This easy sweet potato casserole recipe is a delicious side perfect for a holiday meal. Creamy sweet potatoes are topped with a crunchy cinnamon spiced pecan topping, and baked until perfectly golden brown on top.
The holidays are just around the corner and that means soon the kitchen will be full of the wonderful aroma of freshly baked goods.
Although I love enjoying turkey and ham at any holiday dinner, my favorite will always be the plethora of sides we get to enjoy – everything from cranberry sauce to roasted garlic mashed potatoes to sourdough discard dinner rolls.
This sweet potato recipe is another family favorite side dish. It’s so simple to make, yet so delicious! It is the perfect combination of savory and sweet, creamy and crunchy, and healthy and indulgent.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Perfect side dish for the holidays – While this sweet potato casserole is known as a classic holiday side dish, it is honestly good anytime of year! Why should we limit something so good to just the holidays?
Delicious and simple – If you are looking for something easy to bring to your holiday dinner, this recipe fits the bill. It tastes like you spent hours making it, when it reality it only takes about 10 minute of prep time.
Great for transporting – if you won’t be hosting the holiday meal or get together, this recipe travels really well! All in a simple casserole dish, just cover it in a beeswax wrap, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, and it will get to your destination looking as good as it did when you left.
Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients
Sweet potatoes – Sweet potatoes can vary in size greatly. On average, two large sweet potatoes or three medium ones will be around one pound. For this recipe, you’ll need three pounds. So, think about six to nine sweet potatoes depending on size. You can easily weigh them on a kitchen scale like this one.
Brown sugar – If you do not have brown sugar on hand, you can make it yourself by mixing regular white sugar and a little bit of molasses or sorghum syrup. You can also sub maple syrup one-for-one in this recipe.
Pecans – While pecans are the favorite at the farmhouse, you could also replace with walnuts or even do a combination of pecans and walnuts. Both are delicious and compliment the sweet potato mixture well.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make This Easy Sweet Potato Casserole
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the sweet potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain and let cool for about 15 minutes.
Step 2: Meanwhile, mix together the butter, brown sugar, flour, and pecans in a small mixing bowl until a crumbly mixture forms.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla (I like to use my homemade vanilla extract) until combined.
Step 4: Add the cooked sweet potatoes and use an electric hand mixer to beat until light and fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer.
Step 5: Pour the sweet potato filling into an even layer in a 7×10” or 8×8” baking dish.
Step 6: Evenly scatter the pecan crumble mixture over the top.
Step 7: Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown.
Step 8: Remove from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Tips
- Want to make some of this ahead? Cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time and then just combine the rest of the ingredients on the day or evening you want this dish to be ready.
- You could make this dairy free by swapping out the butter for coconut oil and using canned coconut milk instead of cream.
- Use fresh sweet potatoes instead of canned sweet potatoes. The flavor will be so much better!
FAQ
The sweet potato base can be frozen, but the topping should be left off before freezing. Prepare the sweet potatoes according to the instructions and cover well. Place in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
Take the casserole out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator the night before you intend to serve it. When you’re ready to make it, preheat oven to 350. Make the pecan topping and sprinkle over the potatoes. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the potatoes are starting to bubble and the topping is starting to brown.
In this easy recipe, I chose to boil the sweet potatoes because I find it to be more convenient. However, baking them works, too. You can cut the sweet potato into chunks and bake on a baking sheet that way.
This recipe will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days. Store in an airtight container, like glass storage containers with lids, to help preserve it. It is best reheated by baking in the oven at about 300 degrees, covered, for about 15-20 minutes, or until nice and warm. This helps the pecans stay nice and crisp.
More Holiday Favorites from the Farmhouse
- Easy Green Bean Casserole Recipe
- Sourdough Stuffing
- Gluten Free Stuffing
- Pumpkin Pie from Scratch
- Our Christmas Menu
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Easy Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 pounds peeled sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup pecan halves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add the sweet potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain and let cool for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together the butter, brown sugar, flour, and pecans in a small mixing bowl until a crumbly mixture forms.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla until combined.
- Add the cooked sweet potatoes and use an electric hand mixer to beat until light and fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer.
- Pour the filling into a 7×10” or 8×8” baking dish and spread evenly.
- Evenly scatter the pecan crumble mixture over the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Want to make some of this ahead? Cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time and combine the rest of the ingredients on the day or evening you want this dish to be ready.
- You could make this dairy free by swapping out the butter for coconut oil and using canned coconut milk instead of cream.
- Use fresh sweet potatoes instead of canned sweet potatoes. The flavor will be so much better!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious will make as a family tradition I give this a 10 for the best recipe
This is very close to the recipe that I use for my father however he did not eat butter cream or eggs I use fresh pineapple on the top with cinnamon nutmeg and use most of your ingredients but it’s much healthier often times the sugar additional sugar is way way too sweet it’s spikes your glycemic index therefore you can use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and there’s a lot of different alternatives people should experiment with different types of sweeteners to make it a bit healthier
I was wondering if you’ve tried it without any flour or with a non-grain flour. My mom can’t eat grains, so I’m wondering if maybe using arrowroot, some finely ground pecans or almond flour would work with this recipe.
I don’t see why you couldn’t candy the pecans in maple syrup and add them toward the end of the cook time.
I love this version of the classic recipe. Thanks for the all the tips especially about freezing it!
This is my favorite side dish for thanksgiving!
This is my kind of comfort food! This is such a delicious recipe!
I bet if you added a tablespoon of molasses, it would help mimic the brown sugar flavor of the original (non-healthy) recipe ☺️