Sweet Potato Souffle
This Sweet Potato Souffle recipe, topped with a crunchy pecan and brown sugar streusel, is lush and luxurious yet so easy! It’s the perfect addition to your holiday table! Best of all, it can be made two days ahead of time!
“Of all the sides at our Thanksgiving meal, this was by far the hands-down favorite.“
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
(Short blogger story 🙂 )
With our kids getting older and their families expanding, Thanksgiving became something we had to “schedule.” So that my husband and I weren’t alone if the kids were at another branch of their family, our dear friends Bill and Jo would have us over.
That’s where I met Jeannie, Bill’s sister, and Jo’s sister-in-law. She loved to cook as much as I did, Jean is my middle name, so we hit it off immediately.
Jeannie’s Sweet Potato Souffle recipe was one of the time-honored dishes that was always on their Thanksgiving table. I had never had a sweet potato souffle until Thanksgiving at their house, and after trying it, I was in love.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to know Jeanne better as she passed away from breast cancer in May of 2009. Jo gave me her sweet potato souffle recipe, so I continued to make it for our annual Thanksgiving get-together in her honor. Hope you enjoy it!
Jeannie….
Here’s how to make this Sweet Potato Souffle!
How to Make a Sweet Potato Souffle:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this sweet potato souffle recipe, along with how to prep the ingredients. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Sweet Potatoes: I highly recommend using fresh sweet potatoes. If you need to use canned, 6 to 8 canned sweet potatoes are the equivalent of approximately 4 medium fresh sweet potatoes. This recipe for sweet potato souffle requires 6 to 7 fresh sweet potatoes so you’d need 10 to 12 canned sweet potatoes.
- Butter: I always use unsalted butter in cooking so I can adjust the salt level in the dish myself.
- Self-Rising Flour: Use it if you have it, but if you don’t, add a pinch of baking powder to regular all-purpose flour.
- Vanilla, Almond and Coconut Extracts: I gasped a bit when I saw the combination of flavorings and extracts but after baking, they all sing together! If you’re concerned, use 1 teaspoon of vanilla and cut back on the almond and coconut extracts to 1/2 teaspoon each.
- Sugar: Jeannie’s recipe calls for a cup of sugar, but you can easily cut that back to 3/4 cup.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a 2-quart baking dish. Set aside.
- Cook the peeled potatoes in salted water to cover until fork-tender, approximately 20-25 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a large bowl. (I do this over the pot of potatoes as they’re boiling. However, be careful not to let the potatoes boil over; remove the butter as soon as it’s melted.)
- Drain the potatoes well.
- Process the potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer INTO the melted butter. Work quickly so the potatoes don’t cool, and you end up with firm “riced” potatoes.
- Stir to blend until smooth.
- Beat the eggs then whisk in the sugar, milk, flour, extracts and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth.
- Add to bowl with potatoes and butter and stir well to combine.
- Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Combine pecans, brown sugar, flour, and butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the souffle.
- MAKE AHEAD: Assemble up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerate until needed. Leave the topping off, then sprinkle that over the top right before baking. Let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.
- Bake the sweet potato souffle for 1 hour or until fluffy and heated through in the center to 165 degrees.
- Place a loose piece of aluminum foil over the top if the pecans start to get too brown.
- Serve immediately.
- Beautiful!!
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- When melting butter for this sweet potato souffle recipe or mashed potatoes, I place the butter in a large stainless steel bowl and melt the butter over the pot of potatoes as they’re boiling. However, remove the butter as soon as it’s melted so the pot does not boil over.
- As with my Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes, I like to add the potatoes directly to the melted butter. Sweet potatoes are not as starchy as regular potatoes, where the butter is needed to coat the starch granules, but this helps to distribute the butter more evenly throughout the sweet potato souffle.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Not much. Sweet potato casserole and souffle are often used interchangeably. This recipe calls for more eggs than a standard sweet potato casserole so I’m being fancy and calling it a souffle!
Definitely! Assemble this sweet potato souffle up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerate until needed. Leave the topping off then sprinkle that over the top right before baking. Let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. You never want to put a cold baking dish into a hot oven.
Yes, but I highly recommend using fresh sweet potatoes. They’ll taste better, and they’re more budget-friendly. If you need to use canned instead of fresh for any recipe, 6 to 8 canned sweet potatoes are the equivalent of approximately 4 medium fresh sweet potatoes.
