Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram Me: “Umm.. so?” I thought he was upset because it was sugary cereal. We didn’t let our first couple babies try sugar until they were toddlers, but we got over that notion a long time ago when the reality of older siblings set in. “So, babies can’t have honey until after they are 12 months old!” Oh yeah. Botulism. I vaguely remember every pediatrician mentioning that at every one of the thousand doctor appointments I’ve brought my kids to…oops. Mom fail!! Good thing Edison made it out alive. I told my mom this story and she scoffed. “Honey nut Cheerios doesn’t count as honey. I’m sure I fed you all honey nut and you turned out just fine.” I think this explains where I get my laissez faire attitude from. Ha! Well the holiday spirit is in FULL SWING around here, I don’t know about your house! But we are all in. It’s the most magical time of the year! I’ve been listening to Christmas music for weeks now but I finally can do it out loud, not covertly while Eric isn’t in the room, frantically changing it before he can hear. He is a good sport about it, really, but I try to be respectful so he isn’t slowly driven insane by December 25 when Bing Crosby comes on for the 174th time of the season. Charlotte even made our first batch of cookies yesterday, Grandma Prudy’s Classic Gingersnaps. The besssst. And we’ve basically been eating Thanksgiving dinner all week. I made today’s Sweet Potato Casserole and these Soft and Fluffy Parker House Rolls on the same day and we’ve been chipping away at them all week. Haven’t heard any complaints yet! It really is the most wonderful food time of the year! The problem is that, as per usual, nobody was adding enough streusel. Streusel is food of the gods and deserves to be the center of attention. I have a history of going to the extreme with streusel. It really is just one of my favorite things. Check out this Apple Crisp with a Ridiculous Amount of Streusel, or this Sour Cream Coffee Cake with a Ridiculous Amount of Streusel. See? It just makes everything more amazing. I think the other reason for my Sweet Potato Casserole aversion was that I never had it fresh. I usually skipped it on Thanksgiving day and ate an extra roll instead. Then I would try some of the leftovers a day or two later. BAD idea. The streusel is no longer crispy after it has been refrigerated. (I’m not turning my nose up at leftovers anymore, because I’ve seen the light, but I totally get why I wasn’t impressed.) You want a delightfully crispy crunchy streusel topping for your casserole.
Use canned yams. I know some of you are gasping in horror and others are immediately scribbling “canned yams” on a shopping list. Maybe it’ll be a little different, maybe no one will be able to tell, maybe you’ll like it BETTER. Sometimes you just need to hit the easy button you guys!! Leave out the cardamom. I love it, maybe you don’t. That’s ok, just skip it. Sub walnuts or almonds for pecans. Pecans are absolutely my first choice for this casserole. Their buttery texture and classically sweet flavor are ideal. But if you don’t like or don’t have pecans, almonds or walnuts would be good too. Leave out the pecans. Some people have nut allergies. Just don’t include them! (The pecans, not the people. Obviously include the people.)
Sometimes they will be labeled yams. But I promise, they are sweet potatoes. Yams are white on the inside and have a tough brown skin, almost like tree bark. Don’t buy those for this recipe! You will need 3-4 sweet potatoes, or about 2 and 1/2 pounds.
Cook and mash
Make the ridiculous amount of streusel
Prepare the sweet potatoes and spread them in the pan as directed, then wrap tightly and refrigerate. Prepare the streusel as directed. Tightly cover it (or transfer to a ziplock if that gives you more fridge space) and store in the fridge. When you are ready to bake, top the sweet potatoes with the streusel and bake as directed. It might take more like 35 minutes to bake since it will be cold. You can also bake the casserole ahead of time on Thanksgiving morning, leave it out on the counter while the turkey cooks, and then rewarm last minute before serving. See recipe for details!
Can you freeze sweet potato casserole?
Yes, but I only recommend doing this as a prep method, not once the whole thing has been baked and served. We want to avoid mushifying the streusel. I suggest you follow the instructions through step 6, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap or tin foil and freeze. When you’re ready to serve the casserole, you can defrost it overnight, then follow the rest of the instructions starting with preheating the oven in step 7. And that’s it! Sweet potatoes forever. I hope you are having fun planning out your Thanksgiving menu! Be sure to subscribe to my emails (at the top of this page) because I am sending out ALL of my best Thanksgiving recipes over the next 2 weeks!
