If you are starting to plan out your Thanksgiving menu then this one is for you. I “real foodinized” an old family sweet potato casserole 
recipe that called for 2 cups of brown sugar…yikes! Why would sweet potatoes even need that much sugar when they’re already naturally sweet? Well, once you try this dish I think you’ll agree this “better for you” version is actually quite delicious and would be a great addition to any Thanksgiving Day spread. If you have the pleasure of serving an extra big crowd this holiday season then double the recipe!
Sweet Potato Casserole
If you are starting to plan out your Thanksgiving menu then this one is for you. I “real foodinized” an old family sweet potato casserole recipe that called for 2 cups of brown sugar…yikes!
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons butter, preferably unsalted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
For The Topping
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
- 4 tablespoons butter, preferably unsalted
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Peel, cube and boil sweet potatoes until tender. If you cut the cubes small enough (1 ½” to 2”) they shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. Drain potatoes.
- Add the butter, vanilla, milk, egg and syrup to potatoes and mash/mix together by hand with a potato masher or fork or you can use an electric mixer.
- Transfer mashed potato mixture to a square casserole dish.
- Mix together the pecans and flour for the topping. Melt the butter and syrup together and stir into the pecan mixture.
- Evenly spread pecan topping on top of the potatoes in casserole dish.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until bubbly.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
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I need to make this a few days ahead of time, could it be frozen?
While we haven’t tried, it should be fine, but I might suggest keeping the topping off and add when you’re ready to eat. – Nicole
Can I use yams instead of sweet potatoes for this dish?
Hi Ashley, yams and sweet potatoes are often interchangeable, so it should be fine. – Nicole
add a little molasses , makes it surprisingly “Wow” that’s so good!
What size pan will I need for this casserole?
I use an 8×11.
I don’t normally like sweet potatoes as a casserole because they are so sweet. I just tried this for a Sunday dinner side and it was delicious! My 4 year old said it was good but didn’t really eat it. However, the next morning I used the leftovers to make pancakes. My 4 year old devoured them and said he LOVED the maple pecan pancakes. When I told him they were from lasts nights potatoes he thought it was funny that there were potatoes in the pancakes. Great recipe, two meals!
This is one of my favorite recipes and I am not usually a sweet potato fan. It is June 2nd and I am making it today so I can eat through out the week! With dairy free options it makes a great meal(or several!) for me. YUM!!!
Help!! I made and had to triple the recipe but it is too runny! I havent baked yet what can i add to mixture to thicken it up?
Thanks!!
Oh dear. Sorry, were you able to fix it? Tripling the recipe is not something we’ve done.
My sweet husband ran to the store and bought me more sweet potatoes:) I was not sure if flour would mess them up! Thanks!
Any suggestions for a nut free topping?
Hi. You could try pumpkin seeds prepared the same way.
My son and his girlfriend are vegan. I was planning on using vegan butter but do you think almond or soy milk would be the best dairy free option here? ( I know it won’t be clean but I love your recipes and thought this one might be a good compromise for the holidays)
Hi Ashley. I think either would work.
This is so delicious. Would be great with ice cream or whipped cream!
About how many cups do 2 medium to large sweet potatoes yield? I would like to try this with butternut squash (family members have potato allergy), but not sure how much butternut squash to use. Thanks!
Well, I’m not sure about everyone else, but my sweet potatoes yielded about 1-1 1/2 cups apiece when diced. Hope that helps.
What gluten free flour could you sub for this recipe Almond flour? Also could you sub Stevia for the sweetener if so how much?
Hi. While I really like both coconut and almond flour, I find a whole grain gluten free flour blend, like Bob’s Red Mill, to be the easiest sub. We’ve never subbed with stevia so I can’t give advice there. ;)
This was awesome!! I think I used more sweet potatoes than the recipe called for. I also used about 1/2 the amount of butter. I hosted a holiday party with tons of food and this was everyone’s favorite dish. Thank you for remaking this classic.
Has anyone tried a dairy-free version (due to allergies)? Will the topping come out right if I use margarine instead of butter?
Anita, you can probably leave out the butter in the sweat potato mixture and used oil to mix in with the pecans. I used 2 T. of butter when I made this casserole and it was plenty- I would use the same amount of oil.
Hi Anita. We would not sub with margarine. Margarines can be particularly unhealthful. Our typical sub for butter is coconut oil. ~Amy
Hi…I noticed that this recipe and many others call for butter…any recs for my lactose free husband? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer. Our typical dairy free sub for butter is coconut oil. We’ve not tried it in the recipe, however.
Hello, can I sub out the milk for unsweetened almond milk? :)
Hello Shirley. Almond milk should work fine. ~Amy
Just made a trial run of this for Thanksgiving. It is wonderful! Thanks for a great recipe!
Haven’t tried yet but have my eye on it for thanksgiving! Trying to do as much ahead as possible. Any chance you’ve tried/had success making ahead & freezing and maybe just doing topping day-of? Thanks in advance for any insight :)
Hi Michelle. We’ve not but I imagine it would work. :)