This sweet potato lasagna is grain-free, dairy-free, nightshade free, comforting and delicious. It’s AIP and paleo and a great meal prep dish for a quick weeknight meal.
This Sweet Potato Lasagna is so good, I promise you won’t miss the dairy, nightshades or gluten. It’s one of my favourite hearty and comforting Fall dishes. As always, it’s paleo and AIP. This recipe is made with white sweet potatoes, nomato sauce, ground beef and a thickened coconut milk for a creamy cheese-like sauce. It’s a definite crowd-pleaser!
I know many of you are Sunday meal preppers and this is the perfect meal-prep dish because, as with all lasagna, it involves a few different components. If meal prepping this dish, I would recommend making your sauces and the ground beef and waiting to assemble things until the night you are ready to eat the lasagna.
Here’s what you’ll need for this sweet potato lasagna:
- Nomato Sauce
- Full fat additive free coconut milk, tapioca starch, apple cider vinegar and turmeric (optional) for your “cheese” sauce
- Ground beef
- Fresh Basil, Garlic Powder and Dried Thyme
- 1 large white sweet potato – you’ll want to look for one that is both large and long so that you get the benefit of long slices of potato that mimic lasagna sheets.
Another thing I love about this dish is that you can also use the sauces you create for this recipe in other meals throughout the week. In fact, sauces are one of my favourite things to meal prep because they can add so much flavor to the simplest of quick meals for the week ahead.
Sweet Potato Lasagna FAQs
Can I use orange sweet potatoes in this recipe?
If you’re new to the Heal Me Delicious blog, you should know that I am obsessed with white-fleshed sweet potatoes and almost always use them over orange ones in my recipes. Japanese Murasaki sweet potatoes have a reddish-purple skin with a white interior. Their texture is slightly dry and their flavour almost nutty.
I don’t recommend orange-fleshed sweet potatoes here for two reasons:
- They are much sweeter than white-fleshed sweet potatoes and can make this dish taste overly sweet when paired with the nomato sauce.
- White-fleshed sweet potatoes are drier in texture and won’t get as soggy when boiled, making them ideal to serve the role of pasta in this recipe.
Where can I buy white-fleshed sweet potatoes?
In Toronto and many major metropolitan cities these often are available in Asian markets and groceries, Latin American and Caribbean grocers/markets and many major supermarkets.
Can I freeze this dish?
I haven’t tried freezing but if you’d like to do so, I would recommend simply slicing the sweet potatoes and layering them into the dish without boiling them. To cook, defrost for at least 6 hours in the fridge and then increase the baking time by 15-20 minutes.
Sweet Potato Lasagna (AIP, paleo)
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 8×8 pan 1x
Description
This sweet potato lasagna is grain-free, dairy-free, nightshade free, comforting and delicious. It’s AIP and paleo
Ingredients
Beef
- 1.5 TBSP olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 TBSP fresh basil, chopped
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup nomato sauce
“Cheese” Sauce
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- pinch of turmeric (optional – for yellow colour)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup full fat, additive free coconut milk
- 2 TBSP tapioca starch + 1 TBSP water
Sweet Potato “Pasta”
- 1 very large white-fleshed sweet potato*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F and place large pot of water on stovetop to boil.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add ground beef, basil, garlic powder and salt and sauté 3-4 minutes, stirring intermittently. Next, add in nomato sauce. Lower heat and cook an additional 4-5 minutes. Remove beef from heat and set aside.
- To make your “cheese” sauce, heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add dried thyme, garlic powder, salt, turmeric (if using), apple cider vinegar and coconut milk and bring to a low boil.
- In a small bowl, mix together tapioca starch and water to make a slurry. Once coconut milk mixture has reached a rolling boil, add in slurry and whisk continuously until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Peel your white sweet potato and use a mandolin to slice the sweet potato lengthwise into slices at least 1/4 inch thick. You don’t want to make these too thin because they won’t hold up when boiled.
- Place sweet potato slices into large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. You want to just slightly soften the potatoes, but don’t leave them in the water too long or they will break apart. Drain sweet potato and set aside.
- Assemble your lasagna in an 8 x 8 baking pan, beginning with meat sauce, followed by a layer of sweet potato and then a layer of “cheese sauce”. Repeat once more.
- Bake in a 375 F oven for 12 -15 minutes and broil for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Notes
* Choose a sweet potato that is not only large but long, so that when you slice your potato lengthwise you end up with long slices that resemble sheets of lasagna pasta.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
I made this tonight and I’ll admit I was skeptical but holy cow, it tasted so good! Even my non AIP husband liked it and asked me to make it again.
I have made this lasagna many times and love it!
I cook it and freeze it in serving sizes and it freezes well.
I am going to experiment now making it meatless with my favorite vegetables.
This recipe looks delicious!
