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This Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping is creamy, crunchy, toasty, and so divine. So decadent it almost tastes like dessert.
The Perfect Thanksgiving Side Dish
This Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping is the best sweet potato casserole recipe I’ve ever tried! It’s a Thanksgiving favorite that always stands out on our holiday table. The creamy, whipped sweet potatoes are topped with a delicious pecan coconut crumble, making it so good it could pass as dessert. Plus, the topping is versatile – you can easily customize it to suit your guests’ preferences.
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Casserole
Let’s start with the base of this dish – the sweet potato mixture. It’s easy, made with real ingredients, and absolutely delicious! Here’s what you need:
- Sweet potatoes – You can use canned sweet potatoes or about 3 ½ cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes. If you like it more chunky use a potato masher. Use an electric mixer for a creamier, whipped texture.
- Milk – Any type will work.
- Brown sugar – Dark or light brown works great
- Butter – Melted, I prefer unsalted butter.
- Egg – Slightly beaten (large to extra large eggs).
- Vanilla extract – A teaspoon will do.
- Salt – Half a teaspoon or to taste.
Sweet Potato Casserole Pecan Topping
The toasted coconut and pecan topping transforms this sweet potato casserole into a show-stopping dish. It’s easy to make and adds the perfect crunch, perfectly complementing the creamy sweet potatoes. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to marshmallows! The ingredients you’ll need for the topping include:
- Brown sugar
- Chopped pecans
- Shredded coconut
- Flour
- Melted butter
Frequently Asked Questions About Sweet Potato Casserole
Yes, canned candied yams sold in U.S. grocery stores are actually sweet potatoes. This is what we use in this recipe. True yams and sweet potatoes are different in color, taste, and texture. Fun fact: Over 50% of U.S. sweet potatoes grown are grown in North Carolina.
Yes! This is good news for those of you hosting Thanksgiving this year. Assemble your casserole ahead of time, chill in the refrigerator, then bake the day of. It will be delicious!
Refrigerate sweet potato casserole to keep it fresh. Store it in the fridge for up to five days. If the casserole sits out for more than a couple of hours, it should be discarded, so be sure to store the leftovers promptly!
Sweet Potato Casserole without the topping is gluten-free. To make this recipe with the crumbly topping gluten-free, substitute coconut flour, rice flour, or any other favorite gluten-free flour mixture in place of the white flour.
Thanksgiving Side Dishes Pairings
Sweet potato casserole is the perfect complement to your Thanksgiving turkey. Here are a few more sides to serve up with Thanksgiving dinner:
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Thanksgiving or not, sweet potatoes are always a delightful side dish, and a sweeter alternative to regular potatoes. Try a couple of these favorites:
Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato Fries
Baked Sweet Potato Halves
Sweet Potato Tacos
Rocky Road Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
Video
Ingredients
- 29 ounces sweet potatoes drained (or 3 ½ cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes)
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl or mixer, combine sweet potatoes, milk, brown sugar, melted butter, egg, vanilla, and salt. Beat ingredients with a hand mixer (or in a mixer) until the sweet potatoes are light and fluffy.
- Transfer sweet potato mixture into a greased 9×9 inch baking pan.
- Stir all of the topping ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the sweet potatoes.
- Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- Sweet potatoes or yams can be used in place of the canned sweet potatoes in this recipe. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes, then boil them until fork tender. Mash them with a little milk to reach your desired consistency, then follow the recipe instructions as written.
- We recommend using a hand or stand mixer when blending the sweet potato mixture to get a light, airy texture. Be sure to mix until it is completely blended – no chunks!
- This recipe can be double and cooked in a 9×13 baking pan to serve 12-15 people.
- To reheat this casserole, warm it in the oven at 350 degrees until warmed through – about 20 minutes. If you put it in the microwave, the pecans will become soft and you won’t get that good crunch.
With this delicious casserole, I really don’t need a dessert. It satisfies the sweet tooth. Everyone just loves this dish and always goes for seconds.
This is such a different way to make sweet potato casserole but it works so well. I love coconut so it already sounded good before making it. But it’s delicious.
Love this recipe it’s crunchy sweet & delicious 5 stars
I love this easy (tastes great, too) recipe. Love, love the topping. It makes the dish really stand out.
This recipe is amazing! This is the one recipe everyone insists be on repeat every Thanksgiving.
I loved the topping & creamy filling together to make a delicious & yummy taste!!
I like the idea of a streusel topping. It brings texture to the dish. Not that I don’t like marshmallows but I always like something with a little crunch to break up all the softness with the traditional sweet potato casserole. I also like the tip about reheating the casserole in the oven to keep the integrity of the nuts!
Candied Sweet Potato casserole has been my favorite since I was old enough to eat it ( many, many, moons ago), and that love was acquired by my son as well. While we do love the “traditional” recipe, I am always interested in trying a new or different version of this age old classic! This looks like this year’s taste test winner!!!
We love sweet potato casserole in our household! This recipe sounds amazing!
Sweet potato casserole is yummy, you make it just like my family’s recipe. No marshmallows is the right answer! Sweet potato casserole and turkey is the way to go! yum!
Sweet potato casserole is delish, you make it just like my family’s recipe. No marshmallows is the right answer! Sweet potato casserole and turkey is the way to go! yum!
My family loves this recipe! It’s always on the menu for Thanksgiving.
My two favorite foods in one dish…is the sweet potato casserole, don’t keep it for just holiday meals.
I have a couple of family members who don’t like sweet potatoes at all, but they liked this recipe. This will be on our Thanksgiving menu every year.
I love the crunchy streusel topping. The sweet potatoes are perfect with this topping because it takes them up to the next level!
This recipe is so so good. I make it as a dessert to be served with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream. We have a well known restaurant here that I fell in love with their aweet potatoes casserole. When I first got this recipe I was very pleased that now I could make the same celebrated dish . It is so addictive.
A excellent and easy to follow receipe. I’m going to try this Thanksgiving.
I love Sweet Potato Casserole. When I was growing up, it was always topped with marshmallows and browned under the broiler. The first time I had Sweet Potato Casserole with the pecans/butter/brown sugar/etc. topping, I thought I had died and gone to Heaven! I like to eat it as a dessert!
Delicious recipe. It’s my son’s favorite side dish.
We have used this recipe forc51 years. We add 1 cup of pecans candied.