Lightened-Up Sweet Potato Casserole. {Video!}
Today I start working on my 30th year. At least I think that is how this works, right? I turn 29, but that means I’m working on my 30th year, correct? I sure as heck hope so since I’m structuring an entire blog post about it.
It seriously makes my brain explode when I think about the fact that I have been walking this earth for nearly 30 years. Maybe it’s because I’m so horrific at math (I froze in the back of a cab in San Francisco this past weekend when I had to tip the driver… disaster), or maybe it’s because I usually reserve the idea of “30 years” for long lasting marriages (which uh, by the way… how the HECK have those people not killed each other? they must not be snorers or cover-stealers).But
THIRTY years?! Is this even sweet potato casserole worthy?
As usual, I came to this party totally unprepared. If I was super creative or managed to think about something other than the next five minutes in front of my face, I would have made something completely chocolate-covered, bacon-infused, sugar-loaded and salty. Because salt is heaven.
But I didn’t. I made sweet potato casserole. Boring sweet potato casserole. Nothing worthy of birthday celebrations. Can I have an assistant? Not because I’m busy enough but because I need a second brain. It would help us all. Really.
So this whole turning 29 thing? I’ve never been one to freak about birthdays. I’ve never spazzed at the thought of turning 30 or 40 or even 50. I mean, yesterday I spent six hours on a plane listening to Kenny G on my iPod for the second time in 48 hours. I’m pretty sure I’m closer to age 50 than 29, right? Without all the wisdom and stuff.
As your typical product of the internet generation, I grew up assuring myself that by this age I’d have spent my college years being even cooler than Jessica Wakefield, the majority of my 20s gallivanting in and out of popular clubs in an even more popular city, and the rest of the time making millions of dollars, owning some kind of mansion on water somewhere, marrying someone who doesn’t come complete with a stuffed turkey, popping out four or ten Ralph Lauren polo-clad kids, and decorating my entire life a la Martha Stewart.
Raise your hand if you think I read too many fiction novels.
And thanks a lot to you too, MTV.
I definitely drank the koolaid.
Soooo. Here I am. I cook way too much food in my kitchen and then talk about something completely other than that food to my invisible internet friends. I pretend to know what I’m doing even though many days I honestly have zero idea… ever. I don’t wear ball gowns every weekend and I don’t sit at cool coffee shops and I don’t have a house in Malibu and I don’t have a wardrobe like Carrie Bradshaw. The money tree I planted must have began with faulty seeds because, uh… I see no bills laying in my backyard. Fail.
29 is so different at 29 than I thought it would be at 7 and 15 and even 21. But it’s just what I need and it certainly is… delicious? Yes. So I’m gonna eat up.
Lightened-Up Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
sweet potato layer
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/3 cup canned lite coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
oatmeal coconut pecan crumble
- 1/2 cup whole, unsalted pecans, chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut
- 1 tablespoon whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Add to a pot with cold water, then bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20-30 minutes, then drain. While sweet potatoes are cooking, add butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, cook until little brown bits appear in the pan – about 4-5 minutes. Remove immediately from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In the bowl of an electric mix (or a large bowl, using a hand mixer), add sweet potatoes. Add all remaining ingredients – sugar, syrup, spices, salt, vanilla extract, coconut milk and brown butter – and mix on low speed until combined about 30 seconds. Mix on medium speed for another 1-2 minutes, until potatoes are whipped. Spread in an oven-safe pan or dish. I used an 9 x 2 1/2 round tart pan.
- Combine oats, flour, pecans, coconut, spices and salt in a bowl and mix to thoroughly combine. Add in softened butter, and use your hands to completely moisten the mixture and clump it together. Sprinkle the crumble around the outside of the dish, leaving room in the center for marshmallows. Add marshmallows to the middle. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crumble is golden and marshmallows are gooey.
