In my family, we love this Best Sweet Potato Casserole. Sweet, salty, and topped with a crunchy streusel! You’ll love this mashed sweet potato recipe and the nutty brown sugar crunch on top!
Tried this recipe at a local Ruth’s Chris restaurant many years ago. After several tweaks, it’s so similar and still delicious.
I originally published this recipe in November 2018. It’s been republished with new images in January 2022.
Aimee’s Recipe Notes
Taste: Sweet and savory with a rich vanilla flavor, topped with a nutty, brown sugar crumble.
Texture: Creamy and smooth mashed sweet potatoes paired with a crunchy, buttery pecan topping.
Ease to Make: Easy to prepare, with options to make ahead or bake in advance.
Cooking Method: Baked in the oven.
Top Tips:
- Add extra pecans for more crunch and flavor.
- Use fresh sweet potatoes for the best texture.
- Vanilla extract adds depth of flavor!
Every family has traditions, and in most cases, you can’t shake things up. Ever.
For instance, Thanksgiving. You are either a plain sweet potato or a mini marshmallows topped sweet potato family. No middle ground exists. (of course you could also love candied sweet potatoes)
For years, my family experienced division. Depending on who hosted Thanksgiving dinner, we either had gooey, sweet marshmallow sweet potato casserole or a simpler version. The simpler casserole had just a little butter and brown sugar.
Now I serve both.
If you’ve ever been to a Ruth’s Chris restaurant you’ll recognize these potatoes!
- Sweet and creamy mashed sweet potatoes.
- Topped with a brown sugar crumble with a crunch for salty pecans.
- One of the best things about these sweet potatoes is that you can prepare them in advance. This way, you only need to bake the casserole on Thanksgiving.
For more holiday side dishes, don’t forget the Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole, and of course Pistachio Salad!
Recipe Notes
“This has been my go-to recipe for a long time now, I make it for every holiday or potluck and it never disappoints! Thank you!” – Hannah
- Sweet Potatoes. Choose fresh sweet potatoes that have no root growing off them.
- Sugars. You’ll want sugar for the mashed sweet potato and brown sugar for the pecan topping.
- Vanilla extract. These candied potatoes are almost like a dessert. Using real vanilla extract (or try my homemade vanilla extract) gives even more flavor.
- Eggs. Helps the casserole fluff up to a delicious texture.
- Unsalted butter. If using salted butter, omit the extra kosher salt in the recipe.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
Start by cooking your sweet potatoes.
- Bake. You can bake them in the oven (my preferred method), at 400 degrees F for an hour.
- Stove Top. Or you can peel and boil potatoes in a large pot of water (for about half an hour).
- Microwave. The third way would be to poke them with a fork and microwave the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes.
- Instant Pot. Cook them tender by using my Instant Pot Sweet Potato recipe!
Mash the sweet potatoes.
Once you cook your potatoes, combine them in a large bowl with the sugar, salt, vanilla extract, eggs, and melted butter. Using a mixer or potato masher, beat them for about 4-5 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
Bake. Pour this into a 2 qt casserole dish and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes.
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping. While the potatoes are baking, make your streusel topping. Combine brown sugar with flour, chopped pecans, and melted butter. Stir together with a fork and set aside.
After you cook the sweet potatoes, add the streusel on top. You can also add extra pecans. Then, put them back in the oven to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.
Store sweet potato casserole in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
PRO TIP: Try my recipe for sweet potato casserole with marshmallows next!
Making ahead of time
Nothing is worse than determining what goes in the oven and when. Fortunately, this recipe for sweet potato casserole gets it’s “BEST” rating because of the flexibility.
Here are THREE options on how to make today’s sweet potato casserole recipe:
- First, you could bake as written above, if oven space is not an issue.
- Or, you could bake the 25 minutes, top with the streusel and refrigerate until the next day. Then you would only need to pop it back into the oven for about 20 minutes.
- You can also bake it as directed. Let it sit on the table for about 30 minutes. Cover it with foil to keep it hot. This gives you time and space to warm up some dinner rolls and get the rest of your food heated and ready.
Thanksgiving Recipes
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
For the Mashed Sweet Potatoes:
- 4 large sweet potatoes
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
For the streusel topping:
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Cook sweet potatoes in desired manner, until soft. See notes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 2 qt baking dish with nonstick spray (I use coconut oil spray). Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked sweet potatoes, granulated sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and melted butter. Beat with an electric mixer for about 4-5 minutes, until fluffy and smooth.
