Sweet Potato Casserole
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Take your sweet potato casserole up a notch by replacing the traditional marshmallow topping with a crunchy brown sugar and pecan streusel.
When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, I think most of us would say, “Don’t get fancy on me, just make the standards really special.” That’s why this down-home sweet potato casserole is always a big hit. It’s an old Southern specialty that graces almost every holiday table. Instead of the traditional marshmallow topping (yes, a classic, but let’s be honest, a gourmet dish marshmallows do not make), I cover the sweet potatoes with a crunchy brown sugar-pecan streusel. It absolutely makes the dish. Like many Thanksgiving sweet potato sides, it’s almost sweet enough to be dessert. In my house, it’s “that dish”— the one everyone reaches their fork into long after the meal is done.
“My mom and I used your recipe for Thanksgiving and loved it so much that we are making it again for Christmas. Thank you for such an easy, delicious dish that we will enjoy for years to come!”
What you’ll need to make A sweet potato casserole
Heads up: most grocery stores use the names “sweet potato” and “yam” interchangeably. This can be confusing since yams aren’t sweet potatoes at all, but rather thick white tubers with dark brown skin. Chances are you won’t find real yams at the supermarket, so if you see “yams,” you’re probably looking at sweet potatoes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes and cook until soft and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and let cool.
In the meantime, make the topping: Melt the butter in a medium bowl the microwave. (Alternatively, melt the butter in a small pan or over low heat and transfer to a medium bowl.)
Add the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
Mix until well combined. It should look a little clumpy.
Add the chopped nuts, and stir to combine.
Place the cooked and drained sweet potatoes in a large bowl.
Mash with a potato masher or large fork until very smooth.
Add the melted butter, salt, and brown sugar and nutmeg.
Mix well, then add the eggs.
Stir to combine. It’s okay if it is not completely smooth.
Transfer the sweet potato mixture to a 2-quart baking dish and spread evenly.
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the sweet potato mixture.
Bake for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until the topping is nicely browned. Let cool slightly before serving.
If you’d like to break up the preparation of this dish a bit, feel free to make and refrigerate the streusel a few days ahead. Or, if you really want to get a head start, assemble and refrigerate the whole casserole up to two days ahead of time. Bake right before serving for best results.
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Sweet Potato Casserole
Take your sweet potato casserole up a notch by replacing the traditional marshmallow topping with a crunchy brown sugar and pecan streusel.
Ingredients
For the Sweet Potato Mixture
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
For the Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil (no need to salt). Add the sweet potatoes and cook until soft and very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and let cool.
- Meanwhile, make the topping: Melt the butter in a medium bowl in the microwave. (Alternatively, melt it in a small pan over low heat and transfer to a medium bowl.) Add the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon and mix until well combined. It should look a little clumpy. Stir in the chopped nuts and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mash the cooked and drained sweet potatoes with a potato masher or large fork until very smooth. Add the melted butter, salt, sugar, and nutmeg and mix well. Mix in the eggs. It's okay if there are some lumps. Set aside.
- Transfer the sweet potato mixture to a 2-quart baking dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the sweet potato mixture and bake, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, or until the topping is nicely browned. Let cool slightly before serving.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The assembled casserole can be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If frozen, allow a few extra minutes in the oven to bake.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 489
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 70 g
- Sugar: 35 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Sodium: 348 mg
- Cholesterol: 77 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this recipe last Thanksgiving and it was absolutely by far the hit of the evening. It kept getting passed around from table to table till the dish was scraped cleaned. This year Thanksgiving is at my sister’s house and I’ve already sent her the recipe to try. I really recommend this for a special meal. It will wow your guests.
Does this require the eggs?
Hi Diane, I think it’s lighter and fluffier with the eggs but they can be left out if necessary.
One of my guests has a nut allergy, can you think of something I can substitute the nuts for..maybe crushed cornflakes cereal? Also I would like to make this a day ahead & reheat. Before putting in the oven to reheat, do you think I could add marshmallows on top & bake for 10 minutes?
