This old-fashioned sweet potato casserole recipe, with a brown sugar and pecan topping, is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish! This easy recipe is perfect to make ahead for a family dinner.
Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into 1" chunks. Place in a microwave-safe baking dish with ¼ cup water, cover, and microwave for 10-12 minutes, until fork-tender. Allow steamed sweet potatoes to cool and drain any remaining liquids before proceeding.
In a large bowl, mash sweet potato chunks with a potato masher until pureed to desired consistency. To the mashed sweet potatoes, add ½ stick butter, half and half, eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Mix well.
Pour sweet potato mixture into a large baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
For the Brown Sugar and Pecan Topping
Melt ½ stick butter in the microwave. Stir all remaining ingredients together until mixture is combined and slightly lumpy. Sprinkle casserole with crumble.
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350° until brown sugar and pecan topping starts to brown.
Notes
If you would like to make this recipe with canned yams instead of fresh sweet potatoes, that is an option! Use 2 15oz cans of yams in syrup and drain the excess syrup off of the yams before using in the recipe. If you use canned yams, omit half a cup of brown sugar from the sweet potato mixture.