This southern sweet potato pudding recipe is made the old fashioned way and baked until golden brown. It’s an easy dessert that’s perfect for the holidays.
This easy southern baked sweet potato pudding recipe is made the old-fashioned way. Sweet potatoes are the base of a naturally sweet dessert that’s perfect for the fall, Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Tater bread … like Grandma made
If you know me at all, you know that I have a pretty serious love affair with sweet potatoes. I reminisced over one of my favorite treats from my grandma’s kitchen. I loved waking up to the thick cinnamon-sweet aroma of sweet potatoes baking into what grandma called “tater bread.”
Now before you start thinking about loaf pans and flour, there’s no actual bread involved. Grandma’s tater bread was more like a baked sweet potato pudding. It was a blend of pureed sweet potatoes, sugar, butter, eggs and milk baked until the edges turned golden brown. Simple and delicious.
Although my grandma is not able to walk me through how she made her original “tater bread” today, I am grateful to have spent time with her learning. If only I’d known how valuable that time was as a child – I would have taken notes.
Though this is not a real sweet potato casserole or souffle, it has all of the flavors.
How to lighten up sweet potato casserole
The version of the recipe I’m sharing today is a little lighter than a traditional sweet potato casserole. Instead of a stick of butter, three tablespoons does the trick. Roasting brings out the natural sugars in the sweet potatoes, so I cut the sugar in half. I use plenty of spices to add that warm, inviting flavor and aroma.
This one also skips the marshmallows. So, maybe this one is not really that close to casserole anyway. But it’s still delicious.
Best sweet potatoes for pudding
As a Carolina girl, I’m partial to North Carolina sweet potatoes. The thin skin and sweet flesh make them perfect for roasting. But you can likely use orange-flesh potato. I prefer to make this recipe in the fall when sweet potatoes tend to have the best flavor.
Also, one of the best ways to make this recipe is with leftover sweet potatoes. Simply mash or blend the leftover cooked sweet potatoes with the other ingredients and bake!
I make this dish every Thanksgiving and Christmas and anytime I have some extra mashed sweet potatoes hanging out in the fridge.
Tips for southern baked sweet potato pudding
- Bake the sweet potatoes with the skin on for easy clean-up and a rich, caramelized flavor.
- You can roast the sweet potatoes up to 3 days in advance.
- Adjust the sugar in the recipe according to how sweet your potatoes are.
- This recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover sweet potatoes.
This was the original photo for this recipe years ago. I have since updated the photos as you can see above.
Twice Baked Sweet Potato Pudding
Ingredients
- 1-1½ lbs. sweet potatoes (about 3 medium)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 3 tbsp butter, softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Prepare a small casserole dish with cooking spray, butter or oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.
- Roast the potatoes at 400°F in a single layer on a sheet pan for an hour, or until fork-tender. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Reset the oven to 350°F.
- Once cool enough to handle, peel and lightly mash the sweet potatoes in a medium mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer or heavy whisk, mix the softened butter into the mashed sweet potatoes until well blended.Add the remaining ingredients to the sweet potatoes. Mix until smooth. Pour the sweet potato pudding mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
- Bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes or just until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm as is or with a drizzle of maple syrup and pecans.
Notes
- Bake the sweet potatoes with the skin on for easy clean-up and a rich, caramelized flavor.
- You can roast the sweet potatoes up to 3 days in advance.
- Adjust the sugar in the recipe according to how sweet your potatoes are.
- This recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover sweet potatoes.
- This recipe is kind of like sweet potato casserole but without the toppings. It's also similar to sweet potato souffle but with fewer eggs.
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