Southern Sweet Potato Casserole (+Video)
This Easy Sweet Potato Casserole has a creamy filling made with canned sweet potatoes and is topped with a brown sugar streusel topping.
AN EASY RECIPE FOR SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
Sweet potato casserole is a must-have, must-make side dish for me at the holidays. I’ve mentioned this before but I would be totally happy with a bunch of side dishes for holiday meals. It just isn’t Thanksgiving for me without sweet potato casserole!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I do a ton of cooking on Thanksgiving and over the years, I have learned ways to make my recipes not only easier to whip up but still have that same great taste I love. I use canned sweet potatoes or yams and I make this whole thing the night before, pop it into the refrigerator and it’s ready to bake the next day. If you want to prep this a few days or more in advance, you can freeze it (just make sure you wrap it really well.) Put into the refrigerator overnight to thaw and proceed with the cooking instructions below. Or cook from frozen but add on additional cooking time.
The pecan praline topping on this is my favorite but I will never turn down a good ole marshmallow topping either. Instead of the pecan praline topping, you can leave it off and top with mini marshmallows towards the end of cooking. If you put them on too early, they will burn. Or. you could do a half and half. Just don’t add the marshmallow topping until the end of cooking. Also, if you don’t like pecans in the topping, you can just leave them out.
Of course! You’ll need about 3 small sweet potatoes. They need to be cooked soft enough to be mashed. Boiling is probably the simplest way to make them. Just peel and dice the sweet potatoes into large cubes and boil until tender then continue with the recipe as written.
This answer is two-fold. Most people don’t allow their casseroles to set up after baking. The casserole needs at least 15-20 minutes to cool before serving. The casserole sets up as it cools. However, if you prefer a really thick sweet potato casserole, you can add about 2-3 tablespoons of flour to your sweet potato batter and this will help the mixture to thicken. This is an especially good idea if using fresh sweet potatoes.
If your sweet potato casserole turned out “watery”, its usually because you forgot to add eggs; you didn’t let your casserole have enough time to set up after baking or you used fresh sweet potatoes and didn’t boil them long enough before mashing. Sweet potatoes retain a lot of moisture so boiling them well beforehand will help release a lot of that excess moisture before adding them to your casserole mixture.
This one is for all you food fact nerds like me. Sweet potato casserole was actually invented by a marshmallow corporation in 1917. So the original recipe was intended to be made with marshmallows. They were trying to market the sweet pillowy treat with a recipe. This is a marketing technique we see regularly these days. However, southerners eventually morphed the original dish and added the sweet pecan brown sugar topping.
Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze leftovers. Cover and wrap well to protect from freezer burn. Casserole will freeze for up to 6 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- canned sweet potatoes
- salted butter
- milk
- sugar
- vanilla extract
- eggs
- brown sugar
- all-purpose flour
- chopped pecans
HOW TO MAKE SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE:
Preheat oven to 350f degrees. In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes and stir in melted butter, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and beaten eggs. Stir until combined well.
Pour sweet potato mixture into a 2-quart (8-inch square) baking dish.
In a bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, flour and chopped pecans. Use a fork or your fingers until mixture becomes small crumbles.
Sprinkle crumbles over sweet potato mixture.
Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes until topping is golden brown. Let casserole cool for about 15-20 minutes before serving. This is important as the casserole will set-up as it cools.
Makes 8 servings.
MORE SIDE DISH RECIPE IDEAS:
Southern Sweet Potato Casserole (+Video)
Ingredients
For the casserole:
- 1 (29 oz) can sweet potatoes, drained
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, beaten
For the topping:
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes and stir in melted butter, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and beaten eggs. Stir until combined well.
- Pour sweet potato mixture into a 2-quart (8-inch square) baking dish.
- In a bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, flour and chopped pecans. Use a fork or your fingers until mixture becomes small crumbles.
- Sprinkle crumbles over sweet potato mixture.
- Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes until topping is golden brown. Let casserole cool for at least 15-20 minutes before serving. This is important as the casserole will set-up as it cools.
Video
Notes
- Three small fresh sweet potatoes (peeled, diced and boiled) can be used instead of the canned sweet potatoes.
- A marshmallow topping can be used instead of the pecan topping. Put the marshmallows on around the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: November 2016
Updated and republished September 2019
Thank you for the recipe first of all! I made this with 4 medium size sweet potatoes which only yielded me 2 cups (which was 16 ounces). So I grabbed a 15 ounce Can of pure pumpkin and used 3/4th’s of the Can. I think next time I will use the whole can. I then followed your recipe to the T. Well maybe a couple of exceptions, I added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon & Ginger, plus a 1/4 tsp of salt. Everything else was perfect. We loved this recipe. Especially blending the sweet potatoes and pumpkin together. It made it that much more tastier. We will definitely be doing this again.
I followed the recipe and it turned out perfect. I doubled the recipe for a large family Thanksgiving and it was a hit, all gone. Thank-you for a great recipe to add to my holiday dinner.
Can I use white sugar for topping instead of brown sugar
Could you add the marshmallows on top of the praline or vise versa ?
I was also wondering the same! I saw that she said u could make the recipe at towards the end add the marshmallow to the top and broil it for 5 mins.
when making the night before do you leave the topping on or off?
I am wondering the same! Thanks!
I love this recipe, I have made it several times. The only thing I change is I replace the milk with French vanilla coffee creamer. My family can’t get enough!
Should I change the amount of ingredients to make it in a 9×13 dish? I need to make this tomorrow 🙂
Have you ever baked this the night before and reheated the next day?
I haven’t but you could absolutely do that. You may just have to add a few more minutes to the cooking time since you’ll be cooking it from cold rather than room temperature.
This recipe was sooooo easy and sooooo good! I never would have thought to use canned yams, and I was skeptical, but it went beyond my expectations!
Thank you DeeDee! I’m all about keeping it as easy as possible!!
I have a high bag of frozen sweet potatoes. How much of the 5 lbs of sweet potatoes can be used for the casserole? If I can use them. I don’t know what to do with these sweet potatoes! Hate to waste them. Thank you.
This recipe was a hit and I will be making it again. I doubled the yams, reduced the sugar to about 1/3 cup and kept everything else the same as called for in the recipe. Just before serving, I added marshmallows and put it under the broiler for a few minutes. Lots of rave reviews. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Its amazing!!! Made this recipe once and now,I’m officially assigned to make it every holiday because it was such a hit! So easy,i make it ahead of time. Thank you for sharing your recipe ♡♡♡
Wonderful!! Love hearing that!!
This was so delicious, I’m making a post-Thanksgiving casserole for the family! Everyone was sad when the leftovers were gone. 😉
The top of the index card should be changed to reflect the actual total time of an hour, not 35 minutes. I started the recipe thinking it would be just over half an hour. Now I’m waiting twice that. 🙁 Oh well. I’m sure it will be delicious!
This recipe was very close to the one I have used for several years, but cant find since we moved. This recipe can be baked in a 1.5 qt Dish -with additions nal cooking time-for taller servings. I sub vanilla flavored almond milk for regular milk to add another layer of flavor. Thank You for posting.
Just made this for Thanksgiving tomorrow and it already tastes amazing!! We used 6lbs of fresh sweet potatoes (bc Trader Joe’s doesn’t sell canned). Peeled and boiled them, and then followed the directions except that we used original unsweetened almond milk and gluten free flour. Doubled (and a half) the recipe and it is so stinking good!!!!!! I put one in a 9×13 pan and that’ll have the pralines, and a small square 8×8 pan that’ll have marshmallows for those who can’t have nuts. Putting them in the fridge now! Excited to bake and eat them tomorrow!! P.s. this is my first time making sweet potato casserole, but now it definitely won’t be my last! ????
Made this and the whole family loved it!
Hello, I was wondering what tastes better to you, fresh sweet potatoes or canned with this recipe. -thanks luv ur recipes
Can this be mixed up and refrigerated the day before thanksgiving and baked on thanksgiving before dinner?
Yes ????
Can you do the brown sugar topping without the pecans?
I believe I’ve already answered this question a few times above. I have never tried it but I don’t see why not. If you try it, please come back and let us know how you liked it! 🙂
Is there a way to mix marshmallows with the pecan topping? I would like both and not just half and half
Hi Katelyn, most people don’t use both. Usually just marshmallows or the pecan topping. However, I suppose you could bake this recipe (as is) then towards the end, sprinkle some mini marshmallows on top and then stick it under the broiler in your oven to slightly melt them and brown. Hope it turns out good for ya! 🙂
How much extra of each ingredient do I need if I’m going to use a 40 ounce can of potatoes instead of 29.
Thanks, excited to make this
Fallon, I made this recipe using TWO 40 oz cans of sweet potatoes and did not change any other ingredients with the exception of reducing the white sugar to 1/3 cup. I did that because my potatoes were packed in light syrup – I drained them, but was still a bit worried about it being too sweet, so I slightly reduced the sugar. Recipe was great – my office loved it!
I need to make the topping without the nuts. What do you do?
Just leave them out. 🙂
Can I mix the sweet potatoes with all the wet indgriediants then cover it and pop in fridge then put the topping in the morning before I bake it. I plan on making the topping ahead of time and placing in a zip lock bag
Can you make the topping without the pecans?
Yes, just leave them out. 🙂
I made this tonight as a trial run before thanksgiving. It tastes delicious but filling was a bit funny even though I used a larger can of potatoes. I might cut back on the milk or one egg next time. So good, thank you!
Good thinking to do a trial run! 🙂 Make sure you are allowing it a full 15 minutes to cool. It does set up as it cools. Also, I know some ovens run a bit different so it may have needed slightly longer to cook. If the topping is getting too brown, just top it with aluminum foil. Hope that helps and Happy Thanksgiving!