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    🏠Home » Recipes » Holiday Recipes

    Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole

    Nov 15, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · Last modified: Nov 28, 2023 · 6 Comments

    Jump to Recipe - TOC - Print

    Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole has a creamy sweet potato custard filling with a pecan or marshmallow topping and has become an American traditional holiday classic.

    This Thanksgiving favorite was brought into our family by a son-in-law, a favorite from his family's table to ours.

    🍠Ingredients

    Sweet potatoes
    Pantry ingredients—eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, butter, milk
    Pecan topping—chopped pecans, brown sugar, butter, flour
    Optional mini-marshmallow topping—chopped pecans, mini-marshmallows

    Sweet potato casserole on a white plate.
    Jump To:
    • 🍠Ingredients
    • 👨‍🍳How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
    • The pan size
    • When to serve
    • ↕️How to make this a half-recipe
    • 📆Make ahead option
    • Food safety
    • How to store leftover sweet potato casserole
    • ❓FAQs
    • 📖 Recipe
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Featured comment from Ellen:
    "Just made this for Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm blown away by how good it is! ….Turned out fabulous, my favorite dish this year!"

    A wonderfully sweet and buttery holiday side dish with a nutty topping that will become a family tradition. But you make it your way with the crunchy pecan topping or the traditional marshmallows.

    This sweet potato casserole will scale the size you need and can easily be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen.

    👨‍🍳How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole

    Uncooked sweet potatoes on baking tray.

    Scrub and bake sweet potatoes. Please give them a good scrub and poke with a fork a few times to vent steam. You will need about 3 cups, so 3-4 medium sweet potatoes. Bake at 375° for 1 to 1 ½ hours until very soft.

    peeling skin off sweet potatoes.

    Allow to cool, then peel the sweet potatoes by hand—they will come off easily. You may refrigerate before or after cooking until needed for up to 3 days.

    mashing sweet potatoes in a stand mixer.

    In a large mixing bowl, beat 3 cups of sweet potatoes until smooth. A stand or hand mixer works, but you can do this by hand. A bit more sweet potato is fine.

    whisking wet ingredients together in glass bowl.

    In a separate bowl, beat two eggs, ¼ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ stick melted butter, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla, and ½ cup milk.

    adding wet ingredients to mashed sweet potatoes on stand mixer.

    Add to sweet potatoes and mix well.

    pouring sweet potato mixture into white bowl.

    Place into a well-oiled (Pam or butter) oven-safe 2-quart or larger casserole dish.

    chopping pecans on a white board.

    Chop the pecans.

    mixing pecan topping in metal bowl.

    Mix topping in a medium bowl. 1 ½ cup of brown sugar, ½ cup flour, ⅓ stick melted butter, and ½ cup chopped pecans.

    Adding pecan topping to sweet potato casserole.

    Add topping to sweet potatoes. You may cover and refrigerate at this point for the next day or freeze.

    baked sweet potato casserole in white dish.

    Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes until golden brown and 160° minimum internal temperature.

    Note: The recipe is for about eight servings, but these photos are for a triple batch. Only three adults were eating—my daughter was cooking for leftovers and the freezer.

    For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.

    The pan size

    A full-size recipe fits in a 2 ½ quart casserole dish or a 9 by 12 baking dish. If cooking a half-size recipe, use a 6 by 9, 8-inch square, or 9-inch round baking dish.

    When to serve

    Sweet potato casserole is an intrical part of our Thanksgiving dinner that includes Roasted Turkey Breast, Homemade Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Broccoli Slaw, Sausage Stuffing, and Yeast Dinner Rolls. Desserts are served after the food coma.

    ↕️How to make this a half-recipe

    Since this recipe is most commonly used for bigger meals, I have left it as the full recipe that makes about 8 servings. Make a half recipe for 4 servings—more "cooking for two" friendly.

