Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe (2025)

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Posted by Aimee 186 comments
Published: Nov 18, 2018 Last Updated: Mar 20, 2024

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In my family, the Best Sweet Potato Casserole recipe is one that’s served up sweet and salty with a delicious, crunchy streusel topping! You’ll love this mashed sweet potato recipe and the nutty brown sugar crunch on top!

For more holiday side dishes, don’t forget the Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole, and of course Pistachio Salad!

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe (1)

Why this Sweet Potato Casserole is Best

Every family has traditions, and in most cases, you can’t shake things up. Ever.

For instance, Thanksgiving. You are either a plain sweet potato or a mini marshmallows topped sweet potato family. There is no middle ground. (of course you could also love candied sweet potatoes)

For years, my family was divided. Depending on who hosted Thanksgiving dinner, we either were served gooey, sweet marshmallow sweet potato casserole….or a sweet potato casserole with a little butter and brown sugar.

Now I serve both.

If you’ve ever been to a Ruth’s Chris restaurant you’ll recognize these potatoes!

  • Sweet and creamy mashed sweet potatoes.
  • Topped with a brown sugar crumble with a crunch for salty pecans.
  • One of the best things about these sweet potatoes is that you can have them prepped ahead of time so that you only need to bake them on Thanksgiving.

Ingredients in Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe (2)
  • Sweet Potatoes. Choose fresh sweet potatoes that have no root growing off of them.
  • Sugars. You’ll want sugar for the mashed sweet potato and brown sugar for the pecan topping.
  • Vanilla extract. These candied potatoes are almost like a dessert. Using real vanilla extract (or try my homemade vanilla extract) gives even more flavor.
  • Eggs. Helps the casserole fluff up to a delicious texture.
  • Unsalted butter. If using salted butter, omit the extra kosher salt in the recipe.

How to Make this Easy Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe (3)

Start by cooking your sweet potatoes.

  • Bake. You can bake them in the oven (my preferred method), at 400 degrees F for an hour.
  • Stove Top. Or you can peel and boil potatoes in a large pot of water (for about half an hour).
  • Microwave. The third way would be to poke them with a fork and microwave the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes.
  • Instant Pot. OR you can pop them in the Instant Pot! Cook them tender by using my Instant Pot Sweet Potato recipe!

Mash the sweet potatoes.

Once your potatoes are cooked, combine them in a large bowl with the sugar, salt, vanilla extract, eggs, and melted butter. Using a mixer, beat them for about 4-5 minutes until fluffy and smooth.

Bake. Pour this into a 2 qt casserole dish and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Make the topping. While the potatoes are baking, make your streusel topping. Combine brown sugar with flour, chopped pecans, and melted butter. Stir together with a fork and set aside.

Once your sweet potatoes have cooked, top with streusel (and extra pecans on top if desired) and return to the oven to bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe (4)

Making ahead of time

There is nothing worse than trying to figure out what goes in the oven, and when. Fortunately, this sweet potato casserole gets it’s “BEST” rating because of the flexibility.

Here are THREE options on how to make today’s sweet potato casserole recipe:

  1. First, you could bake as written above, if oven space is not an issue.
  2. Or, you could bake the 25 minutes, top with the streusel and refrigerate until the next day. Then you would only need to pop it back into the oven for about 20 minutes.
  3. You could also bake it as directed for entirety and allow to sit on the table for about 30 minutes (covered with foil to keep hot). This gives you time and space to warm up some dinner rolls and get the rest of your food heated and ready.

Favorite Side Dishes

See all Side Dishes recipes

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Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

4.70 from 325 votes

By: Aimee

In my family, theBest Sweet Potato Casserole recipeis one that’s served up sweet and salty with a delicious, crunchy streusel topping!You’ll love this mashed sweet potato recipe and the nutty brown sugar crunch on top!

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

For the Mashed Sweet Potatoes:

  • 4 large sweet potatoes
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted

For the streusel topping:

  • 1 cup light brown sugar packed
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted

Instructions

  • Cook sweet potatoes in desired manner, until soft. See notes.

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 2 qt baking dish with nonstick spray (I use coconut oil spray). Set aside.

  • In a large bowl, combine cooked sweet potatoes, granulated sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and melted butter. Beat with an electric mixer for about 4-5 minutes, until fluffy and smooth.

  • Pour into prepared dish. Bake for 25 minutes.

  • While baking, prepare streusel topping by combining brown sugar, flour, pecans, and melted butter in a small bowl. Mix with a fork and set aside.

  • Sprinkle the baked sweet potato mixture with streusel and return to oven for about 10-15 minutes until crumble is lightly browned. Serve immediately or cover with foil and serve in 30 minutes.

Notes

  • For the sweet potatoes you can cook them your favorite way. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for one hour. Or pierce with fork and microwave for 15 minutes (or more depending on size). Or peel and boil them for 30 minutes.
  • Butter– for a traditional Ruths Chris topping, you’ll want to melt the butter. If you prefer more of a crumble, just use softened butter instead.

