Our easy sweet potato casserole recipe is just that - easy (but also super delicious)! Plus it's lower in sugar and fat compared to traditional sweet potato casserole. It's a great side dish for any meal, especially during the holidays. We promise your friends and family won't even notice the slight tweaks to make this sweet potato casserole healthier!

Healthier Sweet Potato Casserole
Classic sweet potato casserole is delicious, don't get us wrong. But we love making minor changes to traditional recipes to improve the nutrition quality without affecting taste. And this easy sweet potato casserole is no exception! This is how we changed our sweet potato casserole recipe to make it slightly healthier:
- We used riced cauliflower to increase volume and add a variety of nutrients (explained further below!) while decreasing carb content.
- Vanilla Greek yogurt adds sweetness and protein without a lot of added sugar (depending on which yogurt you use - we love Danon Light & Fit Greek vanilla!).
- A touch of turmeric contributes antioxidants without changing the taste whatsoever.
- We substituted all egg whites in lieu of whole eggs to decrease fat content. While egg yolks are filled with nutrients, we are getting healthy fats from the pecans on top and this side dish is usually eaten in conjunction with other dishes that tend to be high in fat, so we skipped the egg yolks here!
- We slightly cut back on the amount of marshmallows on top, which decreases the added sugar content. While some people may disagree, sweet potato casserole HAS to have marshmallows (although you can omit them entirely if you want!) so we had to include some.
- There is no added fat, except the pecans on top. And you won't even notice!
Ingredient Highlights - The Best Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet potatoes - we looove sweet potatoes because they taste good AND they're a great complex carb to include in your diet! They're filled with beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. They also contain magnesium, potassium, and fiber. We recommend roasting, steaming, or baking sweet potatoes (or any veggie for that matter) as opposed to boiling. Boiling vegetables causes nutrients to leach out into the water, thus removing them from the food. If a recipe calls for boiling a veggie, save the water and reuse it to boil rice or pasta (the nutrients will go into the rice/pasta)!
- Riced cauliflower - this adds volume and bulk to the casserole without changing taste or even texture. We don't use a large amount in this recipe and it's riced, so the tiny pieces don't affect the texture. Cauliflower is a good source of vitamin C and folate, plus has a high water content so it's low in calories!
- Greek yogurt - we used vanilla Greek yogurt to add some protein and calcium as well as sweetness. We opt for a lower sugar fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt!
- Spices - warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and turmeric are a must in this sweet potato casserole recipe! They also have anti-inflammatory properties, particularly the curcumin in turmeric!
- Sweetener - per usual, we go for real maple syrup or honey here!
- Egg whites - these get whipped into the sweet potato mixture before baking, causing the end result to be fluffy and have a great texture. Plus egg whites are a great source of protein!
- Toppings - to keep this recipe as traditional as possible, we HAD to include pecan pieces and marshmallows! Pecans are a good source of healthy fats. Marshmallows don't really have a ton of nutrition but they contribute happiness 🙂
Easy Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe FAQ
We recommend baking them to prevent any nutrient loss. Boiling causes nutrients to leach out into the water, whereas most nutrients are retained when baking or roasting. This goes for any veggie!
Greek yogurt is recommended because it's creamier and thicker. Regular yogurt has barely any protein and usually has more sugar!
Simply bake the casserole as directed but stop before putting the pecans and marshmallows on top. Let it cool, wrap in foil or plastic wrap, and store in the fridge until you're ready to serve. Once ready, continue where you left off on the recipe (sprinkle the marshmallows and pecans on top, then bake)!
We keep it in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days! You can freeze it for up to 2 months. Whenever you're ready to eat it, pop it in the microwave or back in the oven until hot!
Other Recipes You May Like
- Savory Rosemary Pumpkin Hummus
- Pecan Crust Pumpkin Pie
- Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe - lower in sugar!
- Festive Fall Salad
- Oven Roasted Butternut Squash
Rate & Review
If you made our easy sweet potato casserole, please rate and review our recipe below! We would love to hear your feedback. Also snap a photo and tag us on insta @theperfectpearr so we can see your creation!
PrintEasy Sweet Potato Casserole
Our easy sweet potato casserole recipe is just that - easy (but also super delicious)! Plus it's lower in sugar and fat compared to traditional sweet potato casserole. It's a great side dish for any meal, especially during the holidays. We promise your friends and family won't even notice the slight tweaks to make this sweet potato casserole healthier!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: Sides, Festive
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the casserole
- 3lbs sweet potatoes (~2-3 sweet potatoes, depending on the weight)
- 1 ½ cup (153g) frozen riced cauliflower
- ½ cup (126g) fat-free or low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp (3g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 ½ tsp (6.5g) salt
- 1 Tbsp (15g) maple syrup or honey
- 2 tsp (7g) vanilla extract
- 3 large egg whites (~82g)
For the topping
- ¾ cup (78g) chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 ½ cup (80g) mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Thaw frozen riced cauliflower in a bowl or on a small plate.
- Using a fork, poke holes all over each sweet potato and wrap individually in foil.
- Place wrapped potato onto a baking sheet and bake until soft, ~60-90 minutes and then let cool. The bigger the potato, the longer it’ll need to bake!
- Decrease oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Once potatoes are cooled, peel skins off of potatoes and break potatoes into chunks, placing them into a large bowl. The skin should come off fairly easily.
- Add thawed cauliflower to potatoes and mix with hand mixer (or place in a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment, or mix with a potato masher).
- Add yogurt, spices, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla. Beat together for ~2 minutes, until well combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
- Whisk egg whites in a small bowl and add to potato mixture. Beat on high for ~2-3 minutes until fluffy.
- Prepare 9x13” baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake casserole for 25 minutes.
- Remove and top with pecans and marshmallows.
- Place back in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until marshmallows are golden brown.
- Let cool for 20-30 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
- This casserole is best served fresh, but you can store in air-tight container in fridge for up to 5 days.
- You can freeze the sweet potato mixture after the first bake and before adding toppings for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge and bake for 25-30 minutes, adding the toppings with 10-15 minutes left.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 177
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 324
- Fat: 4
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Unsaturated Fat: 4
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 27
- Fiber: 5
- Protein: 4
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: sweet potato casserole, easy sweet potato casserole, sweet potato casserole recipe, healthier sweet potato casserole, how to make healthy sweet potato casserole, thanksgiving, thanksgiving side dish recipe
Liza says
this sweet potato casserole is SO GOOD. it's crazy how you can't even taste the cauliflower!!!
Lauren says
Right?! It hides so well! I also use frozen riced cauliflower in smoothies to get a boost of vitamin C and fiber and you can't taste it at all!