Description
Sweet, gooey, and a little toasty, this Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole is an easy veganized classic for your holiday table.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 5 large sweet potatoes (see note 1)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (see note 2)
- 1/4 cup melted vegan butter, optional (see note 3)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 10-16 ounces vegan mini marshmallows (see note 4)
- 1-2 cups pecans, optional (see note 5)
Instructions
- Roast sweet potatoes: Start by roasting 4-5 whole large sweet potatoes in a lined or greased baking dish at 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius) for 50-60 minutes or until soft. We like to pierce our sweet potatoes first with a fork, but you can also wrap them in foil if you prefer. When gooey amber liquid starts to ooze from the holes you made in the sweet potatoes, that’s a good sign they’re done. Let them cool for a few minutes and remove the skins.
- Prep: Turn the oven heat down to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius) and grease a baking dish with spray or vegan butter.
- Mash sweet potatoes: In a large bowl (preferably with tall sides to avoid making a mess), use a handheld mixer or a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes up.
- Add remaining ingredients except marshmallows: Once they’re mostly broken up, add the coconut sugar, melted vegan butter, non-dairy milk, vanilla extract, and sea salt and blend until smooth and creamy looking. Add a little bit more non-dairy milk if needed but keep the mixture quite thick.
- Assemble: Using a spatula, spread the mixture evenly in the prepared baking dish. Top with mini marshmallows--your choice how much coverage you’d like--go full coverage or just a sprinkle. Or use pecans. Or both!
- Bake and brown: Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the marshmallows are starting to brown. If you prefer your marshmallows even more browned, you can throw it under the broiler or turn up the temperature by 50 degrees or so for the last 5 minutes of cooking. I ended up turning my oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius) for the last 6-7 minutes of baking to achieve the color in the pictures.
- Serve: Let it cool for a few minutes before serving and enjoy!
- Store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Notes
- Note 1: I used 5, but 4 also works. 5 just gets you a nice thick layer of sweet potatoes--it also depends on what size baking dish you’re using. If you’re using a 9x13 or similar, I’d go with 5 sweet potatoes. If you’re using an 8” or 9” square or round baking dish, stick with 4.
- Note 2: While you can use organic brown sugar, I highly recommend trying coconut sugar. It’s not as sweet but has a warmer, more cinnamon like quality and it’s delicious in this. It goes especially well with the toasted marshmallows.
- Note 3: It’s not necessary, but melted vegan butter helps make the sweet potato mixture more luscious and smooth and delicious. Leave it out if you prefer--and you can add a bit more plant milk instead if you’d like.
- Note 4: If you didn’t know, regular marshmallows contain gelatin, made from pigs. However, there are now vegan marshmallows which are absolutely delicious. I mean, I had to go buy new marshmallows twice during the testing process--not because I didn’t buy enough originally, but because my husband kept snacking on them! We used Dandies vegan marshmallows but Trader Joe’s also sells good vegan mini marshmallows.
- Note 5: I didn’t want to include pecans in my recipe but I’ve seen some folks who do. I’d take about a cup of pecans and sprinkle them on top with the marshmallows (or instead of marshmallows, in which case I’d use 2 cups).
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Category: Holidays
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free