    1. Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to 4.
    2. Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
    3. Use a 6 by 9, 8-inch square, or 9-inch round dish.
    4. Cook until browning well—about 25 minutes. Be sure to check for a safe internal temperature of 160° or more.

    📆Make ahead option

    You can make it ahead, but I find long refrigerated bothersome because the uncooked casseroles contain eggs. Many suggest three days refrigerated, but I feel 2 days is enough. I can find no FDA guidance on this, so it's your choice. Add the topping just before baking.

    You can also freeze sweet potato casserole uncooked. Mix it, but do not add any topping. Seal it very well and freeze it for 3 months.

    If you make it ahead, you can make up the topping and refrigerate or freeze it separately, but do not add it until ready to bake.

    Food safety

    Due to the raw eggs, the casserole needs to reach 160°+ internal temperature.

    If the topping is browned, but the internal temperature has not reached 160°, tent the casserole with foil lightly to prevent further browning and continue to bake until you get the safe internal temperature of 160°.

    Temperature issues are more likely to happen with deep dishes or marshmallow toppings browning too fast. You may use a larger baking dish for a thinner casserole that will cook faster. You will need more topping.

    How to store leftover sweet potato casserole

    Leftovers are good for 4 days refrigerated. It should freeze well for up to 3 months, either cooked or uncooked.

    Reheat in the microwave for small amounts. For a larger amount, cover it with foil and reheat it in a 325° to 350° oven for 20-25 minutes.

    ❓FAQs

    Are sweet potatoes and yams the same thing?

    Yes and no. True yams are mostly grown outside the U.S. and are much less commonly sold here.

    In the U.S., firm varieties of sweet potatoes are frequently called sweat potatoes, while soft varieties are called yams. This goes back to enslaved Africans called the soft, sweet potato yams because they resembled the true yams from Africa.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires labels with the term yam to be accompanied by the term sweet potato. To find true yams in the U.S., you will need to hunt.

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Casserole Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Side Dish Recipes

    Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.

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    📖 Recipe

    Sweet potato casserole on a white plate

    Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole has a creamy sweet potato custard filling with a pecan or marshmallow topping and has become an American traditional holiday classic.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.66 from 26 votes
    Print Email Text CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours hours 50 minutes minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 8 serving

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 3 cups sweet potatoes - about 3-4 medium
    • 2 eggs
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ stick butter - melted
    • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
    • ½ cup milk

    Pecan Topping Option

    • ½ cup pecans - chopped
    • 1 ½ cups brown sugar
    • ½ cup flour
    • ⅓ stick butter - melted

    Marshmellow Topping Option

    • 1 ½ cup mini-marshmallows
    • ½ cup chopped pecans - optional
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Scrub and bake sweet potatoes. Please give them a good scrub and poke with a fork a few times to vent steam. You will need about 3 cups, so 3-4 medium sweet potatoes. Bake at 375° for 1 to 1 ½ hours until very soft.
      Uncooked sweet potatoes on baking tray
    • Allow to cool, then peel the sweet potatoes by hand—they will come off easily. You may refrigerate before or after cooking until needed for up to 3 days.
      peeling cooked sweet potato
    • In a large mixing bowl, beat 3 cups of sweet potatoes until smooth. A stand or hand mixer works, but you can do this by hand. A bit more sweet potato is fine.
      mashing sweet potatoes in a stand mixer
    • In a separate bowl, beat two eggs, ¼ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ stick melted butter, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla, and ½ cup milk.
      whisking wet ingredients together in glass bowl
    • Add to sweet potatoes and mix well.
      adding wet ingredients to mashed sweet potatoes on stand mixer
    • Pour into a well-oiled (Pam or butter) oven-safe 2-quart or larger casserole dish.
      pouring sweet potato into casserole bowl
    • Chop the pecans.
      chopping pecans on a white board
    • Mix topping in a medium bowl. 1 ½ cup of brown sugar, ½ cup flour, ⅓ stick melted butter, and ½ cup chopped pecans.
      mixing pecan topping in metal bowl
    • Add topping to sweet potatoes. You may cover and refrigerate at this point for the next day or freeze.
      Adding pecan topping to sweet potato casserole
    • Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes until golden brown and 160° minimum internal temperature.
      baked sweet potato casserole in white dish

