Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole (Classic + Scrumptious!)
Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole is sweet, creamy, and scrumptious, with a fabulously crunchy pecan topping (or swap with toasted marshmallows!) for a classic holiday favorite that will lend nostalgia to any Thanksgiving or Christmas menu!
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If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you'll also love this wholesome Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole, Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes, or Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes!
Every holiday menu benefits from a balance of flavors, from savory to sweet, and from fresh to decadent. So if you're looking for a classic holiday side dish that covers both sweet and decadent -- akin to adding a dollop of dessert to your plate 🙂 -- this Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole is it!
With its silky yet fluffy sweet potato base and its irresistible brown sugar + pecan topping, this recipe is the perfect counterpoint to the succulent turkey and heaping dish of mashed potatoes on your holiday table. I personally feel that both savory and sweet elements are necessary for a truly complete Thanksgiving and/or Christmas menu!
This Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole is versatile, too! You can easily swap the sweet and crackly pecan topping for toasty marshmallows if that’s your preference. More on that below...
Ingredients
To make this Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole, you’ll need a few simple ingredients:
- Sweet potatoes. About four large sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean and dried. I recommend buying sweet potatoes with orange flesh for this recipe, such as Jewel, Garnet, or Beauregard.
- Sugar. You'll need both granulated sugar and brown sugar. Remember, this Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole is considered a very occasional side dish, not an everyday side dish. 😉
- Butter. Unsalted. For extra decadence! You'll need some softened butter for the casserole base and a bit more melted butter for the topping.
- Eggs. At room temperature. Eggs give the casserole structure with a light, fluffy consistency.
- Vanilla + salt. AKA, the flavor boosters!
- Pecans. Finely chopped, for the topping.
- All-purpose flour. Also necessary for the topping.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole may look and taste impressive, but it’s surprisingly easy to make!
- Start by getting everything ready to go! Preheat the oven to 425°F. Then line a baking sheet with foil and grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with softened butter.
- Prick each washed and dried sweet potato with a fork and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the potatoes are soft, tender, and oozing.
- Now this is important...reduce the oven temperature to 375°F! (You'll need a lower temperature to bake your casserole versus roasting the raw sweet potatoes.) Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them.
- Transfer the sweet potatoes to the bowl of an electric stand mixer. (Alternatively, you can transfer them to a large bowl and use a hand mixer instead.)
- Add granulated sugar and brown sugar to the sweet potatoes and beat on medium speed until smooth.
- Add softened butter and beat even longer until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and salt and beat until the filling is smooth and lightened in both color and texture.
- Pour the sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading to smooth out the top. Pop it into your now-375-degree oven and start working on the pecan topping...
- While the casserole bakes, combine the brown sugar, chopped pecans, flour, and salt in a small bowl.
- Stir in the melted butter until the topping is well combined and crumbly.
- After an initial 30 to 35 minutes of baking, pull the Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole out the oven. The edges should be lightly browned and the center should be set but slightly jiggly.
- Sprinkle the pecan topping over the casserole and return it to the oven.
- Bake for about 10 more minutes or until lightly browned. Then broil for a final 1 or 2 minutes to achieve an extra-crunchy finish!
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving and ENJOY!
Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole leftovers will keep in the refrigerator (in an airtight container or tightly covered) for up to 5 days. Just keep in mind that the topping will turn soft and melty rather than crackly and crunchy upon reheating!
Marshmallow Topping Option
If you’re a fan of a classic, marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole, you can definitely swap out the pecan topping for a layer of toasted marshmallows instead!
After the initial bake, simply sprinkle your Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole with a bag of mini marshmallows (in place of the pecan topping).
Bake for about 10 minutes, watching closely to achieve your perfect level of golden-brown toastiness.
Or, just like with the pecan topping, you can opt to broil for the final minute or two...but don't take your eyes off of the oven!
Make-Ahead Instructions
We all know that holiday cooking can be crazy! But lucky for us, this Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole can be prepared up to a couple days in advance:
- Roast the sweet potatoes and make the sweet potato filling. Pour it into the prepared baking dish but DO NOT BAKE. Instead, cover the dish tightly and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
- In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, chopped pecans, flour, and salt (DO NOT ADD THE BUTTER). Cover and store the pecan mixture at room temperature.
