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Southern Sweet Potato Pie

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This Southern Sweet Potato Pie is the perfect fall and Thanksgiving dessert to make and share with family and friends. Easy to make with simple ingredients, it’s the perfect make-ahead sweet treat!

southern sweet potato pie on white plate with pie in background


 

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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the 
recipe card at the bottom of the post. 
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.

I love the flavors of fall, lots of warming spices come into play and my thoughts always turn to delicious sweet pies. A traditional Southern sweet potato pie is one of my favorite fall desserts.

The sweet potato filling in this easy sweet potato pie is silky smooth. When it’s topped with some whipped cream I’m in heaven! You can make your own pastry crust, but if pushed for time a store bought pastry crust will work just fine.

It’s one of my preferred Holiday pies and lucky for me, my kids love it too. So I always end up making this pie most often around the Holidays. This has become my best sweet potato pie recipe and is enjoyed by everyone I serve it up to.

This is a great pie to serve up for Thanksgiving or Christmas along with my Simple Pumpkin Cake! However, it also makes a great weekend treat any weekend during fall, with my family and friends.

Ingredients

  • Pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
  • Sweet potatoes – prefer to roast my sweet potatoes in the skin and then peel them for this recipe. Some have boiled it and had great results.
  • Butter – adds richness and flavor to the pie. I use unsalted butter.
  • Light brown sugar – this adds an incredible depth of flavor to this pie.
  • Large Eggs, Evaporated Milk, and Vanilla Extract
  • Spices Ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and salt

How To Make Southern Sweet Potato Pie

The mashed sweet potatoes in a bowl
  • Add remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth and combined.
Whisking together the ingredients for the filling
  • Pour in prepared pie crust. You can see my crust broke a little, lol. It was still mighty good though.
The pie filling in the crust
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes until pie is set in the middle.
The baked sweet potato pie

Can you make Sweet Potato Pie ahead of time?

Yes! This is the perfect make-ahead dessert. In fact, you want to let the pie sit for at least an hour before serving it. Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, cover it loosely with plastic wrap of foil and it will keep well for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Can you freeze Sweet Potato Pie?

If you are super organized and planning ahead, then you can freeze the pie. It’s best to freeze the pie before you bake it or it can become soggy once thawed.

Place the filling in the crust and then wrap securely in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Defrost the pie in the fridge overnight before baking. The pie will keep well frozen for up to 3 months.

A slice of southern sweet potato pie served on a white plate

Recipe Notes and Tips

  • Take the butter out of the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to bake. This allows the butter to soften, making it easier to incorporate into the other ingredients.
  • Sweet potato pie is best when it has cooled, so wait to serve it.
  • The best sweet potato pie is made at least a day ahead and chilled. Remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.
  • Don’t boil the sweet potatoes or they will take on too much liquid and the filling will be soggy.

More Easy Dessert Recipes

If you’re looking for more delicious sweet potato recipes, try my candied sweet potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes recipes.

Watch this video tutorial and see how I make this sweet potato pie from start to finish.

FAQs:

Is sweet potato pie good for you?

As with any sweet dessert, there is sugar in this pie, however, this is not a heavily sugar laden pie. Sweet potato is a healthy, nutrient-rich vegetable that is full of fiber, so a better sweet pie option than fruit-based pies. As with all things, a sweet treat now and again will do no harm.

What does sweet potato pie taste like?

Sweet potato pie has a lovely creamy texture and as it uses similar spices of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, is not dissimilar to a pumpkin pie.

What’s the difference between sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie?

The flavors in both of these traditional Thanksgiving pies are similar, but sweet potato pie is less dense and more light and airy. It’s sweeter and more creamy and I find it much richer in flavor.

How do you know when sweet potato pie is done?

The pie is cooked when the pie filling has set and is no longer liquid. You can check but inserting a toothpick into the filling, if cooked it will come out clean.

Should sweet potato pie be served hot or cold?

You can serve this pie warm at room temperature, or chill it in the fridge. It is entirely down to personal taste.

What causes a sweet potato pie to crack?

Over-baking the pie is the main cause of the filling cracking. Cook until the filling is just set.

How do I get the strings out of sweet potato pie?

Whether or not you have strings in your sweet potatoes will depend on the growing conditions of your sweet potatoes. If the soil is too fertile, you’ll get stringy sweet potatoes. Try to purchase short plump sweet potatoes to avoid stringiness. If you need to get rid of strings, pulse the sweet potatoes in a food processor after baking them.

If you have tried to make this delicious Southern Sweet Potato Pie, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!

sweet potato pie on a plate
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4.74 from 93 votes

Southern Sweet Potato Pie

This Southern Sweet Potato Pie is the perfect fall and Thanksgiving dessert to make and share with family and friends. Easy to make with simple ingredients, it's the perfect make ahead sweet treat!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword southern sweet potato pie, sweet potato pie recipe, thanksgiving pies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 340kcal
Author Tanya

Ingredients

  • 9- inch pie crust store-bought or homemade
  • 1.5 lbs sweet potato about 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • ¼ cup butter softened
  • ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • ½ cup evaporated milk
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes:

  • Air fryer – 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes.
  • Oven – 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-50 minutes.
  • Microwave – prick potatoes all over, microwave for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway.

Make the pie

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Peel the sweet potatoes and mash them in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth and combined. Pour in prepared pie pan.
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes until pie is set in the middle. Remove and allow to cool for at least 1 hour.

Video

Notes

  • Prepare pie crust according to your recipe or package directions.
  • Sweet Potato Pie is best when it has cooled, so wait to serve it.
  • The best sweet potato pie is made at least a day ahead and chilled. Remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.
  • Don’t boil the sweet potatoes or they will take on too much liquid and the filling will be soggy.

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 295mg | Potassium: 398mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 12341IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 1mg
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Although myforkinglife.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will myforkinglife.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.

This post was originally published on 8/17/2020. It has been updated with additional helpful tips.

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Recipe Rating




Robin

Friday 29th of December 2023

Omg ! I’ve tried an online recipes and this is by far the best one ! The secret ingredient is def the ginger ! I doubled the portion and cut back on the sugar when doing so. I only had dark brown sugar and it worked . I did a few more dashes of the spices , to taste. Other than that i tried to follow your recipe to the T. It’s perfect . Thanks for sharing

Tanya

Tuesday 2nd of January 2024

Thanks so much, Robin!

Karren

Wednesday 20th of December 2023

Can I freeze the pie filling and then defrost and pour into pie shell when ready to bake?

Thanks

Tanya

Thursday 21st of December 2023

Hi Karren, Yes, that would work fine.

Terry D

Monday 4th of December 2023

Instructions state: #3 oven 425 but # 5 says preheat 375. Do you preheat to 375 then turn up to bake at 425?

Tanya

Tuesday 5th of December 2023

Hi Terry D., the #3 is referring to baking the sweet potato before removing the skin and mashing them to add to the pie. Then you will want to preheat your oven to 375 degrees F to bake the pie.

Jody

Sunday 26th of November 2023

First time I ever made or ate sweet potato pie. This was really good and I’m so glad I tried it.

Tanya

Sunday 26th of November 2023

Thanks so much, Jody! So happy the pie worked out for you.

Jessica

Thursday 23rd of November 2023

I’m first time making sweet potato pie. It’s one of my son’s favorite. I wanted to surprise him for thanksgiving today. I made two so I could taste test one. Wow! Absolutely love it. Definitely going to be on the repeat list. Thank you.