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This Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole is a lighter twist on a classic holiday favorite—made with wholesome, minimally processed ingredients and naturally sweetened for a guilt-free side dish everyone will love.
Perfect for Thanksgiving or any cozy fall meal, this easy recipe delivers all the creamy, comforting flavor of traditional sweet potato casserole without the excess sugar or butter. Craving more cozy meals like this? You’ll love my Instant Pot Turkey Breast, Mashed Cauliflower Recipe, and Vegan Stuffing.
Why I Love This Sweet Potato Casserole
This recipe has become a huge hit at my family’s holiday meals, and I truly think it’s the best sweet potato casserole I’ve ever made. I love that it’s a lighter, gluten-free version of the classic, made with wholesome ingredients like sweet potatoes, creamy coconut milk, almond flour, and coconut sugar—no refined white or brown sugar here! It’s the perfect balance of cozy, comforting, and nourishing, and I know it’ll be a new favorite on your Thanksgiving table too.
Enjoy!
– Becca
Ingredients in Sweet Potato Casserole
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Sweet potatoes: Fresh sweet potatoes are naturally sweet and packed full of vitamins and minerals.
- Coconut sugar: Coconut sugar is a healthier alternative to brown sugar or white sugar.
- Coconut milk: I prefer to use canned coconut milk, but you can also use almond milk.
- Pecans: Pecans are a great crunchy topping and add flavor to this recipe! In addition to being delicious, they’re also a good source of calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
Step 1: Cook your sweet potatoes.
I cook my sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot because they come out perfect every time and I can mash them right up! You can also bake, boil or use any other method that you prefer to get them cooked and mashable.
Step 2: In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes using a potato masher. Then add ½ cup coconut sugar, ½ cup of melted butter, vanilla, coconut milk, and eggs, and stir to combine. You can mix by hand or with an electric mixer. Make sure all large chunks are visible.
Step 3: Grease a casserole or baking dish and then add the sweet potato mixture to the dish. Spread with a spatula to create an even layer.
Step 4: In a medium sized bowl, add a ¼ cup of melted butter and a ¼ cup coconut sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then mix in almond flour and chopped pecans. Stir until well mixed and crumbly.
Step 5: Sprinkle the pecan mixture on top of the casserole. Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF for 30 minutes.
Step 6: Serve warm and with my other Healthy Holiday Recipes!
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Recipe Tips
- This casserole is easy to prep a day or two in advance. Store it covered in the fridge, then bake right before serving.
- Smooth or chunky—it’s up to you! Use a food processor or hand mixer for a silky, whipped texture, or mash by hand (my favorite!) for a rustic, homestyle feel.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven until warmed through.
Sweet Potato Casserole FAQs
Traditional sweet potato casseroles are often loaded with brown sugar, heavy cream, and a sticky layer of mini marshmallows on top. While delicious, those versions can be very high in refined sugar and saturated fat. This healthy sweet potato casserole keeps all the cozy holiday flavor but swaps in better-for-you ingredients—like naturally sweetened mashed sweet potatoes, coconut milk, almond flour, and coconut sugar
Absolutely! It’s easy to make this casserole completely plant-based. Simply swap the regular butter for vegan butter or use coconut oil, and replace the eggs with aquafaba egg substitute or chia seeds.
You can swap in maple syrup, honey, or another natural sweetener. Just keep in mind that liquid sweeteners might slightly change the consistency.
Sweet potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse—rich in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants—so almost any way you prepare them can be a healthy choice! Two of my favorite healthy recipes are my Baked Sweet Potato Slices and Sweet Potato Hash Browns—both easy, wholesome, and perfect for any meal.
Healthy Eating Plans
21 Day Fix Containers
Entire recipe: 12 servings
Per serving: 1/2 yellow container, 3 sweetener teaspoons, 3 oil teaspoon, about 1/12 red container (I wouldn’t even count this), and about 1/2 blue container.
2B Mindset
This recipe counts as a Fiber Filled Carb (FFC) or a silly carb, so you’ll still want to eat it in moderation and within the limits of the program. But, it’s not off limits like some marshmallow varieties would be.
Weight Watchers Points
Points per serving, using unsweetened almond milk in place of the coconut milk:
11 2025 Points (when using unsweetened almond milk)
If you tried this recipe for Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole or any other recipe on my site please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
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Equipment
- Baking Dish
- Mixing Bowls
- Instant Pot 6 qt
Ingredients
Bottom Layer:
- 3 cups sweet potato boiled, peeled, and mashed
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup coconut milk or almond milk
- 2 eggs
Topping:
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Cook your sweet potatoes. I like to cook my sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot, but any method of cooking will work! 3 cups sweet potato
- In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes using a potato masher. Then add coconut sugar, melted butter, vanilla, coconut milk, and eggs, and stir to combine. You can mix by hand or with an electric mixer. Make sure all large chunks are visible. ½ cup coconut sugar, ½ cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, ½ cup coconut milk, 2 eggs
- Grease a casserole or baking dish and then add the sweet potato mixture to the dish. Spread with a spatula to create an even layer.
- In a medium sized bowl, add a ¼ cup of melted butter and a ¼ cup coconut sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then mix in almond flour and chopped pecans. Stir until well mixed and crumbly. ¼ cup butter, ¼ cup coconut sugar, ½ cup almond flour, ½ cup pecans
- Sprinkle the pecan mixture on top of the casserole.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF for 30 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Make This Recipe?
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How many sweet potatoes normally produce 3 cups of mash?? I would like to make this for Thanksgiving
It depends on the size of your potatoes, but could be anywhere from 1-2 potatoes per cup :)
What size pan do you use to bake the sweet potato casserole in?
Typically a 9×13 casserole dish!
Hi! I made this for today and it is amazing and a huge hit! Thanks so much!
Would this be 21 day fix approved and if so how would I count it
Hi there! Per serving, this would be 1Y, 2 sweetener teaspoons, 2 oil teaspoons, about 1/6R, and about 3/4B ;) I’ll add that to the recipe now!