These Individual Mini Sweet Potato Casseroles are the ultimate holiday showstopper! This easy Southern recipe uses roasted sweet potatoes for a deep, rich flavor topped with a crunchy brown sugar pecan crumble. Perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, these adorable individual servings are a great make-ahead side dish that guests will love having all to themselves!
Mini Sweet Potato Casserole
Next year, we are officially adding sweet potatoes to our garden lineup because this year, I finally fell head-over-heels for them in the kitchen! While I’m still obsessed with this cheesy ground turkey and sweet potato casserole for a quick weeknight dinner, these little minis are my new favorite for the holidays.
These Individual Mini Sweet Potato Casseroles are as cute as they are delicious. There is just something special about everyone getting their own personal ramekin at the dinner table—it’s always a total hit at Thanksgiving and Christmas! Plus, the crunchy brown sugar pecan topping provides the perfect texture against the creamy mash.
The Secret to the Best Sweet Potato Mash
Let’s talk prep for a second. If you want the best flavor, stop boiling your sweet potatoes! Trust me on this one.
The secret to a rich, concentrated sweetness is baking (or roasting) the potatoes in their skins instead of boiling them in water. When you boil them, they get waterlogged and lose that natural sugar. If you did a side-by-side taste test between a boiled and a baked sweet potato, you’d see exactly why the baked version is the clear winner for a fluffy, flavorful mash.
Make-Ahead and Reheating Instructions
The holidays are busy enough without trying to mash potatoes while the turkey is taking up all the counter space! Since “make-ahead holiday sides” are the secret to a stress-free Thanksgiving or Christmas, these mini casseroles are about to become your best friend.
Can I make these in advance?
Yes! You can absolutely prep the sweet potato base 1-2 days in advance. Simply follow the instructions to bake and mash your potatoes, mix in your spices and evaporated milk, and then store the mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
If you want to be extra prepared, you can even spoon the mixture into the individual ramekins, cover them tightly with foil, and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Pro-tip: Wait to add the brown sugar pecan topping until right before they go into the oven so the nuts stay perfectly crunchy!
How to reheat leftovers
If you’re lucky enough to have a few mini casseroles left over (though in my house, they usually disappear fast!), they reheat beautifully.
- In the Oven: To keep that topping from getting soggy, I recommend a quick 10-minute stint in the oven at 350 degrees F. This will warm the center through and crisp that buttery pecan crumble right back up.
- In the Microwave: If you’re in a rush, 30-45 seconds in the microwave works too, though the topping will be a bit softer.
Pin for later:
Individual Mini Sweet Potato Casseroles
PrintIngredients
- 2 large baked sweet potatoes see directions below
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Baked potatoes really bring out the flavor for this casserole! To bake the sweet potatoes preheat the oven to 375 degrees. F Grab your sweet potatoes and pierce them with a fork a few times. Place the sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake for 90 minutes. Remove from the oven. Hold the sweet potatoes with a potholder (they're hot) and the potato will pop right out of it's skin. Discard the skin. Use a potato masher or hand mixer to mash the sweet potatoes.
- Turn down your oven to 325 degrees F, the temperature we need for the casseroles.
- In a large bowl mix sweet potatoes, sugar, egg, salt, butter, evaporated milk, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
- Spray 6 mini casserole dishes with nonstick spray. Pour sweet potato mixture into each dish, about 3/4 of the way filled. (Note: the mini casserole dishes I use are 6 ounces)
- In a small bowl mix brown sugar and flour. Add room temperature butter and mix until you have a crumbly topping. Add pecans and stir. Sprinkle this mixture on top each of each sweet potato casserole.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
CW says
I did like this but the spices seemed to overwhelm the sweet potato flavor. “Large” s such a subjective description that I wonder if my sweet potatoes weren’t large enough. Would it be possible to give an amount that would get me in the ballpark of what is a large sweet potato; maybe how many cups, or even better, a weight range?
