Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping — 🍠🙌🧡 This is the BEST sweet potato casserole ever!! The sweet potatoes are tender and creamy, while the streusel topping adds a delightful buttery crunch thanks to the pecans!
Table of Contents
- Butter Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole
- Ingredients in Sweet Potato Casserole
- How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
- Recipe FAQs
- Storage and Reheating Instructions
- What to Serve with Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Butter Pecan Crumble Topping Recipe
- More Easy Sweet Potato Side Dishes:
Butter Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole
I love sweet potatoes and have a ton of recipes using them, but I was missing a classic: sweet potato casserole.
It was about time I made it and we loved every bite because this isn’t just any ole sweet potato casserole recipe. The crunchy butter pecan crumble topping really sets it apart.
The mashed sweet potatoes are so tender, creamy, and fluffy while the crumbly streusel topping adds a buttery, brown sugary crunch thanks to the pecans.
The brown sugar caramelizes in the oven with the butter and the topping is irresistible. I kind of want to put this topping on everything now.
This is an easy sweet potato casserole recipe that’s especially perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a no-frills side dish just like the one you grew up eating, and anyone can make it!
I was tasked with making sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving several years ago. Ironic bc I don’t actually eat the sweet potatoes. I picked this recipe bc I was attracted to the topping. It has been demanded ever since. Every single sweet potato hater in the extended family loves this. IF there are leftovers, prepare for a rumble. — TaMom
Ingredients in Sweet Potato Casserole
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy sweet potato casserole with pecan topping:
- Sweet potatoes
- Eggs
- Unsalted butter
- Milk
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Ground nutmeg and cinnamon
- All-purpose flour
- Fisher pecan halves
I used Fisher Pecan Halves. Fisher Nuts are preservative-free and non-GMO Project Verified, making them an excellent choice for cooking and holiday baking. The resealable bag helps keep the nuts fresh for longer.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
I’m not even remotely exaggerating when I say this is the best sweet potato casserole recipe! Here’s a rough overview of the recipe steps:
- Prepare the filling: Peel, chop, and boil the sweet potatoes in a large pot until fork tender.
- Add the cooked sweet potatoes to a large bowl along with the eggs, butter, milk, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- Mash to combine (I like to use a potato masher!), turn the sweet potato mixture into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Make the pecan topping: Melt the butter, then toss with the brown sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in the pecans.
- Assemble and bake: Sprinkle the crumble topping over the sweet potatoes. Bake until the top is lightly golden brown, the edges are set, and the center is mostly set.
Recipe FAQs
My sweet potato casserole took 50 minutes to bake at 350ºF because I started with it cold from the fridge (I prepped it the night before). Note that baking times will vary based on the pan used (glass or ceramic baking dishes will bake for longer than metal pans), your oven, climate, ingredient variances, etc. To be safe, start checking your pecan-topped sweet potato casserole at 30 minutes.
The butter pecan topping will be golden brown and the center should be set (it will never be firm like a cake, but it shouldn’t be runny or have lots of jiggle to it).
4 pounds. My best advice is to weigh your potatoes at the grocery store to see how many you’ll need. The number of sweet potatoes needed will vary depending on their size.
Yes! If you prefer sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top, follow my classic sweet potato casserole recipe instead.
Unbaked casserole will last up to three days in the fridge, while the baked casserole will keep for about a week.
Yes, very easily! Here’s how:
1. Assemble the entire casserole the night before, cover it with foil, and refrigerate it until ready to bake.
2. Baked the prepped casserole straight from the refrigerator, adding 10 to 15 minutes to the bake time.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
In the fridge: If stored in an airtight container, leftovers will last up to 1 week.
In the freezer: Assemble the sweet potato layer, bake, let cool, then freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat the prepped casserole, thaw overnight in the fridge. Make a fresh batch of topping, sprinkle it over the casserole, and bake until done.
To reheat: Cover with foil so the pecan topping doesn’t burn, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 300ºF, or until warm.