Hi Michele, you can just omit the nuts. And while I don’t think the marshmallows are necessary for this, you can certainly add them as you suggested. Hope you enjoy!
OMG
This recipe is unbelievable. I made it last Thanksgiving and everytime I pass the sweet potatoes at the market I think about this dish, and salivate. It’s just that good!
We do one very similar to this every Thanksgiving but my recipe has a bit of cream sherry!
I’m wondering if you have any info on the nutrition facts for this dish? Specifically, do you have any idea how much sugar or carbs per serving is involved? I made a version of this recipe by replacing the sugar in the topping with a cup of sweetened shredded coconut. I like the combination of sweet potato/coconut flavors and I like the added texture the coconut gives to the crisp topping. It still tasted plenty sweet and I think I could get by with using about half the amount of sugar in the potato mix. Curious to know what your thoughts are.
Hi Phil, I just added the nutritional information for the recipe. As is, each serving has 70 g carbs and 35 g of sugar. And because the potatoes add a lot of natural sweetness, you could probably get away with reducing the sugar if you’d like. I’d love to know how it turns out if you make it this way!
I need to prepare for 20 people, how to I expand the recipe for that large?
Bea, you could either double or triple the recipe depending upon everyone’s appetites. The cooking time and temperature will remain the same but you’ll obviously need more than one or a larger baking dish. Hope everyone enjoys!
Stumbled upon this recipe for Thanksgiving this year…Awesome, it was the hit at the table.
Will be repeating this one for Christmas for sure!!
Only adjustment I made was a little less brown sugar….
can this recipe be frozen?
Yes Donna, it is fine to freeze this!
Can I cook the sweet potatoes and mix with ingredients the night before and bake in the morning?
Yep, that’s fine.
I know you have said this could be made and reheated the next day but my question is do you cook the crisp, then refrigerate when cool and then warm the next day to serve or you mix it up, put the topping on and refrigerate without cooking and cook it the next day and serve?
Hi David, You can make (and bake) the whole thing ahead of time and just reheat it until crisp on top before serving. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn! I am excited to try this recipe! Can I make it ahead and reheat it? Or will it be better to make it Thursday and bring it to dinner? Also…how did you get the potatoes so smooth–should I put them in the mixer? Thanks so much! Ellyn
Hi Ellyn, It’s perfectly fine to make ahead — it reheats beautifully. And I just mash them up with a fork or potato masher.
Hi Jen,
This recipes looks delicious and I am looking forward to making this for Thanksgiving. If I make just the sweet potato part now and freeze it without the topping, how long should I bake it on Thanksgiving Day when I add the topping? Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Cyndi, If you make and freeze the sweet potato portion, I would make sure it is fully defrosted before baking. If it is, you can bake it for the directed amount of time. If not, I would increase the baking time in 20 minute increments until it’s heated through. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Jen,
It worked out beautifully for Thanksgiving. Thanks! Hope you had a nice holiday!
This recipe is amazing! I followed it to a T and thought it was just the perfect amount of sweet! I wanted to try it out on my biggest, most honest skeptics, my kids, before I made for thanksgiving. All I can say is I turned 2 non-loving sweet potato kids into sweet potato fans! They could not get enough! I will definitely be making for thanksgiving!
Best ever! Received 5 stars from Family & Friends this past Thanksgiving. My own twist: I added an additional 1/2 pound of sweet potatoes and substituted pumpkin pie spice to the sweet potato mixture. For the topping, I used half a cup of brown sugar, half a cup of flour, added a dollop of cream and substituted 1/3 cup of walnuts and pumpkin pie spice. Exceptional results with an aromatic flavourful scent. Easy to prepare and made a day in advance to rave reviews.
Are you aware that if you allow 8 servings, each one is 445.4 calories with 23.4 g fat, 77.6 g cholesterol, 55.6 g sugar?
