Alright, my fellow food enthusiasts, brace yourselves for a culinary delight that’s about to revolutionize your kitchen – the one and only sweet potato casserole! Picture this: velvety sweet potatoes, kissed by a golden brown sugar and pecan topping that’s practically a dessert in disguise. It’s comfort food at its most decadent, and I’m about to spill all the secrets on how to make it shine in your kitchen.
Try serving this incredible side dish on your Thanksgiving table or as a side to my slow cooker turkey and roasted brussels sprouts!
Why You’ll Love This Easy Side Dish
- Super Simple: This is the easiest side dish and takes just minimal prep.
- Slightly Sweet: While there is sugar in the potatoes and the topping, this dish isn’t overly sweet.
- Holiday Favorite: This is a must for our Thanksgiving table.
Look, if you aren’t on the sweet potato bandwagon yet, this is your sign. I made this casserole as a pre-trial for our Thanksgiving meal, but it turns out that we love it so much that it will 100% be making an appearance on our dinner table all year long.
This sweet potato casserole is like a cozy hug for your taste buds. The natural sweetness of the spuds combines harmoniously with the rich, caramelized brown sugar. Topped with crunchy pecans, it’s a symphony of textures and flavors – a perfect blend of earthy, sweet, and nutty goodness. It’s comfort food magic, I tell you!
Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecan Topping
Unlike other recipes, this sweet potato casserole with pecans does NOT use marshmallows. Here is what you’ll need for this dish:
- Sweet Potatoes: These beauties are usually orange-fleshed and have a sweet, moist texture when cooked.
- Egg: Egg works as a binder for the dish and holds everything together while baking.
- Sugars: White sugar, or granulated, goes into the potato filling while brown sugar makes the topping.
- Evaporated Milk
- Butter: I used salted butter and omitted the salt called for in the recipe because that is what we had on hand. If you use unsalted butter use the salt.
- Vanilla: Vanilla extract works as a flavor enhancer that helps the flavors blend together perfectly.
- Flour: All-purpose flour goes into the crumble topping.
- Pecans: I roughly chopped my pecans for the best texture.
- Spices: Pinch of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves.
Best Sweet Potato Casserole
Ready to see how simple this dish really is? Pro tip, the mashed potatoes will look runny but I promise they firm up during the baking process.
- PREP: Add the sweet potato pieces to a deep pot and fill with water until the potatoes are covered. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the potatoes to simmer for 15 minutes, or until they are soft when poked with a fork.
- MASH: Drain the potatoes and add to a mixing bowl with the egg, granulated sugar, evaporated milk, 2 tablespoons butter, vanilla, and pinch of salt. Mash with a potato masher, or hand mixer, until smooth in texture. It’s ok if there are a few small lumps.
- TOPPING: Pour the potato mash into a 2 quart casserole dish (8-9″ baking dish works too). In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, flour, butter, chopped pecans, cinnamon, ground cloves, and nutmeg. Use a pastry blender, or two forks, to cut the butter into the mixture creating small beads of butter. Sprinkle the topping directly on top of the sweet potato.
- ENJOY: Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
Helpful Tools
- Casserole Dish: Nothing is as comforting as a casserole. Having a set of casserole dishes (affiliate) is key to getting that even bake and beautiful presentation.
- Mixing Bowls: I am currently OBSESSED with this set of nesting mixing bowls (affiliate). They stack perfectly which takes up less space in your cabinets! They also come with lids, which means you can have even more food storage!
- Silicone Spatulas: If you don’t have a set of silicone spatulas (affiliate), I highly recommend in adding them to your kitchen.
Recipe Notes:
Absolutely! Make it a day ahead, refrigerate, and then bake before serving. I do recommend keeping the topping off until just before you bake, but it too can be prepared and saved for later.
Yes, canned sweet potatoes can be used. Just make sure to drain and mash them. This will slightly change the end result of the dish.
Of course! Try a marshmallow topping or a streusel made without nuts.
Sure! Adjust the sugar to your taste, or try using a natural sweetener like maple syrup in the potatoes. BUT, this recipe already calls for much less sugar than other recipes and doesn’t taste overly sweet.
Yes, tightly wrap and freeze before baking with the topping frozen separately. Thaw in the refrigerator and add the topping before cooking.
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Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Filling
- 3 cups sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 eggs
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Toping
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Sweet Potato Filling
- Add the sweet potato pieces to a deep pot and fill with water until the potatoes are covered. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the potatoes to simmer for 15 minutes, or until they are soft when poked with a fork.
- Drain the potatoes and add to a mixing bowl with the egg, granulated sugar, evaporated milk, 2 tablespoons butter, vanilla, and pinch of salt.
- Mash with a potato masher, or hand mixer, until smooth in texture. It’s ok if there are a few small lumps.
- Pour the potato mash into a 2 quart casserole dish (8-9″ baking dish works too).
Topping:
- In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, flour, butter, chopped pecans, cinnamon, ground cloves, and nutmeg.
- Use a pastry blender, or two forks, to cut the butter into the mixture creating small beads of butter.
- Sprinkle the topping directly on top of the sweet potato.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
Notes
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