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Sweet potato casserole. My absolute favorite holiday side dish. It does what it needs to do EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Shows up and shows out.

We are a little over a week away from Thanksgiving and if we’re being honest, the sides are the star of the show. My fluffy, buttery, sweet potato casserole is one dish you don’t wanna leave off your menu.

Sweet potatoes roasted in the oven until tender. Peeled and smashed until fluffy. Sweetened and spiced to perfection. Then topped with a buttery brown sugar pecan crumble. Baked until golden. Giving you the best of both worlds. Pillow soft with a little crunch. Seriously, this is going to quickly become your new favorite side dish.

This week I’m sharing some of my favorite holiday recipes. So get your notebooks out. We’re getting holiday ready!

This is my tried and true, sweet potato casserole. My family and friends request it every year. It adds the perfect sweetness and texture to your holiday plate.

PRO Tip- Make sure you have it right next to the Mac & Cheese. There’s nothing better than a little Mac and sweet potato on your fork. A top tier collab. Whew, YES Lord!

Growing up, my mom would make different variations of sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes and apples. Sweet potatoes and marshmallows, etc. As I got older, and had a couple of holidays away from family- I experimented with different recipes.

One year in college, I had Thanksgiving dinner at my coaches house and they had a sweet potato casserole with pecans on top. It was my first time having it like that. and y’all… it’s been history ever since. This is by far my favorite way to eat sweet potatoes!

Let’s get into it.

Start by cooking the sweet potatoes. I decided to roast them in the oven. Roasting them brings out the natural sugars making a sweeter, richer dish.

After roasting until tender, let them cool for at least 30 minutes. Once they cool, the skin should peel right off. Place the sweet potatoes in a bowl and mash until puree consistency.

Combine the sugars, melted butter, milk, cinnamon and vanilla and mix well. Then add room temperature eggs. Because we’re working with warm ingredients- i.e melted butter, I suggest using room temp eggs OR letting the mixture cool before adding the eggs so that the hot butter doesn’t cook the eggs while mixing.

Add the mixture to a prepared 9×9 baking dish.

for the topping – it’s really easy. Combine flour, brown sugar, melted butter, chopped pecans and a little cinnamon. Mix it together. It’ll be a crumbly texture.

Add the crumble topping to the top of the sweet potatoes. I like to rub my hands together while to help crumble the doughy topping.

Bake in the oven on 350 for 35-40 minutes. The top should be golden, but not burnt. Allow to set for about 20 minutes before serving.

Can I boil the sweet potatoes?

yes, absolutely. I’ve done both methods. But, I prefer roasting in the oven. Although roasting takes longer, the process brings out the natural sugars of the sweet potatoes making them sweeter and more flavorful.

Mixer vs Masher

I prefer using a masher when breaking down the sweet potatoes. I personally like a little texture in my casserole. I think an electric mixture makes it TOO smooth. I stick to using an electric mixer when I’m making sweet potato pies. If you’d rather a smoother texture, feel free to use an electric mixer.

NOTE- as you add ingredients and mix them together, the mixture will get smoother.

Sweet Potato Casserole

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Prep Time 1 hr 45 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Total Time 2 hrs 30 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 3-4 large sweet potatoes
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk I used almond
  • 1/2 stick butter (4 tbsp) unsalted, melted
  • 1/4 cup pancake syrup
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs room temp

Topping

  • 5 tbsp butter unsalted, melted
  • 1/2 cup All Purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean sweet potatoes and prick a few holes around the surface of the potatoes with a fork. Wrap them in foil and place in a pan or baking dish. Roast in the oven for 1 1/2 hours; or until tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing the skin.
  • Turn the oven to 350 degrees and prep a 9×9 pan with cooking spray. Add sweet potatoes to a bowl, and mash until smooth. Combine melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla, syrup and cinnamon until well combined. Then mix in eggs. Add sweet potato mixture to the prepared baking dish and set aside.
  • In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped pecans, salt and melted butter. Mix well. Scatter the pecan topping on top of the sweet potatoes.
  • Bake on the middle rack for 30-40 minutes until the topping is golden. Remove from the oven, allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

You can also boil your sweet potatoes, but roasting them brings out more sweetness.
You can adjust measurements if you plan on making a bigger casserole than 9×9 baking dish.
Keyword Holiday Recipes, Side Dish, Thanksgiving

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