I feel like everyone and their mom (and grandmother) has a very specific recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole that they *must* make on thanksgiving with absolutely no exceptions or all hell will break loose. Right? Either you’re a marshmallow-topping family, or not. Either you put oodles of butter and cream in there, or you don’t. You put maple syrup and some delicious ooey gooey concoction that doesn’t involve marshmallows on top or you DON’T.

The wierd thing is, I never grew up with any of that in my family. We make a carrot soufflé (and used to do the same recipe, but with sweet potatoes and frosted flakes on top…), but I’d never even tried any kind of Thanksgiving-type sweet potato casserole until I found one in a cookbook and made it for Easter this year. So yeah, gasp all you want, but I didn’t even know what I was missing out on. And I still don’t think I’ve tried one with marshmallows on top…so if anybody wants to bring that to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I’m down. Kthanks.

Here’s the thing about Thanksgiving (and I’m sure you know this if you’re the cook in your family, or are helping out in the kitchen on holidays) – it gets crowded AF in there. We’re not only talking the number of bodies in the kitchen, but oven space is precious too! So for this sweet potato casserole, I knew it couldn’t be made in the oven for any long period of time. We’ve got lots of other things in there, from a Spatchcocked Turkey, to Butternut Squash Stuffing, to some kind of delicious brussels sprouts dish, and many other things. So maybe we’d go with a stovetop thing? NOPE, because we’re cooking some bacon and braised red cabbage with apples, and caramelized shallot & bacon gravy on there too.

So the slow cooker it was. I like to make the whole dish in the slow cooker aside from the topping, then transfer the sweet potato mixture to an (oven-safe) dish that you can also serve in – and pop it in the oven for a few minutes just to toast the topping. Because toasted pecans and coconut? Ummmm WINNING.

More of a marshmallow kind of person but still want to keep it healthier / paleo / gluten-free? Try topping this with my gingerbread marshmallows!

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Toasted Coconut-Pecan Topping

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

3 hours

Total time

3 hours 15 mins

 

Dana: Real Food with Dana

Serves: 8+ servings

Ingredients

• 6 sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut into chunks (about 3-4 pounds)
• ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp ghee
• 2 eggs (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt

For the Topping

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup pecans, chopped coarsely
• 2 Tbsp ghee, melted
• 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp sea salt

Directions

1. Put all the cut sweet potatoes in the slow cooker - cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 6 hours.
2. When the potatoes are done (they will be very soft), mash them right in the slow cooker with a potato masher. Stir in the coconut milk, maple syrup, ghee, eggs, spices, vanilla, and sea salt.
3. Preheat the oven to 400.
4. While the oven is heating up, make the topping. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.
5. Transfer the sweet potato mixture to a oven-safe baking dish (I used an 8x8 casserole dish) and distribute the topping evenly.
6. Pop it in the oven and bake for about 5-10 minutes, until the topping begins to brown. Serve warm!

3.5.3208

Want more Thanksgiving recipes? Check these out!

Bacon-Braised Red Cabbage with Apples
Caramelized Shallot & Bacon Gravy with Parsnip-Cauliflower Mash
Roasted Delicata Squash & Apple Stuffing
Morning Butter Biscuits