Nut Free Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole.

This delicious vegan sweet potato casserole is a favorite classic recipe at holiday time! Now everyone can enjoy this dish – it’s nut free and allergy friendly!

There’s nothing like being thrown a curve ball like a new tree nut allergy right before the holidays. After we were told my son had a severe cashew allergy and we needed to get rid of all tree nuts, I started thinking about how we were headed straight into holiday nut season. It was a little daunting, to be honest.

Roasted nuts, candied nuts, nuts in breads, nuts as gifts…the holiday season includes a lot of nuts.

Of course, we adapted, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make delicious, nut free versions of my favorite holiday recipes.

First on the list was making a nut free vegan sweet potato casserole. I’m used to a nutty version, kind of like this. I used to like the crunch of pecans with the creamy sweet potatoes.

Of course, the question was, what could I add to the topping to give it a good crunch?

I could have gone with seeds I guess, but I thought I would try a crunchy oat streusel topping.

I know I’ve seen some sweet potato casseroles that include oats along with pecans, so I thought I could go with just oats! And it was delicious. Because this isn’t a dessert, and because I love the salty sweet thing, I added more salt to the streusel than I would have if this was a fruit crisp.

What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?

Sweet potatoes are the long root vegetable that has a reddish skin, and orange flesh inside. Sometimes people call them yams, but that isn’t correct. True yams are starchy root vegetables from the Caribbean that have white flesh inside. Read more about yams and sweet potatoes here.

Can I use canned yams in this recipe?

Canned yams are sweet potatoes canned in syrup. They won’t work very well in this recipe because the canning syrup adds a lot of sweetness to the final dish. Fresh sweet potatoes are the best choice for this casserole.  Plus, they usually contain dairy, so they aren’t suitable for a vegan diet.

How do you make vegan sweet potato casserole?

1. Bake the sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for about one hour.
2. Allow to cool, then scoop into a mixing bowl and mash them with the vegan buttery spread, salt, and non-dairy milk.
3. In a separate bowl, mix up the crumble topping.
4. Spoon the sweet potatoes into a baking dish, then top with the crumble.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

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Nut Free Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole.

This nut free and vegan sweet potato casserole is topped with a crunchy oat streusel topping. It's sure to be a big hit on your holiday table!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Dairy Free, gluten free, vegan.

Keyword dairy free side dishes, vegan sweet potato casserole

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 273 kcal

Author Kelly Roenicke

Ingredients

• 4 large sweet potatoes for about 5 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 3 Tablespoons vegan buttery spread
• ⅓ cup non-dairy milk
• ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

For the topping:

• ⅔ cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup flour your choice - spelt flour, oat flour, gluten free blend, all purpose flour, any of these are okay
• 1 cup certified gluten free whole oats
• ¾ teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 6 Tablespoons vegan buttery spread cut into small pieces

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes and pierce them with a fork. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about one hour or until tender.
2. Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. Slice the sweet potatoes open and let them cool until they are cool enough to handle.

3. Scoop the sweet potato flesh into a bowl and add the vegan buttery spread, coarse sea salt, and the non-dairy milk. Use a mixer and mix on medium speed until smooth. Spoon the sweet potato mixture into a casserole dish.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, sea salt, gluten free oats, and buttery spread. Mix together with a pastry cutter until the mixture forms large crumbs with some balls of buttery spread.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes until the topping is golden brown.

Recipe Notes

Canned yams will not work in this recipe.

Leftovers should be refrigerated and eaten within four days.

Nutrition Facts

Nut Free Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole.

Amount Per Serving

Calories 273 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11g17%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Sodium 541mg24%

Potassium 299mg9%

Carbohydrates 40g13%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 9845IU197%

Vitamin C 1.6mg2%

Calcium 57mg6%

Iron 1.2mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

My mom loved this sweet potato casserole – and she normally was not a sweet potato fan. I loved making this each Thanksgiving for her to enjoy.

This nut free vegan sweet potato casserole is:

• gluten free and free of the top 8 allergens
• the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving
• full of healthy fiber and vitamins

What’s on your menu for Thanksgiving?

We usually have turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed spinach, this sweet potato casserole, wild rice and sweet potato stuffing, my mom’s sage stuffing recipe, biscuits and flavored butter, and vegan apple pie with cider caramel sauce.

Do you have a sweet potato casserole on the menu this Thanksgiving? What else are you having?

This post was originally published in November 2014.