This lightened-up Vanilla Sweet Potato Casserole with roasted, mashed sweet potatoes and a praline topping is a wonderful Thanksgiving side dish.

Vanilla Sweet Potato Casserole

This healthy sweet potato casserole has all the wonderful Thanksgiving flavors you crave for the holiday table. It’s a lighter version of the classic recipe with a layer of creamy, spiced sweet potatoes topped with a nutty pecan oat crumble. It’s loaded with vanilla and cinnamon – you’ll love it! I also have this old- fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow recipe or Mashed Sweet Potato Brulee. Perfect to serve with my Dry Brine Turkey!

Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients

First up, let’s talk about what you’ll need for the filling:

• Sweet Potatoes: You’ll need 2 ½ pounds (about four to six medium potatoes).
• Milk: I made it with fat-free milk, but 1% or 2% would work. Or, if you want to keep it dairy-free, try it with almond milk or another milk alternative.
• Maple Syrup for a bit of sweetness
• Vanilla: Use two teaspoons of extract.
• Salt to balance out the sweetness
• Cinnamon for warm holiday flavor
• Eggs to bind the casserole and improve the texture

Next up – the praline topping!

• Nuts: Choose chopped walnuts or pecans.
• Flour: If you’re gluten-free, swap all-purpose flour for gluten-free.
• Oats: Get quick-cooking or gluten-free oats.
• Brown Monk Fruit Sweetener: Substitute it for stevia or brown sugar.
• Seasoning: Just a little cinnamon and salt enhances the flavor.
• Butter: Melted butter or coconut oil will work.

How to Make Vanilla Sweet Potato Casserole

I tested out this easy sweet potato casserole a few ways. First, I boiled the sweet potatoes, but I loved it better with roasted ones since they caramelize and get sweet in the oven.

• Sweet Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 375°F, prick the potatoes with a fork, and place them on a sheet pan. Bake for an hour or so until tender and set aside to cool. Peel off the skin, and mash them with a fork in a large bowl.
• Combine the milk, maple syrup, salt, spices, and eggs with the potatoes, and pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
• Topping: Stir the nuts, flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together and then mix in the butter or coconut oil. Sprinkle the praline
  mixture across the top of the sweet potato casserole.
• Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for at least five minutes before serving. Refrigerated leftovers will last four or five days.

Make Ahead Tips

If you’re hosting Thanksgiving, it’s essential to do some prep ahead of time. You can bake, peel, and mash the sweet potatoes a couple of days in advance. You could even make the potato mixture and topping a day before, but I’d wait to sprinkle the praline topping over the casserole until right before baking.

Do you put eggs in sweet potato casserole?

You definitely don’t want to skip the eggs in your casserole. They bind all the ingredients together, resulting in a fluffier texture that’s not dense. Just make sure to cool the potatoes first so the eggs don’t scramble when you mix them in.

More Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes You’ll Love:

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