For more lovely recipes for your holiday table, try my:
- Sweet Potato Galette with Pecan Streusel Topping
- Roasted Beet Salad with Walnuts, Goat Cheese and Honey Balsamic Dressing
- Sausage Stuffing with Fennel and Leeks
- Cheesy Brussels Sprouts and Wild Rice Casserole
- Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes (Mashed Potato Casserole)
- Bourbon-Glazed Carrots with Honey
- Cheesy Green Bean Casserole (No Mushrooms)
More sweet potato recipes you’ll love!
- Mexican Sweet Potato Wedges with Avocado Cilantro Sour Cream
- Vegetarian Sheet Pan Quesadillas
- Sweet Potato Latkes with Gochujang Mayonnaise
- Thai Red Curry Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes
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Sweet Potato Souffle
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Ingredients
- Butter or cooking spray - for baking dish
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes - (6-7 medium), peeled and cubed
- Salt - for cooking potatoes plus 1/4 teaspoon
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs - beaten
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons self-rising flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
Topping
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a 2-quart baking dish. Set aside.
- Cook sweet potatoes in salted water to cover until fork-tender, approximately 20-25 minutes.
- Melt butter in a large bowl. (I do this over the pot of potatoes as they're boiling. Be careful to not let the potatoes boil over; remove the butter as soon as it's melted.)
- Drain well, then process the potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer INTO the melted butter. Stir to blend.
- Beat the eggs then whisk in the sugar, milk, flour, extracts and 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Add to bowl with potatoes and butter and stir well to combine.
- Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Bake for 1 hour or until fluffy and heated through in the center to 165 degrees. Place a loose piece of aluminum foil over the top if the pecans start to get too brown. Serve immediately.
Topping
- Combine pecans, brown sugar, flour and butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the souffle.
Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Hi Carol, I’ve made sweet potato souffles before and they came out runny. I did a test run of this recipe (my first time making it) and it was absolutely delicious. However, how can I make sure that it isn’t runny next time? Thank you!
Hi, Lin, Thanks so much for your question. This is a tried-and-true recipe that has been a Thanksgiving tradition in my friend’s family for years. I’ve also made it numerous times and never experienced it being runny. After boiling and draining the sweet potatoes, you can place them back on the hot burner (not a burner that’s on) for a bit so any residual water evaporates. The flour in the recipe helps hold it together, too. Just make sure it’s baked all the way through and you should be good to go! If it worked before then you’ll be okay. Thanks again!
I love this recipe, it looks amazing! Can it be made with yams instead of sweet potatoes? A local farmer gave me 25 pounds of them and I’d like to make the casserole using them if possible.
Hi, Dennis, Thanks so very much! Great question, but I would not advise using them for this recipe. Yams are more starchy than sweet potatoes, not as sweet so they’re better used like regular potatoes. I would suggest my Mashed Potato Casserole instead. Thanks again!
I have been seeing this all over Facebook and everything I see it I get hungry! What a beautiful Thanksgiving dish to pass! Recipes from family and friends are the best!
Thanks, Jessy! It holds a special place in our hearts.
Hi! Is there a way to get the same/similar texture of the potatoes without using a food mill or potato ricer, or is this the only way and I should add one to my wish list? Thanks!
Hi, Tracy, Thanks for your question. Food mills and potato ricers really do come in handy and you’ll get a lovely, smooth texture. However, a friend of mine who makes this recipe every Thanksgiving in honor of her sister-in-law uses a hand mixer. Thanks again and hope you enjoy!
this looks scrumptious and worth to try. Love the recipe. Pinned it!
Thanks, Citra!
As a breast cancer survivor, four years, thank you for reminding everyone to have their mammograms.
Thanks so much, Judith!
The souffle looks wonderful, Carol. We used to make something similar years ago and then we kind of graduated to a Southwestern flavored Thanksgiving and we added bacon and chipotle powder to the sweet potatoes — quite yummy if you like sweet and savory. Jeannie’s souffle is a great standard everyone should have in their recipe book.
Thanks, Marisa! You’re right and folks who haven’t tried a sweet potato souffle/casserole need to!
Beautiful! Thank you, Carol! We can’t get enough of this traditional souffle! Reheats great and my family doesn’t like leftovers.
Thanks, Jo! Love you guys!