Ready to learn how to make homemade sweet potato pie? We're sharing our secret for the ultimate pie, plus a few of our favorite sweet potato pie recipes. Before the baking begins, be sure to select the best sweet potatoes possible for your pie. You'll end up with a sweeter pie that is beautifully colored—and quickly devoured.
Selecting the Right Sweet Potatoes
The secret to a mouthwatering sweet potato pie is picking the best possible potatoes at the grocery store. There are several kinds of sweet potatoes, so follow these tips and tricks for choosing the best ones for your pie.
- Scrape off a tiny bit of the peel with your fingernail. What's underneath the skin is the perfect guide.
- Look for the darkest orange you can find, or even red sweet potatoes (they may be labeled yams).
- In general, the darker the flesh, the sweeter the potato.
And there you have it! An easy way to find the perfect potatoes for a delicious and beautiful sweet potato pie.
Prepping the Potatoes
An important part of any sweet potato pie (or sweet potato recipe) is prepping your potatoes properly. Here are a few tips to make sure your potato prep goes smoothly every time.
How to Peel Sweet Potatoes: Rinse thoroughly and scrub potatoes with a clean produce brush. If desired, use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the skin, cutting away from your hand.
How to Cube Sweet Potatoes: To cube or chop unpeeled or peeled potatoes, slice potatoes into desired thickness, depending on the size of cubes or pieces you want. Stack several slices and cut across several times in both directions.
How to Boil Sweet Potatoes: Select a saucepan or Dutch oven that will be large enough to hold the sweet potatoes without crowding them. Fill the pot about half full (you will need just enough water to cover the sweet potatoes) and add a dash of salt. Bring to boiling. Add sweet potatoes. Cover the pan and cook sweet potatoes 10 to 12 minutes or until just tender on the outside but resistant in the center when pierced with a knife. For soft, tender sweet potatoes, cook 25 to 30 minutes. Place a colander in the sink. Remove the lid from the pan and carefully pour the sweet potatoes into the colander. Drain off the water. Set sweet potatoes aside until cool enough to handle or run cold water over them to quick-cool.
Learn more tips for boiling sweet potatoes.
How to Mash Sweet Potatoes: After boiling and draining the potatoes, you can mash them with a potato masher or an electric mixer on low speed. Make sure the potatoes are tender before draining and mashing to avoid lumpy potatoes.
How to Make Sweet Potato Pie
If you've always wanted to learn how to make a sweet potato pie from scratch, you've come to the right place. Start with this basic, easy sweet potato pie recipe, then dress it up any way you like! Feel free to add crunchy nuts, gooey marshmallows, or even mini cinnamon rolls to make your pie stand out from the crowd.
Ingredients:
- 1 recipe Single-Crust Pie Pastry or 1 rolled refrigerated unbaked piecrust (1/2 of a 15-ounce package)
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 5-ounce can evaporated milk
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
- Dash ground nutmeg
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked, and mashed (1-1/3 cups)
Step One: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare pastry and line 9-inch pie plate.
Step Two: In a bowl beat eggs with a whisk. Whisk in sugar, evaporated milk, butter, lemon peel, and nutmeg. Whisk in sweet potatoes until combined. Pour into crust-lined pie plate.
Step Three: To prevent overbrowning, cover edges of pastry with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover edges and bake 20 to 30 minutes more or until filling is set and a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours after pie cools. Makes 8 servings.
Learn how to make a single-crust piecrust in just a few easy steps!
Get the full recipe for Sweet Potato Pie
More About Sweet Potatoes
Don't worry—we've got a few more sweet potato tips and tricks up our sleeves. Learn how to grow sweet potatoes, plus get our secrets for making sweet potatoes every way.
Sweet Potato-Pumpkin Pie with Streusel Crunch
Must-Know Tips to Growing Thanksgiving Pie-Worthy Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes: Cooking Basics and Recipes
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
Scrumptious Sweet Potato Recipes
Sweet potato pie, here we come! But we're not stopping there! We'll also teach you how to make sweet potato casserole, sweet potato fries, and more.
Cinnamon Roll Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
