Saweet! Potato Casserole with a Crunchy Nut Crumble (Vegan + GF)

This is a side dish you’re going to want on the holiday dinner table. Or maybe, on your regular fall dinner table. Because who can wait for the holidays? It is sweet potato season after all, which means in this house we’re cooking them a couple times a week. Give me all the sweet potatoes, please. They are the edible equivalent to a big warm hug.

Now that it’s officially November (plus chilly and dark at 6pm…tear…sob), I figure some of us are thinking about happier things…like the holidays and all the delightful holiday food. I know I am. It’s my favourite time of the year to cook and bake. For some reason, I always have oodles and oodles of recipe ideas floating through my mind this time of the year and can’t keep up with testing them all out. You should see my “to make” list…it’s massive! 

In preparation for the holidays, I decided to do something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time; I revamped my old sweet potato casserole recipe from 2009. It’s a good recipe, but with 5 years of recipe development under my belt I knew I could improve upon it. This version got lightened up and given a crazy good pecan oat maple crumble topping. It totally blew us away and the previous recipe is all but history in my mind.

Just look at this crunchy crumble…

Here are a few things I changed up:

1) cut sweetener by over half (you won’t even notice)

2) added some heart-healthy virgin coconut oil

3) added a new and improved crunchy topping – gives it a great texture contrast!

4) made this one gluten-free as the old one wasn’t

5) amped up the maple + cinnamon flavours

6) new photos…because 2009 wasn’t my best year for photography…hehe

I recommend serving each portion with a pat of vegan butter or coconut oil on top to really take it over the edge. The butter/oil melts and cascades all over the casserole. Bliss!!

I love you, sweet potatoes.

PS- If you haven’t tried it already, check out my Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole. Dessert for breakfast!

Saweet! Potato Casserole with a Crunchy Nut Crumble

Vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

By Angela Liddon

This is a side dish you're going to want on the holiday dinner table! I recommend serving this casserole with a pat of vegan butter or coconut oil to really take it over the top. Also try serving it with coconut whipped cream for a decadent twist. In this recipe, I swapped out half the vegan butter for virgin coconut oil to add some heart-healthy fats while still retaining that lovely butter flavour. Recipe inspired by This Ain't Grandma's Sweet Potato Casserole, which was adapted from Fat Free Vegan. Nut crumble topping adapted from my springtime fruit crisp.

Yield
8 servings

Prep Time
35 Minutes

Cook time
35 Minutes

Total Time
1 Hour, 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the sweet potato mash:

• 4.5-5 pounds sweet potatoes (approx. 4-5 large)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt, or to taste

For the Crunchy Nut Crumble:

• 1 cup rolled oats (use certified gluten-free if necessary)
• 1 1/3 cups pecan halves, chopped
• 1/3 cup almond meal or almond flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
• 2 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Peel and roughly chop sweet potatoes into large chunks. Place into a large pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat to med-high, and gently boil for 10-20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain.
2. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a 2.5 quart (10 cup) casserole dish and set aside.
3. Prepare the crumble topping: Pulse the oats in a food processor until coarsely chopped. In a medium bowl, stir together the chopped pecans, oats, almond meal/flour, cinnamon, and salt. Pour on melted coconut oil, melted butter, and maple syrup. Stir until combined.
4. Once cooked and drained, place sweet potatoes into a large bowl.
5. Mash potatoes with the butter and coconut oil until smooth. Now, stir in the maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Adjust to taste if desired. Spoon into casserole dish and smooth out.
6. Sprinkle the crumble topping all over the sweet potato mixture, evenly.
7. Bake, uncovered, at 375F for 16 to 23 minutes, until the dish is hot throughout. Plate and serve immediately with a pat of vegan butter or coconut oil.

Note: Instead of boiling the potatoes you can roast them whole in the oven and then scoop out the flesh. The choice is yours! 2) For a creamy twist, try subbing some of the butter/oil in the sweet potato mash for full-fat canned coconut cream.

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