- Pour into prepared dish. Bake for 25 minutes.
- While baking, prepare streusel topping by combining brown sugar, flour, pecans, and melted butter in a small bowl. Mix with a fork and set aside.
- Sprinkle the baked sweet potato mixture with streusel and return to oven for about 10-15 minutes until crumble is lightly browned. Serve immediately or cover with foil and serve in 30 minutes.
Notes
- For the sweet potatoes you can cook them your favorite way. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for one hour. Or pierce with fork and microwave for 15 minutes (or more depending on size). Or peel and boil them for 30 minutes.
- Butter– for a traditional Ruths Chris topping, you’ll want to melt the butter. If you prefer more of a crumble, just use softened butter instead.
- First, you could bake as written above, if oven space is not an issue.
- Or, you could bake the 25 minutes, top with the streusel and refrigerate until the next day. Then you would only need to pop it back into the oven for about 20 minutes.
- You could also bake it as directed for entirety and allow to sit on the table for about 30 minutes (covered with foil to keep hot). This gives you time and space to warm up some dinner rolls and get the rest of your food heated and ready.
Made this last year and it was delicious. Was worried when I took it out of oven because the topping looked wet and soupy not crunchy but after letting it set on the counter for 15 min the topping cooled to a hard crunch. Did I do something wrong?
Also I want to make again for Easter this year and double it. If I use a 13×9 casserole dish do I have to increase baking time? ty
This topping is a little crunchy, that’s what makes it amazing 🙂
to double the recipe this year…is a 13×9 appropriate? and also does baking time increase or stay the same in a doubled recipe? thank you!!!
Please define “large” sweet potato? When I went to the store to get my ingredients, they had sweet potatoes as big as a football. I’m sure that’s not what you mean, but man! The size range for these tubers is VAST! It would be great to have more info for reference — like X number of pounds or X cups of cooked/mashed sweet potatoes (before adding the rest of the ingredients, that is). I would typically “just say no” to any recipe with such vague references (i.e., X number of medium bananas or a large zucchini), but this is the actual recipe I was pointed to for our gathering, so I’m feeling committed.
Good recipe but maybe a little less sugar for me next time
I have been making this recipe ever since my mom passed in 2017. I searched and searched for her recipe but couldn’t find it. When I stumbled upon your recipe, I thought this has to be close to hers! My dad says every year since, “this tastes just like your mom’s”. Thank you for sharing and Merry Christmas 🎄 ❤️
This has been my go-to recipe for a long time now, I make it for every holiday or potluck and it never disappoints! Thank you!
This was sooo delicious! This year is my second time making it for Thanksgiving. Tastes just like my mom used to make. So good!
Hi Aimee, I know this is last minute but hoping you have time to answer! I’ve made this several times and we love it but my question is the amount of sweet potatoes. These can range in size and relative, so what amount in pounds would you say I need for this recipe?
Lori,
I was wondering that as well but I just kind of winged it! It also put a bit less sugar.
This is delicious. A must at every Thanksgiving table!
Recipe cones out so delicious. I add finely crumbled bacon into the streusel topping. Always a hit at Thanksgiving!!
I have been making this for 3 years now. It’s a staple side dish on Thanksgiving! It’s easy to make and the brown sugar topping is better than the typical marshmallow topping! It’s delicious!
I’m giving these a 5 both for taste and ease of preparation. This is a perfect ‘Take a Long” food. because you can prepare the sweet potatoes a few days before, put the streusel topping on, and then pop them in the oven. Ours stayed super-hot and we transported them in a cooler after baking fully. The recipe doesn’t need changing a bit and its easy to increase the serving – just be sure to bake a bit longer.
Thank you so much!
Made this for one of our many huge family Christmas get together’s because my 92 year old mom’s oven was not working. I hoped it would be as good as hers. Everybody loves her sweet potato casserole and the pressure was on. Lol. This did not disappoint! My mom texted me the next day and said it was “super”. 😊 Thank you for the simple, timeless recipe! I am making it again today for my husband’s family Christmas tonight. 😋
Happy Holidays, glad you got mom’s approval 🙂
I’ve been making this for a few years now, and it’s become a staple with Holiday dinners. Delicious!!