Want healthy meals your kids will love?

Sweet Potato Casserole with Oat Crumble

11 Comments

This Sweet Potato Casserole is amazingly flavorful with every bite of creamy sweet potato and crunchy pecan oat crumble. You would never know it is a much healthier version of traditional and won’t leave you feeling sluggish after eating it! Perfect for your Thanksgiving menu.

sweet potato casserole with a pecan oat crumble topping in a white baking dish with a wooden serving spoon sweet potato casserole with a pecan oat crumble topping in a white baking dish with a wooden serving spoon

How to Make Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potato casserole is one of my favorite sides for Thanksgiving. Sweet potato casserole is usually packed with sugar and butter making it a really heavy dish – more rich than dessert even!

Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet and if you add too much sugar and fat, it is hard to taste their natural flavors. I love serving my kids whole foods without tons of additives so that they can learn to enjoy the real flavors of food.

This sweet potato casserole recipe is lightly sweetened with maple syrup and it really brings out a delicious flavor from the sweet potatoes.

This recipe is really easy to whip up – literally whip.

  • Cook your sweet potatoes. See below for my recommendation on the best way to cook sweet potatoes.
  • Once they are cooked and slightly cooled, remove the skins and place the inside in a bowl along with the maple syrup, milk, vanilla, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg , allspice and salt. Beat this mixture with a handheld mixer to smooth out any lumps. You will then pour the mixture into a 8×8 inch baking dish.
  • Next you will make the oat crumble topping. Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, and pecans. Use a pastry cutter, danish dough whisk or a fork to mix in the melted butter until the mixture comes together.
  • Sprinkle the topping over your sweet potatoes and then bake. The top should be a golden brown color and delightfully crunchy. That’s it!
sweet potato casserole with a pecan oat crumble topping in a white baking dish with a wooden serving spoon

Are Yams and Sweet Potatoes the Same Thing?

Sweet potatoes and yams are both root vegetables – but they are definitely not the same thing. The orange-colored vegetable that we most commonly buy at the store are actually a sweet potato, but are labeled yams. It gets confusing! Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires labels with the term ‘yam’ to be accompanied by the term ‘sweet potato.’ 

Yams are actually very starchy, more potato-like, and usually not very sweet.  Yams are grown around the world, but West Africa is where 95% of most yam crops are grown.

There are hundreds of types of sweet potatoes – some are white and mild to deep red and super sweet. Over half of the United States sweet potato supply comes from North Carolina.

What is the Best Way to Cook Sweet Potatoes?

If you want a hands off, no mess way to cook a sweet potato – then the Instant Pot is definitely the best method. It is incredibly easy and gives you the most creamy sweet potato of your life! Here is how you do it:

  • Rinse and scrub your sweet potatoes, and place them on top of the metal wire steaming rack that came with your Instant Pot.
  • Add one cup of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot, and lock the lid. Set the pressure cooker to cook for 15 minutes under pressure for medium-sized sweets, or 19 minutes for large sweets.
  • Let the pressure come down naturally for at least ten minutes. (You can let it come down naturally all the way if you like… but if you’re in a hurry to eat, you can go ahead and flip the valve after ten minutes.)

That’s all there is to it! With basically no effort you’ll have perfectly cooked sweet potatoes: smooth, creamy and sweet.

This Sweet Potato Casserole recipe is my new favorite Thanksgiving side dish because I know I can eat it and still feel good after while enjoying the amazing flavors!

PIN FOR LATER

I WOULD LOVE YOUR FEEDBACK! If you make this sweet potato casserole, will you leave a comment and star rating below? Your feedback is super helpful for SHK parents and other readers who are thinking about making the recipe. Thank you!

sweet potato casserole with a pecan oat crumble topping in a white baking dish with a wooden serving spoon
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
3.7 from 31 votes

Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole

This Sweet Potato Casserole is amazingly flavorful with every bite of creamy sweet potato and crunchy pecan oat crumble. 
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes

Oat Crumble

Instructions

Sweet Potatoes

  • Scrub the outside of your sweet potatoes, and cook them until soft. I recommend cooking in the Instant Pot. See how here.
  • Preheat your oven to 400° F. Prepare an 8×8 baking pan by spraying with cooking spray.
  • Once your sweet potatoes are cooked and slightly cooled, scoop the orange inside in a large mixing bowl. Add the maple syrup, milk, vanilla, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
  • Beat with a hand mixer until smooth and there are no lumps. Spread the sweet potato mixture into your baking pan with a spatula until evenly smooth.

Oat Crumble

  • In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, and pecans. Use a pastry cutter, danish dough whisk or a fork to mix in the melted butter until the mixture comes together.
  • Sprinkle the topping over your sweet potatoes. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is a golden brown color and delightfully crunchy. Enjoy!
Keyword : sweet potato casserole

www.superhealthykids.com

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

Leave a Comment:
Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




11 Comments

5 stars
Impossible for me to wait until Thanksgiving to try this recipe. It was delicious! Definitely a repeat for Thanksgiving and any other day as well.

I’m not sure how the moisture from the apples would affect the final product- although it sounds delicious! Dehydrated apples might work. I have tried mashing cooked apples in with the sweet potato, which is delicious.

Where does the egg come into play I don’t see it in the descriptions on the directions and your talking about scooping an orange where does the orange come into play?

Hi Staci! The egg is whisked into the sweet potato mixture. There are no oranges in this recipe. I apologize for any confusion!

I am from the east coast and I can and have seen lots of good and bad things I like sweet potatoes and would like to try this , hopefully someone will help me make sure it’s right or just show me quickly so I can enjoy it asap 🙂