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Are you worried about what to make for a vegan Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner? You better believe if your non-vegan guests aren’t blown away by something you serve, they’ll make sure to let you know. 🙄
Don't you freak out, because this easy-as-heck vegan sweet potato casserole is going to take you and your guests to the creamy upper echelon of side dish heaven. It’s made without hard-to-source ingredients and can be prepped ahead of time too.
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Like my candied yams, dairy-free mashed potatoes, and vegan green bean casserole, I’ve spent years perfecting this recipe in front of a massive audience. Not just the 30 or so non-vegan guests my family has over every year, but the many THOUSANDS of people I have provided vegan catering to for Thanksgiving over the past 20 years.
There's no weird stuff here, just real, wholesome ingredients that come together in an unforgettable way. You know what? I think you’re going to crush it on your first attempt. Why? Because I made this recipe downright foolproof for ya!
Jump to:
🥰 Why you’ll adore this vegan sweet potato casserole recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all of my vegan Thanksgiving recipes and vegan Christmas recipes, this is creamy, indulgent, and satisfying—all without a single animal product.
🙅♀️🌾 You Love Yams, But Hate Gluten So Much: Looking for gluten-free vegan recipes to share over the holiday? You hit the dang jackpot over here, because this works great when made with gluten-free flour in the topping.
⏳ Minimal Prep Time: With a quick boil and mash method, this recipe doesn’t have a whole lot of prep time and doesn’t make a mess of too many pans or dirty up your food processor, making cleanup extra-snappy!
🛒 Easy-to-Find Ingredients: No obscure ingredients or trips to specialty stores needed. So pour yourself a mug of vegan eggnog to sip, and throw on your fave holiday tunes, because this is going to be an easy and pleasant time in the kitchen.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all the vegan recipes I share, this one has been tested by hundreds of cooks from all corners of the globe. My recipe testers all agreed—it’s a winner!
🍠 Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients
The Sweet Potatoes Themselves
You can make this with just about any kind of sweet potato you like. For a creamier texture, go with orange-fleshed varieties like Beauregard or Covington. These are naturally sweet, soft, and perfect for mashing into a casserole, using for shakarkandi chaat, or vegan sweet potato muffins.
If you want a more subtle flavor and firmer consistency, use the yellow-fleshed Japanese sweet potatoes (Satsumaimo) or Hannah sweet potatoes, which offer a less sugary, slightly muskier, earthy flavor that, personally, I really do love.
If there’s something wrong with using purple sweet potatoes (Okinawan or Stokes), I don’t want to be right. That’s why I am obsessed with using those pretty lil' guys in my ube glazed karioka donuts and bubur cha cha, a dessert from Singapore that my family loves.
Coconut Milk
While you can totally use any ol’ unsweetened and unflavored plant-based milk, my go-to for natural richness is full-fat canned coconut milk. But if you are a coconut hater (I will never understand you), you can make this with soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk just fine, as long as they don’t have sweetener or vanilla extract in them.
The Fat
While you can absolutely rock this recipe out with coconut oil or olive oil if you like, my go-to choice for this recipe is vegan butter. Nothing gives this casserole as buttery of a flavor. Earth Balance buttery sticks are a top pick because they are conveniently pre-measured, but I also enjoy Melt and the affordable vegan butter from Trader Joe’s.
If you want to learn more about making your own butter, you can find detailed instructions in my vegan dairy crash course.
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar, thanks to its molasses content, adds a deep caramel flavor to the pecan topping, making the whole dish feel extra cozy and decadent. With a similar flavor, you can also make this with coconut sugar for a lower glycemic sweetener. This means it won’t spike your blood sugar levels as much, helping you avoid that post-holiday meal energy slump.
If you have it on hand, palm sugar is another excellent alternative. I use it in a maybe-embarrassing number of Southeast Asian desserts, such as Filipino tupig, Indonesian pisang goreng, Malaysian kuih ketayap, and Singapore’s bubur sumsum.
Cinnamon
It’s not gonna be a shocker to you that ground cinnamon adds warm autumnal flavor to this casserole. It also just happens to come packing some anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to regulate blood sugar levels.
If you have a choice, I prefer Vietnamese cinnamon, which I use in Vietnamese recipes like banh flan, and also in my vegan apple fritters and vegan apple pie recipe!
If you want to give this casserole a slightly Middle Eastern vibe, use some homemade baharat in place of the cinnamon.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Stuffing-Topped Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
You don’t have to use the pecan topping in this recipe. Oh no, m'dear! You can spread the top of the sweet potatoes with a layer of either my chestnut and herb studded easy vegan stuffing or my vegan cornbread stuffing that’s packed with simmered cranberries. Bake for about the same amount of time as called for with the pecan topping until crisp and lightly golden on top.
Curried Sweet Potato Casserole
Hear me out here. Mix a generous spoonful of either red curry paste, bumbu Bali, or tom yum paste into the sweet potato filling. This makes a lovely side to serve with a warm bowl of tom kha soup or sambal goreng tempe.
📖 How to make vegan sweet potato casserole
Nail this on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Andrew Dice Clay:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into inch (2.5 cm) pieces.
Step Two
Susan Boil:
Place the sweet potatoes in a medium pot of room temperature water. Bring them up to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, simmer for 10-12 minutes, until they’re soft enough to mash. Drain them well in a colander.
Step Three
Utsnay Ootay Ouyay:
While the sweet potatoes cook, mix together the butter, chopped pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and stir until you’ve got an evenly mixed, crunchy topping.
Step Four
Sweet Dreams Are Made of These:
Add the drained cooked sweet potatoes along with the plant-based milk, molasses, brown sugar, maple syrup, melted butter, grated ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cloves, and salt to a large mixing bowl, or food processor.
Mash with a potato masher, or blend in the food processor until smooth and well combined.
Step Five
Lay Me Down to Rest:
Transfer the creamy sweet potatoes into a greased baking dish. Smooth out the top with either an offset spatula or rubber spatula, and then spread the pecan crumble evenly over it.
Step Six
Bake It Like Beckham:
Slide the dish into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350°F (175°C), until the top is golden and crunchy. Let it cool and firm up slightly before serving.
💡Serving Ideas
For a classic holiday table, this sweet potato casserole pairs perfectly with some Thanksgiving and Christmas essentials.
Serve it alongside a big, hearty portion of stuffed vegan turkey roast with crispy skin, a creepy-as-heck human-baby shaped tofu turkey, even just some good ol’ vegan fried chicken made with homemade seitan—it’s the showstopper centerpiece your table deserves.
To round out the meal, don’t forget some sides like hasselback potatoes, maple balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots, bourbon cranberry sauce or Turkish cranberry relish. And how stupid would your holiday meal be without some kind of gravy—like vegan brown gravy, mushroom gravy, or vegan sausage gravy?
And how much stupider would said holiday menu be without a bangin festive dessert like my vegan gingerbread cake recipe, or at least some pumpkin flan?!?
👉Top tips
- Get Your Crumble Crispy:
The crumble topping should have a great contrast to the smooth sweet potatoes. Make sure the topping is spread evenly and exposed enough to crisp up. Avoid covering the pan with foil or having something directly above it on a very close oven rack, or it’ll end up soggy instead of crunchy. - Watch for the Perfect Bake:
A surefire way to know your casserole is done is when the edges start pulling away slightly from the sides of the dish and the top is a perfect golden brown. Resist the urge to over-bake—this can dry out the filling. - Prepping Ahead is Key:
You can prepare the sweet potato mash and the crunchy pecan topping up to 3 days in advance. Store them separately and assemble just before baking. This saves time and stress, especially for big holiday prep days.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
❄️ Refrigeration:
Allow the casserole to cool completely before covering the whole tray with aluminum foil or transferring it to an airtight container. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
🌨️ Freezing:
To freeze, let the casserole cool completely, then transfer it to a freezer-safe container. It can be frozen for up to three months. When freezing, consider portioning it into smaller containers for easier thawing and reheating.
