In our house, Thanksgiving is not complete without sweet potato soufflé! It has a very secure spot on our must have menu every year.

Personally, I am not a fan of chunky sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows and, for years, I turned up my nose at the sweet potatoes my mother made on Thanksgiving. Then, in the late ’80s, Mom found a recipe for sweet potato soufflé. It was better than the marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole, but Mom made it with canned sweet potatoes and was something that I could take or leave. Then, one Thanksgiving after I was grown with a family of my own, I pulled out the recipe and made it with fresh sweet potatoes. That simple change was a game changer! Suddenly, sweet potato soufflé was a Thanksgiving must have. And, some years, it is served at Christmas or Easter, as well.

Sweet Potato Soufflé or Sweet Potato Casserole. What the Difference?

• Sweet potato soufflé is traditionally a Southern dish. While the marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole can trace its origins to Boston, MA.
• The toppings of the respective dishes are quite different. As I have mentioned numerous times, sweet potato casserole is topped with marshmallows. Sweet potato soufflé has more of a crumb topping made with butter, flour, brown sugar, and pecans.
• Beyond the toppings, the biggest difference between the casserole and the soufflé is the texture. Sweet potato soufflé is much smoother than the casserole. The soufflé is blended, while the casserole is chunked or coarsely mashed.

Other Traditional Thanksgiving Dishes

• Traditional American Pecan Pie
• Caramel Apple Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

Baking Tips

Most canned sweet potatoes are in a sweet syrup. If you choose to use canned sweet potatoes, reduce the amount of sugar used in the filling to 1/2 cup.

If doubling the recipe, blend the sweet potato filling in separate batches unless you have an extremely large blender.

To Save Time on Thanksgiving Day

Make the filling the day before and pour into the buttered casserole dish. Place the covered casserole dish in the refrigerator over night.

Mix all of the topping ingredients, except for the butter. Keep in a covered bowl on the counter or in the pantry overnight. Before baking on Thanksgiving, cut the butter into the rest of the topping ingredients, sprinkle evenly over the sweet potato filling, and bake according to the recipe.

Sweet Potato Soufflé Recipe

Sweet Potato Filling Ingredients

• 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup butter, softened

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Butter a 2 qt casserole dish.
3. Place all of the sweet potato filling ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into prepared casserole dish.
4. Combine the brown sugar, flour, & pecans in a large bowl. Cut butter in with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly.
5. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over sweet potato filling.
6. Place casserole dish in the center of the oven & bake for 30 minutes.