Sweet Potato Casserole with Butter Pecan Topping

Sweet potatoes are fall staple and, in my mind, a Thanksgiving necessity. This Sweet Potato Casserole is the perfect addition to the holiday table or the dinner table any night of the week. The perfect Butter Pecan Topping adds a beautiful crunch to silky, smooth, and slightly spicy Sweet Potato mash. You can be a holiday hero with this easy make ahead casserole.

How to Make Perfect Sweet Potato Casserole

Perfect Casserole start with Perfectly Cooked Sweet Potatoes

The perfect Sweet Potato Casserole start with perfectly cooked sweet potatoes. It is as simple as boiling the potatoes properly. That sounds easy, but there are some rules when it comes to boiled potatoes. First is wash and peel potatoes thoroughly. Remove all the dirt and skin. Then use a small paring knife to remove any eyes or bruised flesh. Bruised potato will not mash up into a nice soft, fluffy mash. The bruised potato flesh will often stay hard and leave little chunks in otherwise good potatoes. 

Next cube the sweet potatoes into 1 ½ inch chunks. Slightly larger pieces of potatoes are ideal for boiling. Really small cubes cook up too quickly and absorb too much water leaving you with a wall paper paste type consistency. 

Place the cleaned and cubed sweet potatoes in a pot that gives them a little space, and fill the pot will cool water. The cool water from the tap is just right. Then bring the potatoes to boil on the stove and let them cook until they are fork tender. This ensures that your potatoes cook evenly. If you add the potatoes directly to a boiling pot of water, the outsides will cook first turning to mush as the insides cook. 

Finally, drain the sweet potatoes. You can turn them out into a colander or simply place a lid over the top of the pot and turn it out over the stove. Return the sweet potatoes to the hot pot. The heat left in the pot will cause the remaining water to evaporate. Now you are ready to mash.

What makes Sweet Potato Casserole fluffy?

The first step to getting a fluffy Sweet Potato Casserole is perfectly cooked potatoes, but the next thing adding just the right ingredients. A little butter, a touch of heavy creamy, vanilla, and an egg will give this casserole just the right texture. You can throw the butter right in the pot with the potatoes. In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the egg and add cream and vanilla extract to the egg and mix together. Add the egg and cream mixture to the sweet potatoes. Mixing the cream and egg together will make sure you don’t end up with scrambled egg pieces in your casserole. 

Add your spices. I put salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a touch of cayenne pepper in my casserole. I think the salt and spice add balance to the dish since the sweet potatoes and pecan topping are so sweet.

Butter Pecan Topping gives your Casserole the perfect Crunch. 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans to the butter and use a fork to mix together. This should give you a crumbly topping for your sweet potato casserole. 

Save this Make-Ahead Casserole for another Day or Bake Right Away

If you want to save this casserole for another day, just cover it with cling wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To serve remove from the refrigerator about an hour ahead of cooking to take the chill off. Then place in a preheated 375° oven for 45 minutes or until the temperature reaches 160°. 

If you are baking your casserole right away, place in a preheated 375° oven for 20 minutes. 

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."-William Arthur Ward

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