Mix Up Your Thanksgiving Sides with Casserole-Inspired Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes!
If you’ve been around PWWB for a while, you know that I love re-imagining classic recipes. Sweet potato casserole is no exception! Over the years, we’ve shared quite a few takes on sweet potato casserole, but these Streuseled Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes might just be my favorite version yet!
This twice baked sweet potato recipe creates perfect individually portioned sweet potato casseroles. The baked sweet potato filling comes together with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s super light and creamy without being too sweet. You stuff it back into the crispy potato skins and top it all off with a nutty brown sugar streusel for the best contrast of creamy and crunchy textures.
Each twice baked potato makes the cutest personal side dish for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving. Serve them alongside a traditional Thanksgiving spread, or with other reimagined classics like Green Bean Casserole Bundles. They’re such a fun and absolutely delicious way to mix up your holiday dinner menu. Everyone will be grateful they have one all to themselves! 😉
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The Best Way to Bake Sweet Potatoes
To make any twice baked sweet potato recipe, you need to bake the potatoes – you guessed it! – twice. 😉
Poke each potato with a fork, piercing the skin all around the surface of the sweet potato. Why? ⇢ These small holes allow steam to escape as the sweet potatoes bake, creating the perfect light and fluffy texture, and preventing them from bursting as they bake.
Season well. Drizzle the sweet potatoes with olive oil and generously season with salt. Be sure to rub them well, coating the entire surface of the potatoes with seasoning.
Bake the sweet potatoes. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan and bake. The goal is to ensure they’re fork-tender, but firm enough to hold their shape nicely.
Nutty Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
I love streuseled-anything – streusel is always extra delicious, but it’s also actually quite simple to make.
Mix the dry ingredients. Add flour, brown sugar, and salt to a medium bowl, then whisk to combine well.
Incorporate the butter. Use a pastry cutter or fork to incorporate cubes of butter. You can also use your hands, just be careful not to overwork the butter. You’ll know the butter is incorporated well when the mixture is super crumbly and it almost sticks together when you press it. Tip! ⇢ When you make a streusel, it’s absolutely essential that your butter is cold. Cold butter helps the streusel form large crumbs that get super crispy in the oven.
Add the nuts. Use your favorite! I really like the hearty texture of walnuts or pecans. Stir them in last so they get lightly coated in the brown sugar streusel.
How to Make Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
The beauty of twice baked sweet potatoes is their contrasting textures. We mash the tender insides of the sweet potato with fall-inspired ingredients to create loads of flavor and next-level creamy texture, then re-stuff them into the crispy potato peels. Each potato is packed with even more classic holiday flavor – it’s irresistible!
Tip! ⇢ When you make twice baked sweet potatoes, it’s crucial that the outer shells hold their shape, otherwise the filling oozes out during the second bake. Using a serrated knife helps create clean halves, while leaving a nice border along the edges helps the potato shells hold their shape.
Eggs are my favorite secret ingredient for sweet potato casserole. Mashing a couple of eggs into the sweet potato filling creates an extra creamy, almost custardy texture. It’s to-die-for!
Make-Ahead Tips
If you are looking to save some time, you can prepare the individual sweet potatoes in advance! Store the stuffed sweet potato shells and the streusel topping in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Check out the Recipe Notes, below, for more guidance. Love the idea of a Make Ahead Thanksgiving? Be sure to check out our full Make Ahead Thanksgiving Guide!
I can’t wait for you to try these Streuseled Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes! They’re such a fun take on classic Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole, and everyone at your holiday table will love them!
If you do give them a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about and seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy cooking!
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Twice Baked Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Side Dish, Thanksgiving Recipes
- Method: Oven, Twice Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Twice baked potatoes are always delicious, and these Streuseled Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes are so fun! Inspired by classic Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole, these twice baked sweet potatoes are individually portioned, not-too-sweet, and loaded with crave-worthy texture.
In developing this recipe, I tested several methods for the perfect baked sweet potato and was pleasantly surprised to find that the most straight-forward option worked best. Slowly roasting a sweet potato creates tender flesh that’s perfect for mashing into a creamy filling. Since these potatoes are twice baked, it’s absolutely crucial to avoid overcooking them in this first bake – they should be tender throughout, but hold their shape nicely.
From there, scoop out the flesh and mix it with plenty of butter, a little brown sugar, warm spices, and some eggs. This filling is not-too-sweet and tastes totally autumnal. For an extra smooth and creamy mash, use your food processor or an electric mixer.
Perhaps the best part of these twice baked sweet potatoes, though, is their nutty streusel topping. Feel free to use walnuts or pecans, and be sure to use seriously cold butter to help ensure the streusel gets super crispy in the oven. The textural contrast between the creamy sweet potatoes and crunchy streusel is absolutely to-die-for!
A fantastic side dish for any fall dinner, especially Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving!
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes (approx. 10–12 ounces each), scrubbed and dried well
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- kosher salt, to season
for the streusel topping:
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (can sub 1:1 gluten-free flour if desired)
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup chopped walnuts and/or pecans
- kosher salt, to season
Instructions
- Bake the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, ensuring a rack is positioned in the center of the oven. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up as desired. Liberally poke the surface of the sweet potatoes, piercing them well. Place the sweet potatoes on the prepared sheet pan, drizzling the olive oil over top and seasoning well with kosher salt. Rub the oil and salt over the surface of the potatoes. Transfer to the oven and bake 35-40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but still hold their shape.
- Prepare the streusel topping: Meanwhile, as the potatoes bake, prepare the streusel topping. Add the flour and brown sugar to a medium bowl, seasoning with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and whisking to combine. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture – you can use a pastry cutter or fork, though I typically just use my hands to press the butter into the flour – until the mixture is super crumbly and begins to stick together when pressed gently. Stir in the nuts. Set aside for assembly, or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Hollow out the sweet potatoes: Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to carefully slice the potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop the sweet potato flesh and transfer to a bowl, leaving about ¼-inch of flesh in each potato. Work carefully as you handle the potatoes and avoid smashing – we want the shells to stay intact for twice baked sweet potato assembly! Arrange the hollowed out sweet potato halves on the same baking sheet used to bake the potatoes.
- Prepare the sweet potato filling: To the bowl of sweet potato flesh, add the butter, light brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Use a potato masher to combine well. (Alternatively, making use of a hand mixer or stand mixer yields especially smooth and creamy results, and a food processor yields even creamier results). Once mashed, add the beaten eggs and mix to combine.
- Twice baked sweet potatoes assembly: Carefully spoon the sweet potato filling into the hollowed out sweet potato halves from Step 3. Generously sprinkle the streusel topping over top.
- Bake the twice baked sweet potatoes: Place the sweet potatoes back in the oven. Bake 20-25 minutes, until the twice baked sweet potatoes are warmed through and the streusel topping is golden brown.
- Serving: Allow the twice baked sweet potatoes to cool slightly, then serve alongside your Thanksgiving favorites. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make-Ahead Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes: You can make these twice baked sweet potatoes up to 3 days in advance. Prepare according to Steps 1-5 of Recipe Directions, above. Store the streusel topping and filled sweet potato halves in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Pull the sweet potatoes from the refrigerator 30 minutes – 1 hour before you plan to bake them, then top with streusel just before they go in the oven.
- Storage and Reheating: Leftover twice baked sweet potatoes will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
- Freezer Instructions: You can also freeze leftover twice baked sweet potatoes. Transfer leftover twice baked sweet potatoes to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
Recipe and Food Styling by Jess Larson, Plays Well With Butter | Photography by Rachel Cook, Half Acre House.
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