Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole — 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
I love the taste and texture of roasted sweet potatoes and if you’re looking for a sweet potato casserole with some texture as opposed to perfectly smooth or mashed, put this side dish on your menu.
The apples also retain a bit of texture and their flavor along with the sweet potatoes is such a classic pairing of fall flavors.
I love crumble toppings and this one was no exception. 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.
It’s made from butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon gives this recipe a sweet potato casserole feeling rather than just roasted sweet potatoes and apples. It’s what I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving.
This is the type of sweet potato casserole that doesn’t feel overly decadent, overly sweet, or too mushy or gloppy. It feels as healthy as sweet potato casserole can get but still resemble sweet potato casserole. There’s enough decadence and food coma-type foods at Thanksgiving and Christmas meals that having a healthier side dish is a welcome addition for me.
What’s in Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole?
To make the roasted sweet potatoes and apples, you’ll need:
- Sweet potatoes
- Coconut oil
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Apples
How to Make Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
Start by roasting 1-inch diced sweet potatoes on a sheet pan. I peel my sweet potatoes, but you could leave them unpeeled.
You want to roast the sweet potatoes at 400F and make sure they’re nearly cooked through (about 25-30 minutes) before combining them with the apples so they get a headstart cooking since they take much longer than apples to cook through.
After a 25- to 30-minute roast (if you have a convection oven, this is a great recipe to use it with), transfer the sweet potatoes to a casserole dish, top with apples, and the crumble topping before baking for another half hour.
Reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees from 400F to 375F after adding the apples and crumble topping to ensure that the crumble topping doesn’t burn.
What Kind Of Apples To Use?
I used three large Fuji apples but Gala, Honeycrisp, but your favorite red sweet-ish apples are fine. I don’t recommend Red Delicious because they’re too mushy. I don’t recommend green apples because they’re too tart. I didn’t peel the apples, but you can.
Can I Make This Ahead Of Time?
If you’re making these baked sweet potatoes and apples for a holiday meal, oven space can be at a premium. Please note, 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 at room temp overnight, and then the day of service, transfer the sweet potatoes to the casserole dish, top 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.
Tips for Making Sweet Potato Apple Casserole
I used coconut oil because the natural subtle sweetness of coconut oil is perfect with the sweet potatoes and apples. Plus the gentle fragrance of the coconut oil is so lovely for me.
But if you or your family are sensitive to coconut oil, you don’t keep it on hand, or would simply prefer a more neutral-tasting oil, then use olive oil. No big deal.
When making the crumble topping, be sure to fluff it with a fork rather than mix it. You want it to form pea-sized clumps.
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Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
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 9x13-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!
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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!!
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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!