Southern Sweet Potato Pie

Southern sweet potato pie is similar to pumpkin pie but made with real sweet potatoes. The smooth, tasty pie recipe is best-loved around the holidays with the spices of fall and the comforts of home.

A Southern Tradition

Sweet potato pie is more of a southern dessert, although it is eaten throughout the country and the world.

Although pumpkin pie uses a lot of similar ingredients, sweet potato pie is a little more creamy and smooth and less dense. So, you get a bit of a different feeling in your mouth from this recipe, but definitely a good one.

Ingredients For Sweet Potato Pie

• Mashed sweet potatoes
• Melted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Milk, evaporated milk, or heavy cream
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground ginger
• Ground cloves
• Ground cinnamon

Full printable recipe with measurements and instructions listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

How Do I Make The Southern Sweet Potato Pie Recipe?

1. Peel and slice the sweet potatoes, add them to a saucepan, and boil until the potatoes are soft.
2. Place the softened potatoes into a large bowl and mash completely. You can use a hand mixer for this.
3. Pour the melted butter into the bowl.
4. Next, add the heavy cream and granulated sugar.
5. Add the nutmeg, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and eggs and mix until everything is well combined.
6. Pour the ingredients into an unbaked pie crust.
7. Start baking at 425-degrees for 15 minutes (cover the edges of the pie with a pie shield or tin foil for the first half of the baking).
8. Reduce the heat to 350-degrees and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
9. Cool the pie in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

The Best Sweet Potato Pie

Grab your sweet potatoes, peel them, and slice them into chunks.

Add the sweet potatoes to a pot of boiling water and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until you can easily insert a fork in the center.

Drain the sweet potatoes and add them to a large bowl.

Next, mash the sweet potatoes in the bowl.

I used a hand mixer for this step, but you can also use a potato masher.

Next, pour the melted butter into the bowl with the mashed potatoes.

The butter is going to add such a rich flavor to this pie.

Pour the heavy cream into the bowl.

For this recipe, you can use milk, heavy cream, or evaporated milk. Any of those choices will work well.

Next, add the granulated sugar.

Add the ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon to the bowl.

This is really where the flavor comes in. I love each of these spices and when you bake the pie, it gives off such a comforting smell throughout the house.

It’s the perfect pie for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Finally, add the vanilla extract and eggs to the bowl, and mix everything until it is combined.

Preheat your oven to 425-degrees.

Carefully pour the pie into the unbaked pie crust.

I ended up having a little bit of extra sweet potato pie filling and didn’t use all of it because it would have overflowed.

TIP: I suggest getting a cookie sheet out and covering it with tin foil and placing the empty pie shell on it before adding the filling.

That way, if it spills over while putting it into the oven, you won’t have a baked caked-on mess at the bottom of your oven.

And, if you place the pie shell on the cookie sheet before adding the filling, you won’t have to move it twice–once to the cookie sheet and then to the oven. It just saves a step and sometimes a mess.

Place some tin foil around the edges of the pie crust, or top it with a pie shield for the first half of the baking.

Bake the pie at 450-degrees for 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350-degrees, and bake for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

TIP: If you’re toward the end of your cooking period and the pie edges look like they are getting a little too brown, place the pie shield over the top again.

Once the pie bakes, let it sit out for about 15 minutes and then refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Other tasty desserts

• Pumpkin bread with maple cream icing is a moist and tasty bread that is perfect for dessert.
• The best chocolate fudge recipe is a dessert that anyone will love.
• Peanut butter fudge to die for really is a rich, creamy, and decadent treat.
• Snickerdoodle bars are great for a crowd, and they turn out so delish!
• Coconut cream pie is perfect for the holidays and tastes pretty amazing.

Southern Sweet Potato Pie

Check out the easy sweet potato pie recipe card below, grab those ingredients, and start cooking! This is a great addition to any meal.

Then, share your comments below and share a picture of your pie on the Pinterest Pin!  If you made any changes or added something different, be sure to share it with us so we can try it, too!

Find more delicious recipes at Julia’s Simply Southern, and South Your Mouth.