By Adell 106 Comments
A thick pecan crust on top of creamy, sweet potatoes.
This is the best sweet potato dish you will ever have, promise!
Updated Photos: November 2016! It’s been 3 years since I posted this recipe and it is the most popular on my site, for good reason! I wanted to add somemore recent pictures of this decadent dish!
I know that is saying a lot calling these THE BEST and I don’t use the phrase lightly. But I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true. There is never a crumb left when I make this dish.The recipe comes from my husband’s great-grandma Gertrude. So it’s been around for some time. But in case you have never had this version of sweet potato casserole, I am excited to share the recipe with you today.
Also, if you have ever been to Ruth’s Chris Steak House, this is very similar to the sweet potato casserole served there. It is one of my brother’s favorite things ever so when I made this casserole for a family party he was pretty excited to try it. He said it tastedjustlike the one he gets at the restaurant! Even if you think you don’t like sweet potatoes, give these a try. You just might change your mind 🙂
Here is an up close and personal picture of the BEST part of the dish. The topping! I know it’s called Sweet Potato Casserole, but the crunchy pecan topping is the star of the show.
Another great thing about this dish is that you can make it the day or two before Thanksgiving. I am all about saving time in the kitchen! I love Thanksgiving but also feel like we should get to spend more time eating and enjoying our time with friends and family than slaving away in the kitchen all day, right?! You can prepare the potato mixture then store it in the fridge. Then on Thanksgiving all you have to do is bake it, make the topping (which is easy!) and bake it an additional 15 min with the topping
I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
4.8 from 10 reviews
Sweet Potato Casserole
This is the best sweet potato casserole! It is so good you could call it dessert 🙂
Author: Adell Goff
Recipe type: Side Dish
Ingredients
- For the potatoes:
- 3½ to 4 cups sweet potatoes, mashed
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 Tablespoons buttermilk or milk
- ½ cup butter, melted
- For the topping:
- ⅓ cup flour
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a casserole dish (about 2½ quart size)
- Combine the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, vanilla, 2 tablespoons of buttermilk or milk and melted butter in a medium bowl using an electric mixer or by hand. Add additional buttermilk if needed (you will use between 2-4 tablespoons)
- Pour into your casserole dish.
- Bake at for 25-30 minutes. (Or if you want to make this dish ahead of time, cover and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Take it out and bake uncovered.)
- While it is baking, make the topping. Combine the flour, pecans, butter and brown sugar in a small bowl. When the casserole is done baking remove from oven and sprinkle topping over the top. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. You want a lightly browned, crunchy top.
- Let it sit for about 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
-Milk will work if you don't have buttermilk.
-I bake my potatoes in the oven. Wash, dry and pierce with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30-45 min at 375 degrees or until it passes a fork test. Let them cool, then peel the skin off or cut open and scrape out the insides. I have also peeled, cut up and boiled the sweet potatoes till they pass a for test. You could also use canned yams if you were pressed for time. I use salted butter, if you prefer unsalted, add a ½ tsp. salt to the potato mixture.
-You can use less sugar if you prefer your sweet potatoes not so sweet. I have made these with ½ cup sugar and it was still delicious!
UPDATE 11-11-14: I recently made this for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. I added a little more sweet potatoes (probably a ½ cup. A total of 4 medium sized) I didn't adjust the recipe other than that, but I baked in a 13x9" pan and it worked great! It was a for a large sized group so I wanted it to go farther and there wasn't a bit leftover 🙂 It makes the crust not as thick but nobody seamed to mind.
Looking for more dinner or THANKSGIVINGrecipes?! Check these out:
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes (Super creamy!)
: My favorite green beans!
Potato Knot Rolls: These rollsmelt in your mouth!
Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars: One of my favorites!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie: Love a little cheesecake with my pumpkin pie 🙂
Here are the original photos I posted 3 years ago, just so I can remind myself I am getting better at food photography, even if it is a slow process 🙂