What to Serve with Sweet Potato Casserole
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Sweet Potato Casserole with Butter Pecan Crumble Topping
Ingredients
Filling
- 4 pounds raw sweet potatoes, diced into large chunks and boiled
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup milk, I used unsweetened cashewmilk
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
Topping
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 cup Fisher Pecan Halves
Instructions
Make the Filling
- To a large stockpot, add the sweet potato chunks, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 2.5 to 3-quart baking dish or a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- To the large bowl with the sweet potatoes, add the eggs, butter, milk, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, salt, optional nutmeg, optional cinnamon, and beat with a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed until combined and fluffy.
- Turn out into baking dish, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula; set aside.
Make the Pecan Topping
- To a large microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute.
- Add the brown sugar, flour, salt, and toss with a fork or your fingers until moist crumbs form.
- Add the pecans and toss to incorporate.
- Evenly turn topping out over filling.
Bake
- Bake the sweet potato casserole for about 45 minutes (or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours if you’re prepping it in advance), or until top is lightly golden browned, set on the edges, and mostly set in the center. Mine took 50 minutes because I started with it cold from the fridge because I prepped it the night before. Baking time will vary based on pan used (glass or ceramic baking dishes will bake for longer than metal pans), oven, climate, ingredient variances, etc. Start checking at 30 minutes.
- Serve immediately. Extra will keep airtight for up to 1 week in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Sweet Potato Side Dishes:
All of my Thanksgiving recipes!
Classic Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows — 🍠🙌🧡 Tender and creamy sweet potatoes, the subtle crunch of a buttery pecan crumble, and gooey marshmallows make this comfort food side dish an automatic family FAVORITE!
Savory Sweet Potato Casserole — If you thought sweet potato casserole couldn’t get any better, wait until you taste it topped with candied bacon and pecans!
Easy Homemade Candied Yams — Learn how to make the BEST candied yams which are baked in the most wonderful buttery cinnamon-and-sugar sauce!
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows — 🍠🙌🧡 Sweet, creamy, decadent, and reminiscent of sweet potato casserole but individually portioned! FAST and EASY enough for family dinners or make them for more formal holiday celebrations!
Sweet Potato Bites with Marshmallows and Pecans — Sliced sweet potato rounds are brushed with a maple cinnamon-and-sugar mixture, baked, and then topped with marshmallows and pecans!
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad — Goodbye mayo-loaded, mushy, boring potato salad. Hello to a Mexican-inspired potato salad full of flavor and texture with corn, black beans, peppers, and cilantro!
Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole — A HEALTHIER and DELICIOUS twist on sweet potato casserole!! The potatoes and apples retain some texture with the perfect amount of crumble topping!
Post is brought to you by Fisher. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own. #ThinkFisher
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fisher nuts. The opinions and text are all mine.
My sweet potatoes are white? I think I should have used yams? This is the first time making this for a work potluck. I want to throw it out?
Here is a nice graphic showing the difference between yams (which tend to have white flesh in the US) vs. sweet potatoes (which have orange flesh)
https://www.earthdate.org/episodes/i-yam-not-a-sweet-potato
Made this last year and it was to die for! We have a much bigger group coming over this year…24 people. Have you ever doubled or tripled the recipe successfully? Thanks!!
Hi Erin, thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was to die for! I have never doubled/tripled the recipe but I am quite confident you could.
However, make sure you are baking it in separate casserole dishes and you have the oven space for it. You could also probably bake one fully, take it out, cover with foil and place on countertop, bake the second one, and just pop the first one back into the oven for 10-15 mins to rewarm a bit. That is, if oven space is going to be an issue (it would be for me)! If not, just bake them side by side in the oven, noting baking time will increase slightly when you have a very full oven. Good luck and LMK how this goes!
Can yams be substituted?
By yams, do you mean the vegetable with the white interior, rather than bright orange like in sweet potatoes? They have a different taste and texture, so they’re not the best substitute for one another in my opinion. Notably, yams are drier than sweet potatoes so it would throw off the moisture ratios potentially.
All this being said, if that’s all you have access to, you can see how it goes. However, in the US it’s very easy to find sweet potatoes, especially this time of year, so that’s what I suggest.
This has been made every year for Thanksgiving since I found this recipe. It gets compliments and people who say they never liked sweet potatoes go back for seconds. Compliments pour in year after year.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Sean, and I am glad that you’ve been making this every year since you found the recipe! And that the compliments pour in…gotta love it when that happens. (for both you and I!)
I have made this casserole twice once prepped the night before and then once on the day I served it. Both tasted great but the topping for the night prep casserole was not as crunchy. Could not leave it in any longer the sides were drying out. I will make it again and add topping right before baking if I night prep the casserole.,
Thanks for the 5 star review, Sharon, and for sharing how you’ve made it. I agree, making the topping and adding that just before baking will help it crisp up better in the oven even if you prep it the night before.
Made this recipe for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner last year. It was so delicious & everyone raved about it so much that I kept the recipe. I will absolutely be making this dish again this year, & I highly recommend trying it out as well. Instructions are super easy to understand & follow, & the end product is basically guaranteed to taste great!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Coco, and I’m glad to hear this was a bit hit and that the recipe is a keeper! I appreciate knowing you find my instructions easy to follow (so the results are nearly guaranteed) because that’s one of my goals in recipe writing! Make is to clear that the results will be perfect for everyone.
It was a big hit everyone liked it even my picky husband 🥰
Thanks for the 5 star review, Penny, and I am glad it was a big hit even with your picky eater 😊
Absolutely amazing! So delicious, I ate it as a snack for days afterwards. Potatoes were light and just enough sweetness. The streusal topping is out of this world. I’m not a fan of pecans so I left them out and nobody missed them. This is now a regular dish for Thanksgiving or any other time you want a real crowd pleaser!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad this was absolutely amazing! And that nobody missed the pecans. I am glad this is not only a Thanksgiving recipe for you but other times of the year, too!
My boyfriend said it was better than any dessert at the table!
Avery , I always omit the eggs and it turns out fluffy and delicious. I use half and half instead of milk.
Avery , I always omit the eggs and it turns out fluffy and delicious. I use half and half instead of milk.
I made this the day before I went into labor and it was the *perfect* side dish for my first meal postpartum last Thanksgiving day. It’s fondly added to the rotation this year and brings back so many memories. Thank you!
I have been making this for the last few years and we all love it but it is always too much for our family. This year, I plan on cutting the recipe in half. Any suggestions on how I should adjust the cooking time?
I have been making this for the last few years and we all love it but it is always too much for our family. This year, I plan on cutting the recipe in half. Any suggestions on how I should adjust the cooking time?
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s a big hit with your family! If you are baking it in a smaller casserole dish, then really it shouldn’t in theory take that much less to bake through. I would say check at 40-45 minutes but I suspect if you halve the recipe and bake in a 8-inch baking pan or similar sized casserole dish, baking time will be reduced by a bit but not dramatically. Just watch it and use your judgment.
Great, simple recipe! I have been constantly tweaking my sweet potatoes recipes for years, but this is a great base to start with. I always roast my sweet potatoes, then when cooled, remove the skins. If you have a stand mixer I use the beaters to mash them, add eggs, a bit of cream, juice of one orange, a little zest, and spices, then turn out in a casserole dish, top with the original topping recipe, (I used walnuts, as I had some on hand), then baked, I made it for pot luck at church yesterday, absolutely not a bit was left!!!
Great, simple recipe! I have been constantly tweaking my sweet potatoes recipes for years, but this is a great base to start with. I always roast my sweet potatoes, then when cooled, remove the skins. If you have a stand mixer I use the beaters to mash them, add eggs, a bit of cream, juice of one orange, a little zest, and spices, then turn out in a casserole dish, top with the original topping recipe, (I used walnuts, as I had some on hand), then baked, I made it for pot luck at church yesterday, absolutely not a bit was left!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was a hit at the church potluck with not a bit left!