🌡️ Thawing:
To thaw, move the casserole from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it sit overnight. If you’re in a hurry, you can use the defrost setting on your microwave, but be sure to monitor it closely to prevent any cooking.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
For stovetop reheating, place the desired portion in a skillet over low heat. Add a splash of non-dairy milk or vegetable broth if needed to maintain moisture. Heat covered for about 8-10 minutes until warmed through.
⚡️ Microwave Reheating:
To reheat in the microwave, transfer a portion to a microwave-safe dish and cover it with a damp paper towel to retain moisture. Heat on high for about two to three minutes. Adjust time as needed based on your microwave’s wattage.
Candied yams are typically sliced sweet potatoes in a sugary syrup, while traditional sweet potato casserole features mashed sweet potatoes and is topped with a crumble or vegan marshmallows.
If you are on a budget or sorta live in a food desert, you can substitute canned sweet potatoes.
Just make sure to drain and rinse them well in a colander and adjust for sweetness, as canned varieties are often pre-sweetened. You can go ahead and just mash those with the other ingredients for the filling.
I recommend peeling sweet potatoes for a smoother texture in the casserole, but if you prefer more rustic flavor and texture, you can leave the skins on.
Leaving the skin on sweet potatoes provides a significant nutritional boost since the skin is packed with fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants like beta carotene and vitamin C. However, the skin does create a speckled appearance in the filling and reduces the smooth, creamy texture many expect from sweet potato casserole.
Nope. Yams and sweet potatoes are often used interchangeably in cooking, but they are actually totally different veggies.
Sweet potatoes, native to Central and South America, belong to same family as morning glory flowers (Convolvulaceae). They have a smoother skin that can range from yellow to orange to purple and a sweet, moist flesh. The orange-fleshed varieties, like Beauregard and Covington, are particularly popular in dishes like sweet potato casserole due to their creamy texture and sweetness, and the fact that they are pretty commonly stocked on the shelves of American supermarkets.
On the other hand, true yams are native to Africa and belong to the Dioscorea family. They have rough, scaly skin and are starchy and a little less juicy than sweet potatoes when cooked. Yams can grow much larger than sweet potatoes and typically have a slightly more neutral flavor, making them less popular in sweet dishes.
In the U.S., the term "yam" is often used to refer to orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, especially in Southern cooking. True yams are actually not commonly found in most grocery stores in the U.S. The confusion arises mainly from the marketing of sweet potatoes as yams to differentiate between the varieties.
✌️You'll love these vegan holiday sides too:
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Get your hands on seriously crowd-pleasing vegan Thanksgiving menus, including detailed video guidance from Chef Adam Sobel.
Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Buttery Pecan Topping
Equipment
- food processor (optional)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. sweet potatoes
- ⅔ cup coconut milk or other unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- ⅓ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh ginger grated
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
Buttery Pecan Topping
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups pecans roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. Place them in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium heat and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- While the sweet potatoes cook, get the pecan topping made. In a medium food mixing bowl, combine the room temperature vegan butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Mix until a crumbly texture forms. Stir in the chopped pecans until evenly distributed.
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot, or to a food processor if you have one. Add the plant-based milk, molasses, brown sugar, maple syrup, melted vegan butter, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cloves, and salt to the sweet potatoes. Mash until smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes to a lightly greased baking dish, spreading them evenly. Sprinkle the pecan topping evenly over the mashed sweet potatoes.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crisp.
Notes
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Bevin says
I'm not usually a big sweet potato casserole fan, but this one was delicious! Definitely serving this at Thanksgiving.
Rachel Beauregard says
Can I eliminate the molasses and brown sugar seems too sweet for me?
Adam Sobel says
Absolutely. I would keep the small amount of molasses in there personally for flavor, but you could 100% leave out the sweetener if you don't want it in there.