For your next holiday party, I want you to try an experiment.
Instead of pumpkin pie, bring a sweet potato pie. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the reaction you get.
Here in the Midwest, sweet potato pie is not nearly as popular as its pumpkin cousin. Sweet potato pie is more of a Southern thing. When I tried this experiment recently, I found that most people had heard of sweet potato pie, but had never tried one.
I’m here to tell you: They are a revelation. And they are just as good if not better than pumpkin pie because they are just the slightest bit sweeter.
Plus, they are inexpensive and easy to make. It’s a win/win!
I like to introduce people to new foods, especially when it’s something I know they will love. Try this experiment and you will see how rewarding sweet potato pie can be.
Now, before we get into the recipe, I want to address the Crust Question: Make or Buy?
This time of year, I do a lot of baking. So I prefer the convenience of keeping a couple of frozen pie shells in the freezer.
Sure, they are super easy to make — just flour, fat, salt and water. But unless you are going for a particular flavor component in the crust itself — almond, pecan, or something else — standard pie crusts are pretty flavor neutral and don’t add a lot to pie except structure. So why not just skip that time-consuming step and buy some inexpensive pie shells at the Aldi’s? That’s my attitude.
So here’s a recipe for traditional sweet potato pie. Like the old TV commercial says: Try it, you’ll like it!
Sweet Potato Pie
4 oz butter, room temperature
2 cups sweet potato, cooked and mashed
2 cups granulated sugar
5 oz can evaporated milk (or 1/2 cup plus 2 TBS)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 prepared pie shells, unbaked
1. Cook sweet potatos in 375F oven until done, about 1 hour. Cool, peel and mash. This can be done a day or two ahead of time.
2. Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs and cinnamon and mix well.
3. About 20 minutes before baking, remove pie shells from freezer and allow to soften slightly. Preheat oven to 350F. Pour batter into shells and cook until set, about 1 hour. Jiggle it just a little bit to see if it is ready.
I served this with just a dollop of dessert topping and it was heaven. Give it a try, you’ll see!
What are some of the recipes you love to make for holiday get togethers? Why not share them in the comments section below? And thanks for looking at my blog!
Budget Cooking Blog 
Another good looking recipe. I’ll need a month off just to start to make a dent in the pile of these…
Are these all your original recipes, or stuff you’ve collected over the years?
They are a combination of both. Over the years, I’ve probably cooked almost everything in one form or another. So if it’s not an original recipe, I’ll usually modify it to become like someting I’ve already done before.
Great idea. Though, by the sounds of it some Americans get pretty annoyed if they don’t get a traditional pumpkin pie at thanksgiving. I added black treacle to mine and loads of people commented on how unconventional it was.
I noticed that when I read your blog. I haven’t seen treacle here, although I’ve heard of it. I think you also included golden syrup or something like that, which I had to look up.
I guess this would be a sweet potato tart in the U.K.
It seems there is a shortage of pumpkin this year so it would be a good time to try this.
Anytime is a good time for sweet potato pie! And thanks again for lunch today, Mom!
I’ve tried Ruth Reichel’s Sweet Potato Pie and loved it, but I think I’d like the evaporated milk instead of the regular milk, so I’m going to try this one!
This sweet potato pie had a very noticeable sweetness to it that distinguished it from pumpkin pie. You are right: It probably was the evaporated milk.