The best Southern Sweet Potato Pie

Southern sweet potato pie, a staple holiday pie recipe that you can make for this year’s Thanksgiving. It is creamy, lightly sweetened, and packed with sweet potato flavors. So good that I might start making it every other week!

I am so excited to bring you this new and improved sweet potato recipe! You might not know this, but this pie was one of the first recipes I have shared on the blog. I was so proud of it, but at this point I knew that it needed new photos as well as some better tips!

First, I want to show you the before and after of how this recipe looked back in 2018 vs how it looks now in 2020!

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I wanted to share this photo to inspire anyone to push through and follow their dreams. If you keep going, you will get to where you need to be. Look at where I was and how far I came. To say that I am proud in an understatement.

So here’s the thing, the great British baking show is out and one of my favorite weeks on there is pie week. Since It’s October and I’m trying to be proactive about getting ready this year I wanted to share this with you early on in the season. But I might share another one during the actual pie week on GBBS!

This is the best homemade southern sweet potato pie recipe ever!

This is a delicious southern classic that you can now have in your own home for this year’s holiday season. this year only, I have already made it three times and it’s only the beginning of October. I might have a problem.

It is not overly sweet, which is something I tend to look for in a Thanksgiving dessert because I like balance. It is also creamy and has a light sweetness and tenderness from the yams. Talk about perfect pie!

I’m actually devouring a slice of this goodness right now and I’m overly inspired, I might end up writing a novel about this yam pie!

What’s so special about this Thanksgiving pie?

Here are all the reasons why you need to give this southern sweet potato pie a go! It is:

• Simple and easy to make ahead of time to free up oven space for Thanksgiving day when you need that extra room.
• Requires only a few ingredients.
• Has a soft sweet potato flavor.
• Is as tender as can be.
• Can be made instead of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving (I had to put this one on here because of this year’s pumpkin shortage!)
• Is not overly sweet.
• Made for 9-inch pies dishes

Ingredients to make southern sweet potato pie

Here are the ingredients to make this sweet potato pie:

• Canned yams– I use Bruce’s Yams. Always make sure to drain them before you blend them though. If you want to use your own cooked sweet potatoes, check out this how to bake sweet potatoes article.
• Sweetened condensed milk– This is what will give our sweet potato pie that sweet flavor.
• Heavy cream– Heavy cream with give extra creaminess of this sweet potato pie
• Eggs– Eggs are what holds the sweet potato filling together.
• Vanilla extract– Vanilla brightens the sweet flavor of the potatoes.
• Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg– These are traditional spices that go into the southern sweet potato pie.
• Salt– Always add a little salt to balance out the sweetness of your desserts.
• Pre-baked crust– I use my amazing pie crust recipe for this sweet potato pie but you could also use store bought crust, just make sure to pre-bake it before filling it.

Can I use store bough pie crust for this pie?

Absolutely. You can use store bought pie crust, just make sure to pre bake it.

To pre bake you pie crust, you want to place parchment paper on the cold pie dough, then fill that with either pie weights of dry beans and bake it in the 375F heated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the pie weights and the parchment paper and bake for another 5 minute.

How to make sweet potato pie?

First, set your oven to 375 degrees. Then, start by blending your sweet potatoes in a food processor or a blender, make sure to discard the syrup that the yams are soaked in.

Add in the eggs, vanilla, spices, salt, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream and blend until smooth.

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Now, pour the sweet potato mixture in your 9-inch pre-baked crust and bake in the oven until the filling is slightly jiggly in the middle but set on the outside. This will take anywhere from 50 to 70 minutes.

Cool the pie in the turned off oven for about an hour with the door slightly propped open to avoid the pie from cracking, then cool it completely on a wire rack. Now you can either store the pie in the fridge for later or dust it with powdered sugar and serve right away.

More fall favorite recipes

• The Easiest Moist Pumpkin Sheet Cake (8x8inch)
• The Easiest Small Batch Pumpkin Donuts (YIELD 4)
• Fall Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

What’s the difference between sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie?

They are so so similar but they also have these very clear differences. This sweet potato has a lighter flavor and a slightly more dense texture as opposed to the typical pumpkin pies.

This is the perfect pie for those who might not love pumpkin pie as much.

How to freeze sweet potato pie?

If you want to make this pie and freeze it, here are the steps to follow:

• Let you pie cool down completely.
• Wrap the pie with aluminum foil them place it in an airtight container or ziplock bag.
• Freeze it for up to 3 months.

To serve it up, pull it out of the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the fridge then slice and serve.

How can I get clean pie cuts?

I always make my pies a day ahead of time then store them in the fridge overnight and pull it out whenever I am ready to serve it. I actually am the type of person who loves cold pie, so it works out for me.

After a few hours in the fridge (or overnight), slice your pie using a sharp knife and clean between each slice.

Crust-less sweet potato pie is a thing!

If you want to make this southern sweet potato pie a little lighter, feel free to skip the crust.

All you have to do is spray the pie dish with baking spray, pour in your sweet potato pie filling into the dish and bake as per the recipe directions. This way you will save up on a lot of calories and still enjoy this delicious yam pie.

Tips for the perfect southern sweet potato pie

• Don’t skip the blind baking step of the pie crust.
• Make sure to drain the canned yams before blending them.
• Cover the crust edges with foil halfway through baking if they are browning too fast when you’re baking the pie.
• Don’t skip the cooling time in the oven, this will keep your pie filling from cracking.

Sweet potato pie topping ideas

I topped this sweet potato pie with a dusting of powdered sugar but the topping possibilities are endless here. I also like to have my sweet potato pie with nothing on it because it taste so good on it’s own but here are a few things you can top your pie with:

• A dollop of whipped cream
• Vanilla bean ice cream
• Cool whip
• Marshmallow fluff

Easiest Southern Sweet Potato Pie

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