Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Maple Pecan Topping
This Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Maple Pecan Topping is a fun twist that tastes JUST as incredible as the classic!! All the comfort food, less than half the calories! This takes really only 15 minutes of prep time while the potatoes boil and it’s a great make ahead recipe. It’s sure to become a Thanksgiving staple in your home!
If there’s one recipe that I’m always excited to make for Thanksgiving – it’s THIS recipe. Two words: mind-blown.
I’ve been making this beauty for years. It’s become a true staple in our household for the holidays, and I know it has in yours too. Reading your five-star reviews after Thanksgiving each year is one of my favourite post-holiday activities, seriously!!
I created this recipe so that you could in essence, “have your cake and eat it“. I wanted a Sweet Potato Casserole that was easy to make, vegan, and lighter on the calories. This achieves ALL of that, friends! One bite of sweet decadence and you’ll know exactly what I mean!
Warm sweet potato casserole smothered in a crunchy and delicious maple pecan topping. I’m pretty sure I ate half that topping before even digging into the casserole! It makes the perfect side dish to your vegan meatloaf, green bean casserole and all your other favourites.
Let’s get right into the dish and I guarantee by the end you’ll be wishing and begging that this was in front of you right now. I can’t wait until you try it!!
Notes on the Ingredients
The great thing about the ingredients in this casserole is that they’re all pretty common! You can use any variation of the ingredients found here; your favourite oil; vegan milk, favourite sugar – make this your own!
maple syrup – you can use agave nectar instead (it’s also more affordable!).
almond flour – almond flour keeps this topping light in carbs. Feel free to substitute regular all purpose flour, or a gluten free flour mix.
vegan butter – I recommend using salted vegan butter. If not, you can add an additional pinch of salt to the topping and the topping. Don’t sub this for oil, by the way. It adds a nice buttery richness in flavour to the entire dish.
pecans – you can use chopped walnuts instead.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole (Step by Step Instructions):
First, peel and boil your sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes until fork soft.
When the sweet potato is finished boiling, drain thoroughly and mash.
Add the sugar, maple syrup, vegan milk, oil, vegan butter, cinnamon and sea salt, on top of the mashed sweet potato. Using the same potato masher or fork, mix all the ingredients together until they are incorporated, for about 2 minutes of mashing.
Spoon sweet potato mix into the casserole dish.
Add the maple syrup, flour, melted vegan butter, and pecans to a bowl. Stir it all together until combined.
Sprinkle it on top of the casserole. Feel free to double or even triple the topping.
Bake for 30 minutes (check that nuts don’t burn – if they are browning too quickly, cover with foil) then remove from oven. What you’ll get is a slightly risen, puffed up sweet potato casserole that is dreamily sweet, fluffy and light and a topping (I know, I know) that complements it so perfectly you’ll be making this before, during and after Thanksgiving. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then serve.
Expert Tips and FAQ:
Feel free to double or even triple the maple pecan topping!
A: Yes! You can prep the casserole ingredients at least 3 days in advance. Wrap it tightly in foil until ready to bake. I recommend making the topping immediately before so it doesn’t dry out. Remove from fridge and bring to room temperature.
A: If it’s just for me, I just heat it up in the microwave. You can reheat the entire casserole in the oven at 350 F degrees until heated through (about 15 minutes).
More Thanksgiving Recipes:
- Vegan Cornbread Muffins
- Apple Pecan and Feta Salad with Sweet Apple Dressing
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Vegan Mashed Cauliflower
- Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
Enjoy friends! If you make this Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Maple Pecan Topping, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Maple Pecan Topping
Ingredients
Maple Pecan Topping:
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup, or agave nectar
- 8 tablespoons almond flour, or any flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped, or walnuts
Sweet Potato Casserole:
- 3.3 pounds sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons sugar, any kind works, brown sugar, cane or coconut sugar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup, or agave nectar
- 1/4 cup vegan milk, any kind works
- 6 tablespoons oil, any kind works such as olive oil or unrefined coconut oil
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and prepare a 8×11 or 9×13 casserole dish. Set aside.
- In a 4 QT pot of boiling water, boil the sweet potatoes for 15-20 minutes, until fork soft.
- When the sweet potato is finished boiling, drain and mash.
- Add the sugar, maple syrup, vegan milk, oil, vegan butter, cinnamon and sea salt, on top of the mashed sweet potato. Using the same potato masher or fork, mix all the ingredients together until they are incorporated, for about 2 minutes of mashing.
- Spoon sweet potato mix into the casserole dish.
- Top with Maple Pecan Topping (below)
- Bake for 30 minutes (check that nuts don't burn – if they are browning too quickly, cover with foil) then remove from oven.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then serve. Enjoy!
Maple Pecan Topping
- Add the maple syrup, flour, melted vegan butter, and pecans to a bowl. Stir it all together until combined.
- Sprinkle it on top of the casserole. Feel free to double or even triple the topping.
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Hi Jessica! I’ve actually never made a sweet potato casserole bc we always just bake them and serve as is. But most of my family is not into sweet potatoes but will eat anything with nuts so I figured this is the recipe to try! I have to confess, I made a dramatic change that led to other changes. I baked the sweet potatoes rather than boiling them because they seem to get so sweet and carmelized naturally. Then, I halved the sugar and agave, and halved the vegan butter and coconut oil. I used 4lbs of sweet potatoes and it fit perfectly with the topping in a 7″x9″ baking pan. Rave reviews from all, including those are not usually big sweet potato fans. We loved it!!
I don’t normally comment but this was so fantastic I had to! I’m a Southerner and I’m always looking for vegan versions of my favorite Southern dishes. This was the best! The kids loved it, the adults loved it and life is good! The only thing I did differently was cook the whole sweet potatoes in the instant pot so I didn’t have to peel and cut them up beforehand. Thank you Jessica and I look forward to trying your other recipes!
Loved it! Tried it one Sunday and my family fell in love! Will definitely make again… ❤️
O M G!!!! Hello pie!!! this can easily be switched to a sweet potato pie. I just came across your site this morning and tried your tofu scramble eggs…good. While I was cooking that I watched your sweet potato video and decided that would be apart of my dinner. Girl that is not vegan. Truly delicious!! I’m trying to get back into cooking more this way. I will certainly try other recipes.
It came out really good especially with the maple topping
Thanks for sharing Juwan!! So happy to hear!
Used this recipe for our Thanksgiving meal, it was very good. People who never tried sweet potatoes before even tried and loved this recipe. I will keep this around for years to come. Thanks
I made this for our yearly Christmas friends’ potluck dinner. It was a smashing hit. Everyone wanted the recipe., which I referred them to your link. This can be made as sweet as you want. I kept it as recipe stated but added a little more vegan butter to the Maple Pecan topping.
It was perfect. Just the right amount of sweetness but not overly. And it went so nicely with all the other foods. Thank you!
You’re so welcome Kathleen! Thanks so much for sharing with me and so happy to hear!
I’m planning to make this for thanksgiving. Can we add marshmallows to the topping too, and if so how much and when I’m the process should I add them?
Hi S,
Yes for sure! You can add a bag of marshmallows and mix with them the nut topping. Bake for the same amount of time, but I would watch it all around the 15-20 minute mark that it’s not burning. From there you can remove it, tent it with foil, and add it back in for the remainder of the time. Enjoy so much!
Recipe sounds really good, usually make a mre traditional sweet potato casserole but having a vegan joining us this year so will try this. Wondering if I could replace the vegan milk with orange juice?
Hi Bernadette,
You could definitely use orange juice just fair warning I’m not sure how it would taste!