Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole
It’s not Thanksgiving without my Grandma’s old-fashioned sweet potato casserole. Boiled sweet potatoes get beaten smooth with butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs, with sweetened coconut stirred in, then baked under a buttery brown sugar pecan crumble until golden. It feeds 8, and everyone comes back for seconds.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole
- Serves: 8
- Main Ingredients: to large sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salted or unsalted butter, vanilla, ground cinnamon, sweetened flaked coconut, Topping
- Why You'll Love It: Enjoy my Grandma's old-fashioned sweet potato casserole recipe this Thanksgiving, with sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar and pecans.
There are no marshmallows on this one. Instead it has a crunchy streusel topping, the kind that belongs on a fruit crumble, over a smooth, creamy filling. If your family likes toasted marshmallows on top, my sweet potato casserole with marshmallows (some folks call it sweet potato souffle) is the one to make.
Why This Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole Works
Grandma’s surprise ingredient is sweetened coconut. It doesn’t make the casserole taste like coconut so much as add a little chew and sweetness that goes so well with the sweet potatoes. The two eggs hold the filling together so it slices and scoops instead of turning runny.
Baking the filling for 20 minutes before the topping goes on lets it set up, so the crumble stays on top and bakes up crisp.
What You Need
- Sweet potatoes: 4 or 5 medium to large. Canned sweet potatoes (often labeled yams) work too, but cut back on the sugar since they’re already sweetened.
- Sugar, vanilla and cinnamon: For the filling. Add 3/4 teaspoon allspice and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg if you want more spice.
- Eggs: Two, to bind the filling.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted, for both the filling and the topping.
- Sweetened flaked coconut: Stirred into the filling.
- Brown sugar, flour and pecans: For the crumble topping. Chopped walnuts work in place of pecans.
How to Make Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole
1Boil the sweet potatoes
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes. Put them in a pot, cover with water and boil over medium-high heat until fork-tender. Drain well and put them in a large bowl.
2Make the filling
Add the butter and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla, sugar and cinnamon. With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, then stir in the coconut.
3Bake 20 minutes
Spoon the mixture into an 8×8 baking dish and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
4Make the crumble
While it bakes, stir the flour and brown sugar together in a medium bowl. Cut in the room-temperature butter with a long-tined fork until it’s crumbly, then stir in the pecans.
5Top and finish baking
Sprinkle the crumble evenly on the casserole and bake 30 to 40 minutes more, until golden brown.
Serving and Making Ahead
Serve it next to oven roasted turkey breast or brown sugar glazed ham with crockpot cornbread dressing, green bean casserole and Jiffy corn casserole.
To get ahead, cook and mash the sweet potatoes and mix the crumble up to 3 days early, storing them separately in the fridge. Or assemble the whole casserole up to 24 hours ahead and bake it the day you serve. Leftovers keep in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or oven, and they freeze for up to 3 months.
Sweet Potato Casserole FAQs
Do I need eggs in sweet potato casserole?
Yes. The two eggs bind the filling. Without them the mashed sweet potatoes turn mushy and runny.
Can I make it gluten-free or dairy-free?
Use a gluten-free flour like oat flour in the topping, and a dairy-free butter for both the filling and topping.
Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 4-5 medium to large sweet potatoes
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup salted or unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Topping
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter at room temp
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup pecans
Instructions
- Peel and slice sweet potatoes. Place in pot, cover with water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until fork-tender. Drain well and place in a large bowl.4-5 medium to large sweet potatoes
- Add butter and beat until smooth. Add in vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. Beat again until well combined. With the mixer going, add in eggs, one at a time. Stir in the coconut.1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup salted or unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- Spoon this sweet potato mixture into an 8×8 casserole dish and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
To make the topping
- While the casserole is baking, place flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl and stir together. Cut in butter with a long-tined fork until well incorporated and then stir in the pecans.1 cup light or dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup flour, 1 cup pecans
- After 20 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the top. Return to the oven and bake until golden brown (30-40 minutes).
Can I leave the coconut out?
I look forward to trying this sweet potato recipe. What’s the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. Could I make it from yams too?
Christy, I am planning to use praline pecans this year in my topping. Can’t wait to try before I eat all the praline pecans.
You have some serious goals! I am not sure I could keep from eating the praline pecans before the big day got here!
Hi—I’m wondering if you could use canned sweet potatoes?
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I love using my Grandmother’s recipes, too – it always makes me think of her and what a dear, sweet lady she was.
Thank you for sharing. I have been looking for this recipe! A family member used to bring it for Thanksgiving and I have missed it! I have tried other recipes but they fall short. This looks like the one I have been looking for.
I hope it is THE ONE you have been looking for Martha, hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!