Sweet Potato Casserole (2024)

Sweet potatoes – make sure to pick good quality, fresh sweet potatoes without any soft spots or dark spots. Size of the sweet potatoes is not as important since you will be cutting them into cubes.

Brown sugar – you can use either light or dark brown sugar, the difference is the amount of molasses added.

Whole milk – you can use half and half if you want the dish to be a little creamier.

Butter – always use unsalted butter so you can control the amount of sodium in your dish.

Flour – use all purpose flour to make the crumble topping. If you need to make the dish gluten free, use gluten free all purpose flour.

Pecans – make sure to use pecans without any coating! You can get pecan halves and chop them yourself since halves are often cheaper.

See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions.

For sweet potato casserole, it’s best to boil sweet potatoes rather than baking it. When sweet potatoes are baked, they retain and even release more of the natural sweetness. If you add sugar to baked sweet potatoes, it would just be too sweet. (If you do happen to bake them, or have some leftover, use much less sugar in a casserole or omit it.)

Peel sweet potatoes and chop them into 4-6 cubes. Place sweet potato chunks into a pot and fill it with cold water (1), just enough to cover the potatoes. Bring water to boil and cook potatoes until fork-tender.

Strain all the water out of the pot and let potatoes cool for a few minutes. (If you add egg to hot potatoes, you will end up with partially scrambled eggs.)

Add butter, eggs, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla extract (2) and mash it all together using a potato masher. I do not like using a mixer because it whips the potatoes and leaves it with a completely different texture. That’s why I recommend to mash sweet potatoes by hand, and get a little workout in a process.

Grease a 9×9 casserole pan with some butter all over the bottom and up the sides. Spread potato mixture evenly in the pan (3).

For Pecan Topping:

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans in a mixing bowl and mix until all evenly incorporated. Pour in melted butter while stirring and cutting with a fork. Continue to cut and stir with a fork until coarse crumbs form. The topping should look like crumbs, not paste.

Spread the pecan topping over sweet potatoes evenly (4) and bake the casserole for 40-45 minutes (5).

Make Ahead Suggestions

Absolutely! It’s very easy to make the casserole ahead of time either part of the way of completely.

Option 1: Prepare sweet potato filling and spread it in the casserole dish. Cover the dish air-tight with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. When ready, prepare the topping, spread it over the sweet potatoes and bake at 350° for about 45 minutes.

Option 2: Casserole can also be completely baked and stored in the refrigerator. Bake the casserole as directed in the recipe and let it cool to room temperature. As soon as it’s cooled, cover it air-tight and store in the refrigerator.

Reheating Sweet Potato Casserole

When ready to reheat the casserole, preheat the oven to 325° and take off all plastic wrap. Cover with aluminum foil and reheat for about 20 minutes. Take off the foil and finish reheating for another 10 minutes.

Why is my sweet potato casserole so wet/watery?

You’ve added too much liquid. Make sure to strain off all the cooking liquid after cooking sweet potatoes. After you let the sweet potatoes cool down a bit, see if more liquid needs to be strained off.
Remember, it’s easier to add more liquids and it’s impossible to take any out after mixing. So you can mix everything but the whole milk and gradually add whole milk at the end. That way you can judge if your sweet potato filling is getting too wet.

Are yams and sweet potatoes the same?

No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams have tough, dark brown skin and the flesh is more dry and starchy like a regular potato. They have a more neutral flavor and not much sweetness. Sweet potatoes have smooth reddish/orange skin and much softer flesh when cooked. The flesh is also orange/pink hue in color and has a sweet flavor.

Can I use canned sweet potatoes to make the filling?

Technically, yes, you can use canned sweet potatoes. Make sure to drain them well and you should gently rinse them with cold water.
Definitely don’t add milk until you’ve mashed and mixed all other ingredients together. Add milk a little bit at a time so your filling is not too watery.
Also, watch the sugar, canned sweet potatoes are packaged in syrup! Taste the sweet potato after rinsing and if it’s very sweet, don’t add sugar to the filling!
(Note that “canned yams” are usually sweet potatoes.)

More Must-Have Thanksgiving Dishes

• Sweet Potato Casserole Cake
• Homemade Mashed Potatoes Recipe
• Sweet Potato Cheesecake
• Ham and Cheese Mashed Potato Cakes
• Hashbrown Casserole
• Classic Stuffing
• Cornbread Dressing
• Green Bean Casserole