Southern Sweet Potato Pie
This Southern sweet potato pie is a creamy, spiced filling of baked sweet potatoes, sweetened condensed milk, butter and warm spices in a deep dish crust, finished with a brown sugar pecan streusel on top. There’s no granulated sugar in the filling since the condensed milk sweetens it, and it bakes in about 50 minutes. One pie serves 8.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Southern Sweet Potato Pie
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crust, baked sweet potatoes, mashed and cooled, butter, melted and slightly cooled, 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, egg, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, ground cloves
- Why You'll Love It: My Southern sweet potato pie includes a perfectly spiced and creamy sweet potato filling in a flaky pie crust with an irresistibly crumbly streusel topping.
It’s a traditional sweet potato pie with one change I can’t give up: a crumbly streusel of brown sugar, butter and pecans that bakes into a crunchy topping over the soft filling. If you’d rather keep it classic, leave the topping off and it’s still a wonderful pie for your Thanksgiving table.
Why This Sweet Potato Pie Works
Baking the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them keeps their flavor concentrated, so the filling tastes like sweet potato and not just spice. Sweetened condensed milk makes it extra creamy and does the sweetening on its own.
The pie bakes 20 minutes before the streusel goes on, which gives the filling a head start so the topping doesn’t sink in.
What You Need for Southern Sweet Potato Pie
- Deep dish pie crust: A frozen 9-inch deep dish crust, or make my easy mix-in-pan pie crust.
- Sweet potatoes: You need 2 cups baked and mashed. Canned sweet potatoes or yams work too.
- Sweetened condensed milk: Some Southern recipes use evaporated milk and sugar, but I love the extra sweetness and creaminess from condensed milk.
- Spices: Cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Nutmeg, ginger or pumpkin pie spice are fine swaps, so use what you have.
- Streusel: Brown sugar, flour, melted butter and pecans. Skip the pecans if you’re nut-free. I do that pretty often anyway because pecans are expensive, y’all!
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Bake the sweet potatoes ahead. I wrap them in foil and bake at 400°F for about an hour. Once they’re cooled and refrigerated, the skins slip right off with your fingertips.
- You’ll see tiny lumps in the filling after mixing. That’s just the fibers from the sweet potatoes, and it’s fine.
- If any part of the crust looks dark when you add the topping, cover it with foil.
- Chill the pie overnight for the neatest slices.
How to Make Sweet Potato Pie
1Mash the sweet potatoes
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the peeled baked sweet potatoes and melted butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until mashed.
2Add the filling ingredients
Add the sweetened condensed milk, egg, cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, allspice and salt.
3Beat until smooth
Beat for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides, until the filling is well blended and smooth.
4Fill the crust and bake
Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust and bake for 20 minutes.
5Make the streusel
While the pie bakes, stir the brown sugar, flour, melted butter and pecans together with a fork until well mixed.
6Top and finish baking
Sprinkle the streusel evenly on the pie, cover any dark spots on the crust with foil and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, until set.
7Cool completely
Let the pie cool completely before slicing. I like to refrigerate mine overnight.
Serving and Make Ahead
Oh my, I couldn’t help myself on that slice! Serve it cold, at room temperature or warmed, with vanilla ice cream or a big dollop of homemade whipped cream. It belongs on the Thanksgiving dessert table next to pecan pie, easy pumpkin pie and a frozen apple pie you baked straight from the freezer.
Make it a day or two ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. Take it out an hour or two before dinner if you want it at room temperature, or warm slices briefly in the oven or air fryer.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows
- Grandma’s old-fashioned sweet potato casserole
- Easy candied sweet potatoes
- Loaded sweet potatoes
- Sweet potato bread with cinnamon swirl
- Sweet potato creme brulee
- More holiday pies: German chocolate pie, cherry cream cheese pie and Depression-era water pie
- Planning the whole dessert table? Here are my favorite Thanksgiving desserts.
Sweet Potato Pie FAQs
Can I use canned sweet potatoes?
Yes. Drain canned sweet potatoes or yams well and mash them until you have 2 cups.
How do I thicken a runny sweet potato pie filling?
If your filling seems too thin, beat in flour a tablespoon at a time until it looks like applesauce.
How long does sweet potato pie keep?
Covered in the fridge, it keeps up to 4 days.
Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crust
- 2 cups baked sweet potatoes, mashed and cooled
- 1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Streusel Topping
- 1 cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Beat sweet potatoes and melted butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add condensed milk, egg, cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, allspice, and salt and beat with an electric mixer for two minutes, scraping down sides as needed.2 cups baked sweet potatoes, mashed and cooled, 1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled, 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pour into unbaked pie crust and bake for 20 minutes.1 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crust
- While that is baking, stir together the topping ingredients in a medium bowl until well mixed. Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle with topping.1 cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup melted butter, 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- If any parts of the crust look dark, cover them with foil, then return the pie to the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until set. If you are skipping the topping, you'll still want to continue baking this pie until lightly brown on top and set, which is about the same amount of time.
- Allow the pie to cool completely for the prettiest slices. I like to refrigerate mine overnight.
Recipe looks so easy and delicious. Definitely will try. I’m curious, can Canned sweet potatoes be substituted?
What are the instructions for baking frozen just to warm it?
I made 2 and would like to save one for Christmas.
was good but topping was way to hard.
I’m glad you enjoyed the pie, but I’m sorry the topping was too hard for you. ❤️ That usually happens if the brown sugar is packed very tightly or if the pie bakes a little longer than needed. Next time, you can try loosely packing the brown sugar, stirring the topping just until combined, or even adding a tablespoon or two of flour or oats to soften it up. Thanks so much for the feedback — it really helps others, too.
I want to bake this for Thanksgiving at Church. I have Allspice, Apple Spice, & Pumpkin Pie Spice. How much of these do I use instead of the spices you list in this recipe ? Thanks and God Bless !
Is the crust thawed first? Or cooked frozen?
I have made Sweet Potato pie before but never with condensed milk I will try your recipe soon. Thank you for all you do on your site and please tell your Mama she is so pretty.
I hope you enjoy it Bonnie and I will certainly tell Mama!!!
Can canned sweet potatoes be used….you had a sweet potato muffin recipe using canned sweet potatoes and it was absolutely delicious. So easy to mash the potatoes etc.
I love all the recipes you publish.
Thank you so much.
I made this a couple of weeks ago – it is YUMMY!!! 😀
I am so glad to hear you liked it Tamara!!!