Since I’m not a huge fan of whipped sweet potatoes with marshmallow toppings, this is my favorite form of sweet potato side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. This meal is really sweet (candied), but I prefer it. Pecans and spice raise the flavor and texture to a whole new level.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 50 mins |
| Additional Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 20 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 9×13-inch casserole |
Ingredients
- 4 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Prick potatoes several times with a fork and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake potatoes in the preheated oven until you can easily pierce them halfway through with a sharp knife, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until easily handled, at least 20 minutes. Leave the oven on.
- Meanwhile, mix brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, pecans, and pumpkin pie spice for topping in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Peel the cooled sweet potatoes and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch thick slices.
- Lightly grease a 9×13-inch ceramic or glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons butter. Spread potato slices in a single layer in the dish and spoon a bit of topping over each slice. Add remaining potato slices in a second layer and sprinkle with remaining topping.
- Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until bubbly and browned, about 20 minutes. Use a serving spoon to dish this out, making sure to get to some of the sauce from the bottom for each serving.
- If you’re bringing this to a gathering, cover the baking dish after layering and go! Since you need to transport this dish, it’s better to finish it at the other end.
- You can use chopped walnuts instead of pecans.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 308 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 49 g |
| Cholesterol | 22 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 90 mg |
| Sugars | 24 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this recipe twice. I addled twice the pumpkin pie spice and zested one orange and squeezed the juice in it as well. My second one was over cooked since some stopped my timer on thanksgiving . Still great!
To save time, I steamed my sweet potato slices in the microwave. Since there are only two of us I did 1/4 of the recipe. I used walnuts instead of pecans (that was what I had), added some extra cinnamon, and cut down on the sugar. It was the perfect sweetness for us.
I cooked my sweet potatoes in the microwave rather than baking them which saved me an hour and a half of baking time. That was the only change I made. Delicious! Thank you for the recipe.