A keto sweet potato casserole that will blow the mind of your holiday family and guest. A low carb casserole topped with a brown sugar almond flour cookie loaded with crunchy pecans on top of a sweet potato alternative filling of cauliflower and pumpkin. Only 4g net carbs per serving for this Thanksgiving staple that can only add to your wonderful holiday.
Miss sweet potatoes? I sure do!
Sweet potatoes aren’t really a thing on keto because of the high carb count they tend to have. Yes! You can make them fit your macros but think of how small of a sweet potato that is. I rather indulge in one.
Why you can’t have sweet potatoes on keto.
The reason for this substitute is sweet potatoes are loaded with carbs. Yes, they may be slow digesting and they are fibrous. Adding in the total net carbs, sweet potatoes are 23g net carbs for a cup of them cubed per source. That’s actually not a lot when looking at the full scope of things.
But, in the world of keto you are only allowed 20g net carbs daily. So in order to stay under that number the amount you could eat safely simply wouldn’t be worth the time. This is where the pumpkin comes in to play to give that delicious flavor that’s very similar to it’s cousin the sweet potato. To note, I have no idea if they are cousins or not but they taste very similar.
How To Make Keto Sweet Potato Casserole (The Process)
The crust! The brown sugar pecan topping is where it is when it comes to sweet potato casserole.
I was able to achieve this from using my knowledge of keto cookies. When baking with coconut flour things don’t get crispy. Yet, when using almond flour they normally do upon cooling.
The brown sugar pecan topping is a combination of Besti brown sugar alternative, almond flour, butter and one egg.
That’s it! After cooling you can tell by the cracking that the crust became crispy. This added a remarkable texture to the cauliflower casserole.
The base came from an old recipe from my early YouTube days. I used brown sugar truvia at the time so watching my carb count was hard. Now, I go with a sweetener such as allulose or Allumonk (allulose and monk fruit sweetener) that has no aftertaste and works perfectly.
Ruth Chris is a famous steakhouse. Known for a delicious sweet potato casserole I stumbled across a copycat years ago. The flavor was mind blowing and it’s such a classic!
So, in turn I adopted my keto sweet potato casserole as such. Notice there isn’t the addition of cinnamon or nutmeg or any spices in the casserole. This was on purpose due to the original recipe of the famous steakhouse. Personally I think you get the true essence of sweet potato this way but feel free to add if you feel it’s what you want.
Helpful Recipe Tips (What You Should Know)
- Cauliflower size, this is crucial because this determines how much water is left in the casserole. From experience I found water to be an issue. Along with the pumpkin which I will speak about below. Not only would my blog followers experience a casserole that didn’t set properly, so did I. I found the smallest cauliflower worked best to keep the water content down while baking.
- Pumpkin puree, a method that I learned was to press the excess water from the pumpkin with a paper towel. This did wonders for the recipe. To do this, place the pumpkin in a bowl. Then, grab some folder paper towels and press on top of the pumpkin allowing the paper towel to absorb the excess water. Do this a few times until you get the majority of it, you won’t get it all. This allows the texture for the casserole dish.
- Cover or not to cover? Honestly, this doesn’t matter. What you must know is the casserole cooks slower than the top. You either cook the casserole first then add the topping later. Or, add everything together and cover the baking dish for the first half of the cook.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I eat sweet potatoes on keto?
Sweet potatoes are not keto friendly. Yes, you could do “if it fits your macros” but you wouldn’t have enough to really enjoy them as you would like.
Could I use sweet potatoes as a base instead of cauliflower?
Yes, you can and the recipe would stay the same minus 1 egg due to the fiber in the sweet potato. I actually did just that this past Thanksgiving and loved it. I will note that real sweet potato will rise a little so leave space at the top of the casserole pan. That will make the recipe a low carb sweet potato casserole because you’ll still use that almond flour topping over traditional flour.
Will Swerve work instead of Besti?
Yes you can use Swerve brown sugar. But note, Swerve uses erythritol which has a cooling after taste. This will give the topping a possible minty aftertaste that Besti doesn’t do because it uses allulose. This is why I stick with sweeteners that have no aftertaste.
