There are certain things you just have to have on the Thanksgiving table: turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, that cranberry sauce that comes out of a can.
One menu item might be a bit more divisive. People tend to either love or hate sweet potatoes, and sweet potato casserole in particular. I grew up in a family that doesn’t like sweet potatoes. My husband’s family didn’t really serve them when he was growing up either. So neither of us saw sweet potato casserole often on the holiday table unless we happened to be dining at the home of someone who was farther out on the family tree.
As an adult, I discovered the joys of eating baked sweet potatoes. It’s a treat I often looked forward to when I’d accompany my kids on their school field trips to the local pumpkin patch, which was part of a small family farm that sold a variety of fresh locally grown produce — including sweet potatoes — in its store. I’d buy a few sweet potatoes to enjoy for my lunches that week. I typically slice baked sweet potatoes open and serve them with butter, salt, and pepper for a healthy, fiber-filled lunch or a dinner side. While some people might top them with marshmallows or brown sugar, I don’t like to go overboard with the sweet stuff.
While baked sweet potatoes are far superior to sweet potato casserole in my view, I’m not against occasionally eating sweet potato casserole at holiday gatherings. If you’re in the mood for sweet potato casserole this year, you can make it yourself, or you can buy a ready-made frozen version from Aldi.
At the time of writing, Season’s Choice Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping is an Aldi Find, which means it’s only in stores for a short time. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products that are not currently at your local store.
Season’s Choice Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping cost $4.99 for a 22-ounce package at the time of publication. With five servings per package, that comes out to about $1 per serving.
If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains milk, soy, wheat, and tree nuts (pecans). It is kosher certified.
The primary ingredients are sweet potatoes and sugar. It also contains some more processed ingredients such as liquid margarine (which includes soy lecithin and preservatives), natural and artificial flavor, and corn syrup solids.
You could definitely make this homemade with fewer ingredients and easily recognizable ingredients like what your grandma might make sweet potato casserole with.
This has plenty of calories and added sugars, but it’s sweet potato casserole, so that’s no surprise. It also has a bit of fat and sodium. One package contains about five 1/2-cup servings. One serving has 350 calories, 16 grams of total fat (21% DV), 4 grams of saturated fat (20% DV), no cholesterol, 410 mg of sodium (18% DV), 50 grams of total carbohydrates (18% DV), 3 grams of dietary fiber (11% DV), 26 grams of total sugars, 20 grams of added sugars (40% DV), and 3 grams of protein.
Nutrition information, ingredients, and heating directions. (Click to enlarge.)
The box has directions for heating this from frozen in a conventional oven or in the microwave. It should be heated to 165 degrees, and you should refrigerate any leftovers.
To heat in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the frozen casserole tray on a baking sheet on the center rack in the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the casserole is thoroughly heated.
To microwave, place the frozen casserole tray in the microwave. Microwave on high for 13 minutes. Remove the tray from the microwave and serve.
After baking.
I baked this in my oven and it was plenty hot after an hour and 15 minutes, as advertised. It is nice to have the option to microwave it as well, since we all know that oven space is in high demand on holidays such as Thanksgiving. This smelled great while baking, filling the house with a sweet, caramelized aroma.
In terms of taste, it’s your classic sweet potato casserole. It has a base of soft, mashed sweet potato and a praline topping that is both crispy and crunchy, and a bit chewy and sticky as well. It’s a substantial amount of crunchy topping, too.
This didn’t win over any converts to sweet potato casserole in my family, but everyone agreed it’s all right and is similar to other sweet potato casseroles we’ve tried. The only thing people might disagree about is whether sweet potato casserole should be topped with mini marshmallows instead of pralines. Still, this is a perfectly respectable option to serve at a Thanksgiving gathering or other holiday feast.
The Verdict:
Season’s Choice Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping is an easy way to serve a classic holiday side dish. This has a nice base of mashed sweet potato with a crispy topping of caramelized pralines. It bakes or microwaves easily from frozen (although it will take more than an hour if you bake it, so plan accordingly).
I bought this sweet potato casserole at Aldi recently. I usually make sweet potato casserole from scratch but just had to try this frozen version. The pecan praline topping looked too sparse to me and I therefore added some goodies right on top before putting it in the oven. I added chopped pecans, brown sugar, and pats of butter. It was delicious. I don’t really know how good it would have been without my additions though.
I just had my first taste, omg I need to get a new freezer and fill it with these. I absolutely love the taste, texture and convenience!!!
Wendy I have been absolutely addicted to this and had bought several boxes and 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ just ran out. They only carry at stores for certain holidays,
sooo… I’m currently having a panic attack trying to locate these and guess I may have to resort to attempting to find similar recipes to create on my own. I’m so glad someone else also enjoys this as well.