Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping

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My Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping is a classic side dish for Thanksgiving! Featuring a crumble topping made with old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, and chopped pecans, it’s a fun twist on a classic. Instructions for using marshmallows too!

overhead: my sweet potato casserole with streusel topping in a glass dish on a countertop with a towel

Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping

How many of you are going to be hosting Thanksgiving this year? I am hoping to supply you with a few staple recipes and a how-to guide to help ease some of the stress it takes when planning for a big holiday meal. So first up is my sweet potato casserole with streusel topping!

How many of you prefer sweet potato streusel instead of marshmallows? I could eat it either way. Growing up, we would always have it with ‘mallows — I started making it with a streusel topping just a few years ago.

I also discovered a much more flavorful way to make this classic side dish: you have to bake the potatoes not boil or microwave them. Trust me guys, it makes all the difference!

Baking the sweet potatoes actually makes them sweeter so you don’t have to add too much extra sugar to it! It also intensifies the flavor of the sweet spuds, so the casserole actually tastes like sweet potatoes. Baking does take a bit of extra time, but you can do it up to 2 days in advance.

A holiday meal side that can be prepped ahead of time? Sign me up!

Some of my other Thanksgiving dishes to try include my Homemade Green Bean Casserole, Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce, and Homemade Turkey Gravy!

Why You’ll Love Sweet Potato Streusel Casserole

  • Easy to make
  • Baked in 25 minutes
  • Lighter than marshmallows but still just as delish
  • Perfect for entertaining
  • A fun twist to a nostalgic dish
  • Family-friendly — and kid-approved!
closeup: a wooden spoonful of sweet potato streusel casserole with pecans and oats showing

Key Ingredients to Make Sweet Potato Casserole with Crumble Topping

  • SWEET POTATOES – Remember, these need to be baked, cooled, and scraped out of their skins! Believe me, the extra effort and time is so worth it.
  • MILK – For the sweet potato filling. You could also use half-and-half instead.
  • BUTTER – Must be melted before you add it to the other filling ingredients! I like unsalted butter here to keep the sodium content down.
  • EGGS – You’ll need 2 to bind the filling together and provide structure to your sweet potato casserole with streusel topping.
  • BROWN SUGAR – For sweetness! I use less than most recipes because I find the spuds themselves to be very sweet after roasting. Plus, you’ll add more sugar to the topping too.
  • VANILLA – For a touch of warm and earthy flavor! It pairs so well with the streusel crumble.
  • STREUSEL TOPPING – Comes together with all-purpose flour, old-fashioned oats, dark brown sugar, a pinch of salt, butter, and pecans.

Instructions to Make Streusel Topped Sweet Potato Casserole

RECIPE PREP: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease your baking dish of choice.

PREPARE THE FILLING: Combine the cooked sweet potatoes, milk, butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl, then spread the mixture into your prepared pan.

MAKE THE TOPPING: Add the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the melted butter and pecans, then sprinkle over the casserole.

BAKE: Place your streusel sweet potato casserole in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!

a serving of sweet potato casserole with crumble topping on a white plate

FAQ

Should the streusel topping be added before or after baking?

You should add the sweet potato casserole crumble topping before you bake so that it crisps up nicely!

What is streusel topping made of?

All streusel topping recipes are slightly different — my sweet potato casserole crumble topping is made with flour, brown sugar, melted butter, old-fashioned oats, and chopped pecans.

What is the difference between sweet potato casserole and candied yams?

They are two totally different dishes made with different ingredients! Sweet potatoes are orange and are often sweeter and creamier compared to yams, which are white and starchy. Sweet potato casserole is made with mashed sweet spuds, sugar, milk, butter, and eggs and then topped with streusel or marshmallows before being baked. Candied yams are sliced yams cooked in a “candied” mixture of butter and sugar on the stovetop.

Why does sweet potato casserole get watery?

Your sweet potato casserole with streusel topping could get watery if you use boiled sweet potatoes! This is just another reason to bake them first instead.

Streusel Sweet Potato Casserole Pro Tips

  • When choosing sweet potatoes, don’t automatically reach for the biggest one. Smaller ones will bake much quicker! Try to choose potatoes that are roughly the same size and also uniform in shape so they will cook evenly.
  • Equipment options: You can use a deep dish pie pan, 10-inch cast iron skillet, or 9×9 inch baking dish to make sweet potato casserole with streusel topping.
  • To bake sweet potatoes: Pierce several times, then place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until soft. Slice to open and let cool slightly before scooping out the pulp.
  • Baking the potatoes will make this dish naturally sweet, so I greatly reduced the amount of sugar. Taste them and if you find them bland, you can always add in more sugar. You may even find them sweet enough to completely leave the sugar out!
  • You can make sweet potato streusel in advance by baking the sweet potatoes and scraping out the pulp into a container. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Or mix up the sweet potato filling and place it into your desired baking dish, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring this out of the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking. You can also make the streusel and store it separately in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bring the streusel to room temp before topping the casserole.
  • If you are serving this on Thanksgiving with several other side dishes, my streusel topped sweet potato casserole will be enough to serve 10-12 guests.
  • You may choose to add cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice too. I didn’t because I wanted to keep this dish more on the savory side instead of like a dessert.
  • You can also top this with marshmallows instead of the streusel topping, or top the casserole with both toppings and bake as directed. The choice is yours.
  • As a note, this dish is great any time of the year, not just at Thanksgiving!

More Sweet Potato Recipes To Try

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think about my sweet potato streusel casserole!

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This Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping is a classic Thanksgiving side dish! It's also great with marshmallows!

Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: classic sweet potato casserole, sweet potato casserole with streusel
My Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping is a classic side dish for Thanksgiving! Featuring a crumble topping made with old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, and chopped pecans, it's a fun twist on a classic. Instructions for using marshmallows too!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Author: Malinda Linnebur
Print Recipe Save Recipe

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Filling

  • 4 pounds (1890g) sweet potatoes, baked and scraped from skins
  • ¾ cup (175ml) milk or half and half
  • ¼ cup (56g) butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • ¼ cup (45g) packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Streusel Topping

  • cup (44g) all purpose flour
  • cup (35g) old fashioned oats
  • ¼ cup (45g) packed dark brown sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup (56g) butter, melted
  • ½ cup (54g) chopped pecans

Instructions

Sweet Potato Filling

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a deep dish pie pan, 10-inch cast iron skillet, or 9×9 inch baking dish and set aside.
  • In a large bowl combine the cooked sweet potatoes, milk, butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix well to combine. Spread into prepared pan. Set aside.

Streusel Topping

  • In a small bowl combine all the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt. Stir in the butter and pecans.

Baking

  • Sprinkle the streusel over the casserole. Bake for 25 minutes or until heated through.  

12 thoughts on “Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping”

  1. 5 stars
    I’m making this for Christmas dinner. My niece is newly diagnosed with celiac disease but I’m not sure how gluten free flour & oats will change the topping since I’ve never used GF ingredients. I’ll let you know how it comes out.

    Reply
    • Hi!! I don’t think it will really change the topping very much. I have a really good friend who has children with Celiac and she uses Better Batter, Namaste, and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flours. She orders them online and she gets the ones that say 1:1 gluten free flour. She finds these give the best results to “mimic” all purpose flour. Hope this helps a little and feel free to ask any questions!!

      Reply
  2. Thanks for the tip of baking the sweet potatoes instead of boiling. They do taste sweeter baked, but I had not tho;ught about baking them to use in recipes.

    Reply

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