Sweet Potato Casserole with a Pecan and Gingersnap Praline Topping ~ Another simple and delicious Thanksgiving side dish.
Sweet Potatoes with Pecan and Gingersnap Praline Topping
There are a few classic dishes that make Thanksgiving for me and my family, this is one of them. I have to admit when I first met Matt his Thanksgiving tendencies was for dressing and turkey; that’s it–no more, no less. You can imagine for a foodie like me that was a bit shocking. Since that time, he has slowly adopted some of my favorites. This Sweet Potato Casserole with a Pecan and Gingersnap Praline Topping is definitely one of them. In fact it’s such a hit his family insists that I bring it every year.
What’s not to like—the creamy sweetness of the sweet pototoes is perfectly paired with a crunchy praline topping that is made with some crushed gingersnaps for an added kick. Its an easy side dish for Thanksgiving, and the best part, you can make this ahead of time.
A few notes:
- Roast the sweet potatoes and toast the pecans, as it makes a huge difference in flavor.
- If you want to omit the gingersnap kick, replace it with some graham crackers crumbs.
- If you do not like buttermilk, you can change it out for heavy cream or for a lower fat version whole milk will work just as well.
- You can use a 13×9 pan or break it up into small dishes like the picture.
- To save time make your sweet potato base up to three days in advance.
- You can shortcut the hectic Thanksgiving day even more by assembling the dish completely and reheating it the day of at 325 for 20-25 minutes.
Sweet Potatoes with a Pecan and Gingersnap Praline Topping
Serves 10-12 people
Ingredients:
Casserole:
- 6 large sweet potatoes, approximately 5 cups
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons butter
Pecan and Gingersnap Praline Topping:
- 1 cup of pecans, toasted and chopped
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup gingersnaps, crumbs (crumbed in a food processor or place gingersnaps in a Ziplock and crush with a rolling pin)
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
Instructions:
Casserole:
- Wash and scrub sweet potatoes. Using a fork, pierce sweet potatoes through out and place on a bake sheet lined with foil and then covered loosely with a second sheet of foil. Bake at 400 for about 45-60 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- Scrap out sweet potato flesh and add to a bowl with remaining ingredients and beat on medium low until blended. Pour mixture into a 13×9 oven proof dish and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until top turns slightly brown. The dish can be prepared three days in advance up to this point.
Pecan and Gingersnap Praline Topping:
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse 3-4 times in three seconds bursts.
Assembly:
- Pour praline topping on baked sweet potatoes and place in a 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until top darkens. Top will become more crisp as it cools. *Dish can be prepared up to this point one day ahead. Reheat completed dish for 25 minutes in a 325 degree F heated oven.*
This looks amazing! I totally just bookmarked it so we can have it for Thanksgiving too! YUM!
Just beautiful. I love the warm colours, the fall flavours and the beautiful pictures!
Fabulous topping. This looks so tasty. I’m always tickled when I see sweet potatoes without the marshmallow topper. 😉
I’m the only one in my family who really loves sweet potatoes but I think that’s even more of an incentive for me to make this. More for me.
Um, Yum! Sadly, most of the people in my family don’t like sweet potatoes (fools!), so maybe I’ll make this just for me!
Love the addition of gingersnaps! Perfect!
I’m in LOVE with this!! can’t wait to try it! sounds amazing!! we LOVE sweet potatoes!
You are making me crazy with all this amazing and decadent and wonderful food! I am just going to have to make everything on your blog for Thanksgiving! 🙂
That is the most fantastic idea for a casserole! Just lovely!
WOW!!! They are GORGEOUS!!!!!!
I love sweet potatoes and sometimes crave something other than the standard marshmallow topping…this looks great!!
WOW – what a unique way to serve up sweet potatoes. I could probably enjoy this all year long.
Oh, Naomi, how I’ve missed your blog! It’s been weeks since I could properly keep up with my reading (what with a move back to the States, a funeral, and job hunting) and I think I missed your photos the most!
Oh the topic of the actual post here 🙂 this looks phenomenal! I love fun/gourmet twists on the classics, I only wish my family felt the same. They’re uber-traditional to the point that convincing them to brine the turkey took almost 2 years! Of course, they realized I was right and do it every year now (in fact, they’re SMOKING the turkey this year! wow…), so maybe there’s hope for them yet, and I can convince them that THIS is how the sweet potatoes should be cooked! So, yes, bookmarked for sure!
I am DEFINITELY making this for Thanksgiving this year! YUMMM!!!
Can you say that 10 times fast? 🙂
I wonder if my mom will let me make this instead of her making the usual one. Don’t get me wrong it’s really good but I think this one is better!
~ingrid
this was soooooo good, I had this from Bristol Farms once and couldn’t find it again…this was like a pie without the crust.