It sounds delicious, but totally unhealthy!
This is our favorite sweet potato recipe for the holidays and beyond. I love plain sweet potatoes so found the amount of sugar a bit over the top and use about half of what is called for, have also substituted 4 egg whites for eggs. When I am making for a crowd I make a double bottom with one batch of topping. Half the sugar in the bottom. Someone always asks me for the recipe!
Made this for Easter along w/ the Brussels Sprouts/Kale Salad and the Asparagus/Peas dish. This was fantastic and extremely easy. The topping is sooooo good.
[While I’m being honest, I DID warm up a bowl of this later in the evening and ate it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Just sayin’. :)]
Lovely dish! Everyone love the sweet potatoes and wanted the recipe! Thank you so much!
Lovely dish! I made it to accompany stuffed turkey breast for Christmas Day dinner and it was a hit. I followed another reader’s advice and halved the topping ingredients and it was plenty, as it’s fairly rich.
Thanks for another nice recipe!
These were quickly gobbled up at our thanksgiving table this year. The sweet potato texture was out of this world! The crispy topping was perfection. I have tried several of your recipes and have never been disappointed!
Made these for Thansgiving. They were delicious. Next time, I’m going to cut back on the topping by half. It was a little too much for our taste. The spices & creamy potatoes were perfect though.
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a great hit! I made it vegan by leaving out the eggs and using Earth Balance instead of butter and had people asking for the recipe. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
OK this is the third dish I made for Thanksgiving this year from your website. I have made a version of this for years but your is even better! Everyone loved it. Another go to recipe for Thanksgivings to come. Thanks for your great recipes and website. I tell everyone about them.
Hi Jenn – Is there anyway to do this recipe with marshmallows instead of or in additional to the pecans? This is the first time I am hosting the holiday and my family loves the sweet potatoes with marshmallows one them. Thanks so much!
Hi Karen, Yes, you can do a marshmallow topping over the mashed sweet potatoes. I would just omit the pecan topping; it won’t cook properly if you top it with marshmallows. Happy Thanksgiving!
Would I need to double recipe or 1.5x’s recipe to cook it in a 13X9 pan?
Hi Debbie, I would double it 🙂
This sweet potato recipe calls for two large eggs, but I don’t see them mentioned in the preparation directions.
Hi Gloria, They are mentioned where it says “add the remaining sweet potato mixture ingredients.” Hope that helps!
Did you use sweet potatoes or Yams?
Hi Linda, I use sweet potatoes. For some reason, most grocers use the words “sweet potato” and “yam” interchangeably. This is confusing since yams aren’t sweet potatoes at all, but rather thick white tubers with dark brown skin. Chances are you won’t find real yams at the supermarket, so if you see “yams,” you’re probably looking at sweet potatoes.
Are your sweet potatoes the orange ones or white ones (inside)? Our grocer calls the white ones sweet potatoes.
Hi Maryanne, They are orange.
I’m having a vegan guest for Thanksgiving. I can substitute Earth Balance for the butter, but would it hurt this recipe to leave out the eggs? Or can you recommend a substitute for the eggs?
Hi Becky. You can leave out the eggs; just won’t be quite as light and fluffy 🙂
Have made this type of dish for years. I use i large can of crushed pineapple with its own juice. Use half in sweet potatoes and half dotted over top instead of so much sugar & butter. I prefer to bake my sweet potatoes after running in microwave for 6+ minutes I then coat with olive oil spray and bake at 375 on foil until the potatoes start to ooze (20 min.). This makes them sweeter; learned this trick from a restaurant that serves sweet potatoes every night. My family is split on pecan topping vs marshmallows so I put half with pecan topping and bake then add the mini marshmallows on the other half and run under broiler so all are happy.
Made this for our Thanksgiving feast. I didn’t change a thing. It was wonderful, and now will be my go to recipe for sweet potatoes.
