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Easy Sweet Potato Casserole {with streusel topping}

12/13/2019 Updated: 03/10/2021 By Karrie 33 Comments

This Easy Sweet Potato Casserole is a nut-free take on a classic holiday side dish. Made with fresh steamed sweet potatoes and topped with a buttery streusel, it's sure to be a family favorite every year!

Easy Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe without nuts with spoon in the dish

An easy Sweet Potato Casserole for Thanksgiving or any time of the year!

The sweet potato casserole is the quintessential Thanksgiving side and is pretty much on every holiday table.

A day where family and friends gather to count their blessings...

and a day to partake in a fabulous feast of turkey with some of the most amazing sides and desserts!

Although, this sweet potato casserole shouldn't just be seen on a holiday, once or twice a year.

It's so good, it definitely needs to make an appearance on the family dinner table frequently.

I love serving it with pork dishes, like my smoked Porchetta, and pairing it with fresh green beans for an easy, fast, and healthy side.

Not surprisingly, this casserole is a really good side with barbecue too.

Why people don't serve sweet potato casserole more often with barbecued food is beyond me!

I've made my Instant Pot BBQ chicken and smoked meatloaf to go with this casserole and everyone agrees it's a perfect match.

Difference between yams and sweet potatoes

Depending on where you live, you may notice the names of these root vegetables are used interchangeably.

So, what's the difference between the two?

Sweet potatoes originated in South America, have a thin/smooth skin, with a moist and sweet flesh and tapered ends. They are rich in beta-carotene, fiber, complex carbohydrates, and are considered to be a highly nutritional food source.
Yams are from the Caribbean/African, have a rough/scaly skin, a dry and starchy flesh, and are irregularly shaped. Like sweet potatoes, they also have a high nutritional value.

Garnet sweet potatoes have a red skin with an orange flesh and are the ones most commonly found in grocery stores.

Plus, they are the ones I used in this recipe!

Thanksgiving potato casserole in a white baking pan

Use sucanat sugar for a less sweet side dish

A sweet potato casserole is the one holiday side dish that can be sickly sweet.

When topped with the usual suspect of marshmallows, it can easily taste like a dessert and not a side.

I try to avoid this super sweet flavor by playing up the natural sweetness of the potatoes without taking it over the top.

Here are a couple of ways I reduce the amount of sweetness in a potato casserole:

Always use half of the usual amount of sugar called for in a recipe
Substitute Sucanat cane sugar for the white or brown sugar

What exactly is Sucanat? It's a minimally processed cane sugar with a strong, rich molasses flavor.

It contains vitamins and minerals that aren't found in the more processed varieties.

It also doesn't taste as sweet as regular sugar, but if Sucanat is not available in your area, just use brown or white sugar.

A perfect make ahead recipe for the holidays

The holidays can get crazy busy, so make ahead recipes are a huge time saver.

Leave the streusel topping off and store the unbaked casserole one of two ways:

In the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
In the freezer for up to 2 months.

Thaw the frozen casserole in the refrigerator a day or two before using.

Remove it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking to take the chill off.

Make the nut-free, brown sugar topping to cover the top of the casserole and bake!

Yam casserole in a baking dish with a blue cloth napkin underneath

Popular TEA Holiday Recipes:

Smoked Turkey ~ Try a different kind of turkey this year for the family's holiday dinner.
Sweet Potato Rolls ~ Don't forget to save a little of the cooked sweet potatoes for these rolls, made extra yummy with a special topping!
Homemade Cranberry Sauce ~ Here's another recipe that's always on the holiday table, but made in a savory/sweet way.
Leek Risotto ~ Creamy, cheesy risotto is the ideal side to any meal.
Easy Fruit Cobbler ~ A family favorite dessert made with only 6 ingredients and on the table in less than an hour.

Did you enjoy this easy sweet potato casserole? Let me know if you've tried it by leaving a comment below and please share the recipe with family and friends.

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