This is by far the BEST Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole, ever! The crunchy butter pecan topping is to die for, and no one would guess it’s vegan. Gluten free option.
Meet my favorite Thanksgiving food: Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping. It’s a classic, must-have dish for any holiday table just like The Best Dang Vegan Mashed Potatoes. It’s basically a dessert that passes as a side dish!
A total crowd pleaser, this sweet potato casserole is perfectly sweet with an irresistible crunchy, buttery pecan topping. Everyone will want this recipe!
It’s easy to make, can be prepped ahead of time and is so versatile. You can adjust the sweetness to your preference, make it gluten free or lighten it up as needed.
If you love sweet potatoes as much as I do, make sure to check out this Vegan Sweet Potato Pie, Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers and Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili.
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
For the sweet potato filling:
- Sweet potatoes – Make sure to use orange flesh sweet potatoes.
- Full-fat coconut milk – This makes the filling extra rich and delicious. You can substitute almond, cashew or even soy milk to lighten it up a bit.
- Brown sugar – Feel free to cut the sugar in half or decrease as desired, but I think it’s perfectly sweet as is. You could substitute pure maple syrup, but add less coconut milk to make up for the extra liquid. I would only use 1/2 cup maple syrup.
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
For the pecan topping:
- Brown sugar
- Softened vegan butter – You could substitute coconut oil, but I like vegan butter best here.
- Flour – I used regular flour, but if needed switch it out for gluten free all purpose or even almond flour.
- Salt
- Pecans, chopped – If you have a pecan allergy, feel free to substitute walnuts or another nut/seed you can have. Or simply leave out the nuts entirely, it will still be good. I’d probably double the topping if leaving out the nuts altogether.
How to make vegan sweet potato casserole
First, peel and chop your sweet potatoes, and add them to a large pot. Cover with water and cook for 10-15 minutes until fork tender. Drain and then add to a large bowl, along with the coconut milk, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Mash with a potato masher and stir with a spoon until well combined. You could also use a hand or stand mixer.
Spread the potato mixture evenly in a casserole dish. In a medium bowl, mix together all the topping ingredients, then sprinkle over the top. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until bubbly on the edges and the topping is golden brown. Serve immediately.
Make ahead option
If you want to make it ahead for Thanksgiving or another occasion, the day before you can make the sweet potato filling. Spread it in the casserole dish and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge. You could also make the topping ahead of time and chill in the fridge until ready to bake.
When you are ready to bake it, simply sprinkle the topping evenly over the top and bake until bubbly and the topping is golden brown. It may take a little longer to cook if you are baking it from the fridge, more like 45-55 minutes.
Leftovers + freezing
Leftover vegan sweet potato casserole will last in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. You could bake the leftover in an oven safe dish to crisp up the topping again, or simply microwave it (but the topping will be soft, I never mind). I like eating the leftovers for breakfast or dessert.
It’s possible to freeze the casserole before baking. Do not add the topping though, keep it separate if you plan on freezing. It will taste better if made fresh though, I don’t recommend freezing unless you really need to.
Want more vegan holiday side dishes?
- The Best Vegan Stuffing
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole
- Vegan Cornbread Stuffing
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Festive Kale Salad
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Best Vegan Mac and Cheese
Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 9 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes, about 4 large
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk (from a can)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Butter Pecan Topping
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour or gluten free all purpose
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Add the sweet potatoes to a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain, then add them back to the pot or a large bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- To the large pot or bowl with the cooked sweet potatoes, add the coconut milk, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mash with a potato masher. Continue to mash or stir with a spoon until well combined. You can also use a hand mixer.
- Spread the potato mixture in the prepared dish, and smooth it out evenly with a spatula.
- Make the topping: In a medium bowl, stir all the topping ingredients, except the pecans, together with a spoon. Use your hands if necessary until moist crumbs form. Now mix in the pecans.
- Evenly sprinkle the topping on the sweet potato filling and bake for 35-45 minutes, until bubbly on the edges and the topping is golden brown. Serve immediately!
Notes
- Make ahead: The casserole is best served right away, or the crunchy topping will soften. You could prep earlier by making the filling, spreading it in the pan, cover and chill until you are ready to bake it. Then simply make and add the topping, and bake until done.
- Less sweet: While I think this casserole is perfectly sweetened, feel free to cut the sugar in half in the sweet potato mixture, if desired. Or sub 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, and decrease the coconut milk by 1/2 cup.
- Gluten free: Easy! Just substitute gluten free flour for the regular flour. Almond flour would work here as well.
- May use coconut oil in place of the vegan butter. Use softened, but not melted coconut oil for best results.
- May substitute full fat coconut milk for almond, cashew or soy milk for a lighter dish.
Nutrition
*This recipe was first published in November 2018 and has been reposted with improved photos and writing. The recipe is the same.
I’ve been making the same sweet potato casserole for holiday gatherings for over 20 years…until now. I gave this a try for our Christmas dinner, and it’s my new favorite! Everyone loved it, and that pecan topping, oh my! Great recipe, Nora!
Made them again and baked potatoes and made exactly as written but my partner loves marshmallow. I made it with pecans and added some Trader Joe’s small marshmallows to half of it. I also made half of the portion D I didn’t have enough sweet potatoes. Perfection!
