Lower Sugar Sweet Potato Casserole with Oatmeal Pecan Topping

I grew up on the sort of sweet potato casserole that is topped with marshmallows, and I love the stuff.

One Thanksgiving in California is vividly stamped in my mind — the year we visited my grandparents and I realized for the first time that my grandma cooked almost every dish for Thanksgiving dinner in the microwave. IN THE MICROWAVE! Coming from rather culinary parents, it was a bit of a shock, and I’m not sure why I hadn’t noticed in previous years (I don’t even remember other Thanksgiving dinners at their house; maybe this was a first).

Anyways… this sweet potato casserole is not made in the microwave (do I even need to say that?) and so it’s off to a far superior start already! But it’s also been revised in other ways, calling for less sugar and being topped with crumbly, crispy pecans and oats instead of marshmallows. Because, sugar and marshmallows just don’t leave me feeling my best.

Sweet potatoes are quite sweet as they are, so adding sugar to the filling feels unnecessary (most recipes call for 1/4 to 1/2 cup of added sugar). In this version the filling is “natural,” meaning all the sweetness comes from the sweet potatoes, and the topping is made with maple syrup and cinnamon (which has sweet notes of it’s own!).

As Oliver would say, this dish comes out of the oven “smelling sweeter than a plate of yams with extra syrup.”

Tip: Cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time! You can cook the potatoes up to three days before you’re going to make this casserole. Here are a couple of ways to cook them (affiliate links ahead!):

• In an Instant Pot: Place whole sweet potatoes in your Instant Pot with 1 cup of water (use a steamer basket if you have one). Use manual mode and set to high for 15 minutes (vent in sealed position). Allow pressure to release naturally, then open pot. Allow potatoes to cool, and then remove skins, which should easily pull off at this point.

• In an oven: Preheat oven to 425°F. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork and rub with oil (such as coconut oil). Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or a sil-pat and bake for 45 minutes.

In both of these methods, the natural sugars in the sweet potatoes will caramelize so that your sweet potato casserole tastes sweet without the added sugar.

Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK. What else are you making? What’s your favorite thing once you sit down at the table?

Lower Sugar Sweet Potato Casserole with Oatmeal Pecan Topping

Published November 20, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 4 hours

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Ingredients:

3-4 cups mashed sweet potato

1/4 cup half and half or canned coconut milk

3 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

For Crumble Topping:

1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 heaping cup rolled oats

1 heaping cup pecan halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the first five ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until well incorporated.
3. Spread sweet potato mixture in an even layer in a 9x9 baking dish.
4. In a separate bowl, combine ingredients for crumble topping. Spread crumble topping in an even layer over the sweet potatoes.
5. Place baking dish in the middle rack of the oven and bake 25-30 minutes. Sweet potatoes should be warmed through and pecans on top should be lightly toasted. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Individual Parmesan Sweet Potato Gratins

Some years we would skip Thanksgiving in our sort of way by heading to a cabin. We would bring groceries from the next town over and stock the fridge. My mom and I would cook a Thanksgiving meal fit for 5, even though we were only 3. It would be snowing outside, and icy winds would billow through the valley, but inside it was all biscuits, turkey, and gravy, oh my! We clipped recipes from magazines and made do with what ingredients we could find in the small mountain grocer.

Between the biscuits, one November we made potato stacks. Like scalloped potatoes, thin slices were baked in a creamy sauce and served hot.

Individual Parmesan Sweet Potato Gratins

Published October 28, 2016 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yields: 12   |    Active Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

2-3 small sweet potatoes (Look for ones that are thinner in diameter so they fit into a muffin pan when sliced.)

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Reggiano cheese

Optional: fresh thyme or rosemary leaves for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Using a pastry brush, grease the muffin tin with about half of the butter (1 tablespoon). Reserve the rest for later.
3. Wash the sweet potatoes, and peel them. Using a mandolin or the slicing attachment of your food processor, slice the sweet potatoes into thin rounds. Stack the slices in muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, combine heavy cream, remaining 1 tablespoon butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and whisk just until combined. Pour the cream mixture over each potato stack, dividing (roughly) evenly. Sprinkle about half of the cheese over the potatoes, reserving the other half for later.
5. Place pan in oven and bake until cooked through, 30-35 minutes for a standard muffin pan (longer for a larger muffin pan).
6. Once potatoes are cooked through and edges are crisping, remove from oven and set aside to cool. Top with remaining cheese so that it melts. Optional: garnish with fresh thyme or rosemary.

Pumpkin Pie Bars with Grain-Free Gingerbread Crust

I was so happy to have my friend Cassie in the kitchen to help whip, stir, and bake! She shot these beautiful pictures too.

There may be nothing more comforting than baking a pumpkin pie on a cool fall day while wearing your slippers while giggling with a close friend. In the wake of change--changing seasons, growing older, moving to a new home (more to come on this on Thursday!!)- a day of pie baking was just what the doctor ordered. With extra whipped cream of course.

More than anything, it is the act of making pumpkin pie, and the smell of baking pumpkin pie, that makes it therapeutic. Aromatherapy, if you will.

What's great about what pie aromatherapy is that it will pretty much be whatever you want it to be. Need a hug? Breath in that cinnamon. Looking for a hug? Focus in on rolling out that pie crust, on the act of making the pie. Just want something sweet? Quiet time? A few laughs?

You get the picture. 

Pumpkin Pie Bars with Grain-Free Gingerbread Crust

Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

These pumpkin pie bars are made with a gingerbread-spiced almond flour crust and topped with creamy pumpkin filling.

Serves: 9   |    Total Time: 80 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Gingerbread Crust
• 1-1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1-1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg
For the pumpkin filling:
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk (coconut milk for dairy-free)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9x9 baking dish. In a medium sized mixing bowl, consume the dry ingredients for the crust (almond flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg). Whisk until evenly distributed. Then, stir in the melted coconut oil, honey, and vanilla until a sticky dough forms. Press dough in an even layer in bottom of the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 9 minutes, until crust is slightly puffed and golden. Set aside to cool completely.
2. Now, set the oven to 425°F. Make the pumpkin pie filling: whisk together the pumpkin, evaporated milk, honey, and egg. Once combined, whisk in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Pour mixture into cooled crust. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 40-50 more minutes, until a knife, when inserted into the center of the pumpkin mixture, comes out clean.
3. Set baking dish aside to cool for 15 minutes. Slice and serve (whipped cream or coconut cream optional!)