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Staying away from sweet potatoes due to carbs? Try this fantastic low carb sweet potato casserole with pecan topping. It’s perfect for the holidays.
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Are you stressing over what to serve at your holiday meal now that many traditional dishes are off limits? No need to worry because many recipes come in a low carb version.
I’m the youngest of six kids and times were tough growing up. My father was in the Navy while my mother stayed home The Navy pay was barely enough to support such a large family.
Our holiday meals were very modest. In fact, I remember having whole chicken rather than turkey on Thanksgiving. And, there was rarely any leftovers.
We also didn’t get together with other family on the holidays as they lived too far and it was tough to travel with so many kids in tow. So, the big Thanksgiving dinners didn’t start until I was an adult.
During one of our family Thanksgiving meals, I remember my oldest sister bringing a sweet potato casserole. I thought it was strange to add marshmallows to a side dish.
When I got my first taste of this , I thought it belonged on the dessert table. Apparently, a candy company who wanted to market their marshmallows as an everyday ingredient and the recipe went viral.
For my low carb sweet potato casserole, I left out the marshmallow taste as I never liked them on the dish. Instead, I’ve topped the casserole with a sweet pecan topping.
I also don’t use real sweet potatoes because they have about 25 grams of carbs per cup. Instead, I’ve mashed together cauliflower and pumpkin to mimic the sweet potato taste.
The idea for using cauliflower and pumpkin in a low carb sweet potato casserole isn’t new. It likely came from Maria Emmerich who is the best selling author of The Ketogenic Cookbook.
It makes sense to use cauliflower as it’s been the most popular ingredient for low carb potatoes. But, to get the flavor of sweet potatoes, you need to add a bit more.
Pumpkin is very close in taste to sweet potatoes but isn’t as sweet. That’s why you’ll need to add a sweetener to get the true flavor.
I added a half cup of Sukrin:1 to the cauliflower mixture the first time I made the casserole, but thought that was too sweet. So, I’ve lowered the amount to ⅓ cup.
If you’d like to cut back on the erythritol, you can use plain stevia instead of Sukrin:1 which is a stevia blend. I’ve included the amount of SweetLeaf drops needed.
The pecan topping adds more sweetness. I wanted the flavor of brown sugar so I mixed in Sukrin Gold with the chopped pecans.
If you don’t have any low carb brown sugar substitute on hand, you can always add a touch of blackstrap molasses to a granular white sugar substitute.
The traditional pumpkin spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves really enhances the flavor as well. However, you can change up the spice blend to suit your own tastes.
This low carb sweet potato casserole tastes more like a dessert to me, but it does go well with turkey and ham. So, it’s a great dish to make for your holiday meal.
This year, my oldest sister, the one who introduced me to the marshmallow topped holiday side dish, has gone low carb. I plan to bring to introduce her to my low carb version of the casserole at our family Christmas dinner.
Need some more ideas for low carb holiday side dishes? My cauliflower au gratin is always a hit and so is my creamed spinach.
What are your favorite low carb recipes to serve at holiday dinners? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
Low Carb Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping Recipe
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Mock Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
Recipe Video (Click on Image to Play)
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower about 1.2 pounds florets
- 1 cup mashed pumpkin
- ⅓ cup Sukrin:1 or ¾ teaspoon SweetLeaf Stevia Drops
- 3 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
Pecan Topping
- 3 tablespoons Sukrin Gold packed or other brown sugar substitute
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 3 tablespoons almond flour
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Cut cauliflower into florets and steam until soft. (I steamed them in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes)
- Combine steamed cauliflower, pumpkin, sweetener, eggs, salt, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves in food processor or blend. Puree until smooth.
- Spread mashed cauliflower mixture into a 2-quart or 11×17 casserole dish.
Topping
- In medium bowl, mix together Sukrin Gold, coconut flour, and almond flour.
- Cut in butter then stir in pecans.
- Sprinkle pecan mixture over cauliflower mixture.
- Bake at 325°F for 30 minutes or until topping has browned.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
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Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
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Sue
Can I use frozen cauliflower?
Lisa MarcAurele
Yes. Frozen cauliflower can be used in place of fresh.
MJ
I know this is an old post, but I hope these comments about the recipe not containing sweet potatoes are coming from people that didn’t realize this was a low carb site. Anyway, thank you for posting this recipe, it’s exactly what I was looking for! I was brainstorming how I could replace sweet potatoes ??(My Fav) Thought, well I could use cauli and sukrin, but something would still be missing…. Boom pumpkin! Thanks.
