Spiced Sweet Potato and Squash Casserole

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THE WHY BEHIND THIS RECIPE

My goal here was to take the beloved sweet potato casserole dish, but make it more blood sugar friendly without losing any of the flavor. In addition to sweet potato, this dish uses butternut squash, cauliflower and carrots to add even more nutrients, fiber, and help blunt the glucose spike. When eaten alone, this cased me only a 12 mg/dL rise, and with a balanced meal (like Thanksgiving with turkey, veggies etc.) I imagine it would be even less!

Another thing you can do with this recipe to help make it even more blood sugar friendly, is roast the veggies the day before and put them in the fridge. This creates what’s called a resistant starch! In the sweet potatoes and squash, some of the starches convert to resistant starch, which resists digestion in the small intestine and acts more like fiber. This process slows down the release of glucose into the bloodstream, helping to keep blood sugar levels more stable. This little trick can lesson the blood sugar impact of this dish! To learn more about resistant starch, check out this article by Levels Health.

This recipe first appeared in a Thanksgiving collab I did with Beth Bollinger. You can find the full thanksgiving menu here!

Yields: 8 servings

Total time: ~60-75 minutes

WHAT YOU NEED

TOOLS

• 9x13 rectangular baking dish (Caraway non-toxic or glass)

• Vitamix or strong blender or food processor

• Measuring cups/spoons

• Sheet pan

• Chefs knife

• Cutting board

INGREDIENTS

FILLING

• 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 large sweet potato or 2 medium sweet potatoes)

• 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed

• 1 large head cauliflower, chopped into florets

• 2 carrots, roughly chopped (about 2 cups of carrots)

• 1 small bulb garlic, roasted

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (or coconut oil if vegan)

• 1 1/2 cups 2% milk or coconut milk

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 1 tsp ginger

• 1 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tsp allspice

• 1 tsp cardamom

• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• Optional: It’s sweet already with the potatoes and squash, but you can add 3 tbsp allulose and 2 tbsp maple syrup for a little sweeter. When I tested both, I preferred it without the added sweetener! Test it after you’ve pureed to decide if you want to add any more sweetness!

SAVORY TOPPING (my favorite)

• 3/4 cup pecans

• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

• 1/3 cup almond flour

• 3 tbsp rosemary twigs (fresh)

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp cayenne (less if you are spice sensitive)

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (or coconut oil or ghee)

SWEET TOPPING (for those who are accustomed to something sweeter!)

• 3/4 cup pecans

• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

• 1/3 cup almond flour

• 1/4 cup allulose (or 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey)

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp cardamom

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (or coconut oil or ghee)

HOW TO DO IT

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Cube your sweet potatoes, squash, cauliflower and carrots. Put on a baking sheet and toss with a little olive oil, kosher salt and pepper.

3. Slice the top of the garlic head off and drizzle olive oil inside. Wrap the bulb in aluminum foil. You want to seal the tin foil around the garlic to create a little "parcel.” If you don’t have tin foil, you can cover it by putting a ramekin upside down on the sheet pan. Put the garlic on the sheet pan with the veggies.

4. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until veggies are fully roasted and soft. It’ll be easier to puree them if they are fully cooked!

5. While your veggies are roasting, prepare either your sweet or savory topping by combining all of the dry ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulsing a few times so they are more of a crumble texture. Put them in a separate bowl and then add the wet ingredient(s). Mix well.

6. Combine roasted veggies, garlic, milk, and spices into your vita-mix, blender or food processor. Blend until it’s a smooth puree. Taste test and adjust seasoning or sweetness to your liking at this step. If you need a little more milk to get the mixture smooth, add a dash more milk.

7. Using a spatula, scoop the mixture into a 9 by 13 oven safe baking dish. Top with your crumble.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 F.

SWAPS, TIPS & TRICKS

• Prep veggies in advance - to make it easier day-of and because resistant starch helps with blood sugar balance: To make these even more blood sugar friendly, you could roast the veggies the day before, and put everything in the fridge. In the sweet potatoes and squash, some of the starches convert to resistant starch, which resists digestion in the small intestine and acts more like fiber. This process slows down the release of glucose into the bloodstream, helping to keep blood sugar levels more stable. This little trick can lessen the blood sugar impact of this dish! To learn more about resistant starch, check out this article by Levels Health.

• Don’t have fresh sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cauliflower or carrots? Frozen works just fine here since you are roasting them anyway! I tested this a few items with frozen butternut squash to cut down on prep time and it was just as delicious.

• Pecans or pumpkin seeds: Use any nuts! Walnuts or almonds would also work.

• Almond flour: Can sub for coconut flour or another refined grain free flour.

Nutritional Info

Per serving, calculated with savory topping ingredients

Calories: 308
Carbohydrates: 27g
Fiber: 7g
Net carbs: 20g
Protein: 7g
Fat: 20g
Sodium: 692mg
Sugar: 8g