Holiday meals wouldn’t be complete without sweet potatoes, yet my granddaughters and some of my other relatives were never thrilled with traditional candied sweet potatoes (with or without the marshmallows). Then I found this recipe and changed their minds. This Sweet Potato Casserole is simple to make and can be made a couple of days in advance of your holiday meal, ready to pop into the oven to heat and brown just before serving.
Here’s what you need:
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cans (29 ounces each) sweet potatoes, drained
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (I have also used up to 1-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla to give the casserole a sweeter taste.)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, mash drained sweet potatoes until smooth. Spray a 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, combine the pecans, light brown sugar, flour and butter. Mix till crumbly and then set aside. To the mashed sweet potatoes, add the sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix together, either by hand or with a mixer, until well combined. Spoon sweet potato mixture into prepared casserole dish. Crumble crumb mixture over top of sweet potato mixture to cover evenly. Place in preheated oven and back 45-50 minutes till heated through, bubbly, and browned.
Remove from oven and cool approximately 5 minutes before serving.
Easily serves 6-8 people.
When preparing the casserole ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. However, remember to remove from refrigerator about and hour or so before heating it in the oven to allow the dish to come to room temperature prior to baking. This will ensure even heating of the casserole and less chance of the casserole dish breaking because of the extreme changes in temperature.
After I served this the first time at Thanksgiving, my daughter-in-law called me the next week for the recipe. Her family (she has 3 siblings plus their spouses and children and her parents) always has a huge celebration at Christmas but sweet potatoes were never one of the highlights. Laurie enjoyed the casserole so much she wanted to try it with her family. The result: A huge success! People who had never willingly eaten sweet potatoes before were now addicted! It has become a staple at their holiday gatherings, too!
So, before you give up on sweet potatoes or decry fixing the dish just because one or two people want them, try this recipe. You may make converts, too!
Merry Christmas!
