Savory sweet potato casserole with garlic rosemary pecans. A delicious vegan holiday side dish. In this casserole, mashed buttery sweet potatoes are served with a mixture of chopped pecans, garlic, fresh rosemary and nutritional yeast. It’s packed with flavor thanks to the pecan topping and made with just a few ingredients.

This recipe was originally posted in 2017 and has been updated with new photography and extra details. The recipe remains the same!

If you’re looking for a non-traditional way to serve sweet potatoes this holiday season, look no further. In this recipe, we’re serving mashed sweet potatoes with a delicious and flavorful pecan topping. The pecan topping is simply made from chopped pecans tossed with fresh rosemary, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and oil.

What you need: Sweet potatoes, pecans, fresh rosemary, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, olive oil, vegan butter and plant-based milk of choice.

As you can see, this recipe is vegan and gluten-free! It’s a great side dish for all eaters.

Notes on the Recipe:

• This recipe is best served fresh. Once reheated, the pecans will lose their crunch, but the casserole will taste the same.
• Feel free to adjust the amount of salt, vegan butter and plant-based milk in the sweet potatoes. Prepare them to your taste.
• I tested this recipe with plain unsweetened soy milk. You can use your favorite plain and unsweetened plant-based milk. Almond, oat and cashew milk would work well. Avoid plant-based milks with a strong and sweet flavor, such as coconut milk.
• Don’t have any pecans? Try making this recipe with chopped walnuts! Almonds could work well too.

More Vegan Holiday Recipes:

• Vegan Sweet Potato Winter Salad with Toasted Pecans
• Vegan Lentil Pot Pie With Biscuits
• Savory Vegan Biscuits with Scallions
• Vegan Gravy (with a Mushroom-Free Option)
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Pecans
• Vegan Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Whether you make this recipe for the holidays or just any dinner, I hope you’ll love it!

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Savory Sweet Potato Casserole with Garlic Rosemary Pecans

Savory sweet potato casserole with garlic rosemary pecans. A delicious vegan holiday side dish. In this casserole, mashed buttery sweet potatoes are served with a mixture of chopped pecans, garlic, fresh rosemary and nutritional yeast. It's packed with flavor thanks to the pecan topping and made with just a few ingredients.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

For the Sweet Potato Mash

• 3 large sweet potatoes (about 8 cups), peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup vegan butter, or more to taste
• 1/4 cup plant-based milk of choice (see notes)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or more to taste

For the Garlic Rosemary Pecans

• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9"x9" dish with vegan butter or olive oil.
• Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-high. Cook until fork-tender, approximately 15 minutes. Drain and transfer back to the pot.
• Add the vegan butter, plant-based milk and salt to the sweet potatoes. Mash until creamy. Transfer to the prepared dish.
• Prepare the garlic rosemary pecans: In a small bowl, stir together your chopped pecans, garlic, rosemary, salt, oil and nutritional yeast.
• Spread evenly on top of the sweet potatoes. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve immediately or let it cool completely before storing it in the fridge, covered for up to 4 days.

Notes

This recipe is best served fresh. It will still taste the same once reheated, but the pecans will lose their crunch.

You can use your favorite plant-based milk, but make sure to use plain and unsweetened. Avoid using flavored or overly sweet plant-based milks, such as coconut milk. Plain and unsweetened oat, soy, cashew and almond milk will all work well. 

If you don’t have pecans, you could try this recipe with chopped walnuts or almonds.

If you make this savory sweet potato casserole, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!