🍠🍎😍 My Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole is a HEALTHIER and DELICIOUS twist on sweet potato casserole! The potatoes and apples retain some texture with the perfect amount of crumble topping! Put it on your holiday menu!
Easy Sweet Potato Apple Bake
If you’re looking for a sweet potato casserole that’s lighter and more textured than the usual smooth or mashed versions, this recipe is perfect.
The roasted sweet potatoes paired with apples create a classic fall flavor, while the buttery brown sugar crumble topping adds just the right touch of sweetness without being overly decadent. It’s the crumble topping I use on my traditional Sweet Potato Casserole, minus the pecans, although you can incorporate them if you want to!
Unlike heavier holiday side dishes, it strikes a balance between being healthy enough to feel wholesome yet still indulgent enough to deserve a place at your Thanksgiving or Christmas table.
great dish, thank you, love sweet potatoes but have never paired them apples before, so much appreciated!
Sabrina
What’s in Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole?
To make the roasted sweet potatoes and apples, you’ll need:
- Sweet potatoes – use 3 pounds of sweet potatoes that are peeled and diced into 1-inch chunks
- Coconut oil – olive oil will also work if that’s what you prefer
- Unsalted butter – Use plant-based butter, if you need to keep your casserole dairy-free
- Light brown sugar
- All-purpose flour – I haven’t tested a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour, but I imagine it would work
- Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg can also be included for extra depth
- Apples – I used three large Fuji apples, but Gala, Honeycrisp, or your favorite red sweet-ish apples are fine. I don’t recommend Red Delicious, because they’re too mushy. Green apples aren’t great, either, because they’re too tart. I don’t peel the apples, but you can if you prefer a smoother texture
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
Not only is it slightly healthier than your standard holiday casserole, but, in my opinion, this sweet potato and apple casserole is easier to make, too!
Here’s an overview of how it’s done:
- Add the sweet potatoes to a baking sheet lined with heavy-duty nonstick aluminum foil, and drizzle oil on top. Season with salt and pepper, and use your hands to toss and combine.
- Bake until the potatoes are about 80% done.
- In the meantime, add all the ingredients for the topping to a small bowl, and fluff with a fork to combine until pea to grape-sized clumps form. Add additional flour a tablespoon at a time if the mixture is too wet. Remember not to stir like you’re mixing up cake batter! Just fluff, and set it aside.
- Transfer the roasted potatoes to a prepared baking dish, and layer the apple slices on top. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon, and drizzle with oil if desired. Then, pour the topping evenly over the apples.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375F, and continue to bake until the apples are tender, the topping is lightly golden brown and set, and the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Feel free to add chopped pecans for a bit of extra texture, if desired. Then, enjoy warm!
What to serve with Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
Recipe FAQs
If you’re making these baked sweet potatoes and apples for a holiday meal, oven space can be at a premium. Please note that I haven’t tested these suggestions firsthand. They’re just my educated guess type of hunches.
If you want to make this 3 to 4 hours before you plan to serve it, I think that is totally fine. Cover the finished dish with foil, and then about 15 minutes before serving, remove the foil, and pop it back in the oven until it’s warmed through. It’s the type of dish though that even if you’re not eating it super piping hot, it’s still good.
I think in theory you could roast the sweet potatoes the night before, transfer them to an airtight plastic container, and keep them at room temp overnight. Then, the day of service, transfer the sweet potatoes to the casserole dish, top them with the apples and crumble topping, and bake it off. This will only save you about 25 minutes and almost feels like more of a hassle, but everyone’s workflow and time constraints are different. You can also dice the apples and sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent browning if you want to speed up the prep process.
Once cool, you can transfer leftovers to an airtight container, and store them in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you’re ready to eat, warm individual portions in the microwave. Or, reheat a large amount in a casserole dish in the oven just until warmed through. I recommend covering the casserole with foil to prevent it from burning!
Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
Equipment
- 1 Medium Bowl
Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes
- 3 pounds peeled sweet potatoes, diced in 1-inch chunks
- 3 to 4 tablespoons liquid-state coconut oil, olive oil may be substituted
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Topping
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, plus more if necessary
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Apples
- 3 large apples, diced into 1-inch chunks (Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp; I didn’t peel mine)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon liquid-state coconut oil, olive oil may be substituted, optional
Instructions
Sweet Potatoes:
- Preheat oven to 400F (use convection if you have it), line a baking sheet with heavy-duty nonstick aluminum foil for easier cleanup if desired, add the sweet potatoes, evenly drizzle with the oil, salt, pepper, and toss with your hands to evenly coat.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are about 80% done, or well on their way to being done.
- While sweet potatoes are baking, prepare the topping.
Topping:
- To a medium bowl, add all the ingredients, and fluff with a fork to combine until small pea to grape-sized clumps formed. If the mixture is too wet, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time as necessary until clumps can form. Remember not to stir like you’re mixing up cake batter, just fluff it. Set topping aside.
- After sweet potatoes have roasted, transfer them to a 9×13-inch casserole or baking dish, or similar-sized.
Apples:
- Evenly sprinkle the apples over the sweet potatoes in the casserole dish, evenly sprinkle with cinnamon, optionally evenly drizzle with oil, and evenly top with the topping mixture.
- Reduce the oven temp to 375F and bake for about 30 minutes, or until apples are as tender as desired, the topping is lightly golden browned and set, and sweet potatoes are cooked through. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes:
ALL OF MY THANKSGIVING RECIPES!
Sweet Potato Casserole with Butter Pecan Crumble Topping— This is the BEST classic sweet potato casserole ever! The sweet potatoes are tender and creamy, while the streusel topping adds a delightful buttery crunch thanks to the pecans!
Sweet Potato Casserole With Potato Chip Topping – A fun and EASY twist on classic sweet potato casserole that uses potato chips in the topping for a SALTY-SWEET flavor the whole family will love! Great for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations!
Honey-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey-Cinnamon Dip – The honey glaze and the creamy cinnamon dip make these potatoes irresistible!
Classic Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing — Nothing frilly or trendy. Classic, amazing, easy, homemade stuffing that everyone loves! Simple ingredients with stellar results! It’ll be your new go-to recipe!
Slow Cooker Stuffing with Sausage — This sausage stuffing is super easy to make since the slow cooker does all the hard work for you! There’s no sauteing or browning required at all!
Cabernet Cranberry and Blueberry Sauce – Make your own cranberry sauce with amazing depth of flavor in 30 minutes! The best cranberry sauce you will EVER have, guaranteed!
Honey Butter Pumpkin Dinner Rolls – Big, soft rolls brushed with honey butter are the best! Everyone loves them and they disappear so fast!
No-Knead Make Ahead Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter – An amazingly easy dinner roll recipe that you don’t even have to knead!
Honey Orange Roasted Carrots – A fast, EASY, and holiday-friendly side dish everyone will love! The honey orange glaze adds such great FLAVOR and really jazzes up roasted carrots!
Herb-Roasted Tri-Colored Carrots —Lightly caramelized around the edges, crisp-tender in the center, and seasoned with rosemary, thyme, and parsley! A trusty side that you’ll make again and again for holidays or easy weeknight dinners!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts {Two Ways In One} – An EASY way to try TWO different versions of Brussels Sprouts in one! There’s Sweet and Spicy Sprouts AND Traditional Roasted Sprouts! So different and both SO GOOD!
Cranberry Baked Brie – EASY, 15-minute appetizer that’s filled AND topped with richly spiced orange-scented cranberry sauce!
Parmesan and Herb Roasted Potatoes – Easiest potatoes ever and packed with so much flavor! Olive oil, herbs, and everything is better with cheese! A family favorite that everyone loves!
I give this recipe 5 stars ++. It was devoured in the first 15 minutes of the Thanksgiving meal. I’m doubling the recipe for Christmas. I had 15 people for dinner and they all wanted more of it.
great dish, thank you, love sweet potatoes but have never paired them apples before, so much appreciated!
great dish, thank you, love sweet potatoes but have never paired them apples before, so much appreciated!
Fantastic casserole! I think this could be a recurring side dish for us this winter and I’d love to try it. I always love a crumble topping.
I love that you’re thinking not just for Thanksgiving but for the winter in general because yes, it’s so versatile!