Best Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

How does Ina Garten bake sweet potatoes? ›

A really good sweet potato casserole filling should be light and moist, not dense. If it's dense, then you may not have added an often overlooked ingredient—an egg. An egg adds lift, structure and volume and makes the filling more custard-like.

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

Eggs and cream help stabilize the dish and prevent it from becoming too runny (a common complaint with many sweet potato casserole recipes). Make it as smooth or chunky as you like!

Directions. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in center position. Scrub and pat potatoes dry. Pierce potatoes all over with the tines of a fork and bake in oven, directly on rack, until soft and caramelizing, 1 1/2 hours.

Boil the sweet potatoes in a large stockpot until soft, about 25 minutes; drain. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, add the butter, cream, agave, cinnamon and salt, and mash until smooth. Sprinkle with the orange zest.

Try different herbs for added flavour: sage or lemon thyme work wonderfully well. For a meatier casserole, add chopped sausage or pancetta when cooking the chicken. Stir wholegrain mustard through the casserole at the end of cooking (to taste); this is especially good if you have sausage in the casserole.

Why is my sweet potato casserole watery? If you overcook your sweet potatoes, they may begin to absorb too much liquid, making them watery. It's important to cut your potatoes into equal-sized pieces so that they all cook at the same rate. Make sure to remove them from the steamer as soon as they are fork-tender!

In other words… do sweet potatoes need parboiling before roasting? Absolutely not. While many might choose to parboil the sweet potatoes before cooking for a shorter cooking time, we advise against it. Roasting sweet potatoes bring out their caramelized flavor yet leave the inside soft and custardy.

Baking whole sweet potatoes in the oven or cutting them into cubes and roasting them caramelizes the potatoes' starchy flesh, making it sweeter and giving it a silky smooth texture. Even if you are making mashed sweet potatoes, they will taste better with oven-cooked potatoes.

Is it better to peel sweet potatoes before or after boiling? ›

There is not much difference between boiling sweet potatoes with the skins on versus peeling them, but you will get a boost of fiber and potassium if you keep the skin on. The skin also adds a subtle texture to each bite. If you're looking for a smoother mash, peel the potatoes first before boiling.

Bake for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until the topping is nicely browned. Let cool slightly before serving. If you'd like to break up the preparation of this dish a bit, feel free to make and refrigerate the streusel a few days ahead.

The casserole needs at least 15-20 minutes to cool before serving. The casserole sets up as it cools. However, if you prefer a really thick sweet potato casserole, you can add about 2-3 tablespoons of flour to your sweet potato batter and this will help the mixture to thicken.

I prefer to roast my potatoes, but feel free to boil them or cook them in a slow cooker if that is easiest for you. The filling will sometimes look runny before it it baked, but will firm up some after cooking in the oven.

Wash the potatoes and place them directly on the oven baking rack. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until very tender when pierced with a skewer. When the potatoes are done, cut them down the middle and squeeze both ends. Place a slice of butter in the middle of the potato, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Starting the sweet potatoes in a cold oven further enhances sweetness via gradual heating, which stretches out the time spent in the “sweet spot” for enzymatic activity. Wrapping the sweet potatoes in foil ensures that they don't dry out too quickly, and allows you to add aromatics if desired.

Baking a sweet potato in the oven is great, but requires time. When you need a quicker solution, the microwave is your best friend — we're talking 5 minutes flat! We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

The pricking technique is always used when baking russet or sweet potatoes—the holes help to reduce baking time and ensure the potatoes won't burst during the long bake time by providing steam vents.