Servings: 8 to 10
Prep Time: 20 Minutes • Cook Time: 2 Hours • Total Time: 2 Hours, 20 Minutes
Fluffy and flavored with brown sugar and autumn spices — this is a wonderful Southern sweet potato pie. Many sweet potato pie recipes call for boiling the sweet potatoes but in this recipe they are roasted. Roasting takes a bit longer but is completely hands-off, and you don’t have to worry about peeling or slicing them.
This recipe calls for a store-bought frozen crust, which works perfectly well, but you can use a homemade pie shell as well. The flavor of this pie improves over time, so go ahead and make it a few days ahead.
Shopping List
For the Pie
- 2 large sweet potatoes (about 2¼ pounds)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 9-inch deep-dish frozen pie crust (no need to thaw) or homemade pie crust
For the Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
How to Make a Southern-Style Sweet Potato Pie
- Heat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Poke each sweet potato with a fork five or six times and place on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until very tender, about 1 hour. Let cool, then scoop the pulp out of the skins into a medium bowl. Using a potato masher or fork, mash until smooth.
- Follow the instructions on the package (or homemade recipe) for blind baking the crust.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until the mixture is moistened and crumbly, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg and yolks, one at a time, until the mixture is creamy and smooth, a few minutes. Add the vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger; beat until just combined. Add 1¾ cups of the mashed sweet potatoes (use any remaining sweet potatoes for another purpose or discard) and mix until incorporated. Finally, add the evaporated milk and mix on low speed to combine. Don’t worry if the mixture has a grainy or slightly curdled appearance; that’s normal.
- Pour the sweet potato filling into the pie crust and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Place the pie on a baking sheet (for ease of moving the pie in and out of the oven) and bake until the filling is set, 55 to 60 minutes. Set the pie on the counter and let cool completely before slicing, 2 to 3 hours. Before serving, slice the pie into wedges and top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.
- For the Whipped Cream: Up to 3 hours before serving, whip the cream on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the confectioners’ sugar. Continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Make-ahead Instructions: The pie can be made up to two days in advance, covered with plastic wrap, and stored in the refrigerator. Let the pie sit out on the counter for a few hours to come to room temperature before serving.
Freezer-friendly Instructions: The baked pie can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Top photo courtesy Once Upon a Chef.
