Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow (Gluten-Free, Allergy-Free)

Name: Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow (Gluten-Free, Allergy-Free)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2.5 to 3 lbs of Sweet Potatoes*; 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar-Style Erythritol (or preferred light brown sugar); 1/2 Stick of Vegan/Soy-Free Butter (4 Tablespoons); 1 Tsp Cinnamon; 1/2 Tsp Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract; 1 Prepared Batch of Homemade Marshmallow Fluff**

Published: Nov 4, 2019 by Rebecca Pytell · This post may contain affiliate links.

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This super easy Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow topping is a healthier twist on the classic Thanksgiving side dish! A sweet holiday favorite that's gluten-free, allergy-free, sugar-free, and optionally paleo! Smooth, mashed sweet potato topped with homemade marshmallow fluff, and baked to perfection!

It works! I've been planning this recipe for over a year and 2019 was time for the REVEAL! A VEGAN sweet potato casserole with marshmallow topping that's SOY-FREE, 100% homemade, even sugar-free! The healthiest version of the Thanksgiving classic. Is it dessert? Is it a side dish? During the holidays it doesn't matter, it's just an essential dish that must be on the table and I wholeheartedly believe EVERYONE should be able to enjoy it!

Let's clear up the reasons why this recipe is ground-breaking!

Are marshmallows vegan?

Conventional marshmallows contain gelatin. Gelatin is derived from the boiling down (aka hydrolysis) of animal collagen found in their skin, bones, and connective tissues. Gelatin commonly comes from cows, pigs, fish, or chicken. While most marshmallow brands are gluten-free, they're rarely vegan and possibly contain top 8 allergens like fish, shellfish, or soy.

Are there brands of vegan marshmallows?

This is where things get weird and why I created my homemade marshmallow fluff a few years back. All the "big name" vegan marshmallow brands (Dandies) are made with SOY. A big no-no in the food allergic community. For some baffling reason, no United States-based brand makes vegan AND allergy-free marshmallows. But, there are not one, but TWO European brands that make vegan, allergy-free, gluten-free, marshmallows (aren't they spoiled!)

Dandies (contain soy)
Trader Joe's (contain soy)
Suzanne's Specialties - Ricemellow Creme (contain soy)
Ananda's Gourmet - British Brand #1 that's allergy-free!
Freedom Confectionary - British Brand #2 that's allergy-free!

Come on American brands! Get in the game! I guess we should all move to the UK. In the meantime, while we can't have store-bought vegan/allergy-free marshmallows, we can take matters into our own hands and fluff it up!

How to make vegan sweet potato casserole

I said this recipe was super easy and I'm not lying! Minimal ingredients, super quick with a few time-cutting hacks you can use as well.

What you need:

Sweet Potatoes
Brown Sugar Sweetener (Brown Erythritol or Normal Brown Sugar)
Vegan/Soy-Free Butter
Cinnamon
Vanilla Extract
Marshmallow Fluff

Prepping the sweet potatoes

The sweet potatoes for sweet potato casserole need to be steamed, boiled, or roasted beforehand. This is where you can take the 100% homemade route or the time-saving "old-fashioned" method. By that, I mean, cracking open a can of Princella! Pre-cooked, cut sweet potatoes, specifically made for sweet potato casseroles and the like! They recently came out with a stevia-sweetened version (instead of the classic corn syrup-drenched candied yams).

To Steam, Boil, Roast: You can peel, cube, and steam the sweet potatoes or you can peel, cube, and boil the sweet potato until tender, and mash. You can also roast them in the oven (which will take the longest but yield the sweetest), and scrape out the flesh. These methods will yield hot potato flesh, so you can just mash the potatoes, brown sugar sweetener, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla together in a bowl.
From the Can: Drain and rinse the potatoes, add them to a pot on the stove with the brown sugar sweetener, butter, cinnamon and vanilla, and mash together.