Pamela Reed says
Hi! For this recipe, aim for about 3 to 3.5 cups of mashed sweet potato total. If you are weighing them at the store, look for potatoes that are roughly 1 pound each (so 2 pounds total). If you find your potatoes are on the smaller side next time, feel free to use 3 of them to balance out the spices! Hope this helps!
Theresa @ Shoestring Elegance says
Hi Pamela, Just popping by from Shoestring Elegance and the What to do Weekends party to let you know I am Featuring your yummy recipe now on the blog! Thanks so much for sharing with us! Pinned to the party board too!
~Theresa
Kerryanne says
They look amazing Pamela and I love the individual portions. I’ve enjoyed every recipe I’ve tried of yours so far and will be trying this one too!! Thank you for sharing it at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week. I’m delighted to be featuring your recipe at tonight’s party and pinning too!
Hugs – Kerryanne
Petra says
These look gorgeous! Sweet potatoes AND pecan nuts! Delicious 🙂
April J Harris says
Hi again, Pamela! I just wanted to let you know that I’m featuring this wonderful recipe at the Hearth and Soul Link Party this week. Thank you again for sharing it. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Florence @ VintageSouthernPicks says
Pamela,
These look fantastic, and like you say, who wouldn’t want one of their very own to eat! Pinning & thanks for sharing!
Natalie says
This is wonderful – a little different than my old recipe, which is exactly what I was looking for! Love the individual idea, too!
Michele says
I love this kind of casserole and the presentation is Adorable! I would love to be served this!
Judith Graber says
Don’t forget to link to Fiesta Friday #198 if you would like to be considered for a feature 🙂
Judith Graber says
I love sweet potatoes and always like a casserole for Thanksgiving. Your recipe has all the Fall flavors that makes our kitchens smell so good. Thanks for sharing two versions; your mini casserole and a regular casserole with the party goers at Fiesta Friday.
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
These are sooo sooo pretty! I agree baking sweet potatoes is definitely the way to go – they are so much nicer! I am going to have to work on a Peachick safe version of this as I know they would love all the flavours in this!! YUM!
Genie says
Like this. Looks good!
Liz says
I think I would serve these for dessert, yummy! Thank you for bringing them to FF.
Jae | Dreaming of Leaving says
oh man this looks divine! i am literally drooling, great recipe 🙂 xo
Theresa (@DearCreatives) says
Looks so good. We have an awesome recipe handed down by my mom but, I’m always up for trying something new. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Pinned & sharing.
Leslie says
I totally agree, baked sweet potatoes are amazing. Another great technique is to cook them directly in the coals on a charcoal grill (bonus: no need to scrub them first!) Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
Carrie @ Carrie's Home Cooking says
This looks and sounds amazing! Pinned! We are hosting the Whisk It Wednesday Link Party and thought you might want to share there too! Have a wonderful week! Carrie@ Carrie’s Home Cooking
Sandra L Garth says
This is a beautiful and tasty single serving dessert.
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
Funny, I have had both boiled and baked sweet potatoes and I am totally with YOU. Baked all the way, baby! These little individual servings are just ADORBS—how cool would these be for Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner?!
April J Harris says
Oh my goodness, these are adorable! I love individual serving sizes like this. Your Mini Sweet Potato Casseroles look delicious, and that topping – oh my! Pinning and sharing around. Thank you so much for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. I hope you are having a lovely week!
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
I’ve not heard of sweet potato casserole before but now I really want to try it!
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says
Oh, these look so good! Love individual portions of anything!! Visiting from Round Tuit.
Judy Hyder says
Thanks Pamela, this full-size casserole will be on my table! Can’t wait to try it.
Pamela says
No problem Judy, enjoy!
grace says
sweet potato casserole is something for which individual portions would come in handy–i devour the stuff! 🙂
Ashika | Gardening Foodie says
Hahaha I love the fun holiday stress activity….I definitely need it too. This is such a beautiful recipe, sweet potatoes are amazingly delicious and I am looking forward to trying this one out.