Follow our complete, step-by-step, instructions to make this Sweet Potato Casserole recipe. One of our favorite southern dishes, you’ll find this casserole served at church homecomings, family reunions and on Sunday dinner tables everywhere.
Southern Sweet Potato Casserole recipe.
This is truly one of the Souths most favorite side dishes. Attend any church dinner, family reunion, or Sunday dinner here in North Carolina and you’re more than likely going to enjoy the traditional Southern Sweet Potato Casserole. It’s just that good.
It’s also pretty quick and easy to make, so I hope you’ll consider giving our recipe a try.
Mama often served it around our house when I was growing up. That big oval table in the dining room would be loaded with food after church on Sundays as we waited for about 12-15 family members, and often the pastor and his family, to show up. Life was just good as we all sat around that table and enjoyed the labor of love that Mama so much enjoyed preparing.
Mama always baked her sweet potatoes, and I guess that’s why I always do. But, for this version, I made my first attempt at boiling the sweet potatoes.
I’d heard that boiling the potatoes, instead of baking them, would help them keep more of that bright orange color of the potato. I’m also using white granulated sugar instead of brown sugar.
I do think boiling improves the overall looks of the dish, but I didn’t seem to notice much of a difference in the taste, even in using white sugar over brown sugar. It’s just more of what Mama taught us to do than anything else I guess.
Still, this is one of my favorite side dish recipes. I love a good Sweet Potato Casserole, and it doesn’t matter if it has marshmallows, pecans, or both, I enjoy it either way.
I’m using a pecan topping on this particular dish, but I’ll also tell you how to add the miniature marshmallows if that’s what you’re looking for.
The sweet potato was officially designated the state vegetable of North Carolina in 1995. We are the number one state in sweet potato production, growing nearly half of the sweet potatoes consumed in the country.
I like mine baked, as candied yams, sometimes skillet fried, and of course, in a casserole. They’re very versatile and I think you’ll really enjoy this recipe should you decide to try it. Please let me know how it turns out for you.
Ready to enjoy some good old casserole? Alright then, let’s head to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking.
Sweet Potato Casserole, you’ll need these ingredients.
Let’s begin by peeling the sweet potatoes.
I used my vegetable peeler to do this, but a good sharp paring knife works very well.
Please Note: I’m going to boil these potatoes for this recipe. You could certainly used baked sweet potatoes if you prefer. Normally, I’d use baked sweet potatoes myself, but I’d heard that the potatoes would keep a bright orange color better if you boiled them. Just a matter of preference and whatever will be easiest for you to do. Smile.
Slice the potatoes into about one inch thick rounds, then quarter each of the rounds.
Place a large sauce pot with water on your stove top. Bring the water to a boil, then add the cubes of sweet potatoes. Let it come back up to a slight boil, then cook until the potatoes are fork tender.
Boil the potatoes until a fork will pierce them easily. You do not want them to turn to mush, but you do want them to be fully cooked and tender.
When they’re done, pour the sweet potatoes into a colander and drain off the water. Let them cool just a bit.
Place the drained sweet potatoes into a large mixing bowl and mash them with a fork or potato masher, whichever you might have on hand.
Add the room temperature butter.
Add the sugar.
Some folks prefer to use brown sugar instead of just granulated sugar. It’s a matter of preference and taste of course. The brown sugar will darken the overall look of the casserole, but it sure does taste good with that hint of maple. Just saying.
Add the milk.
Add your vanilla flavoring/extract. I’m using a clear flavoring here.
Add the cinnamon.
Add the nutmeg.
Finally, add just a dash or two of salt.
Mix it all together. I used my hand mixer to do this part. It’s pretty quick and easy. Just start out on a low speed then slowly work your way up to about medium speed to make the potatoes light and fluffy.
Taste it. Now’s the time to taste your mixture, before we add the eggs. You might prefer a bit more sugar, or perhaps a bit more cinnamon, so adjust the taste as desired.
Add the eggs.
I always suggest that you crack the eggs into a separate cup or bowl so you can see if any pieces of egg shell fall into the eggs. It makes it easier to see and remove them before you place the eggs into the mixture.
Use the mixer once again and mix the eggs into the sweet potato mixture.
Butter up your baking dish.
I’m using about an 8inch x 8.5inch x 3inch baking dish here, but you can use whatever you have available, as long as it will hold all the mixture and the topping.
Spread the mixture out evenly in your baking dish. Set this aside so we can prepare the ingredients for the topping.
Place the melted butter in a medium sized mixing bowl.
You’ll want to use fully melted butter. I just placed mine in the mixing bowl then microwaved it in about ten second increments until the butter was fully melted.
Add the brown sugar.
Add the flour.
Add the chopped pecans.
Grab a spoon and stir everything together until it’s fully combined.
If the pecans are lumping together too much, add a little more flour to the mixture and stir again.
Spread the topping mixture over the sweet potatoes. I did this by hand so I could spread the pecans out more evenly.
Place the casserole dish in a oven preheated to 350F degrees. Let it bake for about 30-45 minutes, or until the pecans are lightly browned.
Also, some folks like to add miniature marshmallows to the topping. If you’d like to do this, add them just about at the 30 minute point in the baking cycle. Let them slightly melt with a few browned spots, but don’t let them burn.
You’ll just need to look at it and keep a close eye on it as it bakes.
When the topping is lightly browned, remove the dish from the oven, place it on a folded towel and let it cool a bit before serving.
The sweet potato casserole is best slightly warm in my opinion, or even at room temperature. It will keep for several days if you cover and refrigerate any leftovers.
Enjoy!
