With a rich and creamy sweet potato base and a crunchy, buttery pecan streusel topping, this salty-sweet Sweet Potato Soufflé is a decadent show-stopper that’ll have your Thanksgiving table swooning for more. If you thought you didn’t like sweet potato casserole, think again — holiday side dishes do not get more delicious than this.
The word “soufflé” might mislead some into believing this is a tricky dish to make, but rest assured, this Thanksgiving side dish couldn’t get any easier. It begins with fragrant sweet potatoes roasting in the oven. Once they’re cooked, they go into a mixing bowl, along with butter, eggs, milk, and sugar. Then, it’s off to the baking dish and it all comes together with a sprinkle of streusel.
SWEET POTATO SOUFFLE INGREDIENTS
This Sweet Potato Soufflé Recipe consists of two main parts. The base and the pecan streusel topping. The base of the casserole is made up of:
- Sweet Potatoes
- Unsalted Butter
- Light Brown Sugar
- Evaporated Milk
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Kosher Salt
For maximum flavor, use sweet potatoes from the produce aisle, not from a can. Roasting them increases the flavor tremendously and is extremely easy to do.
You also want to take care to use unsalted butter in this dish as it will give you more control over the sodium in your finished dish. As for the light brown sugar, it has a rich molasses flavor to it and is the perfect complement to sweet potatoes!
Evaporated milk (not to be confused with sweetened condensed milk) is milk that has been through a heating process, removing about 60% of its moisture. Therefore, it is rich, thick and an overall great product for adding creaminess to Sweet Potato Soufflé, as well as great dairy flavor, without all of the extra water content. However, if you would like to sub in half-and-half or cream, feel free to do so.
And, last but certainly not least, you’ll need three eggs, vanilla extract, and salt. Eggs are essential in a Sweet Potato Soufflé Recipe, adding body to the base of the casserole and binding the ingredients together.
And, of course, we can’t forget about that buttery, decadently delicious pecan streusel topping, and it just might be our favorite part. Three out of five ingredients are duplicates from the list above, keeping your grocery list short and sweet. For the Sweet Potato Soufflé’s streusel topping, you’ll need:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Light Brown Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Melted Butter
- Chopped Pecans
HOW TO MAKE SWEET POTATO SOUFFLE
- Bake the Sweet Potatoes – Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat the sweet potatoes evenly with canola oil and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 50 minutes, or until fork-tender. Then, remove them from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Lower Oven Temp and Prep the Pan – Reduce the oven temperature to 350° and have ready a greased 9×13” casserole dish or a standard-sized au gratin dish.
- Make the Sweet Potato Soufflé Base – Cut a slit down the sweet potatoes lengthwise and remove the skins. They should peel right off. Place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl and mash. Then, stir in the sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt. Transfer the mixture to the casserole dish and spread evenly across the bottom.
- Make the Streusel – To make the topping for your Sweet Potato Soufflé, add the flour, sugar, and salt to a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the cold butter, and using a pastry blender or a fork, work the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles tiny, coarse peas and is well-blended. Stir in the pecans.
- Assemble and Bake – Add the topping evenly over the sweet potatoes and bake for 30 minutes. Allow it to cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!
4 MORE THANKSGIVING RECIPES YOU NEED
With a rich and creamy sweet potato base and a crunchy, buttery pecan streusel topping, this salty-sweet Sweet Potato Soufflé is a decadent show-stopper that'll have your Thanksgiving table swooning for more.
- 4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk
- 3 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tiny cubes
- 1 cup chopped pecans
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Preheat oven to 400°. Coat sweet potatoes evenly with canola oil. On a rimmed baking sheet, roast sweet potatoes for 50 minutes, or until fork-tender. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
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Reduce the oven temperature to 350° and have ready a greased 9x13” casserole dish or a standard-sized au gratin dish.
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Cut a slit down the sweet potatoes lengthwise and remove the skins. Place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl and mash using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed. Then, add the melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt and mix until well combined. Transfer the mixture to the casserole dish and spread evenly across the bottom.
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To make the topping, add the flour, sugar, and salt to a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the cold butter, and using a pastry blender or a fork, work the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles tiny, coarse peas and is well-blended. Stir in the pecans.
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Add the topping evenly over the sweet potatoes and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!
4 MORE SWEET POTATO RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows is the perfect substitution for Sweet Potato Souffle at the Thanksgiving table! How to make a gorgeous marshmallow topping, as well as tips for making your sweet potato casserole in advance!
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes are an easy side dish featuring baked sweet potatoes mashed with creamy Mascarpone cheese.
- Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes are made with easy, roasted sweet potatoes, goat cheese, chopped sage, and honey walnuts!
- Sweet Potato Wedges is an easy and delicious side dish recipe for sweet potatoes cut into wedges and seasoned with smoked paprika and roasted.
I’ve never had a sweet potato souffle before. Sounds delicious! Sorta like a sweet potato pie or casserole…
Oh my goodness this looks and sounds so delicious and inviting! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
Years ago I had a coworker bring a dish like this to our Turkey Day potluck and then she left the company before I got the recipe. I’ve been on the hunt ever since. Until now! This was so spot on. Light fluffy potatoes and that topping?? SO good. Thanks!
Thank you so much, Sara!
Ok, this looks amazing!! I”m not going to lie, I tend to take more topping than sweet potatoes, but this looks so delicious, I may take 50/50!
This looks so creamy and fluffy and love the pecan streusel topping.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I was looking for some Sweet Potato Soufflé recipe, recalling the same meal I ate at our friend’s last year. This time I am gonna serve this deliciousness by myself:)
A good sweet potato dish is a must for Thanksgiving. This looks so delicious and pretty, and it’s not difficult to make. Thanks for sharing, Kelly. 🙂
Yes, this is definitely a show stopper! It looks delicious and I am sure it will taste amazing. I’ll be adding this to my holiday table. Thank you!
Oh wow. Move over old stale sweet potato recipes. There is a new dish in town. My family is going to flip over this.
I am totally new to having sweet potatoes baked into desserts, but I am really wanting to try it out! This looks so perfect for Thanksgiving!!
This is delicious! I’ve made them before but this is my favorite recipe by far!
Thank you so much, Brenda! I really think this might be the best sweet potato dish I’ve ever made…or had!!!
I have been making this for years as I hate the old fashioned marshmallow topped sweet potatoes! The only thing I do different is add a little orange juice in when whipping them. It adds a little citrus tang and everyone loves it.
Question! Do you add the 8 table spoons of butter to the potatoes? And add 6 to the topping? I don’t see in the recipe where to add the 8 table spoons.
Hi, Nora! Yes, the 8 tablespoons of melted butter should be added to the sweet potato base and the cold butter is cut into the streusel topping 🙂
Question- about how many pounds of sweet potatoes is this? I have a bag of sweet potatoes but they’re really tiny!
Hi Ashley! It’s right around 3 pounds of potatoes 😉
This was a big hit at Thanksgiving! I put some mini marshmallows on top also it was awesome!! Staying on the menu for Christmas!!
Can you bake sweet potatoes and freeze to make later
I have not tried this myself, but I can’t see why not!
Can the base be made a a couple days ahead of time and be refrigerated?
You could do the potatoes and mash them a couple of days in advance, but because of the eggs and sugar, you probably wouldn’t want to combine it all!
Oh no! I did; put it in the fridge. The day I bake it. I hope it’s OK. I’ll let you know.
I made this recipe and it is absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thank you, Heather!!!