Whichever method you use to cook the sweet potatoes, to mash them, I like to use a hand masher. You can also make them super smooth by using an electric hand or stand mixer. Then you'll just spread the sweet potato mixture into a casserole dish!

Marshmallow Fluff Topping

This is where your paleo option comes in. My homemade sugar-free, vegan, and allergy-free marshmallow fluff topping is made with aquafaba, chickpea liquid. Chickpeas are legumes and thus, not paleo. But hold up! You can opt to use whipped coconut cream (add this after you bake the sweet potatoes) or just go back to a normal gelatin-based marshmallow if the casserole does not need to be vegan.

How to get a toasted marshmallow topping

I was shocked how easy the aquafaba marshmallow fluff toasted up in the oven! (Y'all I didn't have high hopes; I thought it would melt). It acts like a Meringue, vegan meringue, slightly crisps and browns while remaining light and fluffy. It's super light and a better, healthier, way to make a marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole without all the sugar! (And not, it doesn't taste like beans!)

I like to take the back of a spoon to make the small peaks you see in the marshmallow topping. These peaks are what will give you the best gold brown color and make it look "fancy".

No Nut Topping

This is a nut-free sweet potato casserole too! My family never had the pecan streusel topping kind of casserole. It HAS to be marshmallow! While pecans are far form allergy-free, the nut toppings are higher calorie, higher in fats, and still loaded with sugar (from the streusel). At first glance those casseroles make look "healthier", but...think again. The whole "crunchy nut" thing never sounded appetizing to me anyway!

Is sweet potato casserole a dessert or side dish?

The biggest debate there is! It's a side dish through and through, just a very sweet side dish. Whoever said a side dish had to be savory? The non-American may think a marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole should be served as dessert but they'd be mistaken!

The Origins of The Sweet Potato Casserole

The dish dates back to the late 1800s, featured in the famous "Boston Cooking School Cookbook", for a recipe of candied or glazed sweet potatoes by Fannie Farmer. It was a simple dish of boiled sweet potato with sugar syrup and butter. Baked until golden brown and glazed with the sugar syrup. The marshmallow addition came about in the early 1900s when the brand, Angelus Marshmallows, began mass-marketing marshmallows to the public. As they continued to push marshmallows on Americans, 10 years later (1917) they enlisted Janet McKenzie Hill, who founded Boston Cooking School Magazine, to create recipes that utilized marshmallows. One of those recipes was a sweet potato casserole topped with MARSHMALLOWS!

Can you make sweet potato casserole ahead of time?

Yes! We all like to offload as much cooking as possible before the big day (Thanksgiving)! This vegan sweet potato casserole can be made ahead of time, cooled, and refrigerated the day before. You can simply pop the casserole on an open rack when you're heating up the other dishes you made ahead (like stuffing!) Making it ahead of time also allows all the sweet flavors to meld together; from the natural sweet potato sugars to the sweeteners added. You can also prep the sweet potatoes in the casserole dish, top with the homemade fluff, and refrigerate up to 2 days in advance. You can then give it a quick bake day of!

Storing the leftovers

Any leftovers in the casserole dish can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days after baking. Just heat any leftovers up in the microwave and serve it hot, warm, even cold if that's your vibe.

A healthy side dish for Thanksgiving

This healthy sweet potato casserole is the most "lightened-up" version of the classic sugar-filled, buttery, and carb-heavy dish you'll find! From being a dairy-free sweet potato casserole, sugar-free sweet potato casserole, and always a gluten-free sweet potato casserole! It's:

Gluten-Free
Vegan
Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
Paleo-Option
Oil-Free
Sugar-Free
Kid-Friendly
Healthy, Quick, and Easy!

It's perfect for any holiday, not just Thanksgiving! Casserole dishes are great for any time you've got a ton of guests coming over and when the dish is sweet, warm, and super comforting...who could say no? Bonus points for being healthy and allergy-free which no one will ever know! The "icing on the cake", or should we say, "the marshmallow on the potato"?

Easy Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow