Chef Dean
Amish Buttered Egg Noodles
The humblest side dish in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, where wide egg noodles and good butter need nothing more than salt and a warm bowl to become the thing everyone remembers from the church supper.
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Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel
Created by
Velvety spiced sweet potatoes beneath a shatteringly crisp pecan streusel, the casserole that anchors every proper Thanksgiving table and disappears before the turkey's carved.
Side Dishes
American
Thanksgiving
30 min
Active Time
1 hr 15 min cook•1 hr 45 min total
Yield10-12 servings
This casserole belongs to the South, though it has long since conquered the entire nation. Some trace its origins to African American cooks who transformed the sweet potato into something transcendent, layering in the warm spices and brown sugar that define the dish today. By the mid-twentieth century, no Thanksgiving table from Georgia to Oregon was complete without it.
I've watched otherwise sensible adults elbow each other aside to claim the corner piece. They're after that spot where the streusel meets the edge of the dish, where butter and brown sugar have caramelized into something approaching candy. I understand the impulse completely.
The beauty of this recipe lies in its forgiveness. Sweet potatoes want to become creamy. Pecans want to toast. Brown sugar wants to bubble and turn golden. Your job is simply to assemble the components and let the oven do the work. This is not fussy cooking. This is honest food that feeds a crowd and improves when made ahead.
For large gatherings, I recommend doubling the recipe and using a full-sized baking dish. The casserole reheats beautifully, which means you can cross one item off your Thanksgiving morning chaos. Make it Wednesday. Your future self will be grateful.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
sweet potatoes
Quantity
4 pounds (about 6 medium)
unsalted butter, softened
Quantity
8 tablespoons
divided
packed light brown sugar
Quantity
3/4 cup
divided
large eggs
Quantity
2
lightly beaten
pure vanilla extract
Quantity
1 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
freshly grated nutmeg
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
whole milk or heavy cream
Quantity
1/3 cup
pecan halves
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
roughly chopped
all-purpose flour
Quantity
1/2 cup
flaky sea salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| sweet potatoes | 4 pounds (about 6 medium) |
| unsalted butter, softeneddivided | 8 tablespoons |
| packed light brown sugardivided | 3/4 cup |
| large eggslightly beaten | 2 |
| pure vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon |
| ground cinnamon | 1 teaspoon |
| freshly grated nutmeg | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| whole milk or heavy cream | 1/3 cup |
| pecan halvesroughly chopped | 1 1/2 cups |
| all-purpose flour | 1/2 cup |
| flaky sea salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •9x13-inch baking dish
- •Potato masher or hand mixer
- •Rimmed baking sheet
- •Large mixing bowl
Instructions
- 1
Roast the sweet potatoes
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Scrub the sweet potatoes and pierce each one several times with a fork. Place them directly on the oven rack with a baking sheet below to catch any drips. Roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides through the center without resistance. The skin will wrinkle and caramelize in spots. This is good. Let them cool until you can handle them comfortably, about 15 minutes.
Roasting concentrates the sugars and deepens flavor far better than boiling. If you're pressed for time, you can microwave the potatoes for 8-10 minutes, but the flavor won't be as complex. - 2
Prepare the filling
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish generously. Split the sweet potatoes lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl, discarding the skins. Add 4 tablespoons of the softened butter and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Mash with a potato masher or beat with a hand mixer until smooth. The texture should be creamy with no large lumps remaining.
Work while the potatoes are still warm. Cold sweet potatoes resist mashing and won't incorporate butter properly. - 3
Season and enrich
Add the beaten eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and fine sea salt to the mashed sweet potatoes. Pour in the milk. Stir until everything is thoroughly combined. Taste it. The filling should be sweet but not cloying, warmly spiced but not aggressive. Adjust the cinnamon or salt if needed. Spread the filling evenly into your prepared baking dish, smoothing the top with a spatula.
- 4
Make the streusel
In a medium bowl, combine the chopped pecans, remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, flour, and flaky salt. Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of cold butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Work the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces throughout. Some larger clumps are desirable. They become the best bites.
Cold butter is essential here. It creates steam pockets during baking that make the streusel shatter rather than turn dense. - 5
Top and bake
Scatter the streusel evenly over the sweet potato filling. Don't press it down. Loose streusel bakes up crispier. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the topping is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling around the edges. The kitchen will smell like autumn itself. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
- 6
Serve
Bring the casserole to the table in its baking dish. This is family-style food, meant to be passed and shared. Spoon generous portions onto plates, making sure everyone gets some of that precious streusel. The casserole pairs beautifully with roasted turkey, glazed ham, or as the sweet counterpoint to savory green beans and stuffing.
Chef Tips
- •Seek out Garnet or Jewel sweet potatoes with deep orange flesh. The pale-fleshed varieties labeled 'yams' at many groceries are actually sweet potatoes too, but they lack the color and moisture content you want here.
- •For a bourbon variation that adults adore, add 2 tablespoons of good bourbon to the filling. It deepens the caramel notes without making the dish boozy.
- •If serving for a crowd larger than twelve, make two separate casseroles rather than one massive one. The streusel-to-filling ratio stays correct and they bake more evenly.
- •This casserole travels well. Cover tightly with foil and transport in an insulated bag. Reheat uncovered at 325°F for 15-20 minutes to restore the streusel's crunch.
- •Leftovers are exceptional for breakfast. Warm a portion in a skillet with a pat of butter until the bottom crisps, then top with a fried egg.
Advance Preparation
- •The sweet potatoes can be roasted up to 3 days ahead. Refrigerate whole in their skins, then scoop and mash when ready to assemble.
- •The complete casserole can be assembled (filling in dish, streusel on top) and refrigerated unbaked for up to 24 hours. Add 10 minutes to the baking time if going straight from refrigerator to oven.
- •The streusel topping can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or frozen for up to a month.
- •Once baked, the casserole keeps refrigerated for 4 days. Reheat uncovered at 325°F until warmed through, about 20 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 310g)
Calories
370 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
50 mg
Sodium
160 mg
Total Carbohydrates
47 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
17 g
Protein
5 g
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