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The 2 Secret Ingredients That Made My Keto Sweet Potato Casserole
This keto sweet potato casserole might be one of the most unique keto recipes I’ve created for the holidays. I brought it to Thanksgiving with my extended family one year, and after me telling them there were no potatoes involved, everyone was asking how I made it. If you’re low carb or just trying to make lighter Thanksgiving recipes this year, here’s why this one is worth including:
- 2 secret veggies make a sweet, creamy texture – I tested a few combos, and roasted squash with cauliflower blended into the smoothest base. It turned out creamy, sweet, and buttery — it reminds me of mashed sweet potatoes, but not quite as thick and with much less starch.
- Sweet, crunchy pecan topping – The topping is all mouthwatering cinnamon-pecan crunch, a lot like the one I use for my real sweet potato casserole. It bakes up crisp and golden, with a candied brown sugar flavor… and no actual sugar.
- Family approved – After everyone loved this dish at Thanksgiving, I did a repeat test run on my husband, mom, and daughter. Even my then-toddler went back for seconds.
- Keto friendly and gluten free – At just 5 grams net carbs per serving, you can easily fit this low carb sweet potato casserole into your macro goals. It’s also got only 146 calories and lots of veggies.
If you’re looking for a cozy holiday side dish that will leave you feeling great and tastes a lot like the classic everyone loves, this keto sweet potato casserole checks all the boxes. Make it with me!
“Family members who are off of sugar loved this recipe at Thanksgiving, then again for Christmas. It is definitely a favorite that I will make throughout the year.”
-Rose
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my keto sweet potato casserole recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Veggies – I used a combination of butternut squash and cauliflower to get that sweet, creamy texture, and (yes) that very orange color. I opted for about 50/50 to keep the carbs low, but some readers have told me they preferred a little less cauliflower and more squash. Just keep in mind it’ll raise the carbs a bit. You can also add other root vegetables or winter squash, such as rutabaga, turnips, pumpkin, or delicata squash, but they can affect the color and carb count.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – This is my go-to for a silky smooth texture in this keto sweet potato casserole, with no aftertaste. Many other keto sweeteners can crystallize and make it gritty. Plain allulose will work, though, I just recommend using a little more. Or if you want more of a brown sugar vibe, use the same Besti Brown sweetener I put in the topping (below).
- Unsalted Butter – If you need a dairy-free option, my top recommendation is butter-flavored coconut oil so you don’t miss out on the flavor. However, avocado oil or regular coconut oil also works.
- Olive Oil, Sea Salt, and Black Pepper – For roasting. Avocado oil works fine, too.
- Cinnamon – Just enough to bring out the sweetness in the squash. You can also add a pinch of nutmeg or cloves, or a splash of vanilla, but I usually keep it simple.
- Pecans – I use a mix of finely ground and chopped pecans to get that classic crumble texture. You could even swap in walnuts, but I love the flavor pecans add here. You’ll also need more cinnamon, salt, and pepper for the topping.
- Besti Brown Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – This gives the topping that sweet brown sugar flavor, without any sugar or carbs. It melts beautifully and helps the crumble get golden and crisp. Regular Besti works, but the brown one really takes it up a notch.
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How To Make Keto Sweet Potato Casserole
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Roast the vegetables. Toss the butternut squash and cauliflower with olive oil, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Spread the veggies on baking sheets and roast until they’re soft and golden.
- Make the crumble. Pulse some of the pecans into a powder and chop the rest. Stir them together with Besti brown sweetener, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter, until crumbly.
- Puree the vegetables. Once they’re done roasting, blend them with Besti and butter, until smooth and creamy. Adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Assemble the casserole. Spread the puree into a baking dish. (I use the larger one from this set and it’s the perfect size.) Smooth out the top and sprinkle the crumble evenly over it.
- Bake until golden. Pop the keto sweet potato casserole in the oven, until the dish is hot and the topping is golden.
My Tips For Flavor & Texture
- Try to keep the squash and cauliflower pieces close in size. I cut them into 1-inch cubes for the squash and cauliflower florets a bit larger than that, since the cauliflower cooks a little faster.
- Roast the vegetables to a very soft texture. If they are crisp-tender, your low carb sweet potato casserole won’t taste as much like sweet potatoes. Getting the veggies super soft is key to make the base nice and creamy.
- For a nice caramelized flavor, give the vegetables plenty of space. I use two pans like this for this reason, and love that they fit in the oven side by side. But if you’d rather keep it all on one pan, an extra-large baking sheet like this works, too.
- Once pureed, taste to check the salt and sweetness. Ideal salt can vary depending on your preference and how sweet your squash was to begin with. And if it leans too much toward a cauliflower taste, I add a little more Besti and/or cinnamon.