I Can’t Believe It’s Not A Keto Sweet Potato Cauliflower Casserole
Ingredients
Keto sweet potato cauliflower casserole
- 1 head small head cauliflower (see notes below)
- 1 cup Canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (8 TB or full stick)
- 3/4 cup granulated sweetener
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon liquid monk fruit (optional, see notes below)
- 3 large Eggs
Brown sugar pecan crust
- 1/2 cup Besti Brown Sugar Sweeneter (can use Swerve as well 1:1)
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter (4 TB)
Instructions
sweet potato cauliflower bottom
- Chop and wash head of cauliflower then boil to fork tender. Should be so tender it its falling off the fork and easily pierced.
- Drain then add cauliflower into food processor and grind into a smooth puree
- Now combine mashed cauliflower, pumpkin puree, melted butter, granulated sweetener, vanilla extract, salt, liquid stevia and eggs together
- Prepare the topping by follow instructions below and preheat oven to 350ºF
brown sugar pecan crust
- Melt butter
- Combine with Besti brown sugar, blanched almond flour, and butter. Then add pecans to finish
- Add the topping to the cauliflower casserole. Place crumbles throughout as evenly as possible
- Option 1: Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil then bake and additional 20-30 minutes until crust browns. I like a darker crust so I normally go the entire 30 extra minutes but ovens vary.
- Option 2: Place casserole in preheated oven without the pecan topping for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove and add the topping then place back into the oven for another 30 minutes.
Notes
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Small head of cauliflower, this is important due to the water content. The smaller the head the less water. If you use a larger one the “sweet potato” part won’t set at all. Naturally, there’s no starch so it is looser to begin with but there would be a clear difference in texture.
- Watch the sweetness, I personally like to use liquid monk fruit to strengthen the sweetness in the bottom portion. For a sensitive pallet the top is more than enough sweet for the entire dish.
- Ice cream topping, a trick I learned at Ruth Chris was topping the casserole with vanilla ice cream. This recipe is modeled after that version and if you have had the pleasure of having it, it’s almost more of a dessert than a savory dish. Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious!!!!
I thought it was awesome! I needed a sweet potatoe casserole for Thanksgiving. I didnt want to go Keto and not be able to enjoy the holidays. now I can with my favorite side. Sweet potatoe casserole AKA “I cant believe its not a sweet potatoe casserole, cauliflower casserole”. Thank you for sharing….
Sarah
During this Thanksgiving season I have made it twice so far. I love this recipe and each time I make it I try something slightly different to see if I can get it even better. So far I’ve failed, the original reigns supreme but when I do I will update this lol
Could you please provide the nutritional information for this recipe? Thank you!
Yes! I created on just for you. It’s up there now.
What an amazing creation! Tested it for the family as a diabetic friendly substitution for candied yams. Oh my gosh. Not only delicious, but easy to prepare. Keep up the great work!
Question: when recipe says drain cauli, is it drain in a strainer, or drain through cheesecloth like I’m making mashed cauli? Excited to make this!!
Drain the cauliflower in a strainer. Also be mindful about the sweetness, If you like a sweeter product then stick with it. If sensitive lower it to your liking.
Question – ingredients note pumpkin purée. Should that be sweet potato purée or is the pumpkin substituted?
It’s canned pumpkin thanks I will clarify
So pumped to make this! Is there another substitute for the liquid monk fruit?
liquid stevia, allulose but you can skip it. The recipe is sweet as it is. It will just be less sweet. I modeled it after Ruth Chris’ and theirs is ridiculously sweet
What temp do you bake it? Maybe I missed it somewhere.
350ºF sorry I am glad someone said something
Have you tried freezing this of so hot? And how do you reheat?
Any estimate on how much a serving is in grams? Also, can frozen cauliflower be used? If so, how much? For the 3/4 cup granulated sweetener in the bottom is that white or brown sugar substitute?
How much is a serving in grams? Can you use frozen cauliflower? If so, how much?
Can this be made a day or 2 ahead without the topping until ready to bake?
Yes, you could bake them separately. Bake the bottom then later on add the top in and bake it. That’s the whole point of covering it up is because they bake separately.
I’ve never tried frozen. In grams I wouldn’t know because there are too many variables. Any nutrition fact is going to be a ball park range so I did the best I could with what Cronometer gave me. That way it’s as close to accurate as possible for you guys.
In the bottom portion that would be white. I am late with seeing this but I answered your other questions in your newer comment. Thank you for your time by the way and I am sorry for the late response.
I’ve reheated in the microwave only. But, on a low setting like 300 degrees would be great to heat it through without overcooking the top crust if you wanted to try in the oven.