I’m going to be honest with you and admit that I’m not a big fan of holidays. Stressing over some arbitrary date on the calendar–to cook certain foods, travel long distances, buy token gifts, and so on–has never been my idea of fun. For a long time, I felt the same way about the traditional holiday meals, too. Every year when I was growing up, I’d beg my mother, “Why do we have to have turkey? Can’t we have spaghetti instead?” I wasn’t a vegetarian back then, just a budding iconoclast who never did care for traditions–or turkey. (Today, I get the same argument from E., though she’s arguing to substitute lasagna for dressing. I’m sure my mother is happy to see me get a dose of my own rebellion.)
Something strange happened, and as I became older, I developed a real love for some of the traditional dishes of the winter holidays. Maybe without the dead bird as centerpiece, I finally felt free to celebrate the holidays as a sort of Festival of Starches. Let’s face it, what’s not to love? To a carb addict like me, cornbread dressing, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, winter squash, and sweet potatoes are pretty close to the perfect meal!
This sweet potato casserole is one of the highlights of any holiday meal for me. A word of caution, though: In my family, sweet potatoes are dessert, so if you’re expecting a savory side dish, look elsewhere. I always serve this after the meal, along with some coffee to fight off the post-feast sleepiness!
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
(printer-friendly version)
Note: This isn’t a fat-free recipe, though it does have less fat than other recipes of its kind.
Ingredients
4 large or 6 medium sweet potatoes, cooked (I used a pressure cooker) and peeled
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup soy creamer or soymilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Topping:
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cups chopped pecans
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray (or wipe with canola oil).
Mash the sweet potatoes with the margarine until smooth. Add the soy creamer, orange juice, vanilla, sugar, maple syrup, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into prepared casserole dish.
Mix the topping ingredients together until well-combined. Spread or sprinkle over the casserole and bake for 45 minutes or until hot throughout.
Preparation time: 30 minute(s) | Cooking time: 50 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 10
Makes about 10 servings. Per serving: 298 Calories (kcal); 13g Total Fat; (38% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 44g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 195mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.
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{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Susan! I was wondering, if I were to make this recipe using canned sweet potatoes, how many cans (or cups) what I need?
Thanks and all best,
Joanna
Joanna–It's just a guess, but I would say about 5 cups of sweet potato, or 3-4 cans. But like I said, that's just a guess because I've never used canned sweet potatoes. Good luck!
Oh my God, I made this dish for a party this weekend and it was so amazing I can't even believe it! The dish was empty in no time and everyone was raving about it! I toasted the pecans first, and the topping was so delicious that I could hardly keep myself from eating it all before I put it on the sweet potatoes
Thank you so much for this incredible recipe!
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe! I did a post about it for my blog today as it's my favorite holiday side dish. I made it last year for Thanksgiving and Christmas and plan to make it again this year. It's so delicious!
I tried it on the folks at work! it was such a smash hit that I'm doing it for friends tomorrow for Thanksgiving and again on Saturday for my family's get together…It is a wonderful recipe. Very easy and fun!
Susan–thank you so much for this recipe. I made it last night for Thanksgiving and it was heaven–the hit of the party. Note–I only had chocolate soymilk but decided to go with it–no problems. I will be making this every year–with chocolate soymilk!
I, unfortunately, did not make this myself for my family's vegan dinner on Thanksgiving, though it looks amazing!
We ate pot pie, tofu quiche (my non vegan family loved it! I am currently passing around links to your site like hotcakes 
) and your crustless pumpkin pie. It was a melancholy dinner since it's the first without my dad, but it was also an excuse to get my family to eat vegan food since I am usually the one that cooks dinner. 
Thanks for all the awesome recipes!! And I can't believe no one has heard of Pearl soymilk!! >.<
HOWEVER, when going to various family gatherings for my boyfriend's extensive family, someone had made sweet potato casserole with coconut milk and sugar and candied pecans.. and… wow! It was absolutely delicious, though I am sure your version is much healthier!!
I ended up making a majority of our dinner based on your website.
I just made this for my post-Thanksgiving dinner party and it was a huge hit! So easy to make for something so incredibly delicious
Hi!! I'm so excited to have found this recipe!! I originally found it on: http://www.cestlavegan.com/?p=2464
My mom makes something that looks like this but with more topping that I'm addicted to! I have a dairy allergy though =(
I will try this sooN!
WHOA! I had an abundance of sweet potatoes from our CSA delivery and decided to splurge and make something a little less than healthy (hey, it’s ok every once in awhile, right?) on Saturday. My husband about died at how good this was. We will definitely be letting our families know that we are bringing this for the holidays this year. It was truly amazing!
Susan! Think I can make this subbing coconut milk and coconut oil for the soy creamer and margarine? Thanks!
Sure, I don’t see why not. Enjoy!
Just had this for early Thanksgiving dinner in my dorm before break! I loved it and will def be making for my family!
Do you think this could be made ahead of time and heated just before serving?
Yes, I usually do that.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to making it this week!
I was looking for a good sweet potato recipe and after all the incredible comment raves .. this is the one..
thanks for all your wonderful recipes. I made the bean and tofu meatloaf last week and it was great. Happy Thanksgiving!
I just had some sweet candied smoked pecans in a salad at Millennium last weekend….so good. has me wondering if i should put a pinch of smoked sea salt in the topping mixture? or would that ruin it…i have no idea. ill be topping this with vegan vanilla bean whipped cream.
Would this work to make ahead of time and serve chilled?
You can definitely make it ahead, and I’m sure you COULD serve it chilled, but I really think it’s best warm.
Hey, what about making it up the night before and then baking the next day? Think that would be ok? Thanks.
That works just fine. Hope you enjoy it!
Hey Susan can I substitute the margarine with Olive oil?
I wouldn’t use a very flavorful olive oil because it would clash with the flavors of the sweet potatoes.
I LOVE this recipe and have cooked it before! So yummy! However I have recently been diagnosed as a celiac, and was wondering if rice or potato flour would work in place of the white flour?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see any reason why a gluten-free flour wouldn’t work.
Hi! I love this site..as a new Vegan, it’s been so fun to come and try the recipes. I have just made the sweet potato casserole and can’t wait for it to come out of the oven. Thank you so much!
Since when did margarine become vegan? While margarine is not dairy-based, like butter, is often does contain trace amounts of animal products- usually in the form of whey or lactose…Earth Balance is a 100% vegan alternative to margarine.
Zach, just for your info- there are MANY margarines that are vegan. any margerine that is kosher and says “parve” on it- has no trace of animal products in it- meat or dairy.
So, I haven’t cooked this yet….well, it is assembled, but not cooked. However, the fact that my 3 year old and 5 year old are in a HUGE fight over who gets to lick the bowl is a testament to this recipe! It is sooooo good cold, so it will be fabulous warmed! I have a Cooking Light recipe that was always my go-to, but since we are doing as many vegan dishes as possible, this will be a great one to do at Thanksgiving with my non-veggie family members! Thank you!
Any guidence on how I could make this without the margarine?
Leave it out of the potatoes, and in the topping use apple sauce instead. It won’t be quite as good, but it will work.
How would this be without the pecans? I am allergic.
You can leave them off or substitute walnuts, if you’re not allergic to them.
How did you prepare your sweet potatoes in the pressure cooker. I looked on line for the method, but there are so many ways & I don’t want to mess up the recipe. Thanks!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I HAVE to have sweet potato casserole on Thanksgiving or it’s just not Thanksgiving. How would you adapt this recipe for a slow cooker. I’m running out of oven space!
Thanks for giving us such wonderful recipes! Everything I’ve made has been outstanding – it makes it easy to be vegan when you have these recipes in your arsenal!
I made these last year for Thanksgiving and they have been requested again this year. I made them gluten/wheat free by using 1/4 cup sorghum flour instead of the white flour. Also didn’t use the maple syrup in the topping and cut the Earth Balance margarine down to 2 Tablespoons, it was still nice and crumbly and yummy.
Hi Susan! Any idea how many lbs/oz of sweet potatoes this calls for? I feel like the only ones in my store are huge. Thank you!
I’m sorry–I didn’t weigh them at the time. But I’m pretty sure that 4 of your huge ones will be about right. This is a very forgiving recipe. The worst that could happen is you have too much and have to make a second small casserole.
I made this last year for Thanksgiving, and it is just SO delicious. It tastes exactly like the sweet potato casserole my grandmother used to make for Thanksgiving when I was a kid, and I can’t thank you enough for it! I’m in the process of making it again now for tomorrow’s dinner.
I made this for Thanksgiving dinner. Mega hit! Roasted the sweet potatoes in the oven (pressure cooker had turnip in it). Beautiful presentation…even the kids tried it. Thanks again.
This was great!!!! I made it for our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, and my whole family loved it, even my sister who doesn’t normally eat sweet potatoes. My mom wasn’t going to try it until I told her it didn’t have any tofu in it! I find many omnis just assume everything I make somehow has tofu, even if it would make no logical sense to add it in! Thanks for another winner-I make your Ribz often too.
Is this good cold?
I like it better warm, but it’s good at room temperature or cold.
This was amazing! I forgot to buy orange juice so I subbed a little cider and used ground oats in place of the flour in the topping for a gluten free relative. It still turned out really well. Nobody believed it was vegan and gluten free. Before this, I think my family thought I ate leaves and twigs. Now they realize that vegan can be delicious. Thank you Susan for helping me make it through my first vegan Thanksgiving! I’m already planning the Christmas Eve meal!
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