This gluten-free sweet potato casserole with pecan praline topping is a long-time reader and family favorite recipe. It always steals the show!
Hundreds of reviewers agree this sweet potato casserole is a keeper! This tried-and-true recipe was originally published in 2013 and is one of my #1 holiday recipes today!
The my gluten and dairy-free version of a treasured southern family recipe. It features delicious mashed sweet potatoes with a buttery, brown sugar pecan topping. It’s my all-time favorite thanksgiving side and I hope you love it too!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Nobody can tell it’s gluten-free! The last 10 years I’ve been making it with gluten-free 1:1 baking flour. Nobody can EVER tell it’s gluten-free!
- Crowd-pleaser – This is always one of the most popular dishes at any holiday or Thanksgiving table I’ve made it for. (PS the leftovers are even delicious cold out of the fridge the next day!)
- The Topping – The sweet potato filling is smooth and creamy while the topping is crunchy, buttery and laced with nuts/brown sugar. I much prefer this sweet potato casserole to the marshmallow-topped variety.
- Make-Ahead – This dish can easily be prepared in advance for one less thing you have to make on Thanksgiving day. See my full collection of gluten-free thanksgiving recipes! I like to mix together the filling and smooth it into the baking dish and re
- Dairy-free! This gluten-free sweet potato casserole can easily be made dairy-free!
Round out your Thanksgiving feast with these gluten-free crescent rolls and gluten-free pumpkin roll for dessert! Check out this full collection of gluten-free thanksgiving recipes!
How to Make Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Casserole
- Steam the sweet potatoes. You can do this in the instant pot or on the stove top.
- Peel the steamed sweet potatoes and add the filling ingredients.
- Whip the filling until smooth and creamy with a hand mixer.
- Measure out the ingredients for the pecan praline topping.
- Mash together the ingredients for the topping until you have pea-sized chunks of butter.
- Spread the filling into the pan.
- Top with the pecan topping.
- Bake until golden, bubbly and delicious!
You also might like these roasted sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts.
Original Photo from 2013:
How 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.
Make-Ahead Instructions
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. Once cooled, cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap. 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.
More Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes
- Gluten-Free Gravy
- Gluten-Free Stuffing
- Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole
- Gluten-Free Scalloped Potatoes
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
- Thanksgiving Fruit Salad
Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Casserole (Pecan Praline Topping!)
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 9×13 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!
Ok, making this for Thanksgiving again this year.
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.
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.
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?
Is this soy free?
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!
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!
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! 🙂
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!
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.
Could I use a rice flour or sorghum?
You could try it – the topping might be a little more grainy though!
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!
This got rave reviews last night at our dinner – thank you!
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 ?
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.