    Marshmallow Topping Option

    • Skip the above topping. Using about 1 ½ cup of mini-marshmallows. You may add ½ cup of chopped pecans before the marshmallows if you want.
    Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print. Otherwise step-by-step photos are in the post.

    Your Own Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. Precook the sweet potatoes the day ahead
    2. The recipe calls for 3 cups of sweet potatoes, but a bit more is fine. That will be 3-4 medium potatoes.
    3. This fits in a 2 ½ quart or larger casserole dish. You can use a 9 by 12 baking dish if you want.
    4. Instructions for a half-size recipe are in the post.
    5. Cook to nicely brown with at least 160° internal temperature, which should be about the same amount of time. A marshmallow top may brown a bit faster.
    6. If the top is brown too fast, but the temperature is still too low, tent lightly with foil until done.
    7. Make-ahead options are in the post.
    8. The topping can also be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen separately. Add the topping just before cooking.
    9. After cooking, store refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Calories : 403 kcal (20%)Carbohydrates : 65 g (22%)Protein : 4 g (8%)Fat : 15 g (23%)Saturated Fat : 7 g (35%)Cholesterol : 67 mg (22%)Sodium : 291 mg (12%)Potassium : 296 mg (8%)Fiber : 2 g (8%)Sugar : 50 g (56%)Vitamin A : 7461 IU (149%)Vitamin C : 1 mg (1%)Calcium : 80 mg (8%)Iron : 1 mg (6%)
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Casserole
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    This wonderful recipe was brought into our family from our son-in-law's family for our first Thanksgiving together and has been a staple ever since. It is similar to The Best Sweet Potato Casserole from the Food Network.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published December 3, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    About Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Hi, welcome to 101 Cooking for Two. I'm DrDan, I'm a board certified physician and a lover of cooking delicious easy recipes I have perfected at home for two or larger household. As an award winning educator, let me guide you to finding the joys of cooking everyday food at home.
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    1. Ashlee

      December 08, 2020 at 8:07 pm

      5 stars
      The better came out great. It would have been even better if I invested in a mixer. I added pecan and marshmallow. I will make this again.

      Reply
    2. Ellen

      November 22, 2018 at 5:22 pm

      Just made this for Thanksgiving dinner and I'm blown away by how good it is! I cooked it in an 8" square pan, so the topping was rather thick on top; after I took it out of the oven, I pushed the topping around with a fork and popped it under the broiler to brown. Turned out fabulous, my favorite dish this year! I had my doubts while I was making it because it doesn't use any spices, but it really doesn't need them. Thank you Dr Dan, I love your website and this recipe in particular turned out to be extraordinarily delicious.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        November 22, 2018 at 11:12 pm

        Hi Ellen,

        Welcome to the blog.

        When I first did this recipe, I loved the simplicity but was concerned by the lack of other flavors. But it proved to have just the right combination without being overly complex.

        Thanks for the note.

        Dan

    3. Charlene

      December 03, 2017 at 8:53 pm

      This dish was the hit of our Thanksgiving - added bonus was that with a little bit of tweeking we were able to make it gluten free and substituted honey for the sugar for the Specific Carb diet as well! Yes, when I cook for my family I do face dietary challenges but this recipe was enjoyed by all - it will be my go to from now on!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        December 05, 2017 at 8:52 am

        Hi Charlene,
        It is a fairly basic recipe and like all recipes "just guidelines". Depending on the family members present, we deal with mushroom and milk allergies.
        Glad it worked well for you and have a great holiday season.
        Dan

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