Best Sweet Potato Casserole
Posted Oct 18, 2020, Updated Nov 15, 2023
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This sweet potato casserole recipe is silky smooth with rich fall spices and perfectly sweetened. A classic holiday side dish, this sweet potato casserole with pecans is topped with a buttery, nutty crumb topping (no marshmallows) and will become a family favorite!
Everyone has their favorite holiday side dish – you know, the one that you go back for seconds (or thirds), even if you’re full. Sweet potato casserole is definitely my mine (along with homemade dinner rolls, roasted Brussels sprouts, candied yams, etc.).
This sweet potato casserole recipe is is the best of the best. It’s silky smooth with rich fall spices and perfectly sweetened. It’s topped with a buttery, nutty crumb topping (no marshmallows) and is certain to become a holiday tradition!
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
I recommend making this Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole as written, however here are some possible substitutions.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter can be used in place of salted butter, you may just need to increase the salt.
- Eggs. I do not recommend making a substitution for the egg.
- Whole Milk. Half and half, heavy cream, or 2% milk can be used in place of whole milk. Fat content is important to the final outcome of this recipe.
- Brown Sugar. light or dark brown sugar can be used with great results.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version, use an all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Pecans. Walnuts are a great substitute for pecans.
How to make Sweet Potato Casserole
This sweet potato casserole is easy to make, but as always we’ll walk through the process step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Roast the sweet potatoes
To easily roast sweet potatoes, wash and pierce them with a fork. Then, individually wrap the potatoes in foil and put them on a baking sheet. You can roast them directly on an oven rack, just be sure the foil is completely closed so there’s no dripping.
Bake until the sweet potatoes are tender and compress when touched. The baking time depends the potatoes’ thickness. Check at 40 minutes if they are small.
Open foil and set the sweet potatoes aside to cool.
Make the Pecan Crumb Topping
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, make the crumb topping. In a medium bowl, use a fork or pastry cutter to combine butter, brown sugar, flour sea salt and cinnamon until a coarse meal forms.
Add pecans and stir until evenly distributed in the mixture. Set aside.
Rice (or mash) the sweet potatoes
Scoop the slightly-cooled sweet potato flesh out of the skins and transfer to a large bowl. Use a potato ricer to mash the cooked sweet potato flesh – discard any stringy pieces left in the ricer.
Note: you can use a potato masher but I don’t not recommend it, as sometimes the flesh of a sweet potato is stringy, and a ricer will remove any unpleasant texture. Or you can put the sweet potato, along with the other filling ingredients, in the container of a blender and blend until smooth.
Make the Filling
Once the sweet potato is riced/mashed, add eggs, butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and stir to combine.
Assemble the Sweet Potato Casserole
Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F and grease an 8×8” baking dish. Pour sweet potato mixture into the prepared pan and smooth out the top so it is flat and even.
Sprinkle the pecan crumb topping evenly over the top of the sweet potato mixture, gently pressing it into the mixture.
Bake & Cool
Bake in preheated oven until the top is slightly puffed and the topping is lightly browned. Let cool slightly and serve.
Serve
Serve warm with your favorite main dishes and sides. Here are some recipes that pair really well with this sweet potato casserole recipe. Check out all my favorite Thanksgiving recipes.
- Serve it as a Thanksgiving or holiday side dish alongside this Roast Turkey and the best Turkey Gravy.
- Roasted Brussels sprouts are a great green vegetable side dish to serve with this Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole, also this Brussel sprouts salad.
- Green beans: these roasted green beans are so delicious, as well as these sautéed green beans (in apple cider – yum)!
- You can’t forget the stuffing – this sausage stuffing is the best ever or try this cornbread dressing.
- These herb-infused garlic mashed potatoes are the best you’ll ever eat, no joke.
- 5-minute stovetop cinnamon apples are a great pair to this sweet potato casserole.
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe FAQs
Store any leftovers of this sweet potato casserole with pecans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
Yes! Let it cool completely, cover and freeze it in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Eggs are used to bind and lighten up this casserole. They are an important part of the dish!
I prefer to make/assemble this recipe a day in advance and then bake it on the day I want to serve it (like Thanksgiving). You can make it up to 2 months in advance if you store it in the freezer. Just let it thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator before baking.
You know this sweet potato casserole is done when the top is slightly puffed and set and the topping is lightly browned.
Absolutely. You can cook and mash the sweet potatoes a day or two before making this recipe.
