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Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
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:
Can I freeze sweet potato casserole? 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. Which topping is better? Marshmallow or pecan? 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- usually around the last 10 minutes or so. 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. Can I use fresh sweet potatoes? 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. Can I use different nuts? Yes, chopped pecans can be swapped for whatever nut you prefer. Try almonds, cashews, or peanuts. Can I make this ahead of time? Yes, you can make the sweet potato mixture and the topping and add them together in a baking dish, cover tightly and place in the fridge overnight. Then, remove from fridge and let come up to room temperature before baking with normal instructions. If you don’t pull it out to come to room temperature early enough, you’ll need some extra baking time, so keep any eye on that. How do you thicken up sweet potato casserole? 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. How do I store leftovers? 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. Can I double this recipe? Yes, you could double and bake in a 9×13-inch dish and you’ll need to adjust the baking time accordingly. Since I haven’t personally tested doubling this recipe, I can’t give exact baking suggestions. Can I make this in the Slow Cooker? I would assume you could. I have yet to attempt this, so unfortunately, I can’t give any specific instructions on what’s the best recommendations on how to do so.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
canned sweet potatoes– Important tip- Many canned sweet potatoes can be labeled as “Yams” as you’ll see in my ingredient photo below. But it says on the can that it is sweet potatoes in syrup. If you pick up a can of yams, you can definitely use them, you just need to drain them first. It doesn’t matter whether they are packed in syrup or some other sort of liquid, they’ll need to be drainer. Some cans might be labeled “Sweet Potatoes” but then say they are yams in syrup, which be be so confusing, right? Soem brands will label them one way while another brand does another way of labeling. But either one can be used in this recipe. Yams and sweet potatoes are actually two different things, but for some reason, when it comes to the canned kind, they seem to use the terms interchangeably.
salted butter– unsalted butter can be used, just add a pinch of butter.
milk– whole milk gives a little extra richness to this dish. You could use 2%, but I wouldn’t use skim if it can be avoided.
sugar– simple white granulated sugar is what I tested this recipe with, but I suspect you could use an alternative sugar option.
vanilla extract
eggs
brown sugar– light or dark brown sugar should work.
all-purpose flour
chopped pecans
HOW TO MAKE SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE:
Preheat oven to 350f degrees. In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes. Then 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.
MORE SIDE DISH RECIPE IDEAS:
Honey Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Steakhouse Style Sweet Potatoes
Crock Pot Candied Yams
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
Southern Black Eyed Peas
Green Bean Casserole (with no cream soups)
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup
Originally published: November 2016Updated photos and republished: October 2024
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Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
This Easy Sweet Potato Casserole has a creamy filling made with canned sweet potatoes and is topped with a brown sugar streusel topping.
Course Side DishCuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes minutesCook Time 40 minutes minutesTotal Time 55 minutes minutes
Servings 10
Calories 371kcal
Author Brandie @ The Country Cook
IngredientsFor the casserole:1 (29 ounce) can sweet potatoes, drained½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted⅓ cup milk¾ cup sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 large eggs, beatenFor the topping:5 Tablespoons salted butter, melted⅔ cup brown sugar⅔ cup all-purpose flour1 cup chopped pecans
InstructionsPreheat oven to 350F degrees. In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes. Then 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
Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
NutritionCalories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 24g | Sodium: 152mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g
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