- Notes: If you want to skip the marshmallows, I suggest doubling the crumble mixture and covering the entire top with it. If you can’t find unsweetened, flaked coconut (I use Bob’s Red Mill brand), using sweetened is fine, but I would decrease the sugar by a 1/2 tablespoon (or more/less, depending on tastes). You can also sub in milk, cream or half and half for the coconut milk if you wish. However, the coconut milk does NOT add a coconut flavor to the casserole.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Since, like always, I spent so much time talking about myself, I forgot to tell you about that orange stuff up there. It’s good. It has less than half the sugar and butter than regular sweet potato casserole has. I threw a bunch of stuff in the dish and said a prayer that it would turn out. It has lovely coconut milk. Mmmmm. But! IT HAS BROWN BUTTER. That should be enough. Make. Now.
343 Comments on “Lightened-Up Sweet Potato Casserole. {Video!}”
I want to make this for thanksgiving! What a great idea. I’m on my 30th year as well…pure craziness. Where does time go? Seriously??
Happy birthday! I am turning 29 tomorrow… I guess we will be embarking on this 30th year journey together! I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what life decides to throw at me this year. Have a great day!
Happy early birthday to you! :)
So delicious for T-day!
Happy birthday, dear friend! Make someone else bake your cake. ; )
Happy Birthday! The sweet potato casserole looks fantastic! I love the idea of the oatmeal, coconut, and pecan topping…and I wouldn’t turn away the marshmallow option either. Good call.
“29 is so different at 29 than I thought it would be at 7 and 15 and even 21. But it’s just what I need and it certainly is… delicious? Yes. So I’m gonna eat up.”
What a lovely sentiment! Happy birthday. :)
Happy Birthday! I felt the same way on my birthday, thinking that this was no the place I pictured myself at 17! Oh well :) These sweet potatoes look amazing! Hope your day is a great one!
I’ve never made, nor I admit, ever had, sweet potato casserole. This makes it look really good and simple enough. I think I’ll try it for Thanksgiving! Happy birthday and enjoy every year! Life just gets more interesting with each passing day…
Happy Birthday!
I love ‘I definitely drank the koolaid’! That’s awesome, so funny! You have such a great writing style. I like how you make amazing recipes, but also use them as a way to showcase your fantastic writing! And, about the Koolaid, I did toooo… and thought I would be like Jessica Wakefield/a Laguna girl by college!
Oh, and I tried brown butter because of reading about it so much here… my mom and I made artichokes over the weekend and I made a lemon brown butter to dip leaves in… I have no words. It was unreal and I practically drank it! Thanks for bringing it into my life. Me and butter are changed forever!! lol
Yeah… that sounds incredible. Maybe it will be my birthday meal?! Thanks Rose!
Mumm Mummm (as my lil’ nephew would say).
Have a SUPER HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Make the most of the last of your 20s! Ya know, do shot and stay up late :-)
Happy Birthday, Miss How Sweet :)
PS, do you think if you just put the maple syrup and coconut milk in instead of the brown sugar/butter, would I have to increase the coconut milk or…? I think sweet potatoes are naturally sweet so I’m trying to figure out a way to rid it completely of any added sugar but I don’t believe just using coconut milk would work. Any suggestions?
I think that would probably work? Maybe add another 1/4 cup or so??
LOL… fresh face, you are so young. Obvious to your fans and followers that you will always remain “young at heart” no matter what the birthday calendar tells you!
I’ve been married longer than you have been celebrating birthdays… to the same guy. A cover stealer and a snorer. One who will chose the wrong sized pan to cook everything, every time… but also one who appreciates ALL my kitchen adventures (and eats them too), one who encourages me in all my passions, and who can run a mean vacuum and do laundry (he only turned my whites, pink, once… ).
We like the “investment” we’ve made in one another and with respect, love, and a sense of humor, we have managed to weather what life has thrown at us… as a family~
and I am so going to make this sweet potato casserole… they are one of the hubby’s faves~!
love, love, love this. thanks Kim!
Happy birthday, Jessica!
Happy Birthday!! And I love that topping!