We are not able to do coconut milk. Do you think this would work with soy milk instead? I know that fat content in soy is not as high.
Hi Sarah, yes I wonder if something like cashew milk might work better.
Thank you so much for this recipe!! Started the AIP diet about a month now and scanning the internet and Pinterest for recipes when I came across yours. I must say, while it took a lot of time to prep, it was absolutely delicious. I could not find Red Wine Vinegar to make the nomato sauce. But what I actually found was a Sorrel Wine Vinegar and it still came out amazing. I am so psyched now to try even more of your recipes while I’m on this AIP journey.
I only just realized that you’re the creator of the AIP Sweet Potato Hash as well, which is my all time favorite breakfasts 🙂
Keep the recipes coming and Thank You so much for doing this!!!
if we don’t have any issues with tomatoes, can I just use regular tomato sauce? Thank you!
Hi Reagan, yes you can!
I have been eating AIP for years. There are lots of amazing recipes, but this is my all-time favorite! It’s lots of work to make, but worth it!! The only change I made was adding a pound of Italian sausage with the ground beef. I have made this for company many times – we are even planning to have it for Christmas dinner! Everyone always raves over it and we fight over the leftovers! Thank you for sharing!!
Where do I get the recipe for the nummy Nomato sauce? Thanks
Hi Melissa, it is linked throughout the post and in the recipe card.
Delicious! It doesn’t look like traditional lasagna, but I was pleasantly surprised that this really tasted like lasagna! And wow, the cheese sauce tasted like cheese without any nutritional yeast(which I don’t particularly care for). It was a lot of work to make, but definitely worth it! Thank you very much for literally healing me delicious!
This dish was VERY satiating and easier to make than I thought! The cheesy white sweet potatoes reminded me of the “au gratin potatoes” of my youth. I was cautious about the cheese sauce feeling “cheese-y” without nutritional yeast or milk, but was cheerfully surprised because it was scrumptious and only needed a few easy steps to make. This meal was amazing 1. Because it was very satisfying and 2. Because it gave me ideas about how to use these foods in different ways. Thank you times a million! 🙂
yay! I’m so glad. Thank you for leaving a review Sarah
So smooth and satisfying…truly delicious and you’re right…the leftovers are even better!
Thank you, Nicole, for 3 amazing recipes in one dish!
Do you think avocado oil would work in place of olive oil and extra virgin olive oil in this recipe?
Yep!
Love love love this recipe- one of the best AIP recipes I’ve made. I’m struggling with the cheese sauce consistency. I’ve made it a few times and the tapioca slurry always leads to large glops. Any suggestions?
So glad you enjoy Taylor. Question re: your question: is the gloppiness pre adding the slirry to the pan or post? You want to ensure the tapioca is completely dissolved in the water before adding it to the pan with the coconut milk. I like to use a fork for this. Then, when you add the slurry in, you have to stir it quickly and take it off the heat once it thickens. Hope that helps!
Oooh this was so good and the cheese sauce makes it (which is a lot to say since I think good vegan “cheese” sauces are very hard to come by). The white sweet potato was not bad but did not quite match the rest of the dish in my opinion. Next time I think I will experiment with replacing it with zoodles, spaghetti squash or sweet potato glass noodles
I just finished making this… it looks so good, I cant wait to try it tonight. Your “Nomato” sauce makes such a yummy meat sauce and the cheesy sauce is so yummy! Changes I made was I added the entire can of the coconut milk, and I added some veggies to my layers… mushroom, zucchini, parsnip, spinach, silverbeet. I am really looking forward to it, I havent had a lasagna in years!
Thanks for the review Nadine! Hope you loved it!
This is so good and hearty without feeling heavy! I doubled up the recipe in order to have plenty of leftovers and my partner is excited for reheats! Thank you!
This is one of the best AIP recipes I’ve ever eaten! I haven’t had regular lasagna in years, but I remember most tasted rather heavy to me. I like this one much more. It’s very satisfying!!!
I’d like to be able to put together some variation of this as a travel meal. I do love seeing how this comes out of the oven, looking as though it has real cheese! For a road trip thermos meal, however, appearance is not crucial.
Do you think it’s okay to stir together the nomato, meat and cheese sauce? Maybe I could cube the sweet potato or combine it with mashed sweet potato and malanga? I guess it would be nice with Jovial cassava pasta, but wouldn’t be as sweet.
It would be great to know if it does freeze well to later warm up in a hotel room. So far, I’ve made it 4 times and have been too eager to eat it to experiment that way.
Hey there! So glad you liked the recipe. You’ll have to let me know if you try combining everything. From eating leftovers I can say that the flavors taste great when combined but it won’t be very visually appealing hehe. reheating from frozen might likely make things a bit mushy though, but again, do let me know if you try!
I loved this, it really tasted like Lasagna!! I did add Spinach, Onions, Mushrooms, and Zucchini to the Beef sauce, because those are things that I would normally add to regular lasagna too. The “cheese” sauce is so good, that I might double it next time. Thank you for this!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave this review, Melissa. I’m so happy you enjoyed ?
Fantastic! My body does best following the AIP lifestyle and Nicole’s AIP recipes are my favorite!! I made this lasagna last week and couldn’t believe how delicious and filling it was. It lasted me the entire week in the refrigerator which meant I didn’t have to cook every night! Thank you so much!! Making the meatloaf recipe tonight- stay tuned!!
Ps I can’t do onion or garlic and left both out of my recipe. I didn’t notice them being gone at all.
Thanks so much Brittany!!!
I made this yesterday for meal prep for lunch this week, tried it today and I am honestly blown away by how delicious it is! It makes doing AIP so much easier when there are amazing recipes like this! Thank you!
This was amazing! I accidentally forgot to put the butternut squash in the nomato sauce but didn’t miss it at all. I had to hand cut the sweet potatoes but it still came out perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Amazing! Love it! You nailed it!
I have a family if 7 and they love it!
Thank you so much Shanna! I’m thrilled you enjoyed.
Wow….this cheese was amazing. For someone who’s been craving cheese on the elimination diet, this was just the thing I needed to satiate my craving. Loving ALL your recipes. Thanks for making great flavor a part of AIP!
Delicious!! I made this tonight and my kids liked it so much that they requested that I make a double batch next time. And I can’t tell you how happy I am to have a tomato sauce replacement option that’s *so* tasty! Thank you, Nicole. I love your recipes! 🙂
Thanks Cindy, glad you enjoyed. Here’s a link to my Instagram story highlight that shows pictures of the inside -https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3ODgxNTEyOTg1NjA2ODUz?igshid=vmqumdbyk3lk&story_media_id=2316272067392968611
I will edit the post to include some inside pictures as well.
This recipe almost made me cry. I’m semi-new to AIP cooking and was afraid to jump into ideas like nomato sauce and fake cheese sauces thinking it would make me sad. Not true. My kids said they liked this lasagna just as much as the traditional one I made for them. My one kid who dislikes sweet potaoes (orange) loved this. Thank you so much for making this AIP journey feel less like a punishment for being unhealthy!
Thanks so much for such kind words. I’m so happy you enjoyed ?
Question: Why did you not add nutritional yeast to your cheese sauce? Don’t get me wrong, it looks delish and I will be making it. But I am a curious experienced cook. Love your website!
Hi! Because I’m allergic and coincidentally don’t like it 🙂
Same here!
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it for Christmas Eve. Would this freeze well?
Hi Melissa, thanks so much. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this one because i think the cheese might separate and the potatoes might get too soft/mushy upon reheating.
In love with this recipe!
It is so deliciously tasty, absolutely love the blend of flavours. The ‘cheese’ is stretchy and very cheese like- the best cheese alternative I’ve found. So excited about the Nomato sauce recipe- I’ll be using it for future recipes. If making the sauce from scratch, I’d recommend making it the day before so as to not spend too much time in the kitchen.
I did have to add a little bit extra water to the tapioca – I suppose this is a trial and error thing, and my ratios may have been a little out, but Even with the extra water, the consistency of the cheese was still tops,.
This is definitely a winner for me, and I’ll be making this again soon.
Nomato sauce! WHAT!! My 1.5 year old can NOT do tomatoes, and I have been missing out on the yummy-ness of a good red sauce. She struggles with wheat and dairy as well, and since I’m still nursing her… I cant do them either. Long story short, I am SO impressed with this recipe! Well done! Thank you so much for this, this will be a regular addition to our menu. Can’t thank you enough!
Aww, thanks so much for your review Lauryn. It makes me so happy that you and your family can enjoy these simple pleasures again!
DELICIOUS!!!!
Made this last night! Was a huge hit!!! The only thing I did differently was that I didn’t have a mandolin so I had to slide my sweet potato myself, which made it a little undercooked. Was still super yummy. Can’t wait to have leftovers for lunch today yippee!!! Was such a treat to have an Italian meal since that’s what I grew up on
Thanks again Nicole for another amazing recipe!
Thanks so much Megan for leaving this review. It made my morning to read it! I’m glad you enjoyed and I actually like this dish even more the next day!!
I’m curious if you think adding nutritional yeast to the cheese sauce would be a good addition or not?
I can’t tolerate nutritional yeast so I don’t know the flavour enough to give a recommendation, sorry!
I actually made this recipe and it was so delicious. At first I was a little intimidated by it but it was easier than I thought. I also made the nomato sauce and have extra so froze that so it will be easier the next time I make this!
Thank you so much for creating new and different recipes that we can all enjoy while traveling on this journey.
Thanks Tammy! Glad you enjoyed and awesome about the frozen nomato sauce.