Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans is a timeless holiday classic that never goes out of style. Each bite is rich, creamy, and buttery, with just the right amount of sweetness. Add a crunchy brown sugar pecan topping, and it becomes the perfect side dish for your holiday table.
There’s something special about passing down old family recipes that have stood the test of time. This southern sweet potato casserole is simple, comforting, and full of the flavors that remind us of home. From the creamy sweet potatoes to that crunchy brown sugar pecan topping, this dish always earns a spot on our table and is part of the holiday nostalgia.
A few more of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes are caramelized sweet potatoes, homemade sweet potato dumplings, and this easy sweet potato pie recipe.
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💗 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Classic: A homemade sweet potato casserole made the same way for generations. The crunchy brown sugar pecan streusel takes this dish over the top.
- Crowd-Pleasing: The pecan topping has the perfect mix of crunch and sweetness. An old Southern side dish that never disappoints.
- Make-Ahead: Assemble it a day ahead, refrigerate it, and bake when ready.
- Perfect Holiday Side: The best sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. Goes great with ham and turkey.
🛒 Ingredients Needed
This sweet potato casserole recipe is made with simple ingredients and comes together quickly. All the ingredients can be easily found at your local grocery store.
- Sweet Potatoes: I use fresh sweet potatoes for the sweet potato mixture. For this recipe, you will cook and mash the potatoes. They are easy to mash with a fork or a potato masher.
- Sugar: I use white granulated sugar for the sweet potato mixture and brown sugar for the topping.
- Eggs: You will need medium to large eggs, or just use what you have in your refrigerator.
- Butter: Everything is better with butter. Use softened butter. It acts as a binder.
- Milk: Whole milk is used for this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: Used for flavoring. Please don’t leave it out.
- Light Brown Sugar: This is used for the topping. If you need to swap out dark brown sugar, that will work just fine.
- Flour: Used for the topping.
- Melted Butter: Melted butter mixes well with the ingredients.
- Chopped Pecans: I prefer using chopped pecans as a topping. You can also use walnuts or omit them if desired.
🍠 How to Prepare Sweet Potatoes
There are two ways to prepare sweet potatoes for this homemade sweet potato casserole. You can boil or bake them. I have done both, but I prefer to bake them. You choose the method that is best for you.
Baked Potatoes:
Wash sweet potatoes and place them on a sheet pan. Bake at 400°F for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until soft. The time will depend on the size of your potatoes. Let cool. Remove skins. Place in a large bowl and mash with a fork until they are creamy and no lumps.
Boiled Potatoes:
I peeled the potatoes, thickly diced them into 2-3 inch pieces, placed them into a pot of cold water, and boiled them until tender. I drained the potatoes well and mashed them with a potato masher or a fork.
🔪 How To Make Homemade Sweet Potato Casserole
For complete instructions, see the printable recipe card below. This casserole is buttery, soft, and creamy—the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving—and a great recipe for all your holiday feasts.
Step 1: Bake the Potatoes. Wash fresh whole sweet potatoes and place on a sheet pan. Bake until soft. Remove skins.
Step 2: Mash the Potatoes. Place in a large bowl and mash with a fork until smooth and no lumps remain.
Step 3: Prepare the Filling. In a large bowl, combine the mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, beaten eggs, softened butter, milk, and vanilla. Mix well until smooth. Spoon into a greased 13×9-inch baking dish.
Step 4: Mix the Topping. Combine brown sugar, flour, 1/3 cup melted butter, and pecans in a bowl; mix until well combined.
Step 5: Add to the Top. Drop by tablespoon over the top of the sweet potatoes. Lightly spread the buttery pecan topping over the top.
Step 6: Bake. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until the topping is golden and bubbly.
If you plan to cook a turkey this year, check out my post on Easy Method For Cooking a Turkey for tips on a moist turkey every time.
💭 Pro Tips
- Mash the Potatoes While Warm: Warm sweet potatoes mash smoothly and are creamier than when cooled.
