Sweet Potato Casserole is a southern classic. With a rich, buttery taste and crunchy topping, sweet potato casserole makes a perfect side dish or a dessert.
Sweet potato casserole. Do you consider it a side dish or dessert?
Or both?
Because you know, sometimes when you find something that works for both, you just have to go with it. Right?
My Grandmother Verdie always served her sweet potato casserole during the holidays and I have to admit that it was always one of my favorite parts of the meal! Forget the turkey, just give me an extra scoop of her sweet potato casserole and I was a happy girl!
Now that I’m a little bit older (ahem…) and I’ve discovered my love for Bart’s smoked turkey, my plate has a whole lot more on it competing for my attention!
The smell of sweet potato casserole makes your entire house smell amazing. Better yet, your family and guests will try to figure out how to get every last bite our of the dish. Just watch them when you serve it. I promise, they’ll be trying to figure it out. Just watch.
Here’s how I make my Grandmother’s Southern Sweet Potato Casserole. I hope you love it as much as my family does!
- 5 cups cooked sweet potatoes, mashed (about 5-6 medium sweet potatoes)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- ½ cup mini marshmallows, optional
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Scrub sweet potatoes and boil or bake in the oven until tender.
- Cool, peel and mash the sweet potatoes. Stir in granulated sugar, butter, vanilla, milk and eggs, mix well. Pour mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish or individual dishes for serving.
- Mix brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter together and spread evenly over sweet potato mixture.
- Cook for 30 minutes until topping has browned. If using mini marshmallows, add them the final 10 minutes of baking. Remove from oven and serve.
Freezer Friendly Tips: Prepare sweet potato mixture and spread into casserole dish. Cool completely, wrap tightly and store in the freezer up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Make streusel topping mixture and place on top of casserole and bake as directed.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives, originally published 2010.
This recipe looks fantastic! I’d love to try it. My question has to do with doubling the recipe. Would you suggest doubling all of the ingredients or are there modifications I should make? Also please let me know whether / how the cooking time and temp might need adjusting? Thanks!
Hi Paula – If you double this, I would suggest putting it in two pans as it makes a 9×13 for one recipe. I double all the time and I just double the ingredients. Enjoy! Thanks! xo
This recipe looks pretty good. If adding marshmallows instead of pecans would if change the recipe for the topping?
I’m new to this but can move around the kitchen. That said, I’m trying to prepare this dish for Friday so need some help with your “make-ahead” directions. I scrubbed the sweet potatoes and put them in the oven so I can get them soft to make the mixture. After I put all the mixture in the casserole dish, refrigerate, pull out & add topping do I then cook for 30 minutes Friday?
That sounds right, Jeff. Enjoy it! Happy Thanksgiving!
I was always led to believe when cooking ahead do not add butter to the potatoes until you are ready to cook them. butter does not reheat well, but I’m not sure especially with sweet potatoes.
I made this today for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! Thank you for the recipe.
Amazing dish…made it yesterday…every one loved it. Thank you.
I just made this recipe omitting the sugar from potato mixture and no marshmallows on top. We love sweet potatoes as they are already super sweet. I put a pinch of salt in topping mixture. We loved it!
I made this for a side this Thanksgiving. I thought is was delicious and so did everyone else, especially the kids! I did reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup and added a pinch of salt to the sweet potato mixture, as well as the topping. I will be making this again.
I’m so glad you all liked it! Thanks so much, Jennifer! xo
I live in NC and have been making this over 30 years. I went home to Northern Va for a family dinner and made it for them. The turkey, the spiral ham, all the sides were wonderful. But the dish that everyone “oohing” and “aahhing” was this Sweet Potato Casserole. We were the darlings of the dinner!
Hi Kath,
Isn’t it amazing what kind of response this Sweet Potato Casserole always gets?! This is my Grandmother’s recipe and has always been the star of the meal!
I hope you have a wonderful holiday! Thanks so much!
Love this recipe…such a delish side dish…my family devoured it!!!!!!…I just love the combination of sweet potatoes and nuts…yummy!!!!!!!