I am all for any recipes that you can make ahead of the big holiday meal because who doesn't have enough to do handling the turkey or roast and all other last minute dishes?
This recipe is very forgiving.. you can use half sweet potato and half squash flesh if you like. It is not sweet like the marshmallow-y recipes despite the half cup of sugar in it. The sugar and baking powder give it a bit of structure so it isn't mushy.
If you don't have buttermilk on hand you can use 1 cup of regular milk and add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to it. Let it sit 5-15 minutes and voila... buttermilk! I have used sour cream in a pinch as well.
You can bake the sweet potatoes a day or 2 ahead of time if you like. If you are baking something else leading up to the holidays just throw them in for 45-60 minutes. Mash them when they come out of the oven and then it takes no time to mix in the rest of the ingredients when you are ready to make the casserole. That makes this recipe a real cinch on the day you are serving.
Make Ahead Holiday Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 6-8 sweet potatoes
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup pecans whole or pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork 2-3 times. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake 45-60 minutes until soft. Reduce oven to 350.
- When you can handle the sweet potatoes, scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Add all other ingredients and beat on low 2-3 minutes just until well mixed and there are no lumps.
- Spoon into a large casserole dish and sprinkle pecans evenly over the top.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- At this point you can cool and freeze the casserole, or store in the fridge up to 48 hours.
- If reheating after refrigeration it will take 45-60 minutes to bake depending on the shape and depth of your casserole dish. Check after 45.
- If reheating from frozen check casserole after 60 minutes.
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