Easy Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe | Julie Blanner (2024)

This is a must have, melt in your mouth sweet potato casserole recipe that is a crowd pleasing side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This dish will wow your guests, while taking just 10 minutes hands on time to make!

It’s the easiest side dish to make ahead for the holidays. Don’t skip this incredible classic sweet potato casserole.

Let’s celebrate life with something sweet and savory, shall we? This easy sweet potato casserole is no secret, but it is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes.

Inspired by a classic side dish at one of our favorite steakhouses when we lived in Kansas City, this sweet potato casserole is old-fashioned and incredibly delicious.

As a kid, I used to make a meal out of side dishes. I’m still not the biggest fan of turkey, but I am always thrilled to try each and every side at a Thanksgiving celebration! These sweet potatoes are not exception.

Bonus? My girls absolutely love them, too!

I treat my sweet potato casserole recipe a little like a sweet potato pie. We’re using a little vanilla, and creating a crunchy crust with pecans and brown sugar.

I’m obsessed with sweet potatoes. If you are too, you don’t want to miss my sweet potato gnocchi recipe, sweet potato fries, oven roasted sweet potatoes or smashed sweet potatoes), especially for fall!

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

This isn’t your grandma’s casserole, it’s a candied one – that even kids love! We call it a side dish, but it’s a dessert in disguise. If you love sweet and savory, this is the dish for you!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Canned Sweet Potatoes – Using canned sweet potatoes takes the work out of this recipe. You can also use roasted sweet potatoes here – any kind works as long as they are cooked. You’ll whip them in your mixer!
• Sugar – White granulated works, but you can sub with brown sugar if you prefer.
• Salt – To balance the sweet.
• Vanilla Extract – It’s so easy to make your own homemade vanilla extract!
• Eggs – Large size eggs, these help bind the casserole.
• Butter – Salted butter works well, melted.

Topping

• Brown Sugar – To help create a caramelized sweet topping.
• Flour – All-purpose flour for binding the topping ingredients and creating the flavor of a sweet potato pie.
• Pecans – These add the most delicious, savory crunch to balance all the creamy goodness of this sweet potato casserole!
• Butter – Melted salted butter is what I generally what I have on hand, but you can use unsalted butter too.

Variations

• Use fresh sweet potatoes instead – simply peel, cube and boil until soft, about 20 minutes, before mashing.
• Add marshmallows on top for a sticky sweet classic addition.

How To Make

1. Prep – Preheat oven as directed. Grease casserole dish.
2. Combine first set of ingredients. Mix well. Pour into casserole dish.
3. Combine second set of ingredients and spoon on top of sweet potato mixture.
4. Bake – As directed, and allow to cool before serving.

Tips

• Don’t skip the vanilla – it adds so much decadent fragrance to this dish.
• The canned sweet potatoes in this recipe are the ultimate shortcut – nobody will ever know you used them!
• Make it ahead! Simply bake when ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

• Honey Glazed Ham
• Apple Cider Glazed Pork Medallions
• Rosemary Chicken
• Chicken with Garlic Sauce and Caramelized Shallots

How to Store

• At Room Temperature– Don’t leave this sweet potato casserole out for more than two hours.
• Refrigerate– store in an airtight container up to 3 days before baking and up to 4 days after.
• Freeze–store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. You can make ahead and freeze before baking, or freeze your leftovers.

Dietary Considerations

• Make it nut free by eliminating pecans
• Make it gluten free by eliminating or replacing all purpose flour in topping
• Vegetarian