Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping has delicious mashed sweet potatoes with a buttery, brown sugar pecan topping. This gluten-free sweet potato casserole is a FAVORITE Thanksgiving side dish every year.
Complete your Thanksgiving feast with these Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls and a Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll for dessert!
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
Sweet potato casserole is my all-time favorite Thanksgiving side. This sweet potato casserole with pecan topping is a long-time, favorite family recipe. My Mom would make it for Thanksgiving every year and she’s given out the recipe countless times.
Over the past few years I’ve been making it with gluten-free 1:1 baking flour. However, nobody can EVER tell this sweet potato casserole is gluten-free!
The sweet potato filling is smooth and creamy while the topping is crunchy, buttery and laced with brown sugar. It’s hard for anyone to resist this sweet potato casserole! It’s also so easy to make gluten-free (and dairy-free if needed).
How to Make Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Casserole
These how-to numbered pictures match up with the instructions below.
1. Steam the sweet potatoes. You can do this in the instant pot or on the stove top.
2. Peel the steamed sweet potatoes and add the filling ingredients.
3. Whip the filling until smooth and creamy with a hand mixer.
4. Measure out the ingredients for the pecan praline topping.
5. Mash together the ingredients for the topping until you have pea-sized chunks of butter.
6. Spread the filling into the pan.
7. Top with the pecan topping.
8. Bake until golden, bubbly and delicious!
What is the best way to steam sweet potatoes for sweet potato casserole?
How you steam the sweet potatoes is an important step to ensure your filling comes out smooth, but not watery. Lately, my favorite way to steam the sweet potatoes is in the instant pot. It’s so easy to do and the sweet potatoes come out perfect every time.
Cooking Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot
- Place a rack in the instant pot and add 1 cup of water.
- Place the washed sweet potatoes on the rack and cook on MANUAL (high pressure) for 15 minutes.
- Allow the sweet potatoes to natural release until the valve drops on its own.
- The sweet potatoes will be soft and easy to peel!
If you don’t have an instant pot you can also steam the potatoes on the stovetop. You do this by adding the sweet potatoes (whole and unpeeled) to a large pot and covering with water. Cover with a lid and boil for 10 minutes. Puncture the sweet potatoes 3 times, then boil for another 20-30 minutes until cooked through.
Can I make this sweet potato casserole in advance?
This sweet potato casserole is a great make-ahead dish. I’m always looking for recipes I can make in advance before Thanksgiving. This one turns out great!
Up to 3 days in advance you can prepare the sweet potato filling and smooth it into a baking dish. Then prepare the topping and store it in an airtight container. Store everything in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, top the sweet potatoes with the pecan mixture and bake as directed.
I hope you enjoy this sweet potato casserole as much as we do! It’s a long-time family favorite and nobody will be able to guess it’s gluten-free. (PS I think it tastes delicious straight out the fridge next day!)
If you love this recipe be sure to leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear how it turned out for your holiday meal!
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes:
Gluten-Free Stuffing everyone needs to eat stuffing on Thanksgiving!
Christmas Cranberry Fluff not just for Christmas. My 2nd favorite Thanksgiving side.
Holiday Fruit Salad another delicious fruit salad option.
Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it!
Kale Salad with Cranberries festive and tasty.
What should you make for DINNER TONIGHT?
Check out my Gluten-Free Tried-and-True Dinner Recipes!
Hungry for more? Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter for all of the latest updates.
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping {Gluten-Free}
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 3-4 large sweet potatoes
- 1/2 cup coconut milk, or whole milk
- 1/3-1/2 cup sugar, or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup melted butter, or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 egg
For the Topping:
- 1 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup softened butter, or coconut oil in solid form
Instructions
STEAM THE SWEET POTATOES
- In the INSTANT POT (preferred method): Place a rack in the instant pot and add 1 cup of water. Place the washed sweet potatoes on top of the rack. Cook on MANUAL (high pressure) for 15 minutes. Allow the sweet potatoes to natural release, until the valve drops on its own.
- On the STOVE TOP: Place the sweet potatoes (whole and unpeeled) in a large pot and covering with water. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. then puncture each sweet potatoes 3 times. Boil for another 20-30 minutes until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. In a bowl, combine the pecans, flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or mix with your hands until the mixture is sandy, with pea-sized chunks of butter. Set aside.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and add them to a bowl with with the other filling ingredients. Use a hand mixer to whip the sweet potatoes until smooth. Taste and add more salt, sugar or milk as needed. (You may need to adjust the consistency/flavor based on how big your sweet potatoes are.) Whip the sweet potatoes until they are creamy and completely smooth.
- Smooth the sweet potato filling into the prepared dish. Top with the pecan mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden and the sweet potatoes are bubbling. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Hi there!
Thanks so much for posting!!! My boys are GFDF and I am making this now for Thursday!!
One thing – I think you left out WHEN to put the egg in!
Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving!
Elizabeth in Atlanta
Thanks for pointing that out! You add it in with the mashed sweet potatoes 🙂 I’ll update the recipe!
Can you do this without the egg?
Yes this would work great without the egg! You can easily leave it out.
We are making this too! I had pinned another recipe but I much prefers yours, of course. Wish we could be celebrating with you guys!
This was absolutely delicious! It was a HUGE hit at our Thanksgiving. I left out the maple syrup and only used a tbsp of brown sugar for the topping, and it was still the perfect amount of sweet!
I’m so glad you liked it!
I made this for Christmas dinner. SO YUMMY!
I’m so glad you liked it!
I made this a couple weks ago and everyone LOVED it!! I LOVED it!! I ate the leftovers for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day : ) The praline topping is perfect! I am loving your website so much! I’ve been gluten and dairy free for a year and half now and getting away from refined sugar for the past few months and your website has been so refreshing. Thanks for all you do! It really makes a difference in peoples’ lives.
What a lovely comment! Thanks so much! Glad you liked the sweet potatoes 🙂
The recipe looks great. I was wondering if you could sub almond milk for the coconut milk.
Yes that should work great!
Is the coconut milk what you buy in the grocer’s dairy section – like plain ol’ unsweetened coconut milk? Can you sub unsweetened almond milk instead? (I have that on hand all the time). Thanks!
Yes you can substitute almond milk just fine! I buy canned coconut milk on Amazon and never use the boxed refrigerated kind. I like the brands Native Forest or Natural Value. You can also usually find it in the Asian food section or at Trader Joe’s!
Will refrigerated almond coconut milk work? That is all I have on hand.
Yes! In a lot of my recipes you can only used canned coconut milk, but this is one where you can use refrigerated almond or coconut milk. It’s just to thin the filling out slightly so it should work great!
This recipe is fabulously delicious! My sister-in-law has a dairy allergy and I wanted be sensitive to her, so I made this recipe to test it out. My boys thought it was better than the traditional one I make and didn’t know it was gluten and dairy free. Thank you for helping us keep one of our favorite traditional Thanksgiving dishes on the table.
This is great to hear! I’m happy it will be on your table this year!
I just tried this today on a Thanksgiving Pot Luck here at work. One of my co-workers made it and I was absolutely in heaven and asked for the recipe. I have never ever commented on a recipe, but this one is just fantastic!!! Can’t express how delicious it was.Thank you. I will be making one myself next weeek.
I’m a little confused. Are you using ALL of the sweet potatoes that you boiled initially?
I am so wanting to make this for thanksgiving! But is there any replacement for the egg?? Thanks! 🙂
This recipe will be great without the egg! You can just leave it out 🙂
Can you replace the egg with anything? Thanks!
You can just leave the egg out! It will still be delicious!
Oh awesome! And which do you like using better, coconut oil or butter? Mine would be earth balance butter (vegan) as I am allergic to dairy. Thanks so much! Really excited to make this! I was thinking about adding some marshmallows to the topping 🙂
Hi!
I have 30 people for Thanksgiving so anything I can make ahead and freeze is a life-saver. Does this freeze well?
Thanks!
Pam
Hi Pam! I haven’t tried freezing this ahead of time so I’m not sure! However, I have made this 2 days in advance and kept the topping in a seperate bag. I sprinkle the topping on just before baking and it works great. Good luck with your Thanksgiving for 30!
Can I make this with canned yams? How many cups of sweet potato do you think you end up with? Not sure how many cans to use….
Hi Kirstin! I wouldn’t make this with canned yams. I don’t think the flavor/texture would be the same. Sorry about that!
Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful recipes! I battle inflammation in my back so badly that I could hardly get out of bed on my one. I got sick of western medicine and turned to an awesome natural path to avoid surgery…. long story short, gluten free and dairy free. I can get out of bed on my own, I can put on my shoes and socks without trouble, I can bend over and touch my toes while standing and most of all… I can pick my 3 and 5 year old girls up!!!! Your recipes have made this transition for me so much easier!! Thank you!
This comment brought tears to my eyes! I’m so glad my recipes have been helpful. It’s amazing what food can do. I’m glad you found something to help your pain! Thank you!
Would have any tips on how to make this in the crock pot??? I don’t think my oven is big enough for this and a turkey lol
I think this might work in the slow-cooker, but the topping won’t get as crispy. You could spread the filling on the bottom, then top it with the pecan topping. I would try cooking it on low for 4 hours. I hope this helps! Let me know if it works out.
i can’t have gluten, rice, or corn. Do you think almond flour or coconut four would work?
Hi Lynsie! Have you tried my grain-free flour blend? It would work perfectly here. That would be best, but you could try half almond flour and half starch (like arrowroot or potato) for the flour as well.
So using grain free will be just as good ?
This got rave reviews last night at our dinner – thank you!
Hi there!
Could I use a butter substitute made from coconut oil in this recipe instead of the butter? If so would I measure it out the same?
Definitely! That should work great!
Could I use a rice flour or sorghum?
You could try it – the topping might be a little more grainy though!
We love the praline topping of the unmodified recipe. I keep hoping to find a gluten free that replicates the same crunchiness. I made this version anticipating that it would be just what I was looking for. While it was good, I am looking for perfect. 🙂 Wondering if results are better with coconut oil than butter? Or one flour better than another? The topping was drier than normal so it didnt melt and crystalize.
I loved this dish! But I really hoped the mash bit would be more like ‘mash’, thicker and less liquidy. Could be because I used coconut oil… any advice would be much appreciated!!!
It probably has to do with how you steamed your potatoes and how much water the sweet potatoes naturally contained. When I’ve used smaller sweet potatoes and steamed then they have more water. I would try using large sweet potatoes and just add less coconut milk so you get the consistency you like. I hope that helps!
This is my very first sweet potato casserole and it was a hit! I am allergic to gluten so most store bought Thanksgiving sides are out of the picture. I prepared this as a trial several days prior to Thanksgiving to see how it comes out. It was delicious!!! My 4 y.o. twins loved it, one of them even asked for seconds! Thank you! Fantastic recipe!
So glad you like it! 🙂
Only using 3 cups of the Sweet Potatoes looks too watery to me. Does it thicken when baked?
The consistency can depend on how watery your sweet potatoes are when they are mashed. I make sure to leave my sweet potatoes in larger chunks (3-4 inches) when steaming them so they don’t get too watery. Smaller chunks absorb more water and create a more watery mash. You can always add more sweet potatoes or less coconut milk to the consistency you like too. The mash won’t thicken much in the oven!
Loved, loved, loved this! It was absolutely delicious! We used walnuts (the store was out of pecans). This will be a favorite for many years!
So glad you liked it! Walnuts would be delicious too!
Is this soy free?
While this dish is very flavourful, mine was soupy—that is, the sweet potato part. It wasn’t at all like the photos here. That’s how I would like it to be, but it was extremely soupy. I don’t know what I would’ve done wrong. I went completely non-dairy, so used coconut oil solid form (the only way I can find it anyway in the stores). Can someone advise?
Thanks for the recipe! I use almond milk…. To make it MUCH easier you can boil the sweet potatoes WHOLE, let them cool (or to make it faster, dump out the hot water and put cold water with ice to cool faster). Drain the potatoes, or be very gentle if you can’t wait. The peeling will tear off easily. I do this with white potatoes also.
Hi. I am making this tomorrow for Easter & only have a 2 qt sized glass dish. Do I need to adjust the baking time? My friend made this months ago & I loved it so I can’t wait to eat it again! Thanks.
Ok, making this for Thanksgiving again this year.
This sounds amazing! How many does it serve?
Thank you so much for this recipe! My daughter has PKU so we will be leaving out the egg or using an egg replacer and we will make this dish with only the topping on half of it since she can’t have the nuts, but I’m happy that she’ll be able to have this with everyone else!
I hope she likes it! It will work totally fine with no egg!
I was wondering what the serving for this recipe?
My sister made this a few years ago and this is now out families favorite sweet potato casserole recipe!! Sooo delicious!!
This was unbelievably good! I have celiac disease and wanted to make something everyone could enjoy, that didn’t taste gluten free. This will be my go-to dish!
I’m so happy you liked it! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Hi there! Excited to try this recipe this Thanksgiving! I can’t use butter (kosher), so wondering if you would recommend a good butter alternative that would also crystalize, or if coconut oil is just as good? Thank you!!
Earth Balance buttery sticks or Miyoko’s Vegan Butter both work great. I like those because they still have a buttery taste but coconut oil will also work.
Tastes like the family recipe (containing gluten) my grandmother used to make. Your recipe was enjoyed by all at Thanksgiving! My husband requested I make it again – ASAP. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear you liked it! Thanks for the comment 🙂