Who's ready for the holiday season?! Ugh, I just love Thanksgiving food.
I’m giving y’all all the good stuff this year: creamy mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, the juiciest roast turkey that only takes 90 minutes in the oven, and the butteriest dinner rolls you’ll ever eat. You don't wanna miss a thing!
While we can grab a sweet potato casserole at the local Ruth's Chris (or Boston Market! I loved that restaurant, are they still around?), mine is classic holiday side dish that anyone can make. It’ll sit proudly on the table right next to your auntie's smothered green beans and sweet potato pie.
This dish is creamy, just sweet enough, and topped with a pecan streusel that folks will fight over (especially those caramelized corners).
Jump to:
- A Twice Baked Sweet Potato Casserole without Marshmallows
- Ingredients Needed
- Ingredient Swaps
- How to Make my Easy Sweet Potato Casserole with Brown Sugar Pecan Streusel Topping
- Equipment I Used
- Chef's Tips for the Best Thanksgiving Side Dish
- Troubleshooting/FAQs
- Make Ahead + Freezer Instructions
- More for your Thanksgiving Table!
- Sweet Potato Casserole (No Marshmallows)
A Twice Baked Sweet Potato Casserole without Marshmallows
When you're making sweet potato casserole you're looking for it to be cozy, smooth, and sweet. This one is just sweet enough with brown sugar, vanilla, and warm spices. It's everything you want in a Thanksgiving side.
Because we twice bake fresh sweet potatoes (once to soften them and again in the casserole) and use a potato ricer to remove the strings, the filling is smooth, creamy, and never watery!
The buttery, crunchy pecan topping bakes up golden brown and crisp, nothing soggy and no burnt edges. Burnt food doesn't belong on the holiday table amongst the collards and cornbread dressing, no ma'am!
And the best part is that it's make-ahead friendly! Make the creamy sweet potato mixture the day before so it's ready to bake the day of with a sprinkle of pecans and brown sugar over top.
Ingredients Needed
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
For the Sweet Potato Filling
- Fresh Sweet Potatoes - use Garnet, Beauregard, or Jewel sweet potatoes.
- Brown Sugar - light brown sugar or dark brown sugar is just fine.
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg
- Large Eggs - Make sure they're room temperature. Having room temperature ingredients allows your baked goods to cook evenly!
- Butter
- Kosher Salt
- Vanilla Extract
For the Pecan-Brown Sugar Topping
- Pecans - I used candied pecans, but toasted ones work well.
- All Purpose Flour
- More Cinnamon!
- Brown Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Unsalted butter
Ingredient Swaps
- No fresh sweet potatoes? You can use canned sweet potatoes in a pinch, but drain them really well and expect the flavor to be milder. Roasted fresh potatoes will always give the best taste.
- No brown sugar? White sugar works in a pinch (you can even make your own brown sugar with it). You can also use maple syrup for sweetness.
- Gluten free? 1:1 gluten free flour works perfectly (I like the Bob's Red Mill brand).
- No pecans? Walnuts and almonds work wonderfully.
How to Make my Easy Sweet Potato Casserole with Brown Sugar Pecan Streusel Topping
Step 1
Bake the potatoes.
Roast sweet potatoes on a sheet pan for about 1 hour, until fork-tender.
Step 2
Mash the filling.
Let them cool, then peel and use a potato ricer to mash the potatoes into a large bowl.
Step 3
Mix it all together.
Add brown sugar, eggs, spices, butter, and vanilla; blend until smooth and creamy.
Step 4
Fill the dish.
Spread the sweet potato mixture into a greased casserole dish.
Step 5
Make the topping.
Stir pecans, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter with a fork until crumbly.
Step 6
Bake to finish.
Sprinkle topping evenly over filling and bake 50 minutes, until the top is golden and crunchy.
Equipment I Used
Chef's Tips for the Best Thanksgiving Side Dish
- Roast, never boil. Roasting the potatoes draws out extra moisture and caramelizes the natural sugars; you get a richer, sweeter flavor and avoid a watery casserole.
- Chill before topping (make-ahead hack). If you prep the casserole a day ahead, cover and chill it before adding the topping. The cold filling helps keep the crumble distinct and crunchy instead of melting in.
- Don't add the eggs to hot sweet potatoes! You'll end up with streaks of cooked eggs in your casserole.
- Don’t overmix. Use a light hand when blending the filling; overmixing can make the casserole dense instead of light and creamy.
Troubleshooting/FAQs
Make sure the butter is cold when you mix the crumble so it stays clumpy. If the casserole was refrigerated overnight, add the topping just before baking so it stays crisp.
Yes you can! Substitute ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin purée per egg. The texture may be a little softer, but it’ll still taste great.
If the pecan streusel is browning too fast, tent the dish loosely with foil during the last 15–20 minutes of baking. It’ll finish cooking without scorching.
Watery sweet potato casseroles usually happen if the potatoes were boiled instead of roasted. Roasting keeps them flavorful and drier, so the filling isn’t soupy.
When you see old Southern recipes calling for “yams,” they’re actually talking about sweet potatoes. We call them yams in the U.S. because that's what enslaved Africans trafficked here called them as a reference to 'nyams'.
True yams are a completely different tuber (native to Africa and parts of Asia) that are starchier and drier, with brown bark-like skin and white, starchy flesh.
Make Ahead + Freezer Instructions
- Prep the filling. Spread the mashed sweet potato layer into the casserole dish, cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days.
- Mix the topping. Store the pecan streusel separately in a zip-top bag in the fridge.
- Bake on the big day. Sprinkle the topping over the casserole and bake until golden and bubbly.
Freezer option. Assemble the casserole without the topping, wrap tightly in plastic wrap + foil, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, add the topping, and bake as directed.
More for your Thanksgiving Table!
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Sweet Potato Casserole (No Marshmallows)
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Layer
- 6-8 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
Brown Sugar and Pecan Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C). Grease a 9x13 oven-safe baking dish with a little butter.
- Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes, until they are easily pierced with a fork. Let them cool for 10 minutes before mashing.6-8 medium sweet potatoes
- Use a potato ricer or masher to mash the sweet potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
- Combine the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, kosher salt, butter, spices, vanilla extract, and eggs with a hand mixer until the sweet potato mixture is creamy and well combined.1 cup light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 8 tablespoon unsalted butter, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 3 large eggs
- Pour the sweet potato mixture into your prepared baking dish and smooth the top. Set it aside.
- Mix the pecan topping ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl with a rubber spatula or with clean hands, it doesn't have to be perfectly well mixed, but just barely coming together. Sprinkle the mixture generously and evenly over sweet potatoes in the baking dish.½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 4 tablespoons butter
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, the topping should be brown and crunchy. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Make Ahead + Freezer Instructions
-
- Prep the filling. Spread the mashed sweet potato layer into the casserole dish, cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days.
- Mix the topping. Store the pecan streusel separately in a zip-top bag in the fridge.
- Bake on the big day. Sprinkle the topping over the casserole and bake until golden and bubbly.
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