Sweet Potato Pie

Change things up this Thanksgiving and wow your family and friends with this homemade sweet potato pie! This old-fashioned sweet potato pie is made with dark brown sugar and warm fall spices and topped with fresh whipped cream for the ultimate holiday dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword best sweet potato pie, how to make a sweet potato pie, old fashioned sweet potato pie, southern sweet potato pie, sweet potato pie, sweet potato pie recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 2

Servings servings

Calories 707kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

Pie Crust

2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon (6 g) table salt
2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar
1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter cold 2 sticks
¼ cup (60 g) ice water more as needed
¼ cup (60 g) vodka cold

Sweet Potato Pie

1 lb sweet potatoes about 2 medium
5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar packed
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup (310 g) evaporated milk
1 tablespoon (15 g) vanilla extract

Egg Wash

1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Topping

whipped cream

Instructions

Pie Crust

Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until combined.
Mix butter. Cut your cold butter into about 1/2-inch cubes. Immediately add your cold, cubed butter to the flour and toss to coat. Working quickly, squish each piece of butter between two fingers to create flat little “shingles” of butter. Work until you’re left with about pea-sized butter pieces.
Combine. Make a well in the center of your mixture and add about half of your ice water. Using your hands, combine the water and flour incorporated. Continue 1 tablespoon of water at a time to the dough until it comes together. You want to stay on the side of crumbly, yet still holding together. If it is too wet and sticky add a tablespoon of flour to adjust.
Wrap and chill. Split the dough in two, form each half into discs, wrap both tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Roll and assemble pie crust. Roll out one of your pie crusts on a well-floured surface into about a 12-13 inch circle and carefully transfer it to a standard 9-inch pie dish. Trim the edges and crimp the edges of the crust. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 1 day. Save the other disc for either garnishes or another pie crust.

Sweet Potato Pie

Preheat your oven. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 F or 176 C.
Prepare sweet potatoes. Wash and peel your sweet potatoes. Cut them into large 2-inch chunks. Place them in a large saucepan and then cover them with water and bring them to a boil. Once the pot has reached a boil, reduce the heat to medium heat and simmer the potatoes for 20-30 minutes or until soft. Drain the sweet potatoes with a colander.
Mix filling. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the sweet potatoes and beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the butter, dark brown sugar, and eggs and mix until combined. Then add the cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice, ginger, cloves, salt, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract. Then mix until everything is combined and smooth.
Strain. Strain the batter through a fine mesh sieve and use a rubber spatula to push the batter through. There may be some large sweet potato chunks that need to be pushed through. After the batter is strained, whisk the batter until combined. This will ensure a silky smooth pie filling.
Bake. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour the sweet potato filling into the pie crust. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the egg and milk and brush the egg wash onto the edges of the pie crust. Place the pie dish onto a baking sheet and bake the pie at 350 F for 50 minutes or until the edges are cooked and the center 2-3 inches slightly jiggles. At the 25-minute mark, I recommend shielding the crust with a pie crust shield or a ring of aluminum foil to protect it from cooking too fast.
Cool and serve. Place the sweet potato pie on a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours, before decorating it with whipped cream.

Notes

Wash your sweet potatoes! Make sure to wash your sweet potatoes before peeling and chopping them. There is a lot of dirt on sweet potatoes and even if you peel them you don’t want any remaining dirt to be cooked in your pie.
Sift the batter for the ultimate silky texture. Most sweet potato pie recipes yield lumpy unappetizing-looking pies. The best way to ensure a silky soft pie is to sift the batter and smooth out any lumps from the sweet potato. Make sure to gently whisk the batter after you sift it for uniform flavor.
Make sure to not over-bake your pie. The key to a silky, smooth, and delicious pie is not over-baking it. You will know when the pie is finished if the outside edges of the pie look set and the inside 2-3 inches wiggle like jello slightly in the center. If it swooshes too vigorously then the pie needs more time.
Use a pie crust shield after 25 minutes. I have learned this the hard way. Most recipes say “if the crust is browning too quickly shield the pie crust” which is totally vague and will 100% yield a dark and over-baked pie crust. I recommend placing the pie crust shield halfway through baking. The pie crust will still bake in the remaining 25 minutes but it will not be overly brown and burnt!
Storage: You can tightly wrap this sweet potato pie and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Before serving, bring the pie to down to room temperature.

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