Classic Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

Name: Classic Sweet Potato Pie
Prep time: 55 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 3 sweet potatoes, about 1 1/4 pounds, cut in half lengthwise (makes about 2 cups, mashed); 1 9-inch frozen pie shell, homemade or store bought; 2 large eggs; 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg; 3/4 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; 1 1/2 cups half-and-half; To serve:; Whipped cream (optional)

Slice of sweet potato pie on a white plate with whipped cream dusted with cinnamon and fork. — Sally Vargas

In This Recipe

Sweet Potato vs. Pumpkin
Canned vs. Fresh
The Spices
Make Ahead Tips
Freezing and Storing
Swaps and Substitutions

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Sweet potato pie is pumpkin pie’s first cousin. Like good cousins, they're best friends, practically identical twins, but with just enough differences in flavor and texture to tell them apart.

Sweet Potato Pie vs. Pumpkin Pie

Sweet potatoes are sweeter than pumpkins. Though the pies are usually made in the same way with eggs, cream or evaporated milk, and pie spices, sweet potato pie tends to be lighter, airier, and well, sweeter.

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How to Make Sweet Potato Pie

Sure, you could swap sweet potatoes for pumpkin cup-for-cup in your favorite pumpkin pie recipe, but pumpkin is lower in sugar. This means pumpkin pies need to have more sugar to compensate. If you make the swap, you might want to reduce the sugar in your pumpkin pie recipe by two tablespoons in the sweet potato version.

Canned vs. Fresh Sweet Potatoes

It might seem like an extra step to bake fresh sweet potatoes instead of using canned, but you really get a bigger payback with a deep, roasty flavor and lighter texture.

The texture of the mashed cooked potatoes should be just a little chunky, which gives the pie a lighter texture than pumpkin pies made with canned pumpkin.

How to Cook and Store Sweet Potatoes

A couple of slices of classic sweet potato pie with the pie off to the side and some whipped cream — Sally Vargas

Spices for Sweet Potato Pie

Again, the two pies are so similar, you can pick and choose among your favorites: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, mace, allspice, cloves, or five-spice powder (for something a little different), are all contenders.

Pumpkin isn’t as bold in flavor as sweet potatoes. Therefore, it depends upon a good amount of added spices. But I see no reason not to spice up sweet potato pie in the same way.

Most Southern cooks will tell you that nutmeg is traditionally the favorite spice.

Tip

Bake the potatoes while you blind bake the crust, so it doesn’t take much additional time.

Make Ahead Tips

If you are really crunched for time, you could make the pie a day or two beforehand (with my blessing!) and refrigerate it, wrapped in plastic wrap. On a holiday with many desserts, it is hard to distinguish finer nuances between a pie baked that day verses one baked a day or two before, especially for this pie.

Just bring it to room temperature an hour or two before serving, or “refresh” a room temperature pie in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°F to give the crust a little more crunch.

The pie is exceptional when eaten on the day it is baked. If you have time to bake it the day you plan to serve it, you can still do few things ahead of time.

Three months ahead of time: Make the pie crust, roll it out, and freeze it, well wrapped in plastic and then in foil.
Two-three days before serving: Bake the potatoes, make the filling, and store it in the refrigerator.
One day ahead: If freezing the pie crust doesn’t fit in your schedule, make and blind bake the crust one day before you plan to bake the pie. Store blind baked crust covered at room temperature in a cooler area of your kitchen.

Blind baking is a step I never used to do, but it really does keep the crust from becoming soggy. Bottom line: worth the extra effort. To read more about blind baking pie crusts click here.

Freezing and Storing Sweet Potato Pie

Yes, you can freeze it! Freezing works best with a baked pie. After baking, cool the pie completely, wrap it in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and then in foil. Freeze for up to one month.

Defrost in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving (and refresh in the pie in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°F, if you like).

Leftover pie will keep for up to four days in the refrigerator.

Swaps and Substitutions

You can use any combination of spices that you like and add less or more of a spice you love. See the recipe notes above.
Instead of half and half, you can use cream or evaporated milk for a richer texture. To make it dairy-free, swap it out with coconut milk.
For jazzier color, you can swap out purple sweet potatoes in place of the standard orange ones.
Light brown sugar is a fine substitute for dark brown, if that's all you have on hand.
Want a little more oomph in your pie? Add a couple of tablespoons of bourbon or rum to the filling.

Need More Pie?

Classic Sweet Potato Pie

Prep Time 55 mins

Bake 45 mins

Total Time 100 mins

Servings 6 to 8 servings

Yield 1 (9-inch) pie

3 sweet potatoes, about 1 1/4 pounds, cut in half lengthwise (makes about 2 cups, mashed)
1 9-inch frozen pie shell, homemade or store bought
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups half and half

To serve:

Whipped cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 350ºF:

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Prepare the sweet potatoes and the pie crust:

Set the halved sweet potatoes on the baking sheet with cut sides down. Prick each half in several places with the tip of a paring knife.

Line a frozen pie shell with non-stick foil and fill with dry beans or pie weights.
Bake the potatoes and the pie shell:

Bake both the pie shell and the potatoes side by side for 45 to 50 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. The potatoes are finished baking when you insert the tip of a paring knife and they are soft. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, or until they are cool enough to handle.

Remove the pie shell from the oven to cool on a baking rack. Lift the foil filled with beans out of the pie shell. Let the beans cool and save them for the next time you bake a pie. The crust should look golden. If not, return it to the oven to bake, without the foil, for 4 to 5 minutes longer.
Peel and mash the potatoes:

While the potatoes are still warm but cool enough to handle, use your fingers to peel off the skins. Discard the skins and transfer the potatoes to a large bowl.

Mash the potatoes using a fork or potato masher. The potatoes should look like slightly mashed potatoes with a few small pea-sized lumps.

Sally Vargas
Make the filling:

Briefly whisk the potatoes. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until each is incorporated. Whisk in the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and melted butter. Finally, whisk in the half-and-half.

Sally Vargas

Sally Vargas
Bake the pie:

Set the pie pan on a baking sheet and pour in the filling. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the edges of the filling puff slightly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the pie crust starts to brown before the filling is done, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil or a pie shield to prevent burning.

Sally Vargas
Cool to room temperature and serve:

Set the pie on a rack to cool. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream, if you like.

Sally Vargas

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
370	Calories
19g	Fat
44g	Carbs
6g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories	370
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g	25%
Saturated Fat 9g	44%
Cholesterol 47mg	16%
Sodium 434mg	19%
Total Carbohydrate 44g	16%
Dietary Fiber 3g	10%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 9mg	44%
Calcium 91mg	7%
Iron 2mg	9%
Potassium 336mg	7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.