Pretty sweet potato casserole is an impressive, easy, and healthy side dish recipe that's ideal for your Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday dinners. The sweet potatoes are shingled (sliced thin) then stacked in a casserole dish with a little maple syrup poured over the top. Once they're soft and a little crispy at their edges, you sprinkle some peppery pecans over top and it's ready to serve.
Ingredients
4lbssweet potatoes, sliced ⅛ inch thick
3tablespoonsavocado oil
1teaspoonsalt
¼teaspooncayenne
3tablespoonsmaple syrup
1cuppecans
1tablespoonbutter, vegan, if needed
1teaspoonpepper
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes, preferably with a mandoline, and place them in a large bowl.
4 lbs sweet potatoes
Add the avocado oil, salt, and cayenne to the bowl and carefully mix the sweet potatoes.
Add the sweet potatoes to your casserole dish so that they stand on end - see picture. Cover the casserole dish with a lid or foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Take the casserole out of the oven and remove the foil or lid. Pour the maple syrup over the top and put it back into your oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
3 tablespoons maple syrup
While the casserole is baking, make the peppery pecans. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the pecans and let them toast until they begin to smell fragrant, about 4-5 minutes. Remove them from the heat and stir in the pepper.
1 cup pecans, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon pepper
Turn your oven to broil (see notes) and broil the casserole for 5-10 minutes, or until the top starts to brown. Remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle the pecans over the top.
Notes
If you can't control the temperature your oven broils at, keep an extra close eye to make sure it doesn't burn. A few very dark spots are ok but you don't want too many.