This light and creamy Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole is savory and sweet! Topped with chopped pecans and using whole food plant-based ingredients, it’s the perfect side dish for your holiday meal!
This vegan sweet potato casserole has been a favorite for a long time! I made it for the very first time in my twenties when I was hosting Thanksgiving in my tiny Los Angeles apartment.
This traditional sweet potato casserole will become everyone’s favorite dish! It has since become a tradition on our holiday table. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a super simple recipe.
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💗 Why This Recipe Works
- Smooth and creamy texture
- Dairy-free and vegan
- Oil-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Sweet and savory
- Simple crunchy pecan topping
- A classic Thanksgiving and holiday recipe!
- Nobody will be able to tell it’s vegan!
🥣 Ingredients and Notes
- Sweet Potatoes-You’ll need 4 pounds which is about 6 medium-sized potatoes.
- Coconut Milk-Use full fat coconut milk. This non-dairy milk gives the casserole a rich and creamy texture without needing to add vegan butter.
- Orange Juice gives a nice citrus undertone and natural sweetness.
- Coconut Sugar-Brown sugar or maple syrup also works.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg add fall flavors.
- Salt and Pepper to taste.
- Chopped pecans to cover across the top which adds crunch and texture.
- Vanilla Extract (optional)-Helps to elevate the flavors of the dish.
Scroll to the bottom of the post to the recipe card for complete measurements and instructions for this sweet potato casserole recipe.
📋 Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole Step by Step Instructions
Prep Sweet Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Wash and scrub the potatoes. Pierce each potato a few times with a fork. Place them on a lined baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour or until soft.
Make the Filling: When the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the filling and place the potatoes in a large bowl. Add coconut milk, orange juice, coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mash the ingredients with a potato masher or use a hand mixer to combine the ingredients until smooth, creating a sweet potato puree.
Bake: Transfer the filling to a 9×13 baking dish. Top with chopped pecans. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F. Allow the casserole to cool slightly before serving.
💭 Expert Tips
- Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to get a creamy texture.
- If you like a chunkier texture use a potato masher.
- Make sure sweet potatoes are fully cooked before scooping out the flesh.
- If you prefer, peel potatoes, transfer them to a pot of boiling water, and cook until potatoes are soft and cooked through.
- I recommend a 9×13 casserole dish or a round 10-inch baking dish, but use the size that you have and fits all of the ingredients well.
👩🏻🍳 How to Serve and Keep
Serve on Thanksgiving Day with vegan cranberry sauce, meatless meatloaf, vegan stuffing, and vegan green bean casserole! This is best served warm.
Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
📖 Variations and Substitutions
No Nuts: If you have a nut allergy, or prefer not to use nuts, top with vegan marshmallows instead!
Different Nuts: If you don’t have pecans, consider using walnuts, or a combination of pecans and walnuts.
Crumble Topping: For a decadent casserole, top with a pecan crumble topping made from oats.
❓ Recipe FAQS
Yes, this recipe is made with all gluten-free ingredients. It is also soy-free, and refined sugar-free if using muscovado sugar.
Yes, you can make this recipe a day or two in advance. Bake the potatoes, prepare the filling, transfer to a baking dish, cover, and keep refrigerated. On the day you’re ready to serve. Top with pecans, and bake for 30 minutes.
This recipe does not have a sugar crumble topping. However, if you prefer to make more of a crumble topping, these are the ingredients you’ll need.
Add a ¼ cup of sugar, a ¼ cup of pecans, and a ⅓ cup of oats to a food processor. Pulse until crumble forms. Sprinkle on top of the mashed sweet potatoes and bake for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you could use almond flour or all-purpose flour instead of oats.
Substitute ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds for the pecans.
No, you do not need to boil sweet potatoes before baking. Boiling is one to cook them quickly, especially if you peel them and cut them into 1-inch cubes, but baking them in the oven works too. Simply pierce them a few times with a fork to allow the steam from them to escape. Baking usually takes longer than boiling, so if you’re crunched for time, consider boiling them instead.
😋 More Vegan Thanksgiving Side Dishes recipes!
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Recipe
Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 lbs sweet potatoes about 6 medium potatoes
- ¾ cup coconut milk full fat
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup muscavado sugar or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Wash and scrub potatoes. Pierce each potato a few times with a fork.
- When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the filling. Add coconut milk, orange juice, muscavado or brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Using a potato masher or hand mixer combine the ingredients until smooth.
- Transfer filling to a 9×13 baking dish. Top with chopped pecans. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Video
Notes
- Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to get a creamy texture.
- If you like a chunkier texture use a potato masher.
- Make sure sweet potatoes are fully cooked before scooping out the flesh.
- If you prefer, peel potatoes, transfer to a pot of boiling water and cook until potatoes are soft and cooked through.
- I recommend a 9×13 baking dish, but you use any size that you like.
- Store in an air tight container for 3-4 days.
Heidy Linn
I have to hand it to you this vegan sweet potato casserole was outstanding! I really am so glad I decided to make it for our friends visiting. They loved it and asked for your recipe link. I will be saving this to make again during the holidays.
Alison Corey
Thank you so much Heidy! I’m glad your friends enjoyed this recipe!
Erika
Ooh, this look s so good. I love the texture the pecans add. Perfect for a Thanksgiving side dish!
Priya Lakshminarayan
Made this yesterday! It came out perfect…thanks for this delicious recipe
Dannii
I have never had sweet potato this way, but it looks delicious. Super comforting.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
This looks really yummy and easy to do. Love that pecan topping too.