Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole (Dairy-Free/Paleo-Friendly) – tastes just like pumpkin pie!
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
I love this Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole because it is so versatile! Dress it up with marshmallows for a special holiday side dish OR skip the marshmallows and it is a delicious paleo side dish for any meal!
First of all, who is SO excited for Thanksgiving!!! I am! I have so many delicious and healthy-ish Thanksgiving recipes coming your way over the next week – you are going to LOVE them!
Healthy Holiday Recipes and Eating
Second, let’s talk holiday-eating — I am a firm believer in enjoying yourself over the holidays. Thanksgiving dinner is not, in my opinion, the time to be strictly eating Whole30. I think depriving yourself of your family traditions will just make you resent yourself and the Whole30 lifestyle. To me, part of my food freedom is to allow myself to eat what I want to eat on Thanksgiving (or Christmas, New Years, etc.). Those are such fun holidays and eating those special things and enjoying them with your family is part of the season! Of course, I wouldn’t recommend eating 10 of your favorite Christmas cookies in one sitting and I am not saying you can’t make little changes to make your holiday dishes “healthy-ish” – but enjoy yourself and really enjoy the amazing food!!! I know I will be!
This Sweet Potato Casserole is an example of making a traditional holiday side dish “healthy-ish” – I use real maple syrup to sweeten it, ghee to make it buttery and some cinnamon to make it festive – simple, real-food ingredients. Aaaaand then you can throw on some marshmallows if you want :). Are marshmallows healthy – probably not – pretty sure they have some weird ingredients in them – but its one day. And eating a couple marshmallows for one day won’t hurt you!
But, what I seriously love about this recipe is that we actually have this all the time (without the marshmallows, of course). It is one of our go-to side dishes and our kids LOVE it! It tastes so much like pumpkin pie!
So, dress it up for Thanksgiving or enjoy it routinely as a nice, dairy-free/paleo side dish! Enjoy!
Can I Make this Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole Ahead of Time?
YES! I have gotten lots of messages asking if you can make this ahead of time – YES!! Make the sweet potato mixture ahead of time; put it in the fridge the night before and then just up the baking time to allow it really reheat – then add the marshmallows.
Other Side Dishes You Might Like
- Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole
- Stuffed Onions
- Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Roasted Acorn Squash + Brown Butter
- Sausage Stuffing
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Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 12 servings
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make either as a classic Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner side dish OR skip the toppings and it is just a yummy, healthier side dish for any meal!!!
Ingredients
- 4–5 large yams, washed and cut into cubes
- 4 Tablespoons ghee (can sub coconut oil for ghee or vegan butter – use coconut oil to keep Whole30)
- 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup
- 1/4 Teaspoon salt
- 1–2 cups marshmallows (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Fill large saucepan or stock pot approximately 1/3 full of water – add pinch of salt.
- Bring water to boil and then add cubed yams.
- Let simmer until yams are cooked through.
- Drain.
- Place yams in large mixing bowl.
- Add ghee, ground cinnamon, maple syrup and salt.
- Use hand mixer to fully combine.
- Taste and add additional maple syrup or cinnamon, as desired,
- Place in 13×9 casserole dish and spread out evenly.
- Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Add marshmallows on top.
- Bake for an additional 5 minutes or so.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
(Make Ahead Directions – make the sweet potato mixture the night before and place in your baking sheet. Refrigerate overnight. Bake for approx 30 minutes to allow it to really re-heat and then add marshmallows as directed above)
Keywords: healthy sweet potato casserole
Elise says
Hi, Erin! I don’t see in your instructions that you peel your yams. Is that correct? Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Elise! Sorry about that – I prefer to peel them, but you can really do it either way. It will be more creamy if you peel them!
Emily Thompson says
Can this be made ahead of time and then baked the day of?
Erin says
Hi, Emily! Yes! You could definitely make it ahead of time. I would suggest just making the sweet potato mixture the day before and then just bake that in the oven longer (about 30 minutes or so) to make sure it is fully re-heated and then add the marshmallows (if desired).