This is my family’s favorite holiday sweet potato casserole recipe and what I make for Thanksgiving as it’s so good! The pecan streusel topping makes this over-the-top delicious! Egg-free and gluten-free options are included, too.
We often visit with another family during Thanksgiving. We have a dear family at our church who are very hospitable and often extend to us an open invitation to join them for this much-awaited annual celebration.
With them around, we know that our family (whose relatives on both sides are both oceans away) won’t be homeless for Thanksgiving! That is such a blessing!
Because we’re always invited out for Thanksgiving, I don’t have to worry about roasting a huge turkey to feed about 15 people!
However, I’ve always made a point to contribute something to the feast either by making a couple of side dishes or a dessert, or both.
I always bring cranberry sauce because I like having homemade and freshly made sauce to go with my turkey. I have a very simple but super tasty cranberry sauce flavored with orange juice and several spices which make it so crazy yummy and which all of us love so I never fail to bring it.
Want to check this SPICED CRANBERRY SAUCE? Get the recipe here.
Of course, my other favorite side dish that I make (because for me, it’s just not Thanksgiving without it!) is this yummy Sweet Potato Casserole (with Pecan Streusel Topping)!
It’s all sweet, creamy, and buttery with a delicious and crunchy streusel topping that altogether make this sweet potato casserole one fantastic dish! It’s so good that it should actually be considered as a dessert!!!
However, don’t be deceived because it’s not at all a sickly sweet casserole (which I personally don’t like!). In fact, what I love about this dish is that it has a perfectly balanced flavor resulting in a tasty dish that your tastebuds would enjoy.
I believe that the combination of all the ingredients results in a perfectly harmonious blending of flavors plus it has the extra texture from the pecans and oatmeal. You’d be in for a good treat!
FOR FULL RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS and to PRINT, SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS YUMMY SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE?
- Sweet Potatoes – naturally! I steam the sweet potatoes instead of boiling or roasting them. I believe this is the fastest and most efficient way to cook them. If cut and peeled into smaller pieces it takes no more than 10 minutes to steam them and they come out so tender and easy to mash. Besides, since it’s not boiled you don’t get extra liquid into the potatoes and it doesn’t take forever to cook like when you roast them in the oven. In the Philippines and mostly in Asia, we steam sweet potatoes before we use them for desserts so I prefer this way to cooking. Best of all you don’t need a steamer to do it – simply use a steamer basket with a cover and use it on top of a saucepan (that fits snugly with the steamer basket) and then place on top of rapidly boiling water to cook the potatoes. Just make sure the steamer basket doesn’t touch the water inside the saucepan. Easy, right? Then simply, mash afterward!
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
- Sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract (for extra flavor)
- Butter (sometimes, I halve the amount of butter and use an equal amount of heavy cream for extra creaminess!)
FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING
- Brown Sugar
- Flour or Oats (ground or old-fashioned style for gluten-free version)
- Pecans or Walnuts
- Butter
- A little cinnamon for that hint of spice
All you need to do is mix the topping and sprinkle all over the sweet potato mixture then bake!
HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS YUMMY SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE WITH PECAN STREUSEL TOPPING?
- Steam the peeled sweet potatoes over rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Mash with a fork or potato masher.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease or butter an 8×11 baking dish. In a pinch, a 9 x 9 square baking dish should work too.
- To the mashed sweet potato, add the sugar, melted butter, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir to combine. Spread evenly on the baking dish.
For the Streusel Topping
- Mix the brown sugar, oatmeal or flour, cinnamon, and pecans in a small bowl. Use a pastry blender or 2 butter knives to cut the butter into the oatmeal or flour mixture. Once the butter is mixed in, sprinkle the streusel topping over the sweet potato mixture.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the mixture is bubbly. Serve warm or allow to set for at least 20 minutes before serving.
LOOKING FOR MORE RECIPES FOR THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS?
NO BAKE WHITE CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel Topping
Ingredients
- 3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
For the Streusel Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup oatmeal (for gluten-free version) or all-purpose flour,
- 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup cold butter, cut into cubes
Instructions
- Steam the peeled sweet potatoes over rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Mash with a fork or potato masher.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease or butter a 8×11 baking dish.
- To the mashed sweet potato, add the sugar, melted butter, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, vanilla extract and salt. Stir to combine. Spread evenly on the baking dish.
For the Streusel Topping
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oatmeal or flour, cinnamon and pecans.Use a pastry blender or 2 butter knives to cut the butter into the oatmeal or flour mixture. Once the butter is mixed in, sprinkle the streusel topping all over the sweet potato mixture.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the mixture is bubbly. Serve warm or allow to set for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Last updated on November 18th, 2023 at 05:28 pm
Since I’m cooking Thanksgiving all by myself this year I’m thankful for these recipes! Keep them coming!
I was so glad to see this was made with pecans! I LOVE the pecan version of sweet potato casserole! Great choice!
While I don’t have a gluten allergy, I often try them out so I can recommend recipes to some of my friends that do. This sweet potato casserole will be great in the coming holiday season!
This sweet potato sounds scrumptious and so, so perfect for Thanksgiving! All the textures and creaminess, I can’t wait to dig in.
Wow, this sweet potato casserole with streusel topping looks really delicious and so easy to make. I am going to save this for my future reference, thank you!
This looks like the perfect side dish for our Thanksgiving meal this year! What a great idea to steam the sweet potatoes instead of boiling. I’m going to definitely try that! Great tip!
This looks deliciously spiced and a great holiday casserole. I’m always so thankful to see a gluten-free option, thanks for that!
This is the perfect sweet potato side dish for those family members that think they don’t like sweet potatoes! I’ll be making this soon!
Oh goodness, this strudel is incredible. I had extra sweet potatoes to use and this dish was perfect.
This sweet potato casserole sounds like it could be a dessert too. I love the pecan streusel topping. On my to make list!
I love sweet potatoes and I especially love casserole, it’s my fav! I would love to make this for me and my family tonight as it would be perfect and super delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
This sweet potato sounds wonderful and is perfect for Thanksgiving! Love the textures. I may need to double the recipe. I cannot wait to give it a try.
What a perfect sweet potatoes recipe for thanksgiving dinner. Love the combo here. Amazingly delicious.
My husband absolutely loves this sweet potato casserole recipe, especially the streusel topping! We are adding it to our Thanksgiving menu!
Such a lovely recipe and perfect for dessert and I love the others you have shared. I am printing them all for future use.