The finished casserole next to some KFF chicken, KFF mesclun mix, and homemade cranberry sauce.
The first holiday dinner I had with my husband he made his mom’s sweet potato casserole for me. To be honest, I was nervous I’d hate it, even though he swore up and down that I’d love it. Up until this point I’d really hated the sweet potatoes that would grace our table on the holidays. They were the classic type with the marshmallows on top, and it grossed me out.
I know people love it the traditional way, I get it. I love marshmallows in their proper setting but to me they just didn’t seem right on top of sweet potatoes. I remember they would just be too sweet and sticky and I dreaded when my mom would insist I just eat some, hoping probably that I would grow out of my hatred and just enjoy them already.
Well my husband made his mom’s recipe for me, and when it came out of the oven my interest was piqued. There were no marshmallows and it smelled really good. The sugary, nutty topping looked delicious. Could I possibly love this dish as much as he did? YEP!
Sweet potatoes just out of the oven.
It’s so good and since we’ve been making it together we’ve converted several other sweet potato-haters with it too. The top gets all crunchy, similar to the crust on creme brulee. The whole dish is scrumptious and now I look forward to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
The filling ready to be topped!
Mix together:
½ c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. milk
½ c. melted butter
3 c. sweet potatoes, mashed
*I like to roast my sweet potatoes in the oven, but you could also boil them until tender. When cooked, scrape out the insides into a bowl and smash them up. Spread sweet potato mixture into an 8×8 pan. Make the topping. Also, if you know your sweet potatoes are already very sweet (mine are from KFF and they are super duper sweet!) you can decrease the sugar in the filling. This time I actually only used 1/4 cup.
Topping on....now it's ready for the oven.
Topping:
1/3 c. cold butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans
Sprinkle the topping on the mashed sweet potato mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Enjoy!
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When I was a kid my family had BOTH versions at holiday gatherings – some kind of sweet potato casserole showdown. My Mom makes it with the topping that you have shared, which is my preference. I love marshmallows fire-toasted and squished between graham crackers and chocolate but not over sweet potatoes! Thanks for spreading the joy of the streusel-topped version.
You’re welcome! I love a good s’more but do want want those things on my sweet taters!
This sounds delicious!
we have started a foodie blog, you might be interested and we would love to know what you think.
http://www.tinkeringinthekitchen.com
Belle x