This sweet potato casserole with pecans is lightly sweetened mashed sweet potatoes topped with a crunchy brown sugar pecan streusel. A classic make-ahead recipe that’s perfect for the holidays.
I love sweet potato side dish recipes including hasselback sweet potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, sweet potato souffle and sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. I know that some people aren’t marshmallow fans, so I’ve developed a more adult version of the casserole with a sweet pecan topping. This is a must-make for Thanksgiving!
Sweet potato casserole is a Thanksgiving recipe that cannot be skipped. There are so many ways to showcase sweet potatoes, but this sweet potato casserole recipe with pecans is one of my favorites. The crunchy, buttery topping is totally irresistible!
Table of Contents
Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need sweet potatoes, butter, milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, egg, vanilla extract, all purpose flour and pecans.
How Do You Make Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecans?
Preheat the oven, then place foil on a baking sheet and coat the foil with cooking spray. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork, then place them on the pan. Bake until the potatoes are very soft. Let the potatoes cool for a few minutes, then scoop out the insides and place them in a large bowl. Add melted butter, milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, egg and vanilla to the bowl. Use a potato masher or hand mixer to mash the potatoes with the other ingredients. To make the streusel, mix together brown sugar, flour, butter and pecans until coarse crumbs form. Transfer the mashed potatoes to a baking dish, then add the crumble topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- I prefer to roast my sweet potatoes, but you can also steam or boil your potatoes if you’d rather cook them that way.
- This casserole can be assembled up to one day before you plan to serve it. Store it covered in the refrigerator. You may need to add more bake time to compensate for starting with a cold casserole. Store the streusel separate from the potatoes, then add the streusel right before baking.
- If you prefer the texture of silky smooth sweet potatoes, try pureeing them in a food processor rather than mashing them by hand.
- You can bake your sweet potato casserole in a 9″ square pan or any other baking dish that has a capacity of about 2 quarts.
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you need to feed a crowd. When I’m feeding a large group, I double the ingredient amounts, then use a 9″x13″ pan and it works perfectly.
- Serve your casserole alongside other holiday favorites such as Christmas punch, Instant Pot turkey breast, roasted pumpkin, broccoli casserole, honey baked ham recipe and deep fried turkey. Offer a pumpkin pie cheesecake for dessert!
Quick Tip
This sweet potato casserole is best served right after baking. If you try to bake it then reheat it later, the streusel topping may soften and it won’t be quite as good texture wise.
Recipe FAQs
Eggs are an ingredient in sweet potato casserole because they help to thicken and bind the sweet potato mixture. You can omit the egg if you have an allergy, but the casserole may have a softer texture.
Yams at the grocery store in America are sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes come in different colors and shapes. Sometimes grocery stores label orange flesh sweet potatoes such as ruby and garnet as yams. However, there is a difference between sweet potatoes and true yams. A true yam is a root vegetable in Africa and Asia with a rough, brown skin. You do not want to use a true yam for this recipe, you will not get the same results.
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Flavor Variations
- Miss the marshmallows? Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows over the top during the last 5 minutes of the baking process.
- No pecans on hand? Try using walnuts or almonds instead.
- For a heartier crumble topping, replace half of the flour with quick cooking oats.
- You can add some fruit to your sweet potato mash such as crushed pineapple, dried cranberries or sauteed apples for a different flavor.
- For more of a sweet and savory flavor, add 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt to the sweet potato filling and also to the topping.
Sweet potato casserole with pecans is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish. It’s great for potlucks, parties, or even just served alongside a roasted chicken on a weeknight. No matter how you serve it up, this casserole is sure to get rave reviews!
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans Video
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Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
Ingredients
For the sweet potato layer
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cooking spray
For the streusel
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and place them on the pan in a single layer.
- Bake the potatoes until tender, 45 minutes to an hour.
- When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them open, scoop out the insides and place the sweet potatoes in a large bowl.
- Add the 3 tablespoons of melted butter, milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, egg and vanilla to the bowl.
- Use a potato masher or hand mixer to mash or beat the sweet potatoes until mostly smooth.
- Coat a 9 inch square pan or 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Spread the sweet potato mixture in an even layer in the pan.
- In another bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, melted butter and pecans until large crumbs form. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the sweet potatoes.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until topping is lightly browned.
- Let sit for 10 minutes, then serve.
Notes
- This casserole can be assembled up to one day before you plan to serve it. You may need to add more bake time to compensate for starting with a cold casserole. Store the streusel separate from the potatoes, then add the streusel right before baking.
- If you want silky smooth sweet potatoes, try pureeing them in a food processor rather than mashing them by hand.
- You can bake your sweet potato casserole in a 9″ square pan or any other baking dish that has a capacity of about 2 quarts.
This recipe is so amazing and I make it all year long!
I love sweet potatoes. I never had marshmallows on the top of the casserole.
It does sound like an interesting Thanksgiving dish. I just wish I really liked sweet potatoes because I would love to try this out. Sounds delicious.
This is such a win for me. I love a good sweet potato casserole and don’t always love the marshmallows on top. Pecans, umm yes pleaseeeeee.
In all honesty, I wish I had more time to prepare meals for our family.
I find it so interesting the different ways people prepare sweet potatoes. Growing up I only had candied yams – which are actually sweet potatoes but ok… lol This sounds like it would be interesting.
This is a killer recipe Sara! I would really enjoy some of this!
After seeing the shots I took a printout of the recipe. I will ask my maid to follow it because right now I won’t be able to cook. And I bet i am gonna love it
I LOVE sweet potato casserole! I am going to have to give it a try with pecan topping this year!
I actually had to bookmark this because it looks sooo good! I’m definitely going to try this one day, although I’m no chef… I’ve got to learn! Thanks for this awesome recipe 🙂
I can’t tell you how beautiful these shots are! I’m so hungry just looking at the one with the spoon! It’s tempting me to bite the computer. The words sweet potato, casserole and pecans in one sentence got my attention quick enough, but then you post a photo of these bright orange delicacies creamed nice and smooth? Ohhh no! This recipe is going in my ‘forever save’ and I can’t wait to buy the ingredients and try it!