Hey this looks awesome!! I am going to make this for thanksgiving this year. Usually I dont even like sweet potato casserole but there is something about this one that makes me want to give it a shot again!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Athena – I am the same way. Never really liked sweet potato casserole and often skipped over it because I wanted more mashed potatoes/turkey/gravy/stuffing/etc. Let me know if you like it!
That’s just a whole lotta good all in one dish right there.
Happy birthday!! I’m shocked I don’t see a billion sprinkles on something sweet and festive!
Happy Birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And this sweet potato casserole looks A-mazing!
Happy birthday! My big day is Friday and I’m only turning 24 but its not near as exciting as it used to be :(
This recipe looks amazing, can’t wait to try it, thanks for posting!!
Happy Birthday!! I’m in love with sweet potato casserole, so this post definitely made me smile and want to make this recipe pronto.
I think you’re right about the 29 years of age, 30th year thing, but trying to wrap my head around it is making my brain hurt. Also, you needn’t be prepared for your own birthday, it’s the one day where you get to sit back and let others spoil YOU! Besides, who needs a bunch of birthday treats when you have flavoured vodkas calling your name ;) Happy birthday!!!! Hope it’s a great day xo
Happy birthday! Enjoy it.
Looks perfect for thanksgiving! Thanks for the recipe.
My hubby is a blanket stealer too, so I bought him his own blanket. Every once in a while I still wake up shivering, but it’s definitely cut down on the middle-of-the-night blanket wars. Happy Birthday and thanks for all your awesome recipes!
Happy Birthday my friend! Thirty and flirty remember! Xo and enjoy your last year of your twenties {I promise you wont miss them!} {{HUGS}}
Happy Birthday – hope it’s great! Casserole looks great….may be a contender for Thanksgiving this year. :)
Happy Birthday! I know how you feel! Even though I am only working on my 24th year, I still ask myself, “Where did the time go?” Anyway, I will definitely be making this dish for Thanksgiving. You just can’t go wrong with sweet potato and coconut. One bite of this on Thanksgiving will take my imagination away from the cold weather and instead, laying on a beach with a martini, a slice of this, and of course, a hot cabana boy!
MANGIA!
Happy Birthday Jessica!!!! I just turned 30 in September and I thought my life would be sooo different at 30 than it actually is. Oh well maybe things will be different at 40 (blah not that I want to think about turning 40!!). Anyways the sweet potatos look amazing. When looking at the pictures I actually thought there was bacon in the topping, but it was the coconut. A little disappointed because I think crumbled bacon in amongst all of the sweetness would be awesome, but it looks delicious just as is anyways :)
Happy Birthday!!!! Your dish as usual looks delish! I love sweet potatoes, this is a perfect recipe to make in individual tart dishes, since as I said before I’m the only one in the house who will eat sweet poatoes! I’m excited to try this recipe! Your so creative! How was the Food Buzz Event?
Happy Birthday! Celebrate with lots of bacon :) Cheers!
I don’t understand.. Is this sweet or savoury? Confoooosed!
ps: Happiest of birthdays to you! x
Happy birthday to one of my favorite bloggers! :)
happy birthday jessica! here’s to another amazing year :)
sweet potato casserole is my absolute favorite thanksgiving dinner. that crumb topping looks to die for. have a great day!
I have been reading your blog daily for what I thought was more than a year… so how did I miss last year that we have the same birthday?? Happy birthday to you! For my birthday weekend(because one day is never enough), I definitely made your delicious chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I’ll eat one (or 5) for you today!
Happy birthday to you!!
I love the design of this, with the crunchy topping on the outside and marshmallows in the middle. In our family, we always argue about which type of topping is better– and this way, you get both!
Same here – I always want the marshmallows but my grandma used to make it with this pecan stuff… I figure you gotta have the best of both worlds.
Happy happy birthday my friend!!! 29 was an amazing year for me… I hope it is for you too! I had such fun with you this weekend, bring your butt to chicago soon!!!
I must, I must! You were the highlight of my weekend. Man I love you.
Back at ya :)
This looks amazing! What a great way to “decorate” this and make it different! I think this is going to be on my Thanksgiving table this year!
When I turned 29 (a long time ago) I about had a complete nervous breakdown. I knew the next year I would be 30 and I was never going to be 30, how did that happen to me? I don’t know what my problem was but I was a wreck. My husband sent me on a 4 day trip by myself to visit my good friend in LA. It was awesome. I am thinking about having another complete nervous breakdown next year and see if I can get another one of those trips alone! :)
This makes me think I need to have a nervous breakdown tonight. I want a fun vacation like that!
Happy birthday, Jessica!
FYI – the 30’s are waaaay better than the 20’s. I do not lie.
I didn’t know you could put MARSHMELLOWS on DINNER.
AWESOME.
Happy birthday btw!!!
I don’t know how I feel about sweet potatoes. I love sweet potato fries, but last year at Christmas I tried sweet potatoes that my boyfriend’s mom made and they had marshmallows on them. I don’t know if was the texture or the fact that it tasted like dessert turned me off. I would be willing to give this a try though- it’s so beautiful! :)
I totally understand what you mean… I have always felt the same about sweet potato casseroles. Also, many of the traditional ones are made with eggs, and I just am not a fan for some reason. But I loved this – not sure if it was because the topping was so crunching or the potatoes tasted more pure or just because I made it myself… so you must try it! :)
Happy Birthday Beautfiul! I am also 29 this year, and I am about to try to embark on the career you are already wildly succeeding at AND I turned 29 like 3 months ago, so you are most definitely winning on all stakes!
I think 29 is a great year! Sometimes I get a bit nostalgic for my younger 20’s (most of which was spent falling in and out of clubs, but definitely not super glamorous ones and my hair NEVER looked like how it did in my fantasies….). Then I start to remember how most of my 20’s were actually spent fretting about my figure, or my roots or whether some guys was going to call me or not – or what the heck people were saying about me, or werent saying about me, or really thought etc. These days I probably cry every few months (as opposed to erm, daily), Ive dyed my hair brown, I save a ton of money having discovered DVD box sets… and Ive clearly changed the focus of my body anxiety, given that I now stay in and bake lasagne all weekend instead of squeezing myself into cheap and weird looking lycra. RESULT!! Youth is great but its also exhausting and Im so happy to be entering my 30’s! xoxo
This is a fabulous comment.
Happy Happy Birthday Jessica!!
I am obsessed with sweet potatoes and this looks delicious, yum!
Oh my gosh, this looks so good. I agree with you on working on your 30th year… totally. You have to ace it before you get there! So wait, if you don’t ace it, does that mean you don’t HAVE to turn a year older? Cause that’d be sweet…
Happy 29th! This is a perfect birthday recipe for you! It’s bright, covered in something sweet and cinnamony, and makes a vegetable taste like dessert. AND it’s lightened up so you can eat like, 3x the bacon and cake of a normal day. Yes, please. #winning
Happy Birthday! I pray everyday my husband will still love my cover-stealing self in 30 years. And that sweet potato casserole is way prettier than some cake with crunchy icing roses. Just saying.
Sweet potato casseroles make fall my favorite time of year. And football. What more could a girl need?
Happy Birthday, Jessica!!!!!!!! yay for 29 :)
I just turned 29 this year too…it’s a weird feeling to be in my 30th year. I always thought of 30 year olds as being SO old…but now that I’m almost there, I don’t feel that old!
This sweet potato casserole looks divine!
Happy Birthday!
Also, if you’re serious about the assistant, I also live in the Pittsburgh area and am a huge fan! Though I honestly don’t know if my brain would be any help. In the last 24 hours I dropped a full bottle of beer on my tile kitchen floor and knocked a full bowl of cereal off my counter. I hope 29 is wonderful!
I think we’d be two peas in a pod!
Happy birthday! Hope you have a wonderful 30th year! :)