Southern Sweet Potato Casserole is a delicious dish made with creamy sweet potato filling and topped with an oat and brown sugar mixture. This dish is perfect for Sunday dinner or as a side with a beautifully roasted turkey.
You’ll find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Be sure to check out the blog post itself for extra tips and tricks!
When it comes to sweet potatoes, I have my favorite ways to make them. We like candied sweet potatoes, and we also love a good Southern sweet potato pie. But I had to share this delicious sweet potato casserole to round out our love of sweet potatoes. This will be your favorite way to make this southern-style casserole this year!
My version of sweet potato casserole is lighter and made without a marshmallow topping. It's topped with light brown sugar, melted butter, oats, and cinnamon for a wonderfully warm flavor combination. I'm just not a huge fan of marshmallows on sweet potatoes.
The best part of this southern sweet potato casserole recipe is how easy it is to make and the sweet yet comforting flavors. You won't be able to put down your fork!
♡ Tanya
A Quick Look at the Ingredients
Ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions are on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Filling:
- Sweet potatoes - I always roast my sweet potatoes before mashing them for this filling. Roasting caramelizes the natural sugars, giving this southern sweet potato casserole the best, most authentic flavor. You can boil them if you're short on time, but roasting is worth it.
- Sugar, Eggs, Butter, Heavy Cream, Vanilla extract, and salt - these ingredients round out the filling, giving it a creamy and delicious base.
For the Oat Topping:
This southern sweet potato casserole uses a traditional streusel-style topping instead of marshmallows— a classic variation that lets the sweet potato flavor shine through.
- Unsalted Butter, Light Brown Sugar, All-Purpose Flour, Oats, and Ground Cinnamon
How to make Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218°C). Wash and dry sweet potatoes. Use a fork and poke the sweet potatoes all over. Place the sweet potatoes on a lined sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until they have softened. Remove from the oven and allow the sweet potatoes to cool.
Step 2: Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and place them in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the potatoes on low speed until smooth. Add white granulated sugar, eggs, unsalted butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and kosher salt, and beat until combined, about 1-2 minutes. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and set aside. Rinse and dry the bowl of the stand mixer.
Step 3: Prepare the topping by combining cold unsalted butter, light brown sugar, all-purpose flour, old-fashioned oats, and ground cinnamon in the bowl of the stand mixer. Beat the mixture on low speed until combined, and it starts to stick together in about 1 minute.
Step 4: Break the topping into pieces and place it over the sweet potato mixture in the baking dish.
Step 5: Bake in the preheated oven for 55minutes to 1 hour, until the top is golden and the bottom is bubbly around the edges. Remove and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Tanya's Top Tips
- You can also air fry or microwave your sweet potatoes if you need them done a bit quicker. To air fry, cook them at 400° F for 35-40 minutes. To microwave, cook them for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway, until they're fork tender.
- You can combine the filling by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer using a large bowl, a potato masher, or a hand mixer. For the topping, use a pastry cutter, two butter knives, or your fingers to combine.
- Use cold unsalted butter in the oat topping. It'll allow the oat topping to be nice and crunchy, which is the perfect pair to the smooth sweet potato filling.
Variations
Here are some different options you can try when making your casserole dish.
- Add mini marshmallows for a different topping.
- Make a streusel topping with pecans or walnuts.
- Add a splash of bourbon for fun!...and taste. It's really for the flavor lol.
- Use white or purple sweet potatoes for a fun color change.
How to serve
Serve this easy sweet potato casserole with other side dishes depending on your traditions and your meal.
If you're making it for Sunday dinners, serve it with southern green beans, cornbread, or a beet and orange salad.
Pair it with candied sweet potatoes, cheesy scalloped potatoes, or soft dinner rolls to serve for special occasions.
How to store Southern-style sweet potato casserole
To refrigerate leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave in 30-second increments until warmed through, or reheat the entire casserole covered with foil at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
To make ahead: Prepare the casserole completely (up to adding the topping), but don't bake it. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. When ready to serve, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, add the oat topping, then bake as directed.
To freeze: Assemble the casserole (without topping), wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, add the topping, and bake as directed.
FAQs
Eggs bind the sweet potatoes together and provide a bit of liquid to help keep the casserole moist.
You can use canned potatoes for this recipe; fresh sweet potatoes have the best flavor and texture. If using canned, you may need to adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe.
I recommend roasting your sweet potatoes for the best results. Sweet potatoes release natural sugars when roasting, giving this dish the best flavor. If you prefer to boil your sweet potatoes, peel and chop your sweet potatoes before placing them in a pot with water that covers the potatoes by 2 inches. Boil the sweet potatoes until tender, then drain.
If you have tried this Sweet Potato Casserole recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Southern Style Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and dry sweet potatoes. Use a fork and poke the sweet potatoes all over. Place the sweet potatoes on a lined sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until the sweet potatoes have softened. Remove from the oven and allow the sweet potatoes to cool.
- Reduce the heat of the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the sweet potatoes and place the sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the potatoes on low speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar, eggs, butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and kosher salt, and beat the mixture for about 1-2 minutes until combined. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and set aside. Rinse and dry the bowl of the stand mixture.
- Next, prepare the topping by combining cold butter, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, oats, and ground cinnamon in the bowl of the stand mixture. Beat the mixture on low speed until combined, and it starts to stick together, about 1 minute. Break the topping up and place the topping over the sweet potato mixture in the baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is golden and the bottom is bubbly around the edges. Remove and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- You can also air fry or microwave your sweet potatoes if you need them done a bit quicker. To air fry, air fry on 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes. To microwave, for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway.
- You can mix the mixture by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer. For the topping, use a pastry cutter, two butter knives, or your fingers to combine the mixture.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!This post was first published on July 26, 2022. It has since been updated.
Ammie L joseph says
I have not tried the recipe as of yet. It will be one of my side dishes for the holiday. The topping is what got my attention, I'm going to add some chopped pecans to it. I will let you know how it turned out.
Tanya says
Thanks so much, Ammie! Pecans would be a great addition.
Tradisha says
I've used this recipe so many times already and love it more each time. Thank you
Tanya says
Thanks Tradisha! So happy you like the recipe 🙂