- Don’t Skip the Vanilla: It adds warmth and flavor that makes this casserole stand out.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Prepare the filling and topping separately, refrigerate, then assemble and bake right before serving.
🥣 Doubles as a Side Dish or a Dessert
Not only is this side dish popular during the holidays, but it’s also great as a year-round dish to dinner or even as a dessert. Yep, dessert. I had the leftovers during the week with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with condensed milk . It satisfied my sweet tooth with pleasure. Wonderful!
Cranberry Apple Stuffing Recipe is a must-try for this holiday season. It will not disappoint your guests.
❔ Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. You can make sweet potato casserole with pecans, walnuts, or omit the nuts, and it will still be delicious.
Yes. Bake the casserole, let it cool completely, then wrap it tightly and freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat at 350° until warmed through.
To Store: Easy sweet potato casserole is fabulous the next day. Bring leftovers to room temperature and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To Reheat: This dish warms up nicely in the oven or microwave.
Absolutely. This is a sweet potato casserole without marshmallows, but adding a few to the top would be a delicious addition.
Thanksgiving Recipes For A Crowd
If you’ve tried this Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it turned out in the 📝 comments. Thanks for visiting!
👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
Ingredients
- 3 cups sweet potatoes cooked and mashed
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Eggs beaten
- ½ cup butter softened
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Topping
- 1 cup Brown Sugar packed
- ⅓ cup flour
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- 1 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Bake the Potatoes. Wash sweet potatoes and place on a sheet pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour or until soft. The time will depend on how big your potatoes are. Let cool. Peel potatoes.
- Mash the Potatoes. Place in a large bowl and mash with a fork until they are creamy and no lumps.
- Prepare the Filling. Combine sweet potatoes with sugar, eggs, ½ cup softened butter, milk, and vanilla; mix well. Spoon into a greased 13" x 9" baking dish.
- Mix the Topping. Combine brown sugar, flour, ⅓ cup melted butter, and pecans in a bowl; mix well.
- Add to the Top: Drop by tablespoon over the top of the sweet potatoes. Lightly spread the topping over the top.
- Bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Notes
- Mash the Potatoes While Warm: Warm sweet potatoes mash smoothly and are creamier than when cooled.
- Don’t Skip the Vanilla: It adds warmth and flavor that makes this casserole stand out.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Prepare the filling and topping separately, refrigerate, then assemble and bake right before serving.
This Sweet Potato Casserole with Brown Sugar Pecan Topping will be perfect for Thanksgiving! I bet it flies off the table!
Omg this sweet potato casserole is to die for!! So decadent and perfectly sweet – it will definitely be making an appearance at my holiday table this year!
This is so delicious! I added a little bit more brown sugar to the topping just because I love the flavor and the top was so crunchy! Perfect side dish for Thanksgiving!
This as the best sweet potato casserole I have ever tried. Came out perfect and its flavors are on spot.
My grandmother made a sweet potato recipe very similar, and for years I’ve been trying to replicate it but it’s always missing something. Now I think I know what the answer is – pecans! I can’t wait to try this for Thanksgiving! (Probably before then, just because I love sweet potatoes and brown sugar so much!)
The brown sugar pecan topping is divine. Such a lovely fall dish.
Perfect comfort food. This will not last long I am sure. Think I’ve found the perfect side dish.
Oh yum! You had me at the brown sugar pecan topping. Such a fantastic casserole for fall.
I’ve never been a fan of the marshmallow topping on sweet potato casserole but brown sugar pecan- yes please!!
This is one of the best sweet casseroles recipes that I’ve seen. Absolutely phenomenal!
One of the best recipes to add to your Thanksgiving dinner table. Looks so delicious. Thanks for sharing.,
This is going on my table this Thanksgiving. Of course, I’ll have to do a test run or two before then. You know, just to be sure I work out all the kinks. It’s a tasty job, but someone has to do it!
What a perfect Fall dish! Looks yummy!
Sweet potatoes are my favorite! I have not tried a sweet potato recipe like this one yet, so I want to make it. It looks so delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
I love this recipe! My mom makes this every year for Thanksgiving and it’s one of my favorites! Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙂