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Dad’s Sweet Potato Pie

November 21, 2013 by Joy the Baker 310 Comments

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This recipe for southern sweet potato pie is perfect every single time you bake it. Homemade buttery crust with a dreamy, fluffy sweet potato filling that everyone craves, this is going to be the best sweet potato pie recipe you’ve ever made!

Slices of Dad's Perfect Sweet Potato Pie

Note: While this Sweet Potato Pie recipe is, in fact, perfect – the recipe and post have been updated with more options. Dad’s Perfect Sweet Potato Pie – 2 New Ways! There is also a more health-conscious version of the pie: Gluten-Free Dairy-Free and Refined Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Pie. Happy Baking! xo Joy

Listen- It’s not November, it’s not the holiday season, it’s not fall – it’s not anything at all until I get my hands on this sweet potato pie recipe. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I can usually be found standing in front of the open refrigerator eating slices of this pie like cold pizza.

Wondering what’s so special about this dessert? This is my Dad’s famous (because I say so) sweet potato pie recipe. I’ve written about this recipe here before… heck, I’ve even written about it in my cookbook. Consider this a can’t stop/won’t stop situation.

It’s bright, beautifully spiced, and it will totally give you street-cred.

And we all know we bake mostly for the street-cred. You’re welcome.

What is sweet potato pie?

This southern sweet potato pie is my favorite fall dessert of all time. It’s just as iconic as pumpkin pie – with the same texture but a slightly different flavor. A classic pie made with a homemade pie crust, the filling is made with real sweet potatoes, brown sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, and other pie ingredients.

It’s just so good/too good/just right – you’ve gotta try this!

Bird's eye view of everything needed to make Dad's Perfect Sweet Potato Pie recipe

How does sweet potato pie compare to pumpkin pie?

How does this pie compare to a traditional pumpkin pie? Well… it’s the same color and consistency, but it’s entirely different (read: way better!). The spices are more subtle, less cinnamon driven, and it all works together in lovely harmony. While pumpkin pie has a softer consistency, sweet potato pie is slightly thicker with a deep flavor profile.

This dessert tastes like compassion, love, and sweet potato. What more can you ask from a pie?

What size pie plate do you use for sweet potato pie?

This pie filling makes a generous amount of filling. It will overfill one of those smaller, more shallow pie tins. So, I used a 9-inch wide and 2-inch deep pie pan. A deeper pie pan holds this filling like a charm!

I went ahead and used this sort of pie plate.

How to make a crust for Dad's Perfect Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

How To Make The Best Sweet Potato Pie

This sweet potato pie recipe requires some simultaneous work. It might seem confusing at first, but it’s easy once you get into the rhythm of it all. Here are some of my best tips to make it happen!

1. Pre-cook the sweet potatoes

First, the peeled and diced sweet potatoes simmer away with water on the stovetop. Cook them until they are tender enough to mash with a fork.

2. Prepare the butter

While those work away, we break the butter down into the flour for the pie crust.

My friend Jon taught me to use a potato masher to break the butter into the flour. That’s smart and super helpful!

Dad's Perfect Sweet Potato Pie crust

3. Make the crust and let it chill

This buttermilk pie crust is buttery and shaggy. The dough will come together into a disk with a few kneads and some suggestive pressing. Throw it in the fridge, and we can deal with the potatoes.

I just said ‘suggestive pressing.’

sweet potato pie recipe ingredients

4. Make the sweet potato filling

Boiled potatoes are drained and mashed. We’re getting closer to pie filling!

It’s all worth it. I promise.

How to make Dad's Perfect Sweet Potato Pie

The mashed potatoes are cooked down with brown sugar, spices, and some evaporated milk.

Heating the mixture before pouring it into the crust will help open up the spices and meld all the flavors together. Once the mixture heats, I use an immersion blender to make it extra smooth.

If it seems like this recipe has a lot of extra steps. Well… it does, but it doesn’t really. Trust me. Still worth it!

Ingredients for Dad's Perfect Sweet Potato Pie recipe

Eggs, milk, and a bit more sugar are mixed into the sweet potato puree.

And it’s time to roll out the pie crust too!

homemade crust next to pot of filling

5. Add crust and filling to pie plate

We’re totally almost there! Add the filling to the pie crust.

close up of sweet potato pie

6. Bake the sweet potato pie

Let’s just stop and take a big whiff. This sweet potato pie recipe is basically an air freshener… and it’s only going to get better with the heat of an oven.

Dad's Perfect Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

If I could bottle the smell of this pie… I’d wear it every single day, and I’d have friends forever.

This pie is luscious (I’ve been using that word a lot lately, sorry), perfectly smooth, sweet, and the spices… beyond. You might not think coriander would work in a pie filling, but it’s an absolute dream!

Other pie recips you might consider:

How To Make Buttermilk Pie Crust

Easy No-Roll Pie Crust

The Very Best Apple Pie

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Dad’s Sweet Potato Pie

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 9-inch pie 1x
  • Category: dessert, holiday
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Description

Dad has perfected this pie recipe over the years and it makes for the most wonderful addition to the Thanksgiving dessert table. You’ll forget pumpkin pie forever, I’m sorry.


Ingredients

Scale

For the Crust:

  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup cold buttermilk

For the Filling:

  • 2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes, from 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cup (10 ounces) evaporated milk, divided
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. To make the pie crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.  Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers (or a potato masher), work the butter into the flour mixture.  Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture, some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes, some will be the size of peas. Create a well in the mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk.  Use a fork to bring to dough together.  Try to moisten all of the flour bits.  Add a bit more buttermilk if necessary, but you want to mixture to be shaggy and not outwardly wet.
  2. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture.  It will be moist and shaggy.  That’s perfect.  Gently knead into a disk.  Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator will help rechill the butter and distribute the moisture.
  3. To roll out the pie crust, on a well floured surface, roll the crust 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter.  Transfer it to a pie pan.  Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan  Fold the edges under and crimp with your fingers or a fork.  Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Place a rack in the upper third of the oven.
  5. To make the filling, first peel the sweet potatoes.  Dice the sweet potatoes into large, 3-inch chunks.  Place potato pieces in a large pot and cover with cool water.  Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender throughout, about 20 minutes.  Test the doneness of the potatoes using a thin knife.  If the knife meets any resistance, simmer the potatoes a bit longer.
  6. Drain into a colander.
  7. In the same large pot place cooked  potato pieces, the packed brown sugar, all of the spices, salt, butter, and half of the evaporated milk. Cook on low flame, using a potato masher to mash the potatoes and they cook.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Make sure that the mixture is as smooth as possible.  I used an  immersion blender to completely smooth the mixture. Once mixture is smooth and fragrant, remove from fire and let cool in pot.
  8. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining evaporated milk, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.  Whisk well.  Pour the egg mixture into the warm sweet potato mixture.
  9. Pour the prepared filling into the pie crust.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees F.  Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and cook until cooked through, about 45 to 50 minutes.
  10. To test the pie for doneness lightly shake the baking sheet.  If the center of the pie has a wavy jiggle it needs more time in the oven.  If the center of the pie has a lighter, more structured jiggle, it’s done! [/printable]

Keywords: sweet potato, pie, holiday, thanksgiving,

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Reader Interactions

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Questions
  1. Harpreet

    November 4, 2022 at 10:20 am

    Hello, I love this version and I’ve made it many times! I wanted to make this for someone with an egg allergy…do you think I could swap out the eggs with cornflour? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

    Reply
  2. Kristina

    November 28, 2020 at 4:39 pm

    This recipe is delicious!!! I dropped off a few slices to a friend and she insisted I make her a whole pie the next day lol.

    Reply
  3. Cassie

    November 15, 2020 at 2:06 pm

    Made this after taking your class. Holy hell! My husband says it’s the best sweet potato pie he’s ever eaten and he was raised in the South. It was so fabulous we had it for breakfast too.

    Reply
  4. Nancy

    January 5, 2020 at 9:15 am

    I ended up with around 1.5 cups of sweet potato and so I reduced the other ingredients accordingly (2 eggs, a bit under 1 cup of evap milk, cut back spices a bit, etc.). I’d say it was a *perfect* fit for a shallow 9-inch pie plate. My personal preference is for the shallow pie pan version: it’s easy to judge the pie’s doneness when cooking, and each slice is plenty rich. The key to the lovely look of this pie is the immersion blending of the sweet potato mixture: it makes for a beautiful presentation.

    Reply
  5. MizKiz

    November 24, 2019 at 4:56 pm

    Hi Joy! I’ve made this recipe before but I remember boiling the potatoes without peeling them. Did you change this part of the recipe? Or is my memory getting really old and feeding me incorrect information? Lol
    Btw: It came out perfectly last time. I look forward to making this again and hopefully converting my pumpkin pie loving son without his knowledge as I much prefer sweet potato pie over pumpkin pie.

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      November 25, 2019 at 7:45 pm

      I always boil the potatoes peeled. And I’m so glad it came out well! It’s a work-horse of a recipe!

      Reply
    • Lauren

      November 20, 2021 at 8:19 pm

      I was reading these comments last night in preparation for baking this pie today. I pulled out her first cookbook so I could make it tonight and that’s where it reads to boil them in their skins. Mystery solved! Love this recipe so much and can’t wait to eat a slice!

      Reply
    • Tara J Christie

      November 24, 2022 at 12:18 am

      I remember the boiling without peeling as well. I am getting old. Great pie and I have been making it for years!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
  6. Camille

    August 25, 2018 at 6:29 pm

    This is so perfect! I cant wait until Fall to try this recipe and only 2 more months!

    Reply
  7. Ana

    March 29, 2018 at 8:13 pm

    I just did this recipe, but isn’t as orange as this :(. Looks more like autumn mix

    Reply
  8. Jocelyn

    March 11, 2018 at 12:29 pm

    Whaaaat with coriander and buttermilk in the piecrust…wow! I’m so trying this. Buttermilk in anything makes everything tastes better recipe and love coriander….this will be exciting…. thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  9. Tam

    February 18, 2018 at 1:15 pm

    The filling is beautiful; smooth and delicious, and it set perfectly without splitting/cracking. I think it needs a blind-baked crust though; it was good on the sides but was soggy on the bottom. Oh well, since the crust is not good enough to serve to anyone else, I guess I’ll just have to eat the whole pie myself…

    Reply
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