A holiday dinner table isn't complete without a Sweet Potato Casserole. This recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnuts starts with a layer of velvety soufflé-like mashed sweet potatoes, and ends with crunchy, streusel, walnut topping.
This classic Thanksgiving comfort food recipe is a rich, dessert-like side dish that is easy to make and only LOOKS like you spent hours in the kitchen making it!
The sweet potatoes cook down to a creamy, dessert like texture and the walnut crumble topping is buttery, crunchy, sweet and absolutely impossible to stop eating!
This nostalgic Thanksgiving recipe pairs really well with Air Fryer Turkey Tenderloin and my Classic Brioche Stuffing.
If you're looking for a lighter sweet potato side dish, then you also need to make Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts.
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Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes - Sweet potatoes, not to be confused with yams, have a reddish colored skin and always look a little beat up. They are a larger variety of potato and seem to all be shaped differently! I've never found two sweet potatoes that look exactly the same.
- Eggs - You will need 3 eggs to make this sweet potato casserole.
- White sugar - Any type of white sugar will work. You can use regular, granulated sugar or cane sugar.
- Butter - I used salted butter. If you use unsalted butter you may need to increase the amount of salt you add to this recipe.
- Vanilla extract - Did you know you can make your own vanilla extract? I first learned about making my own vanilla extract from 100 Days of Real Food. Homemade vanilla extract is an excellent Christmas gift!
- Kosher Salt - Kosher salt is a course salt that cannot be substituted in a 1:1 ratio with regular table sale.
- Heavy cream - If you can't find heavy cream, you can use heavy whipping cream instead. The difference between heavy cream and heavy whipping cream is fat content. Heavy cream has slightly more fat. Heavy cream is preferred for sauce making. They can be used interchangeably in this recipe. Whole milk would also be a good substitute.
- Brown sugar - Brown sugar is made by adding molasses to white sugar. You could use either light or dark brown sugar. The brown sugar is used to make the streusel topping.
- Flour - I used a regular, all-purpose flour. The flour is used in the streusel topping. If you would like to make this recipe gluten free, just use an all-purpose gluten free flour!
- Walnuts - Save yourself a little time and purchase walnuts that are already chopped.
Equipment needed
- Stock pot - You'll need an extra large stock pot or soup pot to boil the sweet potatoes.
- Casserole dish - You'll be cooking your sweet potato casserole in this dish!
- 2 small mixing bowls - One bowl is needed to mix some of your liquid ingredients. The second bowl is needed to mix your streusel.
- Vegetable peeler - A vegetable peeler is used to peel the sweet potatoes. If you don't have a peeler, a sharp paring knife will work.
- Immersion blender or potato masher - I prefer to mash my sweet potatoes using an immersion blender. You can also use a potato masher.
- Cutting board and chopping knife
- Measuring cups and spoons
How to make Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnuts
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Bring a large stock pot filled with water to a boil. Add the peeled and chopped sweet potatoes to the boiling water and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the water and mash the sweet potatoes using a potato masher or an immersion blender.
Step 2: Mix the eggs, white sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, heavy cream and salt in a small mixing bowl.
Step 3: Make the streusel topping by mashing the softened butter, brown sugar, flour and walnuts together in a separate mixing bowl. The easiest way to mash the topping together is to use the back of a large fork. You can also just use your hands!
Work the crumble topping ingredients together until they form course, pea-sized crumbs.
Step 4: Pour the egg mixture into the mashed sweet potatoes and mix together.
Step 5: Transfer the sweet potato mixture to the casserole dish and spread it out evenly.
Step 6: Top the sweet potato mash with the streusel topping. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve to your Thanksgiving dinner guests!
This recipe is so delicious you could serve it for dessert! I've always wondered why this is a side dish recipe when it's sweet enough to be an after dinner treat.
Recipe serving suggestions
If you're making this on Thanksgiving, then I've got you covered with tons of other delicious turkey day side dishes!
- Green Bean Casserole with Cream of Chicken
- Butternut and Beetroot Salad
- Brown Sugar Honey Glazed Carrots
- Roasted Carrots and Green Beans
- 3 Ingredient Drop Biscuits
- No Knead Dutch Oven Bread
- Classic Brioche Stuffing
Variations and Substitutions
Walnuts: You can substitute the walnuts for pecans. Pecans are more traditionally used in sweet potato casserole recipes. I chose to swap them out for walnuts in the recipe because I like the taste and texture of walnuts! You can also skip the nuts completely if you'd like. Your streusel topping won't have as much crunch, but the casserole will still be delicious.
Sweet potatoes: You cannot substitute yams for sweet potatoes in this recipe. Many people use the term "yam" and "sweet potato" interchangeably. They are actually completely different vegetables though and for this recipe, they should not be used interchangeably.
Make ahead, storage and reheating
How to make ahead: You can make all of the components of this recipe 1 day in advance, and then assemble the casserole and bake it in the oven 30 minutes prior to serving it.
How to store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to reheat: The easiest way to reheat a sweet potato casserole is to reheat small portions in the microwave in a glass, microwave safe dish.
Print📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnuts
This recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnuts starts with a layer of soufflé-like mashed sweet potatoes, and ends with crunchy, streusel topping.
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes (4-5 cups chopped)
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil on the stove top. While the water is coming to a boil, peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Boil the sweet potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain the sweet potatoes and return them to the stock pot. Using a potato masher or an immersion blender, mash the sweet potatoes until no clumps remain and they are creamy and smooth.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the eggs, white sugar, melted butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt. Add this mixture to the mashed sweet potatoes and mix until well combined.
- In another small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, all-purpose flour, softened butter and walnuts. Using a fork, mash and mix the ingredients together until they are crumbly and resemble course sand. This is your streusel topping.
- Transfer the mashed sweet potato mixture to a 11"x 7" casserole baking dish and spread it out evenly in the bottom of the pan. Top the sweet potatoes with the streusel topping. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten free - Make this recipe gluten free by swapping out the all-purpose flour with gluten free all-purpose flour.
- Make ahead - You can make all of the components of this recipe 1 day in advance, and then assemble the casserole and bake it in the oven 30 minutes prior to serving it.
- Storage - Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Holiday
Keywords: sweet potato casserole with walnuts
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