Sweet Potato Casserole Without Marshmallows

Overhead shot of sweet potato casserole.

5 from 2 votes

Sweet Potato Casserole Without Marshmallows

This sweet potato casserole is our favorite special side dish for Fall and the Holiday season. The smooth sweet potatoes and buttery sweet pecan topping are hard to beat! It's always in the rotation for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but also a fun addition to a cozy meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 25

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 168kcal

Author: Olivia & Annie

Ingredients

For the sweet potato base:

3 large sweet potatoes
3 tablespoon brown sugar
⅓ cup milk or almond milk
1 egg
¼-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (depending on preference)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the pecan crumble topping:

½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup flour (gluten-free if needed)
½ cup chopped raw pecans
¼-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (depending on preference)
⅓ cup butter, softened

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a fork to poke holes in the sweet potatoes. Place the potatoes on the baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour, or until they are very soft and fork tender.
Let the potatoes cool to room temperature. Cut them in half and then remove and discard the sweet potato skin. Place the sweet potato in a large bowl.
Use an electric hand mixer to mix the sweet potatoes until they are smooth and no longer clumpy. Add the 3 tbsp brown sugar, almond milk, egg, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to the mashed sweet potatoes. Mix until combined.
Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the pan and use a spoon to spread it out into an even layer.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, add the rest of the brown sugar, flour, chopped pecans, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add the softened butter and mix well until the “crumb” topping forms. Evenly spread the crumb topping on the top of the sweet potato mixture.
Add the pan to the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the top of the casserole is golden brown. Once you take the pan out of the oven, let the pan cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you need to shorten the cook time you can cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time and leave them in the fridge until you're ready to make the casserole.
If you need to make these in advance, you can make it and store it in the fridge until the next day and then reheat in the oven until warmed through. For periods longer than a day, we recommend baking the sweet potatoes in advance but assembling the crumble topping the day of.
If you like extra crumble on top, feel free to make 1.5 times the topping amount we have listed.
If you want your sweet potatoes extra buttery, add 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the sweet potato base.
This recipe is vegetarian.
Make it gluten-free: simply use a gluten-free flour in the crumble topping.
We have not tested this recipe with a dairy-free butter so cannot speak to making it completely dairy-free. You can use almond milk instead of regular milk.

Nutrition