Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
Savor this nourishing whole food plant-based sweet potato casserole for the holidays. This comforting dish features creamy mashed sweet potatoes blended with naturally sweet dates and warm fall spices. Instead of traditional marshmallows or refined sugars, the casserole is sweetened with pureed dates, offering a rich, caramel-like sweetness. It's topped with a crunchy pecan and oat crumble made from whole grains and nuts, adding a delightful texture without any processed ingredients. Baked to golden perfection, this casserole is not only rich in flavor but also packed with nutrients, making it a perfect addition to your holiday table or any family meal.
Ingredients
Casserole
- 3 lb sweet potato
- ⅓ cup vegetable broth low sodium
- ⅓ cup soy milk unsweetened, or plant based milk of choice
- 6 deglet dates or 3 medjool dates
- 2 tsp tamari low sodium
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ginger powder
Topping
- 1 ½ cup pecans
- ⅓ cup rolled oats
- 3 deglet dates
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook the sweet potatoes until soft. I cooked mine with the skin on in the Instant Pot for 13 minutes on the pressure cook setting.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and add them to a blender along with the remaining casserole ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Pour mixture into a 9 x 9 baking dish and smooth the top.
Topping
- Add the topping ingredients to a blender and lightly pulse until the mixture is a crumble texture but not so much that it turns into flour.
- Sprinkle topping over the sweet potato mixture and bake for 35 minutes.
- Tun on the broil setting at the very end to brown the top slightly. Watch it closely so that it doesn't burn.
- Store it covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
This casserole turns out light and fluffy. If you don’t want it so creamy you can reduce the amount of vegetable broth and soy milk slightly.
Nutrition
Calories: 421kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 7gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 215mgPotassium: 976mgFiber: 11gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 32243IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 2mg
Can’t wait to make this for Thanksgiving!
Does this freeze well for making ahead? If so how to do this? Cook , topping, before or after freeze etc?
Sorry Myra, I haven’t tried freezing it. My guess is that it might get watery after defrosting.
Love everything you do and I have you books- definitely a treat for my non vegan family!!
Can I use a different potato- or Japanese or white sweet potato?
Thanks, Karen
Absolutely.
Hi Jill. When tripled, the medjool dates amount says to use 3 but I’m sure it’s 9?!
I have nut allergies in my family. Do you have a suggestion for a replacement of the pecans?
Sorry, I don’t really know of a replacement other than another type of nut that would work.
What about using 1.5 cups of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seed combined in place of the pecans – I have the same problem
Absolutely
I always use pepitas myself but sunflower seeds might also work.
I tested out the Sweet Potato Casserole recipe today to see if I want to make it this Thanksgiving. My family loved it so much we will probably have it every holiday! So delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
I don’t see vanilla in the recipe but you added it in your video. Was it left off the recipe?
Thank you for letting me know.I will get the recipe fixed. It is meant to be in there.
Made this for Thanksgiving and everyone raved about it. I’m making it again for Christmas because it’s our new favorite. So easy and delicious! Just enough sweetness to brighten up the meal. Thanks, Jill!
Just made this for Easter weekend and it will be my go to recipe for sweet potato casserole because there is no fat added in the way if coconut oil or vegan butter. It was delicious. I would like to know how to get the dates to blend better and not leave chunks. I heated them and then soaked in warm water, but still left some small chunks. I omitted the tamari. I may actually mash some of the potatoes instead of a food processor to have it less whipped next time. This will be on repeat in my household. Thanks.
I still end up with date chunks sometimes too. Maybe blending the soaked dates with just a little of the sweet potato first instead of trying to blend it with the entire amount of sweet potatoes which then overblends the sweet potatoes just to get the dates completely blended in.