This sweet potato lasagna is the perfect substitute for the traditional comfort food favorite. It’s paleo, gluten, and dairy-free, and can easily be made AIP.

sweet potato lasagna slice on plate

Sweet Potato Lasagna

There’s no comfort food quite like lasagna! Coming from a part Italian American family, lasagna was a staple. My mom was always making it and it’s one of my husband’s favorites too.

It really seems like one of those recipes that is impossible to make grain and dairy-free, when so much of what makes lasagna… well, lasagna is pasta and cheese. Think again! It takes some major swaps, but this sweet potato lasagna really gives the flavor and feel of a traditional lasagna. It’s grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and can easily be made nightshade-free to be AIP-friendly!

The Ingredients for this recipe

  • Ground beef. You can also use ground turkey for this recipe if you prefer.
  • Sweet potato. This acts as the lasagna noodle in this recipe. I used orange sweet potato for this recipe, but you can also use white sweet potato such as Jersey sweet potato.
  • Tomato sauce. You can also use nomato sauce to keep this recipe AIP.
  • Coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, tapioca starch, and nutritional yeast. These are the ingredients to make the cheese sauce that goes on top of the lasagna. You can also use arrowroot starch in the cheese.

Helpful tools for this recipe

  • Mandolin Slicer. You don’t need a mandolin slicer for this recipe, but it really helps to slice the sweet potato thinly and uniformly to make sure the recipe cooks evenly.

sweet potato lasagna in casserole dish with one slice on spatula

How to make AIP Sweet Potato Lasagna

  • Slice the sweet potato: Using a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife, slice the sweet potato into 1/8″ thick slices. They should be thin, but not paper-thin or easily breakable. Set aside.
  • Make the meat mixture: Using a large pan, brown the ground beef on medium heat and season with parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. Set aside and reserve about 2 tbsp of fat in the pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the spinach to the skillet and allow it to wilt before adding the ground beef back to the pan. Stir in 2.5 cups of tomato sauce. Set aside.
  • Layer the lasagna: Begin layering slices of sweet potato to the bottom of the baking dish, slightly overlapping to make sure that there are no open spaces. Add half of the ground beef mixture on top of the sweet potato slices. Repeat with another layer of sweet potato, and top with the remainder of the ground beef. Add one more layer of sweet potato on top, topped with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.

slices of sweet potato in casserole dish; ground beef mixture in casserole dish

  • Bake
  • Make the cheese sauce: While the lasagna has only a few minutes left in the oven, combine the cheese sauce ingredients into a pot and whisk well to combine. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes to allow the cheese to thicken. Add more nutritional yeast to taste. Remove the lasagna from the oven and pour the cheese sauce over top, using a rubber spatula to evenly spread. Return the lasagna to the oven and allow to cook for another 10 minutes.
  • Serve: Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow to cool before topping with chopped basil. Serve by slicing with a spatula.

Can you make this recipe with white sweet potato instead?

Sure, can! It would be great with either Hannah or Jersey sweet potato too.

Can you save this recipe for later? How do you store it?

You can! Simply store it in a glass container for 2-3 days. I haven’t tried freezing this recipe.

Can you make this recipe without the cheese sauce?

If it’s not your thing, you can leave it off, but I think it really ties the lasagna together!

Can you make the cheese sauce without nutritional yeast?

Nutritional yeast is what gives the cheese sauce a cheesy flavor, so it won’t be quite the same without it.

sweet potato lasagna in casserole dish

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Sweet Potato Lasagna (AIP, Paleo, Dairy-free)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Michelle
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
  • Category: Main Dishes
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Italian American
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

This sweet potato lasagna is the perfect substitute for the traditional comfort food favorite. It’s paleo, gluten, and dairy-free, and can easily be made AIP.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 3 cups tomato sauce, divided (sub nomato sauce for AIP)
  • 1 tbsp basil, chopped

For the cheese sauce

  • 1 1/4 cup coconut milk
  • 2 1/2 tbsp tapioca starch
  • 13 tbsp nutritional yeast (adjust to taste)
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F and lightly grease a 8×8″ baking dish with olive oil. Set aside.
  2. Using a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife, slice the sweet potato into 1/8″ thick slices. They should be thin, but not paper-thin or easily breakable. Set aside.
  3. Using a large pan, brown the ground beef on medium heat and season with parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Set aside and reserve about 2 tbsp of fat in the pan.
  4. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the onion is traslucent.
  5. Add the spinach to the skillet and allow to wilt before adding the ground beef back to the pan. Stir in 2.5 cups of tomato sauce. Set aside.
  6. Begin layering slices of sweet potato to the bottom of the baking dish, slightly overlapping to make sure that there are not open spaces. Add half of the ground beef mixture on top of the sweet potato slices. Repeat with another layer of sweet potato, and top with the remainder of the ground beef. Add one more layer of sweet potato on top, topped with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.
  7. Transfer to the oven and allow to bake for 30 minutes.
  8. While the lasagna has only a few minutes left in the oven, combine the cheese sauce ingredients into a pot and whisk well to combine. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes to allow the cheese to thicken. Add more nutritional yeast to taste.
  9. Remove the lasagna from the oven and pour the cheese sauce over top, using a rubber spatula to evenly spread.
  10. Return the lasagna to the oven and allow to cook for another 10 minutes.
  11. Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow to cool before topping with chopped basil. Serve by slicing with a spatula.

Notes

All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 295
  • Fat: 12.8g
  • Carbohydrates: 26.5g
  • Fiber: 4.4g
  • Protein: 20.9g