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Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Layer:
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 4 medium)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup salted butter melted
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch ground nutmeg
Pecan Topping:
- ¼ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup pecans finely chopped
Instructions
Roast the sweet potatoes:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Wash and pierce sweet potatoes with a fork about 10 times. Wrap in foil and put on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until tender (sweet potatoes compress when touched). The baking time depends on how thick your potatoes are. Check at 40 minutes if they are small.
- Open foil and set the sweet potatoes aside to cool.
Make the topping:
- In a medium bowl, use a fork or pastry cutter to combine butter, brown sugar, flour sea salt and cinnamon until a coarse meal forms.
- Add pecans and stir until evenly distributed in the mixture. Set aside.
Putting it together:
- Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8” baking dish, set aside.
- Scoop the sweet potato flesh out of the skins and transfer to a large bowl. Use a potato ricer to mash the cooked sweet potato flesh. (Note: you can use a potato masher but I don’t not recommend it, as sometimes the flesh of a sweet potato is stringy, and a ricer will remove any unpleasant “strings”).*
- Add eggs, milk, butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and stir to combine.
- Pour sweet potato mixture into the prepared pan and smooth out the top so it is flat and even.
- Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the top of the sweet potato mixture, gently pressing it into the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until slightly puffed and the topping is lightly browned.
- Let cool slightly and serve.
Video
Notes
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter can be used in place of salted butter, you may just need to increase the salt.
- Whole Milk. Half and half, heavy cream, or 2% milk can be used in place of whole milk
- Brown Sugar. light or dark brown sugar can be used with great results.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version, use an all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Pecans. Walnuts are a great substitute for pecans.
- Make and assemble the casserole the day before. Store in tightly covered in the refrigerator and then bake it the next day.
- Make and assemble the casserole, tightly cover it and freeze it for up to 2 months. To bake, remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature – then bake according to the recipe.
- Roast and mash the sweet potatoes the day before you want to serve this dish. Then mix it together and bake.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was a huge hit at our Thanksgiving! In the past I had made a version with canned yams and marshmellows on top, that while it was good, was incredibly sweet. Everyone agreed that this was where its at, and it looks like I have found the recipe for life. Thank you so much for sharing and helping this beginner out with fresh ideas 🙂 C.j.
Thank you so much C.J.! I’m so glad you love this as much as I do! It’s my favorite Thanksgiving recipe! 🙂
Mine seems to be a bit runny what can I add to make it thicker?
It should not be runny. You could add 1-2 TBS flour, but it shouldn’t be necessary.
My daughter in law made this for our Christmas dinner and I’M HOOKED!!! OMG, this is the BEST sweet potato casserole I’ve ever eaten!!! Thank you for sharing your recipes 😊 😋🥰
Thank you so much Dorothy!
Can you prep it and then freeze it before baking?
Yes absolutely.
Just made this for our thanksgiving and it was delicious!! I am dairy free so I subbed full fat coconut milk (I prefer Thai kitchen) for the milk and dairy free butter for the butter and the casserole turned out amazing! Still full of flavor & so good! I will definitely be keeping this recipe in my thanksgiving line up for years to come!
I noticed that the recipe calls for maple syrup but out is not in the video. Should I still use it in the recipe?
Yes definitely don’t leave it out!
Can I cook this in a 9×13 dish? If so should I adjust the baking time?
I made these last night, and oh boy!! They were such a huge hit! My husband even tells me I need to bring these to thanksgiving with his extended family (not sure his aunts will enjoy a sweet potato better than theirs lol 😆). This recipe has the perfect amount of sweetness for those of you who like sweet. If you prefer less sweet, I bet you could cut the brown sugar back just a bit and still get an amazing balance! I followed the recipe exactly, and this will be my ONLY sweet potato recipe from now on!
I Will be making your Oreo pie, pumpkin pie, and carrot cake today and tomorrow. Can’t wait to see how those come out. Oh, and those amazing chocolate chip cookies of yours will grace the dessert table as well, this Thanksgiving. Thank you Laura, our family is blessed by you. May the joy of the Lord fill you this holiday season!
Would it be ok to omit either the brown sugar or the maple syrup to reduce sweetness?
Yes!
This is truly the best Sweet Potato Casserole! The filling is creamy and the topping is to die for.
hii! I was wondering if I could use canned yams for this??
I have used canned sweet potatoes for a similar casserole many times, and it works fine. Huge time-saver. The only caveat is that it’s difficult to get exactly 3 lbs if using canned, but a few ounces more or less doesn’t seem to make a difference.
Yes, this recipe is very forgiving when it comes to the “exact” amount of sweet potatoes!
Do you ever make this ahead of time? Would you just put it in the fridge (without baking) until the day to eat?
That’s exactly what I did! We prepped it yesterday and will bake it today!