Without question, this is the best sweet potato casserole recipe I've tried! Smooth and creamy sweet potatoes are topped with a savory pecan crumble.
This sweet potato casserole recipe is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. Instead of topping it with mini marshmallows, I cover it in a crisp pecan crumble. I love how this nutty, savory topping balances the creamy sweet potato filling. It’s delicious…and it tastes like it belongs at dinner, not dessert. 🙂
This recipe is great for the holidays because the ingredients are super simple (ALDI shoppers, you can get all of them there!) and you can make it ahead. Prepare the filling and topping up to 2 days in advance, and store them separately in the fridge until the day of the big meal. Before serving, just assemble and bake!
If you’re ready for a change from sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, I hope you’ll try this recipe. My family has started requesting it for Thanksgiving every year. I think yours will love it too!
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe Ingredients
This sweet potato casserole recipe calls for simple ingredients. Conveniently, ALDI carries all of them, but you should be able to find them at most other major grocery stores too.
Here’s what you’ll need:
For the sweet potatoes
- Sweet potatoes, of course! You’ll need 5 large for a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Butter or olive oil – For richness.
- Milk – It helps the sweet potatoes blend into a smooth and creamy puree. Use any kind you like!
- Ground ginger – For warm depth of flavor.
For the crumble topping
Some sweet potato casserole recipes feature a brown sugar streusel topping like you’d find on an apple crumble. This isn’t one of them. Instead, I make a savory topping with these ingredients:
- Pecans and walnuts – I pulse some into the crumble and leave a few whole for garnish.
- Old fashioned oats – For hearty texture.
- Fresh rosemary, sage, and dried thyme – For savory autumn flavor.
- Garlic – Along with the herbs, garlic gives this sweet potato casserole its delicious savory taste.
- Pure maple syrup – It adds a touch of sweetness to the nutty topping.
- Butter or olive oil – To help the topping crisp up in the oven.
And of course, you’ll need sea salt and fresh black pepper to make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
This easy sweet potato casserole recipe has 4 basic steps:
1. First, bake the sweet potatoes. Many sweet potato casserole recipes instruct you to boil the sweet potatoes, but I prefer to bake them. I love how the hot oven concentrates their naturally sweet flavor!
Bake the potatoes until you can easily pierce them with a fork. You want them to be super tender so that the sweet potato mixture gets totally smooth!
2. While the sweet potatoes are baking, make the pecan topping. Pulse the nuts, oats, herbs, garlic, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor until just combined. The mixture should clump a bit, but it should still have lots of texture.
3. Then, blend up the filling. Instead of using a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes, I use a food processor to get them super smooth.
Peel the cooked sweet potatoes, and place the soft orange flesh in a food processor.
Add the milk, ginger, salt, and pepper and pulse until well combined.
4. Layer and bake! Spread the creamy sweet potatoes in a large baking dish.
Add the topping…
…and a few whole pecans and sage leaves for garnish.
Bake at 425°F until the topping is nicely browned and crisp, and enjoy!
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Wondering if you can make this recipe ahead? The answer is yes!
- Up to two days in advance, bake the sweet potatoes and blend up the filling. Store it, covered, in the casserole dish or an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Make the pecan topping, and store it in a separate container in the fridge.
When you’re ready to serve, assemble the casserole and bake!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To reheat, warm them in the microwave or bake in a 325°F oven until heated through.
Can you freeze sweet potato casserole?
Yes, you can also freeze sweet potato casserole.Â
If you’re freezing it before a holiday meal, I recommend ONLY preparing the sweet potato filling.
- Spread it in the baking dish and let it cool to room temperature.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Let thaw overnight in the fridge before adding the topping and baking according to the recipe.
If you freeze the fully assembled casserole, the topping will lose its crisp texture. This may not bother you in the case of leftovers, but for a Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving dinner, I recommend adding the topping once the casserole thaws for the best crunch.
More Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
If you love this sweet potato casserole, try one of these delicious sweet potato recipes next:
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Root Vegetables
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato Soup
Looking for more holiday side dishes? Check out my best Thanksgiving side dishes or Easter side dishes!
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 5 large sweet potatoes, 3 pounds
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or melted butter, plus more for drizzling
- 1¼ cups milk, plus more if necessary
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh sage leaves, for garnish
Crumble Topping
- â…” cup whole rolled oats
- ½ cup pecans, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup walnuts, plus more for garnish
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or melted butter
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush an 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
- Use a fork to poke a few holes into the sweet potatoes. Place on the baking sheet and roast until very tender, about 60 minutes.
- Make the crumble topping: In a food processor, place the oats, pecans, walnuts, garlic, maple syrup, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper and pulse until just combined. Remove and set aside.
- Scoop the cooked sweet potato flesh out of the skins and place in a food processor. Add the olive oil, milk, ginger, salt, and pepper and process to combine. Spread the mixture into the baking dish.
- Sprinkle with the crumble topping, additional nuts, and sage leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping is browned and crisp.
This post is in partnership with ALDI.
This………..was a delight to serve, to enjoy and give as a gift!
Bravo from Montréal
Can you please suggest a savory version of the sweet potato casserole.
Hi Rajee, this is a savory recipe.
I made this recipe last thanksgiving and I loved it so much that I just prepared it today to go into the oven for tomorrow’s thanksgiving. I want to thank you for posting this lovely dish. It’s an absolute perfect addition to any family’s holiday meal! Thanks you!! Oh and last year I did double the topping but I found it a little too salty so this year I am making exactly as your directions state, but using whole milk as I didn’t have any almond. Thank you again!
5 stars!
Should we use unsweetened or sweetened almond milk?
unsweetened, thanks for pointing that out.
In the description you mention blending the sweet potatoes with a “splash” of almond milk, but in the recipe you wrote 1 and a 1/4 cup of almond milk. I think of a splash as more similar to a 1/4 cup than 1 and a 1/4 cup. Could you clarify how much almond milk you use?
Hi Ellen, the measured amount in the recipe card is correct. You’re right, that sounds confusing in the writing, I’ll fix that.
Do you have a recipe for a nut-free version? 🙂
Where is the adorable giant serving fork from?? So cute!!
I found it on Etsy 🙂
Amazing! I added Vegan/GF Mini Marshmallows (low sugar) and it was great! Everyone liked it! No too sweet but full of flavor. Thanks!
I wonder if I can boil the sweet potatoes next time for a faster prep time?
Hi Jacky, I’m so glad you enjoyed the casserole! I often roast my potatoes the day before, which makes the assembly of this really quick. You could probably boil them, but then I’d add less almond milk as you’re blending so that the filling doesn’t get too watery. I hope that helps!
I just made this.. I am wondering why it looks like there is double the topping on your picture? I followed the recipe but mine looks sparse.. ? I am thinking of making a second batch of topping but don’t want to overpower the dish? Thoughts ?
Thanks
Jenni
Hi Jennifer, hmm… a few things: I left a bit of a sweet potato border around mine, centering much of the filling. I wonder what your pan size is – mine is 8×11. If you feel like you want more topping, I’d add 1/2 more crumble or just sprinkle more nuts on top. I don’t think it would be overpowering. Hope that helps!
Making this now for tomorrow. Will rate after I get to eat it. I notice that both the crumble topping and the sweet potato mixture has pepper in it. In the directions, pepper isn’t mentioned in the stuff you pulse for the topping. . I added it anyway because it was in the ingredient topping list but just wondering if you intended both places to use it. Thanks.
Hi Roxane, thanks for pointing that out – I added a little pepper to both!
Thanks glad I did it correctly.
Super healthy and delicious. Thanks of sharing.
I prepped this recipe the day before and refrigerated it. What temperature do I need to bake it the next day and for how long?
Hi Martha, same temp and time that’s listed in the recipe card – maybe 2 minutes more if the topping is not golden brown and crisp.
Thank you!
About how many lbs worth of sweet potatoes would you say this is?
About 4 pounds
I have a 42 oz blender (as far as the lines read) but no food processor (small apt. kitchen, etc –got rid of my food processor when I moved out of the family home as I didn’t use it all that much to justify the space). Can use the blender for pulsing the topping ingredients but suspect it is too small for the sweet potatoes. Would it be a problem to use an electric mixer or potato masher instead.
Hi Roxane, I don’t think it’ll be too small for the sweet potatoes – I’d use the blender because you’ll want them pretty creamy. It might be a little thick, if you have a blender baton, use that to help blend without adding too much extra liquid. Hope that helps!
Do you think that I could freeze this ahead of time?
Hi Becky, I haven’t tried freezing it, but it’s really easy to make the filling and topping ahead of time and keep them separate in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it.
This recipe looks delicious but my husband’s allergic to pecans. Do you have any suggestions for a worthy sub or am I out of luck?
Hi Annie, you can replace them with additional walnuts – it’ll still be great!
Looks amazing! If I make it a day ahead, should I allow the sweet potato purée sit out to room temperature prior to baking with the topping?
You could for a few minutes but it should be fine either way – it’ll get hot in the oven as the topping crisps no matter what. I hope you enjoy!
This looks amazing! My high school boyfriend’s mom made a similar casserole but it had whole cranberries in it. Any suggestion for incorporating them? I’ve been scouring the internet for years trying to find a similar recipe and this is the closest I’ve seen!
Hi, I’d sprinkle them on top after it comes out of the oven – I think they would be delicious with these flavors!
When do you add in the sage?
Hi Marissa, it goes on top before you bake it – thanks for pointing that out!
I can’t find fresh sage. Can I use rubbed sage instead and if so do I still sprinkle on top of mix in the food processor? Thanks in advance.
Hi Paola, you can skip the sage or mix maybe 1/4 teaspoon dried sage into the sweet potato filling. I’d mix it in instead of sprinkling it on top.
I have a 42 oz blender (as far as the lines read) but no food processor (small apt. kitchen, etc –got rid of my food processor when I moved out of the family home as I didn’t use it all that much to justify the space). Can use the blender for pulsing the topping ingredients but suspect it is too small for the sweet potatoes. Would it be a problem to use an electric mixer or potato masher instead.
I’m all in on this recipe, thank you
thanks Sabrina!