10 Classic, Creative, and Healthy Sweet Potato Recipes for Thanksgiving Dinner

Keep it super simple, but still rich and delicious, with this mashed sweet potato casserole. The caramelized brown sugar and pecans on top give the soft vegetable underneath a full flavor that nicely complements the traditional turkey, gravy, and stuffings served on Thanksgiving.

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This casserole is the fluffy kind many people remember from their childhood, topped with marshmallows, brown sugar to candy the vegetables, and pecans on top of mashed sweet potatoes. The savory-mixed-with-sweet flavor give it more of a decadent dessert feel than that of a side dish. For those with limited oven or counter space, these sweet potatoes can be candied in advance in your slow cooker.

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For a slight twist on the classic sweet potato casserole staple, Kelly Senyei at Just a Taste simply slightly twists the vegetable itself. The taste remains the same as a classic sweet Thanksgiving casserole, but your eyes get something new to look at by just spiral-cutting your sweet potatoes. It's a surprise for the table, but familiar to the tummy.

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The most classic of Thanksgiving dishes, the sweet potato casserole, gets an adult update with Jaymee Sire's Grand Marnier version of the dish. Adding this orange-flavored liqueur will bring out the flavor of the sweet potato, while the bitterness of the alcohol will play nicely off the sweetness of the dish.

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Not everyone wants a sugary-sweet side dish on their Thanksgiving plate, and this take is a good option for those who want to cut down on the amount of starch they're serving. Skip the mashed potatoes and go with this savory twice-baked sweet potato option instead. Save that sugar for dessert!

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The prep on this side dish calls for cutting your sweet potatoes into thick rounds, rather than mashing or thin-slicing them, which gives you a very different looking end result than most people are used to for Thanksgiving. Swapping savory goat cheese for a more traditional sweet topping also gives it a unique twist — this one is truly for the Thanksgiving adventurer.

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Step far outside the typical sweet potatoes treatment for Thanksgiving by making a gratin instead of a casserole. This recipe is perfect for guests who don't appreciate sweets in their dinner and like the tang of cheese instead, while keeping the texture around the vegetable warm and creamy.

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Sweet meets tart in this take on sweet potatoes. Iserloh suggests using a Japanese mandoline to slice your apples and sweet potatoes for a uniform presentation, while the addition of honeyed walnuts adds some sugar and crunch to the dish.

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Keep things very healthy for your Thanksgiving meal by combining your side salad and sweet potato dish. This recipe requires minimal work and time but gives you the familiar spiced, roasted potato and pecan paired with a healthy kale-and-cranberry salad.

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This recipe is healthy and nontraditional but will add both color and spice to your Thanksgiving plate! These savory sweet potato wedges nicely eliminate the need for any other potato on your plate and can also be made as thick rounds for a more familiar-looking style. We recommend cinnamon and chipotle as your spice combination, for the fall-friendly smell.

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