The sweet potato casserole recipe is an easy sweet potato dish that is commonly made for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It can be savory with less sugar or sweet with more sugar and some marshmallows. For a healthy sweet potato casserole, reduce the sugar greatly and use pecan toppings instead of marshmallows.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- 4 large Sweet Potatoes. (Sweet potatoes are confusingly called “Yams” in the United States but Yams and Sweet potatoes are not the same. Sweet potato is scientifically called Ipomea batatas whereas yams species are scientifically called Dioscorea spp.)
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 1 tsp of Vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp of dark Brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of Butter
- 1/2 tsp of ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp of grated Nutmeg
- 1 tsp of salt.
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Casserole Toppings
- 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp of flour
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
- A pinch of nutmeg
- 1 cup of crushed pecan nuts
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp of melted butter
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
- Peel and dice your sweet potatoes into small sizes. Chopping into small chunks helps to cook the sweet potatoes quickly. If you are using canned sweet potatoes (or canned yams – as it is called in the USA), then no need of cooking the canned sweet potatoes again.
- Wash the potatoes clean and transfer them to a large pot.
- Add enough water to cover the top of the sweet potatoes and cook until they are soft and a fork can easily pierce through them.
- Drain the water and bring the cooked sweet potatoes into a large bowl.
- Use a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes completely.
- Now, add other ingredients to the mashed potatoes, go in with 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of milk, 1 tsp of Vanilla extract, 4 tbsp of dark Brown sugar, 1/4 cup of butter, 1/2 tsp of ground Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of grated nutmeg, and 1 tsp of salt.
- Stir to combine completely or use a hand mixer to mix the mashed potatoes filling with the ingredients and keep them aside.
- Next, grease your casserole dish with 1 tbsp of butter to prevent the sweet potato casserole from sticking to the casserole dish when baked.
- Transfer the sweet potato filling to the casserole dish and level the top with a spatula.
Making Pecan Topping
- In a small bowl add 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar, 1 and 1/2 tbsp of flour, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, 1 cup of crushed pecan nuts, and 1 and 1/2 tbsp of melted butter.
- Mix all the ingredients for the topping together.
- Spread the topping over the mashed sweet potato filling.
- Place in a preheated oven at a temperature of 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes.
Your easy homemade sweet potato casserole recipe is ready.
Easy Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe with Pecan Topping
An easy sweet potato casserole recipe that you can enjoy for Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can choose to make it savory or sweet by simply reducing the amount of sugar added to it. To make a healthy sweet potato casserole, reduce the sugar greatly and use pecan toppings instead of marshmallows.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the sweet potato casserole filling
- 4 pieces sweet potatoes
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
Ingredients for making the Pecan Topping
- 1 cup crushed pecan nuts
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1½ tbsp flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1½ tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- Peel and dice your sweet potatoes into small sizes. Chopping into small chunks helps to cook the sweet potatoes quickly. If you are using canned sweet potatoes (or canned yams - as it is called in the USA), then no need of cooking the canned sweet potatoes again.
- Wash the potatoes clean and transfer them to a large pot.
- Add enough water to cover the top of the sweet potatoes and cook until they are soft and a fork can easily pierce through them.
- Drain the water and bring the cooked sweet potatoes into a large bowl.
- Use a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes completely.
- Now, add other ingredients to the mashed potatoes, go in with ½ tsp of ground cinnamon, 2 eggs, ¼ cup of milk, 1 tsp of Vanilla extract, 4 tbsp of dark Brown sugar,¼ cup of butter, ½ tsp of ground Cinnamon, ¼ tsp of grated nutmeg, and 1 tsp of salt.
- Stir to combine completely or use a hand mixer to mix the mashed potatoes filling with the ingredients and keep them aside.
- Next, grease your casserole dish with 1 tbsp of butter to prevent the sweet potato casserole from sticking to the casserole dish when baked.
- Transfer the sweet potato filling to the casserole dish and level the top with a spatula.
Making the pecan topping
- In a small bowl add ¼ cup of dark brown sugar, 1½ tbsp of flour, 1/2 tsp of salt, ½ tsp of ground cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, 1 cup of crushed pecan nuts, and 1½ tbsp of melted butter.
- Mix all the ingredients for the topping together.
- Spread the topping over the mashed sweet potato filling.
- Place in a preheated oven at a temperature of 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes.
Notes
You can also add some marshmallows after the first baking of the sweet potato casserole in the oven. The first baking helps in the roasting of the pecan nuts. After roasting the nuts, you can then add the marshmallows and bake until the marshmallows are lightly brown at the top, this should take about 5 minutes. For a healthy sweet potato casserole recipe, adding the marshmallows and the brown sugar just increases the calories more. To have a healthy sweet potato casserole, I omitted the marshmallows topping; you can cut down on the sugar to have fewer calories.
FAQ
Why does sweet potato casserole need eggs?
Eggs are added to sweet potato casserole to enrich it and also helps to bind the sweet potato casserole. Eggs are a good source of protein.
What is the difference between sweet potato pie and casserole?
Sweet potato casserole uses brown sugar with a topping of nuts or marshmallows but sweet potato pie uses white sugar and can be served with a whipped topping or no topping.
What is the healthiest way to cook sweet potatoes?
The healthiest way to cook sweet potatoes is by cooking instead of frying, baking, or roasting. Cooking sweet potatoes helps to retain most of the nutrients especially when cooked for not more than 20 minutes.