Amazing Sweet Potato Casserole is a Thanksgiving classic and so easy to make from scratch! This recipe has the perfect balance of savory and sweet with tons of texture and flavor!
Back with more Thanksgiving today! So far we’ve posted our best Roast Turkey and Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole but no holiday table is complete with out a good batch of sweet potatoes! These sweet potatoes have the absolute BEST topping! When done right, sweet potato casserole can be absolutely amazing. I personally can’t handle the canned yams dumped into a pan and topped with marshmallows. This casserole is the farthest thing from that! The potatoes are so creamy and flavorful and the topping is the perfect combo of crunchy, sweet, with a hint of savory!
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole from Scratch:
- You’ll need around 4 pounds of sweet potatoes for this recipe, which comes out to 4-5 large potatoes.
- Peel them well, then just pop them in a large pot and cover with cold water. At this point, you can cut them in half and they will boil a little faster. Left whole, it took my potatoes about 25 minutes.
- While the potatoes boil, I take the time to make the topping, and gather all the ingredients to finish the filling.
Making Sweet Potato Casserole Continued:
- You’ll know that your sweet potatoes are done when you can pierce them all the way through with a fork! Make sure you can get all the way through the middle, or they may not mash easily.
- You can drain the potatoes and add them right back to the pot they cooked in. Add in your melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, half & half, salt, and cinnamon and just use a potato masher on them. No need to pull out the hand mixer for this recipe.
- Make sure that you use brown NOT white sugar for this recipe, it adds the very best flavor!
- Note that you can use milk instead of half & half if you prefer.
How Do You Freeze Sweet Potato Casserole?
First things first, you can assemble this ahead along with the topping, then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days before baking. If you’d like to freeze, prepare as directed (do not bake) and once the potato mixture is cooled you can cover tightly with foil and freeze for up to 2 months for best results. Allow the casserole to thaw completely in the refrigerator before baking, you will not want to bake it from frozen.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING:
- 4 Pounds About 4-5 Large Sweet Potatoes
- 1 Stick Butter 1/2 Cup, Melted
- 3/4 Cup Half & Half or Milk
- 1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
FOR THE TOPPING:
- 1/2 Cup 1 Stick Butter, Melted
- 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup Chopped Pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
FOR THE FILLING:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray or butter and set aside.
- Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Lay on a cutting board and cut in half.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until tender.
- Drain the water from the potatoes and return them to the pot.
- Add the melted butter, half & half, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon to the potatoes and use a hand masher (or hand mixer) to mash until smooth.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and spread out evenly.
FOR THE TOPPING:
- In a medium bowl stir together the melted butter, flour, brown sugar, pecans, salt and cinnamon until moistened.
- Crumble the topping evenly over the sweet potatoes.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until set.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m making this again – year number 2. Sooooooo yummy… Thank you so much for your insight!!
Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
It tastes delicious.
Such a perfect casserole for the holidays! That texture looks incredible with the sweet pecan topping.
First time making(and eating) sweet potato casserole was me volunteering to bring it to my boyfriend’s Thanksgiving(no pressure). It was a hit!! Omg most delicious thing we had that night & the next 2 nights!
This recipe is definitely far superior to canned yams topped with marshmallows! Can’t wait to try it!
I’m making this for the weekend, I bet everyone is going to devour it!
So much flavor in every bite! I especially loved the topping!
Oh my goodness I am such a huge sweet potato fan! This was so yummy and going on the menu for Thanksgiving!