- Level: Easy
- Total: 2 hr
- Active: 20 hr
- Yield: 6 servings
Enriched with butter and eggs and spiked with warm spices, prepare to meet your new go-to holiday side dish. Roasting the sweet potatoes (instead of boiling) concentrates and deepens their flavors. It also allows you to prep the potatoes well in advance to free up valuable time and oven space on the big day.
- Level: Easy
- Total: 2 hr
- Active: 20 hr
- Yield: 6 servings
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2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large), scrubbed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted plus more for the preparing the pan
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and pierce each one 2 or 3 times with a fork. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool.
- Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F. Scoop the sweet potato out of their skins and into a medium bowl. Discard the skins. Mash the potatoes until smooth. Add the eggs, butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and pepper to taste. Whisk the mixture until smooth.
- Butter an 8-by-8-inch casserole. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the pan and sprinkle the top with the pecans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until a bit puffy. Serve immediately.
Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved
Sweet potato casserole is one of the quintessential Thanksgiving foods. It makes an appearance alongside the turkey on everyone's holiday table. In my family, we have it again on Christmas, too. The version everyone expects is the one that's covered in marshmallows. This year, I'm taking a stand against this marshmallow-topped calorie bomb. Not only does the traditional sweet potato dish deliver tons of extra sugar, fat and calories, it doesn't even taste good. Not in
my opinion, anyway. Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet; they don't need the help of marshmallows. They're perfectly delicious on their own -- baked, mashed, or turned into fries -- or in a casserole, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and topped with pecans. I'm making Ellie Krieger's sweet potato casserole this year. With 160 calories and 4
grams of fat per serving it's a smarter choice than the marshmallow-y version, and without the super-sweet topping, the flavor of the sweet potatoes is allowed to shine through. Sweet Potato-Pecan Casserole
Recipe courtesy Ellie Krieger for Food Network Magazine
3 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mist an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a pot with a large steamer basket in place. Put the sweet potatoes in the basket, cover and steam until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and let cool slightly. Add the honey, egg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the nutmeg, ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt; whip with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread the sweet potato mixture in the prepared baking dish.
Mix the brown sugar, pecans and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl; sprinkle over the potatoes. Bake until hot and beginning to brown around the edges, 40 to 45 minutes.
Per serving: Calories 160; Fat 4 g (Saturated 1 g); Cholesterol 25 mg; Sodium 180 mg; Carbohydrate 31 g; Fiber 3 g; Protein 3 g