Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
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My sister made this sweet potato casserole with an irresistible crunchy pecan topping for Thanksgiving last year and it was a big hit! We are major sweet potato fans over here and knew immediately this would become a staple for many Thanksgiving dinners to come.
This sweet potato casserole is so flavorful. The sweet potatoes are soft, smooth and puff up slightly while baking – I almost want to call it a sweet potato soufflé!
Make-Ahead Tip: You can cook and mash the sweet potatoes ahead then refrigerate overnight. If starting with cold sweet potatoes, increase the bake time by 5 minutes. This casserole is a one-pot meal for easier everything, but you can absolutely cook the potatoes in a regular pot and transfer to a 9×13 casserole dish to bake.
Want to know which tools we used to make this recipe? We have added our Amazon affiliate links in the instructions below.
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Casserole:
4 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes (6 cups mashed)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract (click for DIY recipe)
1 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
How to Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes:
1. Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1″ chunks. Add to a 5 1/2 qt dutch oven with enough water to cover the surface of potatoes and bring to a boil. Adjust heat to keep at a medium/low boil and cook uncovered until easily pierced with a fork (about 10 minutes). Drain and mash (use an electric mixer to make it even creamier). You’ll get about 6 cups mashed sweet potatoes.
Tip: We transfer cooked potatoes to a big mixing bowl to do the mashing so a metal potato masher doesn’t scratch the dutch oven.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole:
1. Preheat Oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, whisk together: 3 eggs, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 6 Tbsp melted butter and 1/2 Tbsp vanilla. Stir butter mixture into cooked sweet potatoes then stir in 1 cup craisins. Spread sweet potato mixture evenly into a 5 1/2 Qt Dutch oven or a 9×13 casserole dish.
2. For the topping: in a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup flour. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1 cup chopped pecans. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture and bake in preheated oven at 350˚F uncovered for 35-40 minutes (bake 30-35 minutes if using a casserole baking dish) or until hot and sweet potatoes start to puff at the edges.
⬇Print-Friendly Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe:
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 lbs sweet potatoes 6 cups mashed
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup craisins dried cranberries
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 1 cup pecans coarsely chopped
Instructions
How to Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes:
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Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1" chunks. Add to a 5 1/2 qt dutch oven with enough water to cover surface of potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered at a medium/low boil about until easily pierced with a fork (about 10 minutes). Drain and mash (using an electric mixer will make it even creamier).
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole:
-
Preheat Oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 6 Tbsp melted butter and 1/2 Tbsp vanilla. Stir butter mixture into cooked sweet potatoes then stir in 1 cup craisins. Spread sweet potato mix evenly into 5 1/2 Qt Dutch oven or a 9x13 casserole dish.
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In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup flour. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1 cup chopped pecans. Sprinkle over sweet potatoes and bake at 350˚F uncovered for 35-40 min (bake 30-35 min if using casserole dish) or until hot and sweet potatoes start to puff at edges.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Love sweet potatoes?? Check out all of our favorite sweet potato recipes here!
Q: What is your all-time favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving? I would love to hear from you in a comment below :).
natashaskitchen
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Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
After it’s baked, do you eat it hot or cold?
We love it hot or warm 🙂
I am taking the sweet potato casserole for a Thanksgiving dinner. As the oven will have the turkey, can I cook the casserole at home and then warm it up in the oven when the turkey comes out 4 hours later.
I think that may work well Carol! I hope you like it!
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving 2 ways. I had to divide it because my nephew is allergic to nuts. So I made half following the recipe and the other half substituting marshmallows for the pecans. They both came out FANTASTIC. There were no leftovers (which made me very sad because I was looking forward to leftovers). Can’t wait to make it again next week when I have friends over.
Thank you, Natasha, for a delicious recipe.
You’re welcome Renee! I’m happy to hear the recipe is such a success! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
I made this dish for this Thanksgiving. Everybody loved it! I used yams instead. Will make it again for next holiday!
Awesome, I’m happy to hear that!
Delicious! Just the right amount of sweetness without tasting like dessert.
I’m glad you love it! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! I was thrilled to see this featured in an email, because my husband recently tried a similar recipe at work. He raved about it and even emailed it to me. I took one look and was shocked because it calls for so much added sugar. Your recipe uses half the amount, perhaps even less. I was going to try adjusting it myself, but wasn’t sure about how much. This looks perfect. Thank you.
My pleasure JoAnn! I hope you love the recipe! Please let me know what you think.
Thank you for the recipe!
Do you serve it hot, worm or cold?
Gosha, I would serve it warm or hot. It reheats easily.
This looks great. I make something similar, but due to an egg allergy, I use orange juice.
That is a great tip! Thank you for sharing! Are you omitting the eggs?
Hi Natasha, how far in advance would it be k to prepare this ? Thank you and have a very happy thanksgiving!
Mary, please see “make ahead tip” in the third paragraph of the post.
Thanks – I didn’t read thoroughly lol 😏
I use my mom’s recipe, which is much the same without the craisins. I don’t use orange juice, but many do with the marshmallow topped sweet potatoes instead of this crunchy topping. Since I will have both lovers of each this year, I will not add the orange juice (it’s too prominent, and not needed with the crunch topping), but I will alternately “stripe” the top, crunch mixture and marshmallow topping. Maybe all will be happy this way!
Thank you for sharing!! I do like the idea of marshmallows and it is clever to stripe the top!
Ah! I have a similar recipe and it’s a fan favorite. Mine has more streusel on top with small diced nuts, no berries. I add orange juice for acidity and flavor. So delicious!
That does sound good! Thanks for sharing Brianne!
thank you for this recipe, a nice new version, at least to me, of what I usually make, so thank you for this twist!
My pleasure Sabrina! I hope you love the recipe!
Natasha – I am a huge fan of your Apple Cinnamon Slab Pie! This will be the 3rd time that I will be making it for my siblings, parents, and friends. I stumbled across it while searching for similar apple recipes online. I was attracted to your blog because it was so down to earth and easy to follow. I love trying new things and I will definitely keep up with your blog. New fan! (P.S you are absolutely stunning… I cannot get over your amazing skin!)
I’m happy to hear how much you are enjoying my site Fatima! Thanks you for your sweet and encouraging comments!
This is so pretty to eat Natasha 😊
Thanks Inna! I agree 🙂
Glad to find this way of preparing sweet potatoes. I usually prepare the bake using mozzarella but this one is new thing to me. Thank you for sharing !
I hope you love it! And I would like to hear more about your version. Sounds interesting and I always love to experiment! 🙂
Dear Natasha,
Glad you’re interested in this savory version. It combines sweet potatoes with mozzarella, Parmesan, bacon and poppy seeds. I do not know if it is OK to attach the link of the dish I have published so you can see the details. Anyway here it is:
http://www.2pots2cook.com/2016/12/29/savory-sweet-potato-cheesy-casserole/
Of course, if you do not prefer to show other people’s posts, feel free to delete my answer, no problem at all.
I hope you will enjoy our savory version 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing! I love the idea of a savory sweet potato casserole 🙂