Description
Southern sweet potato casserole blends creamy mashed potatoes with a crunchy pecan topping. Comfort cuisine from family kitchens brings warmth to your holiday table.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 lbs (1.36 kg) sweet potatoes (about 4–5 medium, peeled & cubed)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (60 ml) milk (or heavy cream)
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (50 g) chopped pecans (or walnuts)
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Potatoes Preparation: Cube sweet potatoes uniformly and boil in salted water until fork-tender, approximately 15-20 minutes, then drain completely.
- Mashing Process: Transfer boiled potatoes to a large mixing bowl and mash until silky smooth, eliminating all lumps for a creamy consistency.
- Flavor Infusion: Blend melted butter, brown sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and salt into mashed sweet potatoes, stirring until the mixture becomes a uniform, luxurious cream.
- Casserole Assembly: Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and spread the sweet potato mixture evenly, creating a perfectly leveled base for the streusel topping.
- Streusel Creation: In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, chopped pecans, ground cinnamon, and melted butter, mixing until a delectable crumbly texture forms.
- Topping Application: Distribute the pecan streusel generously and evenly across the sweet potato base, ensuring complete coverage for maximum flavor and texture.
- Baking Technique: Position the casserole in a preheated 350°F oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, monitoring until the surface turns golden-brown and edges begin to bubble.
- Final Flourish: Optionally, add marshmallows during the last 5 minutes of baking and briefly broil to achieve a puffy, caramelized topping.
- Serving Preparation: Remove from oven and allow the casserole to rest for 5 minutes, enabling the dish to set and facilitating easier serving of this festive side dish.
Notes
- Prevent Soggy Potatoes: Drain sweet potatoes completely after boiling to remove excess moisture, ensuring a creamy yet firm texture in your casserole.
- Customize Nut Options: Swap pecans with walnuts or almonds for different flavor profiles, or omit nuts entirely for nut-sensitive diets.
- Control Sweetness Level: Adjust brown sugar quantity based on potato sweetness and personal preference, tasting mixture before baking for balanced flavor.
- Achieve Perfect Streusel: Mix streusel ingredients until they form loose, pea-sized crumbs for optimal crunchiness and even distribution across the casserole surface.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 44 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg