This Fall favorite is made with roasted sweet potatoes, butter, evaporated milk (the secret ingredient), brown sugar, and a blend of warm fall spices. It tastes pretty close to pumpkin pie, but with a bit of a milder flavor that I much prefer.
For me, using evaporated milk in this is a must. Some folks refer to it as Carnation milk or canned milk. Now this is not the same thing as sweetened condensed milk – which my grandmother still calls Eagle Brand milk. While they both are concentrated milks, sweetened condensed milk is sweetened- just as the name implies. Evaporated milk, on the other hand, is concentrated but no extra sugar is added.
Evaporated milk is denser and creamier than regular milk and it has a slightly caramelized flavor because of the high heat at which it is cooked.
Evaporated milk makes this pie super rich and creamy. That said, if you can’t get your hands on a can of evaporated milk, heavy cream will work as a substitute.
Now, my recipe calls for you to roast the sweet potatoes to get them cooked before they go into the pie filling. Many recipes, though, call for you to boil them. Either way will work just fine. I just think I prefer the flavor of them better when they’ve been roasted.
I love this pie topped with a heaping helping of whipped cream – or even Cool Whip, if that’s what I have on hand. There is no shame in my game and I will readily admit that I love me some Cool Whip – regardless of what’s on the ingredient label.
That said, my favorite thing to do with this Sweet Potato Pie is top it with a dollop of jarred marshmallow cream and just hit the top of that cream with a blow torch to get it toasted. Wooo, doggie, that’s some good stuff right there! Y’all enjoy!
Recipe Card
Classic Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet potatoes
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (9-inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° and line a rimmed baking sheet it aluminum foil. Wash the sweet potatoes and prick them a few times with a fork. Place them on the baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes when cool.
- Using a mixer, mash the potatoes until smooth. Add the sugar, eggs, and melted butter and mix to combine. Add the evaporated milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, giner, salt, and vanilla and mix until combined and smooth.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Place the unbaked pie crust on a foil lined, rimmed baking sheet. Pour the pie filling into the crust and bake in the center of the oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the pie is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow the pie to cool. It may sink some as it cools. Refrigerate if desired. Serve topped with whipped cream or toasted marshmallow cream, if desired.
Thank you for sharing! I made it today and my husband and I loved It!
I’ll sure make it again!
Glad to hear it!
Stacey,
Could you or any of your cooking friends provide me with high altitude adjustments for your pie? I used to have a recipe for Denver that used Vanilla Butter Nut extract but I lost it and it was much like your recipe. I live at 6200 feet in Morrison, Colorado. Thanks for the help.
Katherine
I don’t have much experience with high altitude cooking, but maybe someone else can help out.
This is pretty much my recipe except I add a little honey, extra butter and a little of either orange juice or lemon juice. I prefer lemon. I also mix my sugars. Half light and half dark. I don’t really know why the honey, juices or dark sugar. But that’s how I was taught to do it and it’s delicious! The dark sugar does give it a nice color and richer flavor and the juice adds a freshness. The honey and extra butter gives it a nice shiny top and makes it taste richer. I learned long ago that’s it’s better and easier to roast the potatoes! Happy Thanksgiving!🦃
I forgot. I also add vanilla!😋
Thanks so much for sharing your tips and tricks! Happy Thanksgiving!
🦃🙏🏽🤗
Recipe looks great . Do I need to thaw the pie crust before baking . Will that change the baking time ?
They thaw pretty quickly, so it’s usually thawed by the time you pour in the filling. Enjoy!