There are two kinds of people at the holiday table: marshmallow people and pecan topping people. We are firmly team pecan! 🙋♀️ This sweet potato casserole with pecan topping is creamy, cinnamon-spiced mashed sweet potatoes under a thick, buttery brown sugar streusel loaded with pecans that bakes up golden and crunchy. It's the classic Southern side, made from scratch, and it's sweet enough to pass for dessert.
⭐ "Still enjoying the leftovers! So delicious!" - Rachel
The Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole That Skips the Marshmallows 🍠
This recipe goes back a couple of generations in my family. My mom and grandma made theirs from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, as best I remember. I took over in high school, and everybody liked my version better. 😉
The base is still the classic: mashed sweet potatoes with butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs, under a brown sugar and pecan crumb topping. I just kept nudging it over the years. Heavy cream for a richer filling, more cinnamon, more vanilla, a little more salt, and a lot more pecans. Like, a full pound of them. 🤤 Even Chamere's grandma, who isn't usually big on sweet potato casserole, enjoyed mine, and that's high praise.
If you grew up with the marshmallow version, give this one a shot. The streusel gives you buttery crunch in every bite, and it's what makes this an old-fashioned sweet potato casserole without marshmallows that people actually ask for.
It fits right in next to our Smothered Turkey Wings at Thanksgiving or a Slow Cooker Prime Rib at Christmas.
🍠 Ingredients for Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel
Nothing fancy here, just holiday baking staples. If you've got sweet potatoes, butter, sugar, and a big bag of pecans, you're most of the way there!
🌽 Got extra sweet potatoes? Make our Sweet Potato Cornbread next!
How to Make Southern Sweet Potato Casserole from Scratch ✨
This one comes together in three parts: streusel, filling, bake. And the filling gets mixed right in the baking dish, so you really don't need much to make it. 🙌
⏰ Hosting a crowd? You can assemble the whole casserole up to 3 days ahead, or prep the filling and streusel separately a day ahead. Check the recipe card Notes for both methods.
Make the Pecan Streusel
- Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and salt, then add the cold cubed butter.
Cut the butter in with a pastry blender (or your fingertips) until it forms coarse, crumbly clumps. A few streaks of butter are totally fine.
🧈 Cold butter is a must. Warm butter melts into the flour and bakes into greasy puddles instead of crunchy clumps. Stop mixing while it still looks like coarse crumbs, since overworked streusel bakes up more like a crust.
- Step 2: Fold in the pecans, then pop the bowl in the fridge while you make the filling.
❄️ Keep it chilled. Cold streusel holds its shape in the oven, especially in a warm holiday kitchen with every burner going.
Boil and Mash the Sweet Potatoes
- Step 3: Add the peeled, chunked sweet potatoes to a large pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until a fork slides right in.
🍠 Cut them the same size. Even chunks cook at the same rate, so you won't find hard bits hiding in your smooth mash.
- Step 4: Drain well, return the sweet potatoes to the pot, and mash until smooth.
🔪 Hand mixer for the win. A hand mixer gets the mash silky smooth with almost no effort. A potato masher works too; you'll just have a little more texture.
Mix the Filling Right in the Baking Dish
- Step 5: Grease your baking dish and add the mashed sweet potatoes. Add the white sugar, melted butter, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, and stir until smooth. Give it a taste and adjust the sweetness to your liking.
💡 One less bowl to wash. Mixing right in the baking dish saves you a dish, and spreading the mash out helps it cool faster before the eggs go in. Prefer a mixing bowl? Use one, then spread the finished filling into the dish.
- Step 6: Once the mixture is warm but no longer hot, add the eggs and stir until just combined.
Smooth the filling into an even layer with a rubber or offset spatula.
⚠️ Let it cool first. Hot sweet potatoes will scramble the eggs. Warm is fine; hot is not.
Top and Bake
- Step 7: Scatter the pecan streusel over the filling in big clumps, pressing lightly so it sticks.
- Step 8: Bake until the topping is deep golden brown.
💡 Peek halfway through. Pecans can go from toasty to burnt fast. If the topping is browning before the casserole is done, tent it loosely with foil.
- Step 9: Let it rest before serving. The filling sets, the streusel firms up, and nobody burns their mouth. 😂
What to Serve with Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole 🦃
This one is right at home on the holiday table. Serve it alongside a Buttery Turkey with Garlic and Herbs or our Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham, then round out the spread with a pan of Cajun Mac and Cheese and some Creamed Pearl Onions.
That's it: a from-scratch, old-fashioned holiday side with all the crunch and none of the marshmallows. 🍠 Just save a corner of your plate for seconds. 🤤
🌟 Leave a Review!
If you make this Brown Sugar Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole, we'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and rate the recipe. Share with us by tagging us on Instagram! We love seeing your creations! 📸
📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping (Old Fashioned)
Equipment
- hand mixer (or potato masher)
- pastry blender
- 13x9-inch baking dish
Ingredients
Pecan streusel
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125g
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed (100g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100g
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal; see Notes
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes (170g)
- 16 ounces pecan halves or pieces 454g
Sweet potato filling
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut into evenly sized chunks (1.8kg)
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled (113g)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 150g
- ½ cup heavy cream room temperature (120ml)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal; see Notes
- 2 large eggs room temperature
Instructions
Make the pecan streusel
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter and cut it in with a pastry blender until it forms coarse, crumbly clumps. A few streaks of butter are fine.1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Fold in the pecans. Refrigerate the streusel while you make the filling.16 ounces pecan halves or pieces
Make the sweet potato filling
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 13x9-inch baking dish.
- Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes, until fork-tender.4 pounds sweet potatoes
- Drain well, return the sweet potatoes to the pot, and mash until smooth with a hand mixer or potato masher.
- Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes to the prepared baking dish. Add the granulated sugar, melted butter, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, and stir until smooth. Taste and adjust the sweetness if you like.8 tablespoons unsalted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Let the mixture cool until warm but not hot, then add the eggs and stir until just combined. Smooth into an even layer.2 large eggs
Top and bake
- Scatter the streusel over the filling in large clumps, pressing lightly so it sticks.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is deep golden brown. Check at 20 minutes, and tent loosely with foil if the pecans are browning too quickly.
- Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
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Notes
- Salt: This recipe uses Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you're using Morton's kosher salt or fine sea salt, use about half the amount.
- Mixing bowl option: Mixing the filling in the baking dish saves a bowl, but you can mix it in a large bowl instead and spread it into the dish after adding the eggs.
- Spices: For a warmer spice flavor, add a pinch of nutmeg or cloves to the filling.
- Make ahead, 1 day: Make the streusel and filling, and refrigerate them separately in airtight containers. Assemble and bake as directed.
- Make ahead, up to 3 days: Assemble the casserole, cover tightly, and refrigerate unbaked. Bake straight from the fridge, adding a few extra minutes since it's starting cold.
- Bake ahead: Bake, cool, and refrigerate. Reheat at 350°F covered loosely with foil until warmed through, then uncover for the last few minutes to re-crisp the topping. Leftovers from a bake-ahead casserole are best eaten within 2 to 3 days.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
- Freezing: Cool the baked casserole completely, then freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. The topping will soften a little.
- Serve with: Smothered Turkey Wings, Slow Cooker Prime Rib, Buttery Turkey with Garlic and Herbs, Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham, Cajun Mac and Cheese, or Creamed Pearl Onions.
- Leftover sweet potatoes: Use them in our Sweet Potato Cornbread.
Rachel says
Still enjoying the leftovers! So delicious!
Briana says
This is so awesome to hear, Rachel! Thank you so much for the comment, and we're so glad you enjoyed! 🙂