Make it in Advance: Here are THREE options on how to make today’s sweet potato casserole recipe:

  1. First, you could bake as written above, if oven space is not an issue.
  2. Or, you could bake the 25 minutes, top with the streusel and refrigerate until the next day. Then you would only need to pop it back into the oven for about 20 minutes.
  3. You could also bake it as directed for entirety and allow to sit on the table for about 30 minutes (covered with foil to keep hot). This gives you time and space to warm up some dinner rolls and get the rest of your food heated and ready.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 226mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 26g

Course: Side Dishes

Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe (2025)

FAQs

How to make sweet potato casserole not runny? ›

Eggs and cream help stabilize the dish and prevent it from becoming too runny (a common complaint with many sweet potato casserole recipes). Make it as smooth or chunky as you like!

Why do you add eggs to sweet potato casserole? ›

A really good sweet potato casserole filling should be light and moist, not dense. If it's dense, then you may not have added an often overlooked ingredient—an egg. An egg adds lift, structure and volume and makes the filling more custard-like.

How to tell when sweet potato casserole is done? ›

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the sweet potato mixture, then pop it into the oven and let it bake for 40 to 45 minutes. You will know it's done when the topping is lightly browned and the center of your casserole is set and firm.

Can I use canned sweet potatoes instead of fresh? ›

Canned or frozen sweet potatoes may be substituted for the fresh form in any recipe calling for cooked sweet potatoes as the starting point. Canned sweet potatoes are generally smaller in diameter because of their better canning qualities.

How do you make a casserole less runny? ›

Simply whisk equal parts butter and flour together. Then, roll the thick paste into little teaspoon-sized balls. Add one ball to your casserole at a time, waiting about a minute before adding another one, until you get the right thickness.

How to fix watery casserole? ›

10 Tips To Fix Or Prevent Watery Casseroles
  1. Prep Vegetables Ahead Of Time. Vegetables boiling on a stove - Solstock/Getty Images. ...
  2. Add A Starch. ...
  3. Experiment With Pasta Or Grains. ...
  4. Take The Lid Off. ...
  5. Drain Fat From Meat. ...
  6. Choose A Dry Or Low-Fat Cheese. ...
  7. Sprinkle Seeds Into Your Bake. ...
  8. Remove Excess Liquid.
Oct 29, 2023

How do you make a casserole taste better? ›

Try different herbs for added flavour: sage or lemon thyme work wonderfully well. For a meatier casserole, add chopped sausage or pancetta when cooking the chicken. Stir wholegrain mustard through the casserole at the end of cooking (to taste); this is especially good if you have sausage in the casserole.

How can I thicken my sweet potato casserole? ›

The solution for watery casseroles is instant potato mash powder or cornflour - slake (mix with a little water) at first or it will go lumpy. Stir well. Alternatively, don't add so much water at first, especially if you're using a slow cooker.

Why are my sweet potatoes still hard after baking? ›

If the potato is still firm when squeezed, that means it needs to cook more. Baked sweet potatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat for 2 minutes in the microwave, at 400°F in the air fryer for 5 minutes, or at 400°F in the oven for 10 minutes.

Why is my sweet potato casserole watery? ›

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.

Can you eat sweet potato casserole left out overnight? ›

Cooked sweet potato should be kept in the refrigerator and eaten within 5 to 7 days, says Richard. "Cooked food should not sit at room temperature more than two hours before putting it in the refrigerator or freezer (or one hour when the temperature is above 90°F)," she notes.

Why is my sweet potato casserole stringy? ›

Sweet potatoes stored at temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit will shrivel and become dry and stringy. Sweet potatoes may develop an off-flavor and the flesh may become discolored when stored at temperatures below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

How many sweet potatoes is 2 cups? ›

We decided to use a medium sweet potato for our measurements. We found that it took 1.25 medium sweet potatoes to obtain 1 cup of sliced potato. When cubing, we needed 1.3 sweet potatoes to reach the 1 cup mark. However, when measuring for 1 cup of mashed, 2 whole sweet potatoes did the trick.

How many cups is 1 pound of sweet potatoes? ›

One pound raw fresh sweet potatoes = 3 cups shredded, cubed or sliced = 1 3/4 cups cooked, mashed.

Should I rinse canned sweet potatoes? ›

Leaving the syrup on the yams can hamper their taste. Rinsing sweet potatoes of any leftover sugary film will uphold their integrity, giving you the most authentic sweet potato taste and texture.

How do you thicken up sweet potato casserole? ›

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.

Why is my potato casserole runny? ›

My sauce is watery

If you stored your potatoes in water to prevent discoloring, be sure to drain them well and pat them dry before adding to your casserole. Some of the waxier potatoes can release more water than starchier ones, so look for good baking potatoes like russet or Yukon golds.

What do I do if my potato bake is too runny? ›

Try letting the dish rest for 10 minutes or so to let the water get absorbed and let the sauce thicken. Try cooking your recipe longer.

Is sweet potato casserole supposed to be jiggly? ›

Sprinkle the pecan topping mixture over the top of the sweet potato filling. Bake the casserole for 35 to 45 minutes, until the filling is hot, does not jiggle when you shake the dish, and the topping has browned.

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