This Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Topping is a Thanksgiving MUST! Enjoy it as a side with your Thanksgiving turkey or as a dessert topped with some freshly whipped cream, this pie is a classic for the holidays!
Updated: This post was first published here at the BHK in November 2014. I decided it was worthy of a reshare, so I’ve updated the photos and notes to the post below.
And let the countdown begin! It is less than two weeks from one of the biggest food holidays of the year… if not the BIGGEST! It’s time to break out the old family favorites (along with the stretchy pants)! You know…the dishes you couldn’t call it Thanksgiving without!
Growing up my Mom was an incredible cook, but my Gram was the “Head Honcho” of Thanksgiving dinner! She came from a family of 11, so planning and pulling off a holiday meal EXTRAVAGANZA was no problemo for Gram!
I can close my eyes and remember waking up Thanksgiving morning to the smell of onions and celery cooking for the holiday stuffing. Gram would sit at the kitchen table cutting up marshmallows for the pineapple marshmallow salad while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and every so often mosey over to the oven to baste the old Thanksgiving bird! OHH the memories!
Well, in 1993 the traditions at the Hardy Thanksgiving table changed. That was the year my twin sister Patty married my brother-in-law Ken. So not only did we gain a new member to our family, but a few weeks before Thanksgiving Ken shared his family’s Thanksgiving favorite…SWEET POTATO PIE. In other words, “hey I have been eating this pie for Thanksgiving my whole life so someone PLEASE make one!”
So I set out to find a recipe that Uncle Ken would give the thumbs up. The winning recipe was from the cookbook Vineyard Seasons by Susan Branch. This delicious sweet potato pie has a crunchy pecan topping and can be eaten warm or cold. You can enjoy it with your meal as a side or for dessert topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
I hope this sweet potato pie becomes a holiday tradition at your house as it has been at mine for the last almost 30 years thanks to Uncle Ken. And remember when you slice it up as Ken would say, “go BIG or go home!” HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your family!
A few other Thanksgiving favorites are my Creamed Spinach and Mushrooms and my Easy Holiday Broccoli Casserole.
A Few Cook’s Notes for Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Topping Recipe:
I love using pecans for this recipe, but you could also use walnuts.
I make my homemade pie crust, but you can always use store-bought if you’re rushed for time.
This Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Topping is a Thanksgiving MUST! Enjoy it as a side with your Thanksgiving turkey or as a dessert topped with some freshly whipped cream, this pie is a classic for the holidays!
- 1 9-inch pie shell, homemade or store-bought
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked
- 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 3 Tbsp. melted butter
- 2/3 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
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Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Make your favorite pie crust and prick all over with a fork. Spread 1/2 cup pecans in bottom of shell. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees.
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Mash potatoes and butter until smooth. Add all the other ingredients and blend well. Pour mixture into the cooled pie shell.
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Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl with a fork, until crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of the pie. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
If my eyes could taste! It would say this looks delicious!!!
Thanks Hakeem!! Get ready to be a guest on the blog!!
XO Mary Ann
The idea that I could have a piece of pie as a side on my Thanksgiving dinner plate makes me nothing but happy! This is a fantastic recipe, Mary Ann!
Thanks Annie!
This looks like quite the delicious pie, Mary Ann! Our Thanksgiving is over here, but no excuse is needed to indulge in some pie, right ;) Delicious!
Hope you give it a go Dawn!
Oh how I love sweet potato pie! But I’ve never made it with a pecan topping. This beauty needs to be on our Thanksgiving table this year!
Hope you give the recipe a try Marissa! You won’t be disappointed!
I love how family traditions can be slowly adapted. This pie is a perfect example and what a great way to welcome a new family member into the family! I can see why he request the pie – it looks amazing! :) This year will be a year for new traditions in my family. Instead of the large crowd we normally have, it will just be the 5 of us. I will miss all the extended family, but still nice to have my family with me!
It’ll be a different holiday this year for sure Kathy, but let’s say a prayer next year will be back to normal!
Aunt Mare’s Sweet Potato Pie is the best!
It’s not Thanksgiving without one…or two!
Love,
Uncle Ken
Thanks so much for introducing us to it those many years ago Ken! Wouldn’t be a holiday without it! Miss you!
Thank you for sharing that lovely memory, Mary Ann! The holidays are just the best, so many family memories. And this pie looks wonderful – I could make a meal out of it!
Thanks Katherine!