Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
This healthy sweet potato casserole with marshmallows is easy to make and low carb with just a hint of brown sugar. It can easily be made vegan or gluten free. It’s perfect if you’re clean eating this Thanksgiving. Makes 8 servings.
What makes this sweet potato casserole healthy?
Traditional sweet potato casserole starts with butter, milk and a decent amount of brown sugar. Obviously, not diet or dairy free friendly.
Personally, I think that sweet potatoes are already sweet enough, and I often add a nice pinch of salt when making mashed sweet potatoes because I think it brings the sweet potatoes and cinnamon to life.
To make the healthy, while still making it indulgent, I kept the marshmallows and pecans on top and I added just enough brown sugar to give you a taste. I think it’s a perfect match for savory Thanksgiving turkey and its creamy side dishes.
If you like this recipe, you have to try this dairy free green bean casserole, and these vegan scalloped potatoes and this dairy free pumpkin pie.
Searching for more Thanksgiving recipes? homemade stuffing recipe / easy drop biscuits / pancetta chestnut stuffing / easy cranberry bars / spiced cranberry sauce
Ingredients:
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
- Marshmallows – To make this gluten free, use a friendly version of marshmallows (or leave them off). To make this vegan, swap the marshmallows for your favorite plant based marshmallows.
- Egg – For a vegan option, substitute a flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 2 tablespoons of water in place of the egg.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make healthy sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and pecans
Steam your sweet potatoes. Peel and cube them before tossing them into a large saucepan. Fill your pot with a generous amount of water, but don’t bother covering the sweet potatoes.
You really don’t all the extra water and it will take much longer for it to come to a boil if you overfill. When they’re fork tender, drain them (I just use the lid to keep them in the pot, but you can use a colander if you want).
Season and mash. Use an electric mixer to beat your sweet potato, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. You can use a potato masher if you like, but since you need to really whip the egg in the next step, you might as well only dirty one thing.
Add the egg. Scramble you egg in a small bowl or measuring cup until it’s smooth. Then pour it into the sweet potatoes while you beating them.
This helps prevent you from getting scrambled eggs. Beat the mixture for a full minute on medium speed to get the eggs nice and fluffy. Top if with the fun stuff. Transfer the mixture to your favorite baking dish. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon, and then top with pecans and marshmallows.
You can add as little or as much as you’d like, but keep in mind these aren’t the healthiest ingredients. You still want to be able to see your sweet potatoes underneath.
Bake the casserole in a 400˚F oven for 10 – 15 minutes. Just long enough to let the sweet potatoes set and the marshmallows to get nice and toasty. Remove it from the oven and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Need to prepare this sweet potato casserole ahead of time? You can easily make this dish ahead of time. I recommend getting it in the baking dish with toppings, and storing it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it. Remove it from the fridge for about an hour before you bake.
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of coarse salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup toasted pecan pieces
- 1/3 cup mini marshmallows
- Cinnamon and brown sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- Place cubed sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and fill halfway with water.
- Cover pot and bring water to a boil. Cook until sweet potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Use an electric mixer to mash the sweet potatoes until smooth.
- In a small bowl or cup, beat the egg thoroughly. While continuing to beat the sweet potatoes, slowly pour in the egg. Continue to beat for 1 minute, or until the sweet potato mixture is light and fluffy.
- Transfer to a baking dish and lightly sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Top with pecan pieces and marshmallows.
- Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until marshmallows are toasted and eggs have fully set. Remove from oven and allow casserole to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
You mentioned making this vegan by swapping out the marshmallows for vegan ones, but you also have to swap out egg for a flax egg.
Ahh! Thank you so much for reminding me! I meant to add it into the post and it just slipped my mind! Thank you!
Can I use Applesauce to replace the egg? That’s generally my go-to egg replacer.
Hi Carin, I honestly don’t know. I haven’t tested it so I can’t recommend it. You should be completely fine without it though.
Good recipe! I do suggest changing the wording for “scrambling” the egg tho. This is a term for the way to cook an egg, rather than what you meant, I think–beating the egg would be less confusing, at least at first glance.
Can this be made without egg?
Definitely! You won’t get the exact same texture, but it will still be great!
Hi Melissa, Thank you for the recipe! Do I have to make any changes to the baking if I am making this in a pie dish or a ceramic casserole? Thanks again 🙂
No. I think you should be fine with any baking dish for this one!