This recipe was great and I will be making it again in the future. The steps are very easy. I cut the sugar to 3/4 cup in the potato mixture. I was certain there were 4TBS of butter in one stick (oops) and ended up putting in double the amount of butter in the topping. When mixing it didn’t turn into a “crumbly mixture” like the recipe stated. Instead it turned into a dough. However, the dish still turned out delicious, even with my error.
“The best sweet potato casserole I’ve ever had” – were comments from several people! I cooked the potatoes in the instant pot and reduced the sugar, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Brava!!
I made this today! It’s so good! I’m going to make it every Thanksgiving now!
How many cups do the potatoes make mashed?
I believe around 3-4 cups mashed.
Thank you!
Looks great! Do you use raw pecans? Thanks.
Thanks! Yes, I use raw pecans. They toast in the oven on top of the casserole.
Love this recipe! Super delicious!
can this be made with coconut cream instead of the full fat milk?
Sure, it will just be quite rich but that’s fine if it’s what your going for. 🙂
I’m 42 years old and have never commented on a recipe in my life, but this is seriously such a fantastic recipe. For those wondering about the “9 cups of potatoes” – I used a 4 pound bag and that was just about perfect for the 12 serving recipe. You could probably use 5 pounds and keep the rest of the measurements if you want it a little less sweet, but there’s definitely plenty of butter pecan topping.
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a comment and review, I really appreciate it. I’m glad yo hear you enjoyed the sweet potato casserole. It’s essential to my family’s Thanksgiving every year.
I haven’t made this yet but wonder if roasting the potatoes would change the flavor at all?
I’ve done this before, and it’s a little bit different, but I actually prefer it with boiling the potatoes. Either way is fine though!
This recipe looked promising but we all found it way too sweet. I may make it again with half the sugar or less. It may then be excellent. It’s neither a dessert nor a side dish as it is.
I would like to make with pieces of sweet potatoes instead of mashed potatoes- prefer the texture. Thinking of roasting the potatoes part way then adding the the topping and baking to finish. Does that make sense or would you fully roast and just add the topping to toast ?
I’d probably fully roast the potatoes before adding the topping, then add the topping to toast for a few minutes, not too long. I hope you enjoy it this way, I’ve never tried it but I’m sure it will be delicious!
I just happened upon this vegan recipe, looking for the one I made for Thanksgiving.
Those instructions specified vegan brown sugar – what, I thought !? I did a little research,
a significant portion of sugar is filtered through “bone char” brown sugar begins with white sugar with molasses added, as you know.
However, “Yes, you can avoid bone-charred brown sugar by choosing sugars that are labeled as “USDA Certified Organic” or are made from beet sugar”
So this depends on where you live in the world. In the U.S. you can easily choose organic sugars to make sure they are vegan. Some folks may choose not to worry too much about sugar and are doing the best they can (obviously organic sugars can be expensive or difficult to find for some people). I’m not the vegan police, and I don’t want to make it even more difficult for people who are doing the best they can. 🙂 If that makes sense. But for you, just buy organic and you’re good to go! That’s what I do.
Delicious! It was my favorite dish this year at thanksgiving. I did half the amount of sweetener in the sweet potato filling using part brown sugar and part maple syrup. I used almond slices instead of pecans to accommodate for a severe allergy. The almond slices still have a little crunch even with reheating. I’ll definitely make this again! Thank you for the recipe!
You are welcome, Jessica! This is such a cozy and wonderful dish to have at the table! Thanks for sharing your ideas, and your wonderful review! I’m so glad you loved the casserole! Wishing you happy cooking!
This was delicious 😋. Both Non-vegans and vegans loved it. I made it exactly as written.
Hi Helen. I’m so glad everyone loved the casserole! I love this one as well! Thanks for your awesome review and feedback!
Wow!! This was such a hit for our family for Thanksgiving 2024! We made the recipe as indicated, but we did the pecan topping on only half of the casserole. In the other half, we added mini marshmallows halfway through the bake time. It was sweet, but not overly so— the perfect compliment to the savory dishes on the table. Everyone loved it! We will definitely be making this again.
Hi Liz. Good idea to half the marshmallows and pecans! I love it! I’m thrilled the casserole was a hit! Thanks for sharing your awesome review and feedback! Happy cooking!
I made a couple of alterations. I used oatmilk instead of coconut. I doubled the topping plus an additional 1/2 cup pecans. I omitted the nutmeg. Doubled the cinnamon.
This is by far the best sweet potato casserole I’ve ever made, eaten, smelled, looked at etc.
You don’t have to serve this immediately either. It reheats very well.
If you’re concerned about serving this to non vegans, don’t worry. I’m not vegan, not by a long shot. I’d choose this every day over non vegan. Marshmallows will never come close to the topping here.
This recipe is extremely easy to modify to what you have on hand and personal flavor profiles.
Can you use canned sweet potato?
You probably can yes, but I haven’t ever done that.
Yes, my first time making it i used canned. 1 to 1. So use 9 cups of drained, canned sweet potatos or yams.
I make something similar and add orange juice and grand marnier