Last Updated on November 27, 2024

Please enjoy our absolute favorite fall and winter holiday dish. Full of delicious seasonal ingredients, this chunky sweet potato, apple, and cranberry casserole strikes the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors. It makes an appearance on our table every year for Thanksgiving, Winter Solstice, or Christmas parties… where everyone always begs for the recipe, so here it is!

This recipe is naturally semi-sweet but low in added sugar, so it’s a wonderful healthy substitution to super-sweet classic candied yams. With alternating layers of apples, yams, and spices, it’s almost as if roasted sweet potatoes and apple pie had a baby. The addition of fresh cranberries gives it a beautiful pop of color and tartness, and the walnuts (or pecans) offer a welcome toasted crunch. We usually enjoy it as a side dish, but have had it topped with vanilla ice cream for dessert too!

All in all, this recipe is simple, beautiful, and delicious. You can’t go wrong.

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TIP: This sweet potato apple cranberry casserole is perfect to make ahead! Save time by prepping it a day or two in advance, store it covered in the fridge, then bake the day you want to enjoy it. If you’re looking for more delicious vegetarian holiday recipes, don’t miss our popular fresh cranberry sauce recipe or easy mushroom gravy.

Ingredients

The amounts below are to fill an approximately 3-quart or 9×13-inch baking dish, about 1.5 to 2 inches deep. We are using this oval 3.5 quart Le Creuset dish, but have made this in rectangular glass dishes as well.

3 medium-large sweet potatoes, also known as garnet yams (about 2 pounds)
3 to 4 large apples (or 5 to 6 medium apples). I highly suggest using a crisp, sweet, semi-tart variety of apple, such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith or Fuji.
(2) 12-ounce bags of fresh cranberries – If you can’t find the fresh-fresh cranberries in the produce department, check the freezer aisle for frozen fresh cranberries. They really make the dish. I would not suggest using dried cranberries instead.
1.5 to 2 cups of walnuts, halves and pieces. This recipe is also fabulous with pecans! Sometimes we mix both walnuts and pecans. For those with nut allergies, substitute with pumpkin seeds.
6 tbsp of unsalted butter total/ Feel free to replace the butter with your favorite vegan butter alternative, or even coconut oil – though do note that the dish will take on a slightly more coconut-esque flavor.
5 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
A pinch of allspice, and nutmeg (less than a ¼ tsp total each)

A white bowl full of fresh red cranberries is the center of the image. Surrounding the bowl is a small ramekin of walnut halves, about five pink lady apples, five sweet potatoes, and a measuring spoon full of salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg each. There are individual cranberries and walnut pieces scattered about amongst the ingredients.

Instructions

Before getting started with the step-by-step, here are a couple tips to keep in mind:

This recipe calls for two layers of the sweet potato, apple, cranberry, walnut and spice combo, and is assembled sort of like a lasagna. So, yu’ll use about half of each ingredient item in the list above in the first layer, and then repeated again in the second layer.
While I usually encourage flexibility and creativity in cooking, I do suggest following the recipe closely in regards to how you pack and assemble your layers – and fill the pan with as much sweet potato and apple as possible. Otherwise, the seasonings can become overpowering.

Step 1) Prep and Slice

Wash the cranberries, and discard (compost) any squishy mushy ones. Also wash your apples, but there is no need to peel them! Finally, wash and peel the sweet potatoes.

Cut the peeled sweet potatoes into medallion slices, approximately ¼” thick. Cut the apples into slices of a similar thickness, or just a tad thinner – about ⅛ to ¼” thick.

A hand is holding a cut and peeled sweet potato medallion. Illustrating that it has been cut into about a 1/4 inch thick piece. Below the pictured medallion lies a baking dish that has a single layer of similarly cut sweet potato medallions lining the bottom of the dish.

Step 2) Assemble the First Layer

Begin by lightly greasing your baking dish with your choice of either butter, coconut oil, or vegan butter alternative.

Add a single layer of sweet potato medallions to the bottom of the pan, puzzling them together as needed to fill as much empty space as possible. Next, do the same with a layer of apple slices. This should use up about half of your total yam and apple, or just under – since the baking dish gets wider on top and fits slightly more in the second layer.

Next, add 2 heaping cups of fresh cranberries on top of the sweet potato and apple layer. Move them around to create a fairly even layer, tucking them into the nooks ‘n crannies. Now do the same with ¾ cup of walnuts or pecans.

A four way image collage, the first image shows a white ceramic oval baking dish sitting atop a wooden cutting board with the bottom of the dish lined with a layer of sweet potato medallions. The second image shows the same dish with a layer of apple slices placed evenly over the top of the sweet potato medallions. The third image shows fresh cranberries added onto the top of the sweet potato and apple layers and the final image shows the same dish with walnut pieces finally layered on top of the sweet potato, apple, and cranberry.

Step 3) Season

Now it is time to doll everything up a bit! If you’re using a stick of butter, cut off 3 tablespoons and then divvy it into about 8 to 9 even tabs to spread evenly over the dish. Or, follow a similar process with your butter replacement of choice.

Next, sprinkle over a few shakes or pinches of salt across the entire surface – about an ⅛ of a teaspoon. Honestly, we don’t typically measure the salt. We simply salt it as we would most meals!

Also add a pinch of both allspice and nutmeg, but go slightly lighter than the salt – less than ⅛ a teaspoon each.

Finally, evenly sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2.5 tablespoons of light brown sugar over the whole dish.

(Now would be a good time to preheat the oven to 400°F.)

A white oval baking dish is shown after one layer each of the sweet potatoes, apples, cranberries, walnuts have be sprinkled with salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg while nine tabs of butter are evenly dispersed over the top as well.

A close up image of the yam apple cranberry walnut bake. You can see the surface of the bake has been lightly sprinkled with the seasonings (salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg).

Step 4) Repeat for Second Layer

Now repeat steps 2 and 3.

Wait, can my dish fit an entire second layer of this goodness? Why yes… yes it can. After adding another tightly-packed layer of sweet potato slices, press down to squish everything a bit. Then continue on just as you did before with the apples, cranberries, walnuts, butter, and seasonings.

If some toppings are threatening to spill over the edge, you did it right! Everything will sink and settle as it bakes.

An image taken at an angle after the dish has been completed with two layers of all of the toppings. The apples, walnuts, and cranberries are towering over the edges of the dish but it will cook down once baked.

Step 5) Bake

Before putting the assembled sweet potato, apple, cranberry bake into the oven, cover the baking dish with foil (or an oven-safe lid, if your dish happens to have one). The trapped steam helps cook and soften everything inside, without it drying out or burning on top.

Bake at 400°F for one hour total – 50 minutes covered, and then uncovered during the last 10 minutes to lightly toast the walnuts. When it is done, the sweet potatoes and apples should be tender to the fork, but not total mush.

Enjoy!

This sweet potato, apple and cranberry casserole is best served warm, but honestly is pretty dang good cold too – like a pie. The good news is that it gets even better with time, and makes for excellent leftovers! Store the leftovers in the refrigerator, and enjoy within 5 days of baking.

I hope you love this dish as much as we do. See the printable recipe just below. Please let me know by coming back for a review or rating! Feel free to share it with your friends and family too.

Here are some of our other favorite fall-inspired and holiday recipes: