Sweet Potato Casserole with Brown Sugar Pecan Streusel Topping

This easy Sweet Potato Casserole will convert any sweet potato skeptic. The brown sugar pecan streusel topping is crunchy, sweet, and piled high over a creamy sweet potato filling sweetened with brown sugar & maple syrup, & spiced with cinnamon & nutmeg.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Thanksgiving Side Dish, Sweet Potato Casserole, Make Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings + servings

Calories 528kcal

Author Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Sweet Potato Filling

4 large sweet potatoes, rinsed & scrubbed (no need to peel) See note below
6 tbsp salted butter, melted 85 grams
3 tbsp milk Any kind works - I used 2%
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp real maple syrup
1/4 cup granulated sugar 53 grams
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 55 grams
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Brown Sugar Pecan Topping

2 cups pecans
3/4 cup salted butter 12 tbsp, or 170 grams
1 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour 138 grams
1 cup brown sugar, packed 220 grams.
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Cook the Sweet Potatoes: Rinse & scrub your sweet potatoes and place them (whole, and unpeeled) on the trivet (it comes with the Instant Pot) inside the Instant Pot. Add 1 cup of water. Cook on High Pressure using the Manual setting for 12 minutes. If your sweet potatoes are especially large, start with 13-15 minutes.
Let the steam release naturally once the potatoes are done (or you will have sweet potato bits spraying out). Open the Instant Pot and use tongs to remove your sweet potatoes (they will be extremely hot). Set them on a cutting board to cool. Once cooled, you'll be able to easily slide the skins off.
Prep: Preheat your oven to 350℉. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.
Make the Filling: Add the cooked, peeled sweet potatoes (or use one 29-ounce can of cooked sweet potatoes or yams - be sure to drain them) to a large mixing bowl and mash until smooth, using a potato masher. Add all filling ingredients, and stir to combine, making sure the eggs get well incorporated. Evenly spread the sweet potato mixture into your prepared pan.
Make the Topping: Soften your butter in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds (it should be very soft, with melted butter pooled around the softened parts). Add butter, pecans, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon to food processor or a blender and pulse until just combined. It will be sort of a wet, clumpy mixture. Crumble it over the sweet potato filling.
Tip: If you don't have a food processor, or if yours can't handle a thick mixture, simply melt the butter in a medium bowl. Then, chop your pecans roughly, and add them to the bowl with the remaining topping ingredients. Stir until a clumpy streusel mixture forms.
Bake: Bake for 25-28 minutes. The topping will be lightly browned. Set your oven to "broil" and broil an additional 1-3 minutes. Keep an eye on it while it broils - it can go from perfectly browned to burnt quickly.
Serve + Store: Serve while it's nice and warm from the oven! Store leftovers, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Make Ahead Directions:
Assemble Ahead: You can assemble everything the day before Thanksgiving and wait to bake it until Thanksgiving day – just cover it with foil or plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge overnight.
Bake Ahead & Reheat: You can make + bake this 1-2 days ahead. Let the baked casserole cool completely, then cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate it. Reheat it in the oven, at any temp between 300℉ - 425℉ (whatever your oven is already at to bake or warm other dishes on thanksgiving day should work just fine) covered with foil, until warmed through. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure it's warmed through to the center. If you microwave it to reheat the topping will lose it's crisp texture.

Notes

Scrubbing Sweet Potatoes: Just in case there's any confusion, when I say to scrub, I don't mean with your dish wand and soap. Just give your sweet potatoes a good rinse, then scrub them gently with a clean kitchen towel or a clean vegetable brush to remove any dirt from the skins.

Sweet Potato Cooking: One of my sweet potatoes didn’t get quite as soft as the others in the Instant Pot, so I just popped it in the microwave (in a microwave safe bowl) for 30 second intervals for about 2 min and then it was fine. You can also leave it in the Instant Pot (take the done ones out) and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Instant Pot: NEVER place food or liquid directly into your Instant Pot - always use the metal liner pot that comes with it! To help your Instant Pot build to pressure faster, hit "saute" before you add the water/liner/sweet potatoes. It will heat up quickly so avoid touching the inside of the liner with your bare hands. (None of this is sponsored - I just like cooking my sweet potatoes with this method!)

Yield: If you don't need 12+ servings, cut the topping portion of the recipe in half, keeping the filling the same, and bake in an 8x8 dish for about 6 generous servings. The recipe, as written, makes 12 servings, or likely more since everyone will be taking semi-small portions to make room for all the different sides on Thanksgiving.

Nutrition