This sweet potato casserole with pecans is a delicious side perfect for your holiday table. Creamy sweet potatoes are topped with a crunchy pecan topping, and baked until perfectly golden brown on top.
The holidays are just around the corner and that means soon the kitchen will be full of the wonderful aroma of freshly baked goods and delicious eats.
Although I love enjoying turkey and ham at any holiday dinner, my favorite will always be the plethora of sides we get to enjoy – everything from cranberry sauce and roasted garlic mashed potatoes, to sourdough discard dinner rolls and homemade green bean casserole.
This sweet potato pecan casserole is another family favorite side dish. It’s simple to make, yet so delicious! It is the perfect combination of savory and sweet, creamy and crunchy, and healthy and indulgent. It is guaranteed to be a welcome addition at your Thanksgiving dinner table.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Perfect side dish for the holidays – While this sweet potato casserole is known as a classic holiday side dish, it is honestly good anytime of year! Why should we limit something so good to just the holidays?
Delicious and simple – If you are looking for something easy to bring to your holiday dinner, this recipe fits the bill. It tastes like you spent hours making it, when it reality it only takes about 10 minute of prep time.
Great for transporting – if you won’t be hosting holiday meals or get togethers, this recipe travels really well! All in a simple casserole dish, just cover it in a beeswax wrap, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, and it will get to your destination looking as good as it did when you left.
Ingredients
Sweet potatoes – Sweet potatoes can vary in size greatly. On average, two large sweet potatoes or three medium ones will be around one pound. For this recipe, you’ll need three pounds. So, think about six to nine sweet potatoes depending on size. You can easily weigh them on a kitchen scale like this one.
Butter – This recipe calls for salted butter, but you can add an extra pinch of salt to the topping if you use unsalted butter.
Brown sugar – If you do not have brown sugar on hand, you can make it yourself by mixing regular white sugar and a little bit of molasses or sorghum syrup. You can also sub maple syrup one-for-one in this recipe.
Pecans – While pecans are the favorite at the farmhouse, you could also replace with walnuts or even do a combination of pecans and walnuts. Both are delicious and compliment the sweet potato mixture well.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
- 7-inch by 10-inch or 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish
- Electric mixer or potato masher
How To Make This Easy Sweet Potato Casserole
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the sweet potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain and let cool for about 15 minutes.
Step 2: Meanwhile, mix together the butter, brown sugar, flour, and pecans in a small mixing bowl until a crumbly mixture forms.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla until combined.
Step 4: Add the cooked sweet potatoes and use an electric hand mixer to beat until light and fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer.
Step 5: Pour the sweet potato filling into an even layer in a 7×10” or 8×8” baking dish.
Step 6: Evenly scatter the pecan crumble mixture over the top.
Step 7: Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown.
Step 8: Remove from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Tips
- Want to make some of this ahead? Cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time and then just combine the rest of the ingredients on the day or evening you want this dish to be ready.
- You could make this dairy free by swapping out the butter for coconut oil and using canned coconut milk instead of cream.
- Use fresh sweet potatoes instead of canned sweet potatoes. The flavor will be so much better!
FAQ
The sweet potato base can be frozen, but the topping should be left off before freezing. Prepare the sweet potatoes according to the instructions and cover well. Place in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
Take the casserole out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator the night before you intend to serve it. When you’re ready to make it, preheat oven to 350. Make the pecan topping and sprinkle over the potatoes. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the potatoes are starting to bubble and the topping is starting to brown.
In this easy recipe, I chose to boil the sweet potatoes because I find it to be more convenient. However, baking them works, too. You can cut the sweet potato into chunks and bake on a baking sheet that way.
This recipe will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days. Store in an airtight container, like glass storage containers with lids, to help preserve it. Reheat it in the oven at about 300 degrees, covered, for 15–20 minutes, or until it’s nice and warm.
This helps the pecans stay nice and crisp.
More Family Favorites from the Farmhouse
- The Best Classic Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
- The Best Classic Cheese Ball Recipe
- Sourdough Stuffing Recipe
- Chewy Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies
- Pumpkin Deviled Eggs Recipe
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Easy Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
Equipment
- 1 7×10 baking dish or 8×8 baking dish
- 1 electric mixer or potato masher
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 pounds peeled sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup pecan halves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add the sweet potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain and let cool for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together the butter, brown sugar, flour, and pecans in a small mixing bowl until a crumbly mixture forms.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla until combined.
- Add the cooked sweet potatoes and use an electric hand mixer to beat until light and fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer.
- Pour the filling into a 7×10” or 8×8” baking dish and spread evenly.
- Evenly scatter the pecan crumble mixture over the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Please double check amounts when using the multiplying feature in the recipe card.
- Want to make some of this ahead? Cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time and combine the rest of the ingredients on the day or evening you want this dish to be ready.
- You could make this dairy free by swapping out the butter for coconut oil and using canned coconut milk instead of cream.
- Use fresh sweet potatoes instead of canned sweet potatoes. The flavor will be so much better!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this for this for my family and they loved it! Will make again.
This is the second Thanksgiving I have made this dish. It was such a big hit the first year, I am now the official sweet potato casserole chef. This year I baked the potatoes instead of boiling them. I also use an immersion blender to make it really smooth. Thanks so much Lisa for such a delicious recipe!
Love this recipe! Gathering all my recipes for our Thanksgiving meal from Lisa!