For as long as I can remember, Sweet Potato Casserole has been one of my favorite Thanksgiving Day side dishes. When it comes to Thanksgiving, I like the side dishes more than the turkey.
Of course, just any sweet potato casserole won’t do. Hold the marshmallows, please! Don’t come near my sweet potatoes!
When I was a little girl, mama always served Sweet Potato Casserole on Thanksgiving and other special occasions. When I would eat this casserole, I thought I was getting to eat dessert as part of my meal.
The creamy sweet goodness of the potatoes combined with the sweet, buttery crunch of the topping – I’m in hog heaven (as grandpa used to say)!
Now that I’m wiser, my very favorite Thanksgiving side dish is much too sweet for my taste.
So I created my lightened-up sweet potatoes! For me, it has just the right amount of sweetness, crunch, and creaminess. It’s a hit!
My mouth is watering as I write this post! Maybe I need to make Lightened Up Sweet Potato Casserole tonight and not wait until Thanksgiving.
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Sweet Potato Casserole
- cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
- melted butter
- 1 beaten egg
- milk
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
Topping:
- brown sugar
- softened butter
- chopped pecans
- all-purpose flour
Favorite Sweet Potato Casserole
I like to bake the sweet potatoes for this recipe. Wash and dry the potatoes, pierce a few times with a fork and bake, unwrapped, at 400º for about 45-50 minutes or until tender.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, butter, egg, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour into a greased casserole dish.
Mix the topping ingredients together and spoon over the potato mixture. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes.
Sweet Potato Casserole
This Sweet Potato Casserole is a lighter version of my favorite casserole. The pecan topping is crunchy and the sweet potatoes are tender and flavorful with just the right amount of sweetness.
Ingredients
- 3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Topping:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup flour
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, melted butter, egg, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Pour into a greased 8" square baking dish.
- Combine the topping ingredients and spread evenly over the potato mixture.
- Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 358Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 55mgSodium 139mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 3gSugar 29gProtein 4g
I also mix up the topping and place it in a ziplock bag and store it right beside the sweet potato mixture in the fridge.
On Thanksgiving Day, I remove the casserole and topping mixture about 30 minutes before baking. Top the casserole with the topping mixture right before baking.
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19 comments
A sweet potato casserole? WOW. That sounds so good. I have never had one before, but I am totally making one for Thanksgiving!
This recipe looks and sounds delicious. I really like that it’s a lighter, better for you option than the traditional sweet potato casserole.
I will be making this! I absolutely LOVE sweet potato casserole. I pig out on the one at Golden Corral. I really need to try and make it on my own.
One year I made Ruth Chris style sweet potatoes with the sugar/nut topping. It was so rich we couldn’t eat it. I love this version!
This is definitely something I need to make. I’ve been looking for a little bit lighter meals for Thanksgiving this year and this would be wonderful to add to it.
Always nice to lighten up a dish whenever we can. Sweet potatoes is the perfect dish to lighten up. Makes up for some of the heavier dishes we will be eating.
We love making a sweet potato casserole for the holidays! We like to make our own cranberry sauce and pour some on top!
Yum! I’ve never thought of that.
Sweet potato casserole is a must at our Thanksgiving dinner. That tip to prepare and store in the fridge overnight gives the flavors time to marinate and let’s that brown sugar and butter seep deep into those sweet potatoes. Yummy!
I love how you prepared the sweet potato, I would love to try that! The pecan is a great addition to it.
Sweet potato casserole is one of my favorite meals of the holiday season. It sounds like there are smart ways to make it lighter. I’ll totally try some of these swaps!
Sweet potatoes aren’t my favorite so I rarely make them. Hubby loves them though, and I know he would definitely enjoy this casserole.
I love sweet potato casserole. I have never tried making a lightened up version of it before.
I feel the same, I like the turkey but my favorite is all the sides lol. I love sweet potato casserole but like your recipe better. I will have to try it this way this year.
This looks tasty. We like traditional sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top but this sounds great.
I’m really liking this as a potential dish to go along with Thanksgiving dinner. The topping sounds awesome!
Does that say sweet potato casserole?! Count me in! I love sweet potatoes! It looks great.
Sweet potato casserole is my absolute FAVORITE thing about Thanksgiving dinner. Yours looks much lighter than mine…maybe I will try your recipe this year.
I love sweet potato! I only boiled it and dip into brown sugar and I am glad learning something new and a different recipe for sweet potatoes! Excited to try it.