pretty glaringly obvious that these dishes are reserved for holidays due to their over-the-top decadence.
I mean, the ingredients list for this one isn't all that different from my vegan sweet potato pie.
But, if there's one day in which dessert for dinner is appropriate, it's Thanksgiving. So let's do this!
How to Make Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
Another thing sweet potato casserole has going for it, besides the whole dessert for dinner thing, is that it's one of the easier holiday dishes to make. Here's how it's done!
The Sweet Potato Base
The base of sweet potato casserole is typically a pretty simple mash of boiled sweet potatoes, spices, sugar, milk and butter. Since this sweet potato casserole is dairy-free, we'll be using vegan butter and non-dairy milk.
Start by peeling and chopping up those sweet potatoes. Place them in a large pot with water and boil them until they're tender. This should only take about 10 to 12 minutes.
When the sweet potatoes are done boiling, drain them and return them to the pot. Mash them up with a potato masher. If you like your sweet potatoes super fluffy you can use an electric mixer.
Once the sweet potatoes are mashed, add the rest of your ingredients and mash them some more.
The Pecan Topping
Our topping is a mix of oats and flour with some sweetener, spices, more vegan butter (melted), and of course, pecans.
Mix everything in a bowl until the dry ingredients are totally saturated — be patient as this can take a few minutes. Make sure there are no dry spots when you're done.
To assemble our sweet potato casserole with pecans, simply spread the sweet potato base in a casserole dish and sprinkle the top with your topping.
Bake it until the topping begins to brown and the base starts to bubble. If you can't see the sweet potatoes bubbling (because they're pretty covered with the topping), listen for the sound of bubbling.
As with all casseroles, you'll want to let this one sit out a bit before digging in.
FAQ & Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole Tips
- Make ahead options! There are a few ways you can go about prepping this dish in advance.
- Option 1: Make the base and topping up to 2 days in advance. Store them separately in the fridge, then assemble the casserole and bake. It might take slightly longer than the bake time in the recipe since the ingredients are starting out chilled — keep an eye on it!
- Option 2 (recommended): Make the base, make the topping, and assemble the casserole up to a day in advance. Wrap it in plastic, store it in the fridge, then bake it the day of serving. This might also require a few extra minutes of bake time.
- Option 3: Make the entire casserole ahead of time. Wrap it up tightly and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw it out if frozen, then simply cover and reheat it in the oven at 350°F the day of serving. How long? Until it's hot in the middle — I'm guessing about 15 minutes.
- Can this dish be made gluten-free? I haven't tried, but I don't see why not! I'd recommend subbing oat flour or your favorite gluten-free blend for the all-purpose flour.
- Leftovers will keep for about 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge.
- Need to cook this at a different temperature? Totally understandable if this is for a holiday dinner, as you've probably got a bunch of stuff to cook in the oven! It should be fine cooking anywhere between 325°F and 400°F, although you'll need to adjust the baking time and keep a close eye on it.
- Why does the brown sugar need to be organic? That's to keep the recipe vegan! In the United States, regular brown (and white) sugar is processed using animal bone char, but organic sugars are not.
- Where can I find vegan butter? Check near the regular butter or in the natural foods section of your supermarket. If you can't find it there, try places like Whole Foods. Look for brands like Miyoko's or Earth Balance.
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📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble Topping
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¾ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup organic brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 cup pecan halves
- ¼ cup organic brown sugar
- â…“ cup vegan butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the sweet potatoes into a large pot and cover them with water.
- Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil.
- Boil the sweet potatoes until tender, for about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Drain the sweet potatoes into a colander and then return them to the pot.
- Use a potato masher (or an electric mixer, if you prefer) to mash the sweet potatoes.
- Add the milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Mash everything again until smooth and well mixed.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Stir the topping ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Transfer the sweet potato mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish, smoothing out the top with a spoon.
- Sprinkle the topping over the sweet potatoes.
- Place the dish into the oven and bake until the topping is lightly browned and the sweet potatoes begin to bubble, about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it while it bakes. If the topping begins to darken too much at any point you can cover the casserole dish.
- Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
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Made this ahead, baked and froze. Thawed out the day before and cooked to rave reviews on Thanksgiving. Thank you!
I did the exact same thing and my family loved it! Glad it was a hit at your table! Thanks Amy!
I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it. :)
I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Made this for Thanksgiving. Only change I made was cutting the milk to 1/4. The whole non vegan family (and myself the line began) loved it. Thanks!
Line began = lone vegan
Yay! I'm so glad it was a hit!