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Delicious vegan sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows and pecans.
Is it a side dish? Or a dessert? People seem to be divided on what type of dish to consider sweet potato casserole. On one hand, its made with potatoes and called a casserole...but it's also sweet and topped with marshmallows. According to one survey, the majority said sweet potato casserole is a dessert.
Personally, I don't care either way. I'll call it breakfast, just as long as I get to eat it. But it is pretty dang similar to a sweet potato pie...just topped with MORE sugar in the form of sticky sweet marshmallows. Where do you land? Dessert or side dish?
Regardless, today we are whipping up the most amazing vegan sweet potato casserole!
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the good kind - make sure it says "pure")
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup halved pecans
- 2 cups mini vegan marshmallows
Instructions
The process of making vegan sweet potato casserole is fairly straightforward.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Place the sweet potatoes in a pot and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft and tender.
- Drain the water from the sweet potatoes and place them in a large bowl.
- Mash with a fork or a potato masher.
- Mix in the brown sugar, butter, non-dairy milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Spread the mashed sweet potatoes evenly into a 2-quart casserole dish.
- Top with the pecans, then the vegan marshmallows, as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the marshmallows are golden brown and gooey.
And, bam, that's it.
Are Marshmallows Vegan?!
But wait...VEGAN marshmallows? Are you shocked because you thought marshmallows were vegan, or because you didn't think vegan marshmallows even existed? Or, perhaps you already know all about vegan marshmallows and can skip right past this.
Here are the details: most store-bought marshmallows these days contain gelatin which is derived from animal bones. Not so mouthwatering, huh?
GREAT news - there are vegan marshmallows on the market! You can pick up some Dandies marshmallows at some stores like Whole Foods or order them on Amazon. Use this store-locater here to find where Dandie's are near you! Or, you can pick up the marshmallows at Trader Joe's!
Making It Ahead Of Time
My suggestion for making this casserole ahead of time is to spread the seasoned mashed sweet potatoes into the casserole dish, then stick it in the fridge the day before you plan on serving it.
Two hours before you're ready to serve it, set the dish out at room temperature. Then, top with pecans and marshmallows and bake as recommended in the recipe card below.
Alternatively, you can make the sweet potato casserole earlier in the day and serve at room temperature. I think the dish is better warm...but if you don't care either way, go for it.
Doubling the Recipe
To double this recipe, aside from simply doubling all the ingredients, use a 4-quart dish or two 2-quart dishes.
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Recipe
Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup halved pecans
- 2 cups mini vegan marshmallows
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
- Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Place the sweet potatoes in a pot and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft and tender.
- Drain the water from the sweet potatoes. Place them in a large bowl.
- Mash with a fork or a potato masher.
- Mix in the brown sugar, butter, non-dairy milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Spread the mashed sweet potatoes evenly into a 2-quart casserole dish.
- Top with the pecans, then the vegan marshmallows, as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the marshmallows are golden brown.
