My classic sweet potato pie is loaded with creamy sweet potato custard, wonderful warm fall spices, and just enough heavy cream to make things creamy-dreamy-delicious!
This is a wonderful, old-fashioned dessert to usher in fall and grace your holiday table!! This pie is made with easy-to-find, simple ingredients that come together in a snap!
If you love fall spice pies and pies that ring in the holidays, I hope you’ll try my sweet potato pie with condensed milk, pumpkin pie, impossible pumpkin pie cupcakes, and my amazing million dollar pie (easy-peasy-crazy-delish and NO BAKE!) next!
Baked Sweet Potatoes Vs. Boiled Sweet Potatoes
Some people boil their sweet potatoes for pie but I think you get a lot more flavor and richness by roasting them. Baked sweet potatoes tend to be drier. At the same time, they retain more of their natural moisture and create a creamier texture in the pie.
Sweet Potato Pie Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes: I use medium-large size sweet potatoes.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar.
- Cinnamon + Nutmeg: The perfect warm spices to enhance the flavor of the sweet potato.
- Egg: I use a large egg. It’s best to have the egg at room temperature.
- Vanilla: Use real vanilla extract, not the imitation. Costco sells a big bottle at a decent price.
- Baking Powder: This makes the pie a little airier.
- Heavy Cream: Adds a nice creaminess to the pie.
- Unbaked Pie Shell
Tips
- Room Temp: This pie is best sliced once it’s cooled to room temperature.
- Hotel Wrap To Store: When I make my pie ahead of time I like to “Hotel Wrap” it in plastic wrap. I think this is a real game-changer for freshness. The principle is based on the fact that plastic wrap sticks best to itself.
- Instead of simply trying to attach the plastic wrap over the top of the pie, you first lay out 2 long sheets of plastic wrap (extending about 8 inches beyond the edge of the pie) horizontally, flat, and slightly overlapping on the counter. Then you place the cooled pie in the center of the 2 sheets.
- Fold the right side up and over the top of the pie and then fold the left side on top of the right. bring up the extra parts on the top and bottom over the top of the pie. This should totally encase the pie in plastic wrap. If you run short, just add another piece of wrap over the top.
Do I Need To Blind Bake The Pie Crust
I make this pie with premade refrigerated pie crusts and I place and shape it into a pretty pie plate. I find that it doesn’t need to be blind-baked and comes out with a crisp, flakey, lovely crust after baking the sweet potato custard in it.
How To Convert To Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Pie
If you prefer brown sugar sweet potato pie, this recipe is easy to convert. Simply substitute 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed, for the 3/4 cup of granulated sugar. The brown sugar will add a lovely molasses flavor.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- Storing: For best results, allow the pie to cool completely (not more than 2 hours) before storing it. Sweet potato pie is a baked custard pie so it needs to be refrigerated. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge.
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This pie will keep for up to 3-4 days.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes. I recommend freezing in a disposable aluminum pie pan for a couple of reasons. First, your favorite pie dish won’t be rendered out of commission. Second, the disposable ones are thinner so your pie can freeze faster which prevents large ice crystals from forming.
- Let your pie cool completely, then wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap. It helps to add a layer of aluminum foil before placing in the freezer. It’s also important to slow thaw it in the fridge overnight before serving. You can freeze this for up to 2 months.
- Thawing faster or at room temperature can cause weeping and make the crust soggy.
- Make-Ahead Tips: Cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to use them. If you’d like, you can make and bake the pie 2 days ahead of serving and store it in the fridge.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more food safety info check out this article (based on pumpkin pie).
Serving Recommendations
We love this pie with a big dollop of whipped cream, Cool Whip, or vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of my easy, homemade caramel sauce.
It’s also delicious with a big mug of hot tea, my apple pie moonshine, or Keoke coffee. The kids love a mug of my crockpot hot chocolate!
How to Make The Best Sweet Potato Pie
- Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven.
- In a bowl, mash the sweet potatoes.
- Add the butter.
- Mash until smooth.
- Mix in sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, egg, and vanilla. Then add the combined baking powder with heavy cream.
- Place the pie shell on a pie plate.
- Pour the sweet potato mixture into the pie shell.
- Bake and let it cool.
- Serve with whipped cream, Cool Whip, or vanilla ice cream on top.
***See the full instructions below.
More Pie Recipes
- Pecan Pie
- Apple Pie
- Eggnog Pie
- Hershey Pie
- Chocolate Cream Pie
- Impossible Coconut Pie
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Banana Cream Pie
- Mini Apple Pies
- Sugar Cream Pie
- Mississippi Mud Pie
- Fig Pie
- Chess Pie
- Buttermilk Pie
More Thanksgiving Favorites!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
- 3 medium (about 1¾ pounds) sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF (204ºC).
- Toss cubed sweet potatoes with oil. Roast in preheated oven until tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF (177ºC).
- Mash sweet potatoes until smooth. Measure mashed sweet potatoes and use 2 3/4 cups of the mash and place in a large mixing bowl. Add butter (5 tablespoons) to the warm potatoes. Use a handheld mixer and mash the mixture until very smooth.
- Mix in sugar (3/4 cup), cinnamon (1 teaspoon), nutmeg (1/2 teaspoon), egg (1), and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) until evenly combined.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine baking powder (2¼ teaspoons) with heavy cream (3 tablespoons). Whisk this mixture into the sweet potato mixture until the mixture is velvety.
- Pour into pie shell, slightly mounding in the center.
- Bake in the preheated oven (350ºF/177ºC) until the pie has set in the center and is lightly browned on top, about 55 minutes. Cool to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- Room Temp: This pie is best sliced once it’s cooled to room temperature.
- Hotel Wrap To Store: When I make my pie ahead of time I like to “Hotel Wrap” it in plastic wrap. I think this is a real game-changer for freshness. The principle is based on the fact that plastic wrap sticks best to itself.
- Instead of simply trying to attach the plastic wrap over the top of the pie, you first lay out 2 long sheets of plastic wrap (extending about 8 inches beyond the edge of the pie) horizontally, flat, and slightly overlapping on the counter. Then you place the cooled pie in the center of the 2 sheets.
- Fold the right side up and over the top of the pie and then fold the left side on top of the right. bring up the extra parts on the top and bottom over the top of the pie. This should totally encase the pie in plastic wrap. If you run short, just add another piece of wrap over the top.
My guests loved this so much! I gave your recipe!
Woot woot! So happy it was a hit 🙂 Thanks, Sarah