Easy Sweet Potato Casserole (With Canned Yams)

Nothing beats a warm, sweet potato casserole served as part of the main meal. In my family, my mom believed that sweet potato pie wasn’t a dessert, rather, it was a side dish that was on our holiday tables all year long. This version has a sweet and crunchy nut topping without a marshmallow in sight. Made with pantry ingredients, you'll be making this from Thanksgiving to Passover and beyond.

What makes this dish special is just how easy it is. No pie crust to roll out, no blind baking—just a creamy filling and a tasty topping that comes together in no time. If you love my sweet and spicy sweet potatoes or my mashed potato puffs, you’ll find this recipe just as easy and delicious.

Ingredients

• Canned Sweet Potatoes: One of the reasons this recipe is so simple is that you can start with a can of already cooked sweet potatoes instead of using fresh sweet potatoes. I like to use either Bruce’s Yam or Princella Cut Sweet Potatoes that both come in a 40 oz can and make this recipe a breeze to put together. 
• Flour: I use King Arthur All Purpose Flour, but a gluten free flour 1:1 substitute would work as well. For Passover cooking, I substitute with matzo cake meal.
• Milk: You an use dairy or plant based milk.

Step by step directions

Start by preparing an 8" springform pan by spraying it liberally with cooking spray and wrapping the bottom in aluminum foil. This will prevent any of the sweet potato pie mixture from leaking onto your oven and making a giant mess!

Now for the easy part. In a blender or large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, combine drained canned sweet potatoes, sugar, almond milk, vanilla extract and large eggs. Pour the smooth sweet potato filling mixture into the prepared springform pan.

Then, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, pecans and butter.

Once combined, spread evenly on top of sweet potato mixture.

Place the springform pan on a baking sheet and bake at 400 ℉ until the middle is set. If it’s getting too dark on the top, but middle is not yet set, lightly cover the whole thing with aluminum foil.

When the center of the pie is no longer "jiggly", remove it from the oven and let it cool for about an hour before cutting and serving.

Serving Suggestions

Here are some menu suggestions that all include this sweet potato pie as part of the main meal. Hope it helps keep things simple for you!

• For Thanksgiving: Along with the turkey, you'll find this easy sweet potato pie, dinner rolls, a big platter of roasted vegetables, a crunchy salad of some sort and a challah stuffing.
• For Hanukkah: For a meat meal, serve this with your favorite brisket recipe, a pile of homemade potato latkes and roasted baby carrots. If you want to go dairy, serve with the best noodle kugel, tuna fish and potato bourekas.
• For Passover Seder: We like to mix things up and serve salmon at our 2nd night seder and this sweet potato casserole is a perfect accompaniment with roasted broccoli and farfel muffins.

Variations & Substitutions

If you want to turn the sweet potato pie into dessert than rather than a side dish, try adding sweetened coconut flakes to the topping. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip for a delectable treat.

• To make it dairy-free you can easily substitute the butter for margarine or other plant based butter substitute (like Country Crock, Betterine, Earth Balance).  And, while the recipe is written with almond milk, soy milk or non-dairy creamer are other good alternatives.
• Make it gluten free by substituting the flour in the topping for a gluten free alternative.  I would use either King Arthurs Gluten Free Flour Mix or Trader Joes’ all purpose gluten-free baking mix. 
• Make it nut free by substituting the almond milk for soy or dairy milk and swapping the pecans for oats.  You’ll need to up the amount of oats, a bit, but you’ll still get a delicious topping for this dish.

Make Ahead Tips

Luckily, this is a great dish to make ahead and store in the refrigerator or make in advance and freeze.  

• To freeze: Bake the sweet potato pie all the way through, and then let it cool completely. Wrap well in layers of plastic wrap and then top with foil for best results and then put into the freezer. Sweet potato pie freezes well up to three months.
• To make a day in advance: Follow the recipe as directed and let cool. Cover well and refrigerate once cooled completely. Before serving, bring to room temperature on the counter and then reheat on 300℉ for about 20 minutes. You don't want to dry it out, just warm it up.

If you are making this far in advance, I would consider doubling the recipe and baking it in an disposable aluminum pan, so you can go straight from oven to freezer without tying up your baking dishes for too long. The ingredient amounts for a doubled recipe are in the notes section of the recipe.

Storing Leftovers

While there rarely are leftovers of this delicious sweet potato pie in our house, you may want to save a piece or two for another day. Simply cut the pie up and store in an airtight container.

When you are ready to eat the leftovers, pop into the microwave for about 30 seconds and enjoy.

More Easy Holiday Side Dishes

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