Irresistible Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Pecan Topping
After trying a traditional Sweet Potato Casserole I knew I had to make a lower-fat, gluten and dairy-free version. I have to admit this came out very well!
Servings 5
Equipment
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 Vitamix dry blender or coffee grinder
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 sauce pan
- 1 potato masher or standing mixer
- 1 baking or casserole dish
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds sweet potato or garnet yams
- 4 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 cup gluten-free oats
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ cup pecans
- 1 cup cashews
- 3-4 tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- I recommend making the sweet potatoes and the crumble on top separately.
- The sweet potatoes can be made ahead of time, especially since they have to be cooled down before handling. I prefer to do this step the day before I make this dish. If you are doing this step ahead of time, then be sure to take the sweet potatoes out of the fridge before you start the rest of the steps. This gives them time to come back to room temperature.
- If you are making them on the same day, then start by baking the sweet potatoes whole for about 45 - 50 minutes at 425 F. Poke them with a fork all over so they can breathe in the oven.
- Next let’s make the cashew meal. I prefer this to an almond meal since almonds contain L-arginine which is unhelpful for chronic illness. Put the whole cashews in a Vitamix dry blender. Blend thoroughly and you should get a crumbly cashew meal. If you do not have a Vitamix dry cup, then use a coffee grinder.
- While they are baking, you can start on the crumble by adding the oats, walnuts, pecans, coconut sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp nutmeg into a mixing bowl.
- Then warm the 4 tbsp of vegan butter in a pan. Once it's melted, add 1 tbsp of this to the mixing bowl and give it a thorough mix.
- Wait until the sweet potatoes have baked and then leave them out to cool. If you prepped them the day before like I do, then once cooled, peel them.
- Put the oven temperature at 375 F
- Take the peeled sweet potatoes -they should be soft- and use a potato masher to mash them. You can also use a standing mixer. You don’t want them to be totally smooth. A little lumpy is OK.
- Mix in the rest of the cinnamon and nutmeg, and add in the ginger, vanilla extract, and the melted vegan butter to the potatoes and fold in until well and evenly mixed.
- Add this sweet potato mash to your final baking or casserole dish and top with the crumble ingredients.
- Bake at 375 F for 30 - 40 minutes until golden brown on top
Notes
I recommend the Monty's brand plant-based butter
