Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecans

Healthy sweet potato casserole with pecans is a delicious and creamy sweet potato base with a touch of natural sweetness, topped with a crunchy cinnamon spiced pecan topping, and baked until perfect. This is the must-have recipe for the holidays, or really any time of year.

Today, I’m continuing my healthier Thanksgiving recipes. I shared with you our family’s favorite naturally-sweetened cranberry sauce, and today I’m going to share with you a cleaned-up, but still delicious, healthy sweet potato casserole.

Many times when I want to make a classic recipe healthy, I start by swapping out conventional or canned ingredients for ones you find at a local farm – and with better sourcing.

For example, I’ll use pastured eggs right from our farm, make sure my milk or cream is from a local dairy, and I’ll ferment the grains and use sourdough, or I’ll use einkorn flour. And of course, I’ll usually swap out the sugar for maple syrup or honey.

Just using whole, real foods while keeping a lot of the components of the recipe the same makes it taste familiar while being so much better for you.

Every year, I always wonder why we don’t make Thanksgiving food more often!

It’s such a yummy combination of foods, with the cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and turkey, but for some reason, we only seem to make it around the holidays.

I don’t know about you, but I want to enjoy these delicious foods all winter long this year. 

Who’s with me? Let’s have these winter comfort foods more than once or twice a year!

Tips For Making Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole

• I prefer to use maple syrup in this recipe because of the delicious flavor that maple adds, but honey will also work. 
• Measure the coconut oil or butter before the maple syrup (or honey), so the sweetener just slides right out of the measuring cup.
• You could cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time and then just combine the rest of the ingredients on the day or evening you want this dish to be ready.
• You could make this dairy free by swapping out the butter for coconut oil and using canned coconut milk (make sure the can is BPA free). 

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Tools you may need:

• Blender
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Baking pan
• Cast iron skillet (to melt the butter)

FAQ

Can a sweet potato casserole be frozen?

The sweet potato base can be frozen, but the topping should be left off before freezing. Prepare the sweet potatoes according to the instructions and cover well. Place in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.

Take the casserole out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator the night before you intend to serve it. When you’re ready to make it, preheat oven to 375. Make the pecan topping and sprinkle over the potatoes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are starting to bubble and the topping is starting to brown. 

Is sweet potato casserole a dessert or side dish?

Although it does have many characteristics of a pie, this dish is actually a side. Many recipes may closely resemble a dessert, with the sweetened sweet potatoes that are topped with marshmallows and baked, but it still graces the Thanksgiving dinner with its presence.

Thankfully, this recipe isn’t too overly sweet, helping leave room for dessert.

How long can you keep sweet potato casserole in the fridge?

This recipe will keep well in the fridge for 3-5 days (if it lasts that long – it doesn’t in my house). Store in an airtight container, like glass storage containers with lids, to help preserve it.

How do you reheat sweet potato casserole?

It is best reheated by baking in the oven at about 300 degrees, covered, for about 15-20 minutes, or until nice and warm. This helps the pecans stay nice and crisp .

Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients

4 lbs sweet potatoes – about 10-12 potatoes, baked and skins removed.
1/2 cup cream
1/3 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt – I use pink himalayan salt for most of my recipes.
pinch of ground nutmeg

Pecan Topping Ingredients:

2 cups roughly chopped pecans
1/2 cup einkorn flour – if you don’t have it, you can use all-purpose flour or freshly ground whole wheat.
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

How To Make Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecan Topping

1. Bake sweet potatoes on a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until they are nice and soft.
2. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then peel the potatoes, and place them in a blender.
3. Add melted butter or coconut oil, maple syrup, cream, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and a pinch of nutmeg to the sweet potatoes.
4. Blend until smooth and creamy.
5. Grease a baking dish with a little bit of butter, and then pour the sweet potato purée into the dish, smoothing it out until it’s evenly spread out.
6. To the (clean, dry) blender, add in all the ingredients for the pecan topping and pulse until its roughly chopped.
7. Sprinkle pecans over top of the sweet potatoes and bake for 25-35 minutes, until potatoes begin to slightly bubble and topping is lightly browned.
8. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Find more delicious from-scratch recipes straight from the farmhouse:

• Sourdough Pumpkin Cobbler Recipe
• Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Sauce
• Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Topping
• Best Deviled Eggs Recipe
• Classic Green Bean Casserole Recipe From Scratch

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you came back, left a comment, and gave it 5 stars! Thank you!

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