I love thanksgiving, I really do! Not because of the food, but because of the wine and no presents have to be bought, its such a relief. Its basically Christmas without the presents, so I don’t have to worry about buying anyone anything or worried that I don’t seem happy enough when I open a present (does anyone else have that anxiety?).

Being a vegetarian (and allergic to gluten) means I’m there for the wine, not the turkey, BUT I do always try to bring a side dish that I can eat and others will also like. My favorite side dish when I was growing up was sweet potato’s with marshmallow topping- healthy choice 😉 Here is a different type of sweet potato side dish that is delicious and it has no refined sugar and is both gluten and dairy free, so you won’t feel like sh** after eating too much of it.

Sweet Potato Souffle

By: Pantless With Wine
serves 6-8
2 large sweet potato’s (peeled, unless you really want the extra fiber and minerals from the skin)
1/4 cup of coconut sugar (or dark brown sugar if that’s all you have on hand)
1/4 cup of Bourbon Maple Syrup (or normal maple syrup) + 2 more tablespoons
2 tbls vegan butter (smart balance is what I use)
1 tbls cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg , 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
5 eggs
1-1.5 cups quick oatmeal
1 cup candied pecans (or favorite nut of choice)
You got it all? I suggest a nice French white wine to go along with this, so go ahead and open a bottle and throw your pants on the bed (or don’t b/c its been really freaking cold!)
1.) Preheat oven to 450, peel sweet potato’s and chop them into cubes.
2.) Line a baking dish with tin foil and mix the sweet potato’s in the tin foil with the sugar, maple syrup, spices and then place butter throughout the sweet potato’s, I also usually pour a little wine in with it- because why not? Wrap the sweet potato’s so they are completely covered with the tin foil. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
3.) Unwrap the tin foil from the sweet potato’s carefully (its hot), pour the “juice from the sweet potato’s into the baking dish and then scoop the cooked sweet potato’s into a food processor. Blend the sweet potato’s and add the eggs and a splash (2 tablespoons) of maple syrup.
4.) Meanwhile, add 1-1.5 cups of oatmeal (depends on preference of thickness for the crust) to the “juices” from the sweet potato in the pan you are going to cook the souffle in. Stir the juices with the oatmeal and then flatten it down, to make an even crust.
5.) Pour the sweet potato/egg mixture on top of the crust and sprinkle with nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves.
6.) Place the souffle into the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.
7.) dump candied pecans all over the souffle to your hearts content.
