Sweet potato casserole… When my family hears the name, their eyes light up! 

Our first introduction to an amazing sweet potato casserole was a dinner we had at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. It was phenomenal, so I searched high and low for recipes that would give our hearts that same satisfaction that I could make in-house! I didn’t find one I loved right off, but then I got the idea to take my Godmother’s sweet potato pie recipe and tweak it with a few I found online, creating the perfect in-home dish recipe. It certainly took a few attempts for me to master it, but now, it’s a holiday staple in the Davis household.

I typically make three pans minimum, because our family and friends can’t decide if they’d like to have it with their meal, for dessert or both! Sometimes, I’ll surprise the family with this dish for a Sunday dinner, and boy, do they dig in! I’m later bombarded with hugs, kisses, kind words — and sugar-high, stinky-fingered kids running in circles!

My grandmother used to say certain dishes taste better when they are made with love! So, I can certainly tell a difference when I make my dishes with minimum distractions, lots of love, and a quick prayer over those who’ll consume it. I hope your family enjoys this dish just as much as mine does, and I’m sending some of that love your way to make it extra special.

Ingredients

Crust:

Brown sugar

⅓ flour

1  cup  chopped pecans

⅓ cup Earth Balance butter (melted)

Sweet Potato mixture:

3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup and ⅓ cup of sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

½ cup Earth Balance butter (melted)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rub butter on the sides and bottom of the pan.
2. For the crust: combine brown sugar, flour, nuts, and butter in a mixing bowl. Chill in the fridge until ready to use. This helps the crumble maintain its form and not melt into the sweet potatoes.
3. I  boil my potatoes with the skin on and add a dash of salt and olive oil. This makes it easy for the potato to slide right out of its skin. Combine sweet potatoes sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs, and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture. 
4. Pour mixture into the baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. 
5. Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture and return to the oven for 10-20 minutes or until the crumble has browned. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.