- An hour before you plan to bake it, remove the sweet potato casserole baking dish from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven and bake the casserole as directed.
- While the casserole is baking, stir melted butter into the pecan mixture to make the topping and then complete the steps in the recipe!
Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole is a beloved holiday tradition for a reason. The sweet potato custard base is smooth and creamy yet light and fluffy. And the crackly topping forms a pecan veneer that's the perfect complement to the filling.
In other words...it's positively delicious!
Is it sweet and decadent? Yes. However, Thanksgiving comes but once per year...and every holiday table needs a few recipes to balance out those rich and savory menu items, am I right?! 😉
More Thanksgiving Favorites
- Maple-Glazed Turkey with Bacon
- Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy
- Cream Cheese Corn Casserole
- Green Bean Bundles
- The BEST Easy Butter Pie Crust
Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole (Classic + Scrumptious!)
Video
Ingredients
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes, about 4 large
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
TOPPING:
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup finely chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease a 9- by 13-inch (3-quart) baking dish with softened butter.
- Wash sweet potatoes, scrubbing off any dirt, and pat dry. Carefully prick each sweet potato 8 to 10 times with a fork or a sharp knife. Arrange sweet potatoes on prepared baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until very soft and oozing (a fork or sharp knife inserted in the center of the largest sweet potato should not meet any resistance).
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off their skins. Transfer the peeled sweet potatoes to the large bowl of an electric stand mixer (or you can use a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer).
- Add granulated sugar and brown sugar to the bowl and beat at medium speed until sweet potatoes are mashed and well-combined with the sugars.
- Scrape bowl, add softened butter, and beat on medium-high for a couple of minutes until fluffy.
- Scrape bowl and add eggs, vanilla, and salt. Beat on medium-high for 4 to 5 minutes until mixture has lightened in color and texture.
- Pour sweet potato mixture into prepared baking dish and smooth the top into an even layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges with a center that’s set but still slightly jiggly.
- While the casserole is in the oven, prepare the topping. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans, flour, and salt until well blended. Pour in the melted butter and stir to combine until all of the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
- Sprinkle the topping over the baked sweet potato casserole. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes or until lightly browned. Broil for an additional 1-2 minutes at the end, watching closely. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Notes
- Be sure to buy sweet potatoes with orange flesh, such as Jewel, Garnet, or Beauregard.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, you may use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer instead.
- The topping will turn crunchy and crackly in the oven; however, it will soften if reheated as leftovers.
- Instead of the pecan topping, you can opt to top your Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole with a 10-ounce bag of mini marshmallows instead. You’ll need to check the marshmallows at about 7 minutes and watch them closely until your desired golden-brown color is reached. You can broil for the final 1-2 minutes for extra toastiness.
- MAKE-AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS (up to 2 days ahead of time): (1) Roast the sweet potatoes and make the sweet potato filling as directed; pour into the prepared baking dish but do not bake; cover and refrigerate. (2) In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans, flour, and salt (but not the melted butter yet); cover and store at room temperature. (3) One hour before baking, remove the baking dish from the fridge to the counter and allow it to come to room temperature. (4) Preheat the oven and bake the room-temp casserole as directed. (5) While the casserole is baking, stir melted butter into the pecan mixture to make the topping. (6) Complete the steps in the recipe to add the pecan topping, complete the final bake, and cool.
i was gifted 2 bags of sweet potatoes . i would like to make the base ahead and freeze for thanksgiving. whats your thoughts??
Hi Joyce! That should work! Prepare the sweet potato filling as directed, transfer it to the baking dish, but do not bake. Cover it tightly with freezer-thickness aluminum foil (or two layers of regular foil) and freeze. Then I would transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw two days before Thanksgiving (just to be safe). Let it come to room temperature before baking (as directed in the Make-Ahead Directions in the Notes section of the recipe card). After the initial bake, follow the steps in the recipe to add the pecan topping, complete the final bake, and cool.
Hope this helps and hope it's a hit! 🙂