This recipe looks wonderful, but I’m wondering if I can make it ahead of time? If so, what stages of the recipe can be done the day before, and what needs to be done right before cooking?
Thanks!
Hi Sandy, You can make the whole thing ahead of time and just reheat it until crisp on top before serving. Please come back and let me know how it comes out. Thanks!
Yum!!!! Oh my this was good!
I’d love to make this for thanksgiving but my daughter is allergic to tree nuts 🙁
What can you suggest that I substitute for the
1 cup of pecans? Something other than nuts
Thanks!
Hi Lauren, you can just leave them out. Hope you enjoy!
will be doing this one for x-mas day.thanksgiving,christmas time i love this so much.got a bag full of sweet taters waitin on me to make this
This is the way my mom has always made it, and in my opinion it’s the ONLY way to go….nothing better than the yummy, crisp topping with the smooth, creamy sweet potatoes. Don’t wait till Thanksgiving to make this!
I also made this for Thanksgiving and got rave reviews, especially since none of us are fans of marshmallows on our sweet potatoes. This is the perfect combination, smooth, sweet, crunchy sweet potato deliciousness. Can’t wait to have it again.
I made this for Thanksgiving last year, and it was a huge hit. I don’t like marshmellows, so it is the perfect sweet potato recipe for me. I got huge raves from everyone at the table… this will be on my menu for years now!
This is a wonderful recipe! My entire family loves it!
I discovered this recipe a couple of years ago here and LOVE IT! I like to take veggies to family get togethers and this one is always a hit, with people asking for the recipe. I use more sweet potatoes as the topping is pretty sweet and plentiful. Don’t wait for the holidays it is great with roasted chicken or grilled turkey all year long.
These were the best sweet potatoes I’ve made for Christmas dinner. My future son-in-law said they were the best he ever ate!
We made this around the holidays. It’s so fabulous it could almost sit alone in the dessert category, too. The pecans really balance the sweetness well.
This will be on our dinner table this Thanksgiving!
I was never a sweet potato fan until last year when I was introduced to some “outside the box” recipes. Now I know how good sweet potatoes can be, and this recipe looks great. Will definitely try it this holiday season.
Made the sweet potato pecan crisp for Thanksgiving dinner today. It was fantastic, very similar to one I’ve made in the past, but yours was much better. I just halfed the topping recipe. was able to make the sweet potato a day earlier and just added the topping before baking. My guests loved it. Thanks for another great recipe. Have tried several and they are all great. thanks,
Jenn,
I really feel like you should do a cookbook at some point. I have tried so many of your recipes, and they are all amazing!!
I’m making your sweet potato crisp, roasted carrots with thyme, and roasted brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving.
For Christmas Eve, I’ll have Hot Buttered Apple Cider ready for my guests to enjoy, and later we’ll enjoy your mac n cheese as a side dish.
And pretty much everyday I’ve been eating pumpkin muffins (made from your pumpkin bread recipe) for breakfast.
I think it’s safe to say that I am a major contender for Once Upon a Chef’s biggest fan!
Best regards,
Danielle Foster
I have been making this dish, mostof my adult life. Not exactly the same but very close. It is just as good cold or even the next day. Wonderful side dish or desert. In my recipe though I also add some FROSTED FLAKES to the topping mixture. Just add it in with the other ingred. it makes for the best topping ever. Try it, you will surely love it.
Oh this reminds me of the sweet potato casserole from Ruth’s Chris! My bf loved it so much that iw as going to try and make my own version of it but now I have something to go off of!!! Thank you!!!
This sounds just wonderful to me! Those southern recipes are always the best 🙂
I agree..you just cant make this with the canned stuff!!!
Amazing. This is my favorite Thanksgiving side!
mmmm! I make a similar one like this- I am not a canned kinda gal, either. Great pics! I put a link to your site on mine- hope ya don’t mind! 🙂