- I don’t recommend a full-size baking dish, unless you scale up the recipe. As written, the ideal size is the larger dish from this set. I also love that it’s pretty enough for serving. If you have a bigger crowd or just want to use a bigger 9×13 dish, 1.5X or even double the recipe.
- Don’t have a food processor? I have and love this one for grinding half the nuts to a powder quickly (plus dozens of other kitchen tasks — I’ve used it multiple times a week for the past 10 years), but you can chop by hand if needed.
- Want a more authentic flavor and texture in exchange for a few extra carbs? Add a small sweet potato to the base. You can roast it together with the vegetables.
Keto Sweet Potato Casserole
By
My keto sweet potato casserole has a sweet, creamy base with 2 secret ingredients, topped with a crunchy pecan crumble. Just 5g net carbs!
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
Roasting:
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with foil (greased lightly) or parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, toss together the cubed butternut squash, cauliflower florets, olive oil, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
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Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on the lined baking sheets. Roast in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until both are very soft and golden. (If your pans don't fit in the oven side by side, you can try a single larger pan or roast them in batches, but either way make sure veggies are in a single layer.)
Topping:
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Meanwhile, pulse 1/2 cup (64 g) pecans in a food processor until a powder forms. (Don't overmix or you'll make nut butter. If there are a few larger pieces left, that's fine.) Chop the remaining 1 1/2 cups (192 g) pecans. Place both in a small bowl.
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Add Besti brown sweetener, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture is crumbly.
Assembly:
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When the vegetables are done roasting, remove them from the oven, but don't turn it off. While they're still hot, transfer the vegetables to a food processor or high-power blender. Add Besti and butter. Puree until smooth. (If the veggies don't fit at once, you may need to puree in batches and just stir at the end.) Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.
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Transfer the puree into a medium casserole dish (the larger one from this set is the perfect size). Smooth the top with a spoon or spatula. Sprinkle the pecan crumble topping over the casserole.
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Bake the keto sweet potato casserole in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1/2 cup
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you get the best texture and flavor in your keto sweet potato casserole.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. I prefer to leave them in the same baking dish and just cover, because it’s difficult to transfer to another container without mixing up the topping.
- Meal prep: You can assemble this dish entirely 1-2 days in advance, and just bake the day-of. It’ll still taste fresh!
- Reheat: Warm it up in the oven at 350 degrees F. You can also microwave individual portions.
- Freeze: This casserole freezes pretty well for up to 3 months. The pecans soften a bit, but I think it’s still delicious.
📖 Want more recipes like this? Find this one and many more in my Low Carb Holiday Cookbook and Keto Ebook Bundle!
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Keto Sweet Potato Casserole
Serving Ideas
Now that your keto sweet potato casserole is ready, here are some of my favorite ways to serve it:
- Centerpieces – I usually serve this casserole alongside my Thanksgiving turkey or spatchcock turkey. You can also serve it for Christmas with pineapple glazed ham or roasted pork tenderloin.
- More Sides – Some of our favorites are keto green bean casserole, mashed cauliflower with keto gravy, warm keto biscuits, and sugar free cranberry sauce.
- Fall Salads – Round out your meal with my Thanksgiving salad or brussels sprout salad. Or choose from my other keto salad recipes!
152 Comments
Tracey
0Can this filling be modified to make a keto sweet potato pie?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Tracey, I haven’t tested this, but it would be a fun idea to play with. Traditional sweet potato pie has eggs to hold the filling together. Please let us know if you decide to experiment with this idea!
Frances
0When it comes to the sugar substitute have you thought of using the swerve brown sugar how do you think that would come out when I make regular sweet potatoes the fattening kind I always use brown sugar and marshmallows so I was wondering what about swerve brown sugar and then the nuts.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Frances, I think the recipe would work fine with Swerve Brown and nuts.
Dezire
0Hi! Love to see your recipe, Will try and let you know how it looks and tastes!
Rob
0How would this be without the topping?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0You can make it without the topping if you like, but it’s my favorite part. 🙂
Diana F Pavero
0This was the best Thanksgiving side on my table. Wow, everyone loved it!
Lucinda Jackson
0Using butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes saves only 2.5 net carbs per serving. And sweet potatoes have twice as much natural sugar in them (accounting for the higher carbs) which means you can cut the amount of sweetener in half. If your sweetener has any carbs at all, that would narrow the carb difference even further. I’d make this with with much tastier sweet potatoes and cut the topping by a third or maybe even in half as well since you don’t need to rely on the topping for flavor with sweet potatoes. With these changes it would be 5 stars and you wouldn’t miss a thing.
Vaea
0I just made this and it is cooling as I write this review. I understand it’s Keto. I needed to add a little heavy cream so it would whip up and MCT oil. I up the spice and thus is very Good. A stick of butter is even better..lol but good as it. Roasting was perfect and will experiment with cauliflower hummus with that technique..ty so much!
Donna
0I made this recipe today and really liked it. I used 1 bag (12 oz) of frozen cauliflower (thawed) . I should have used two bags so that the amount of cauliflower was more equal to the amount of butternut squash. There was a lot of topping, which was great, but you could really probably cut it in half. I would also have precooked (steamed) the cauliflower a tad before roasting it, so that it would have been a little over cooked and would have pureed a little better.
Misty
0Can I make this a day ahead? If so how would you do it as far as the topping goes?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Misty, Yes, I believe this can be made ahead of time. I would reserve the topping and add it the day of, before it goes in the oven. It will crisp up while the “sweet potato” portion reheats. Enjoy!
Jessi
0I’m looking to do as much preparing ahead of time as possible. Can this be made the night before (without the baking step at the end) and it still turn out the same after baking the next day or will the quality be different from sitting in the fridge overnight?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jessi, Yes, you can definitely do that!
Lindsey
0I tried this out a few weeks ago as a dry run for Thanksgiving. Wow! We were shocked at how similar this was to regular sugary sweet potato casserole. Amazing!!! We didn’t change a thing (other than using Swerve for sweetener) and loved the addition of the garlic powder. I thought about skipping it but decided not to and this is exactly how I’m serving it to company! Thank you so much!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy to hear that, Lindsey! Thank you!
Megin Murphy
0Hi! Have you ever froze this dish and defrosted later? I’d like to make it now and just pull it out on Thanksgiving to warm up.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Megin, Yes, you can definitely do that!
Shannon Rubado
0Made this as a test for Thanksgiving and it’s AMAZING! Never would have thought!
I added a little vanilla extract to the purée and left out the garlic salt in the topping.
Delish! Thank you!
I can’t atop eating it!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy to hear that, Shannon! Have a great day!!
Margaret L Large
0Can I make this and the green bean casserole the day before and refrigerate then finish the topping the next day?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Margaret, Yes, definitely!
Gloria Moore
0Butternut squash is also great instead of sweet potatoes.
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/buttercup-squash/
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I love butternut squash too, Gloria!
Karen Smith McDonald
0Can this be made and frozen?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Karen, Yes, that should work!
Jenn
0Hi. This recipe sounds great! But do you have any suggestions to sub in for the pecans in the topping? We have a family allergy to watch, and wanted to possibly exchange the pecans instead of just omitting them. Thanks!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jenn, You could try pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds if you have a nut allergy.
Liz
0This sounds amazing. Can it be made ahead of time minus the topping and frozen until needed?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Liz, Yes, absolutely!
Marcelle
0This looks awesome and I am definitely making it for this Thanksgiving, but I am confused about something. You mentioned in an earlier comment that 1/8 of the recipe is one serving but the recipe card says it makes 16 servings. So I’m confused about the nutritional info. Is that for 1/16 or 1/8 of the casserole?
Wholesome Yum L
0Hi Marcelle, sorry for the confusion. There are 16 servings in the recipe and it will be approximately 1/2 cup per serving.
Misty
0Hi!! I am southern and black so sweet potatoes are a big thing for my family around the holidays. I usually make sweet potato pies and my sister makes the sweet potato casserole (we LOVE sweet potatoes) but I Now focus on the keto way of eating. Wondering if this can be altered into a sweet potato pie? What are your thoughts? I am definitely passing this on to her for this year! Thanks for sharing your delicious recipes!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0You are welcome, Misty!
Ari
0Any thoughts on making it into a pie???
Janice
0I have some frozen cauliflower rice…do you think that would sub for the whole cauliflower?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Janice, That should work, just make sure you get all the water out of the cauliflower rice so the casserole isn’t too watery.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Ari, Sorry, I haven’t tried that yet! Let me know if you experiment with it.
Shannon
0Hi, I’ve seen and tried recipes that combine carrots with sweet potatoes. Could adding or subbing carrots, which have some natural sweetness, work with this recipe? Plz and thx!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Shannon, Yes, you could try replacing some of the butternut squash with pureed carrots. Both are on the starchier side but the casserole turns out pretty low carb when combined with the cauliflower.
Christie
0This turned out great! I left the garlic out of the topping just to be safe, and only added a tad to the base. I doubled the recipe and I had a small sweet potato on hand so I just added it (I steamed it for 10 mins then cut it up like the others and roasted with them). Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe, my family really enjoyed it!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Christie! I’m glad your family enjoyed it!