Shanna
Has anyone’s tried making this the day before and reheating? Trying to save time tomorrow. But i know cauliflower gets a stronger flavor when it is leftover. I don’t want the cauliflower flavor to take over the dish.
TIA
Lisa MarcAurele
I’ve made it before and reheated in a low temp oven.
Angel
Have yyou tried freezing this after baking, or perhaps just the puree for future use?
Lisa
I haven’t, but it should freeze well as the puree freezes well.
Tammy
Could I use just a regular granular sweetener like pyure instead of gold, I can’t find any low carb brown sugar in my area.
Lisa
You can. Or, you can make your own brown sweetener with a touch of blackstrap molasses.
Diane
Just wondering it says to use almond and coconut flour . Can you use just one or the other? What is the difference between the 2 other than the obvious?
Lisa
I like to use a mixture of the two, but all almond flour is okay too.
Kathy
I subbed baked acorn squash for the cauli and it was delicious!! Perfect for Thanksgiving. Thank you so much!
Lisa
I’ve never had acorn squash. Maybe I need to pick some up next time I’m at the grocery store.
Sandy
Hello Lisa, I have not tried this recipe yet. I am wondering why you would call this a sweet potato casserole when you don’t use sweet potatoes. It is misleading to me. I see that you have answered to someone else that it is a mock sweet potato pie. Maybe you should use the word Mock. I understand why you use pumpkin and cauliflower, but it seems like it should have another name. I would like to try it with Sweet potatoes as well as your original recipe. Maybe this is being picky, but I just needed to ask. Thanks, Sandy
Lisa
It’s a mock sweet potato recipe
Anne Tisdale
When she says mock that means fake, usually when people use the word “mock”, it means there may not be any of the original ingredient in it! It’s like when people say mock macaroni and cheese, and there’s no macaroni in it, probably cauliflower instead of macaroni! Or mock meatballs, means there’s no meat, it’s a nut or legume or whatever plant based substitute someone wants to use! When the word “mock”, is used it’s generally to recreate a healthier recipe, somewhat like the original! Hope that clarification helps!
Jodi
I think the OP meant that the title of the post was misleading because it did not have the word mock in it when this is clearly a mock recipe. I was a bit thrown off as well, this is not what I was looking for.
By the way, why all the exclamation points, Anne? It makes it seem like you’re shouting.
Natalie
This looks awesome! In my household, we always made a brown sugar/strusel type topping for the casserole, never marshmallows. I actually really like marshmallows, but I don’t care for them in that one instance. A brown sugar topping is ideal in my book and this looks like a great substitute!
Lisa
Sukrin Gold is the best low carb brown sugar sub I’ve found.
Dana
I added vanilla and it tasted good by itself without the topping!! Not much of a clove fan so I left that out. I also added a little more cinnamon and sweetener. I can’t believe how good this is! Thanks!!
Lisa
Ooh! I think I’ll try it that way. Sounds yummy!
Tina Wilkins
Thanks for much needed recipes!
Lisa
You’re very welcome!
Veronica
I will definitely try this at Christmas!
Lisa
It’s perfect for Christmas dinner!
Becky
This sounds so good! And veggies!
Lisa
I really didn’t taste like veggies to me.
Cheryl
Hello, I stumbled across your mock sweet potato receipt searching for a topping for the real McCoy…they are both cooking side by side in the oven…the mock is better then the real, so excited to take both dishes to my mom’s today, see which one everyone eats the most of. Low Carb for Thanksgiving all the way!!
Lisa
Thanks for giving it a try Cheryl!
VHM
I decided I would make the filling, cover it with foil, and top it and bake it off on Thanksgiving Day, as a time saver.
Not to be overly critical but I sure hope it tastes better after adding the topping and baking it, because right now it has very little flavor and is really bland, borderline not good. Even adding some additional spices didn’t help.
Does the taste improve once baked? I sure hope so! Thanks.
Lisa
Mine tasted like a dessert, but that was with the topping.
txgrandma
This looks great and I look forward to trying it. I used to make a knock off of the Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole and it was a great hit. This looks like a pretty good imitation and I think the family will like it. Thanks!
Ann Stewart
Why does it say sweet potato in the title & then call for pumpkin in the recipe?
Lisa
It’s a mock sweet potato pie.
M
Hi Lisa,
The instructions mention almond butter but the ingredients do not, just almond flour.
Is that a mistake, or is it actually almond butter in the recipe instead of almond flour?
Thanks!
Lisa
It should be only almond flour not butter. I’ll get the instructions fixed.