If you are looking for a classic Southern Thanksgiving dessert, this easy Southern sweet potato pie deserves a spot on your holiday table. With a velvety, spiced custard filling poured into a flaky, blind-baked crust, every single bite delivers pure Southern comfort.
Now, full transparency from a true Southern gal: growing up, sweet potato pie wasn't actually on our holiday table! My family was strictly team pumpkin pie. It was the hands-down favorite for as long as I can remember. But if you have read my About Me page, you know about the family reunion cookbook given to me as a teenager that truly sparked my passion for baking.
Table of contents
That very book included a recipe for sweet potato pie. I love sweet potatoes, but for years I somehow just never got around to making it. When I finally did? Wow, had I been missing out! My oldest son, who inherits our family's deep love for pumpkin pie, took one bite and instantly said, "Oh, it's just like pumpkin pie!" It is ridiculously creamy, perfectly spiced, and so easy to pull together. If you love sweet potato casserole or a great pumpkin pie, you are going to adore this recipe.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Sweet Potatoes: You will need 3 cups of cooked, mashed sweet potatoes. Oven-roasting whole sweet potatoes brings out their best natural flavor, but peeling and boiling them works great too.
- Evaporated Milk: This gives the pie its signature smooth, velvety custard texture. If you don't have evaporated milk on hand, heavy cream is an easy 1:1 substitute that yields an equally rich filling.
- Light Brown & Granulated Sugar: Combining both sugars adds a hint of caramel depth, but if you are out of brown sugar, you can substitute it with an equal amount of additional granulated sugar.
- Flaky Pie Crust: A pre-baked (blind-baked) crust is a must to keep the bottom crisp under the heavy filling. You can use my Homemade Flaky Pie Crust or a store-bought deep-dish pie crust.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and exact measurements.
How To Make Sweet Potato Pie
Making this pie is straightforward, and having a pre-baked pie shell ready to go makes assembly a breeze. Just remember to mix your sweet potato filling until completely smooth before pouring it into your prepared crust!
- Blind Bake the Crust: Prepare your pie dough in a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan and partially blind bake according to my How to Blind Bake Pie Crust guide.
- Make the Filling: Combine 3 cups of mashed sweet potatoes, melted butter, evaporated milk, eggs, both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix until fully combined.
- Fill the Shell: Pour the sweet potato filling into your prepared, blind-baked pie shell and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the outer ring is set and the center has just a slight, gentle wiggle.
See the recipe card below for the full recipe.
👉 Sky's Tips
- Don't skip blind baking: Custard fillings carry a lot of moisture. Pre-baking your pie crust ensures the bottom shell stays crisp and buttery rather than soft or soggy.
- Bake the potatoes: While boiling works, roasting whole sweet potatoes in the oven at 400°F until fork-tender concentrates their natural sugars and caramelizes the flavor. Just pierce them with a fork, bake on a foil-lined sheet, and scoop out the sweet potato flesh once cool enough to handle.
- Blend for an ultra-smooth filling: Sweet potatoes can sometimes be stringy. For a silky-smooth custard texture, mash your sweet potatoes thoroughly with a hand mixer, or give them a quick pulse in a food processor before mixing in your liquids and spices.
- How to tell if it is fully cooked: The pie is done when the edges are set and puff slightly, but the center still has a subtle wiggle when you gently shake the pan. It will finish setting completely as it cools.
- Chill for clean, perfect slices: After the pie cools to room temperature, place it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Chilling gives the custard time to set properly so your slices cut cleanly without slumping.
Whether you are making this for Thanksgiving or just treating yourself to a slice of classic Southern comfort, I hope this sweet potato pie becomes a new favorite in your kitchen like it did in ours. Happy baking!
-Sky🩷
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📖 Recipe
Easy Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Equipment
- 9-inch deep-dish pie pan
- pie weights (or dried beans/rice for blind baking)
Ingredients
- 1 single 9-inch deep-dish pie crust blind-baked
- 3 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes roasted or boiled
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Partially blind bake your 9-inch deep-dish pie dough until pale golden and set. Let cool slightly on a wire rack. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes, melted butter, evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat until completely smooth and combined.
- Pour filling into the prepared blind-baked pie shell and smooth the top. Bake at 350°F for 55 to 60 minutes, or until edges are set and center has a slight wiggle.
- Cool pie completely on a wire rack at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to fully set before slicing. Top with whipped cream in the center and serve! Enjoy!
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