Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe with Orange Juice
This sweet potato casserole recipe blends creamy sweet potatoes with a citrus orange juice twist, topped with a crunchy pecan streusel for a delightful holiday side dish.
Today I am sharing a healthy side dish that the whole family will love. Mashed sweet potatoes are topped with a pecan streusel that is to die for!
I know that a marshmallow topping is more traditional, but I prefer the crunchy pecans over mini marshmallows because of the texture and flavor. This dish is not overly sweet and I could seriously eat the entire casserole all by myself!
It also has a secret ingredient, orange juice, that adds a brilliant, crisp flavor to the dish.
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When it comes to the holidays, most of us have at least a few traditional side dishes that we can’t live without. I know our family sure does.
Sweet potatoes, in some form or another, are often at the top of that list. Sweet potato casserole covered in perfectly toasted marshmallows or a crunchy nut topping.
Baked, roasted, or mashed yams. There are so many options!
Whether you have grown up referring to them as yams or sweet potatoes, you were almost certainly enjoying sweet potatoes at family dinners.
If you haven’t eaten sweet potatoes much, I highly recommend you give them a try. With lots of vitamin A and being lower on the glycemic index, they are the perfect addition to a healthy eating plan.
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
This sweet potato casserole recipe is great because you can make it a day or two (I don’t recommend longer than 48 hours) in advance of your gathering and store it in the fridge before baking.
Anything I can do to save myself time on the day is a win! It is the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving dinner or family get-togethers.
It would make an ideal addition to any holiday menu and pairs perfectly with pork chops, chicken, or a smoked turkey.
Ingredients
Start with a few simple ingredients from the grocery store. The full list is in the recipe card below.
- Large sweet potatoes (3.5 lbs. or about 8 cups), peeled and cubed – both orange and white sweet potatoes will work equally well.
- Orange juice
- Unsalted butter, divided
- Brown sugar, divided – I prefer to use dark brown sugar, with its higher molasses content, but you can also use light brown sugar.
- Orange zest
- Ground cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Pecans, chopped
Instructions
1. Boil water in a large pot and add sweet potatoes.
2. Cook for about 10 minutes, until fork tender.
3. Drain the water from the potatoes.
4. Add 6 Tbsp butter, 3 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and orange juice to the potatoes.
5. Mash until well incorporated.
6. In a medium bowl, combine chopped pecans, 2 Tbsp melted butter, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Stir to coat the pecans.
7. Grease a large baking dish (I use nonstick spray).
8. Fill with the sweet potato mixture and top with the pecan topping mixture.
9. At this point, you can cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it to bake later OR bake it right away.
10. If you bake it right away, preheat the oven to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes or until the pecans turn a golden brown and start to caramelize.
11. If you reserve it for later, you will want to bake it for 45-50 minutes, because you will be starting with a cold casserole.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure you are using a really sharp knife when cutting your sweet potatoes. They can be a little bit tough.
- You can use a potato masher or an electric hand mixer to mash your sweet potatoes.
- Try substituting the brown sugar with maple syrup or honey.
- This pecan topping makes a yummy snack all on its own. After mixing, spread it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 F.
- Store leftover sweet potato casserole in an airtight container in the fridge.
Get a head start on your holiday meal planning with this easy sweet potato casserole. Try these caramelized sweet potatoes and this sweet potato recipe with granny smith apples too.
If you love this sweet potato casserole recipe, click the stars below to give it a five star rating and leave a review! Please help me share it on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe with Orange Juice
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes 3.5 lbs. or about 8 cups, peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 5 Tbsp brown sugar divided
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Boil water in a large pot and add sweet potatoes.
- Cook for about 10 minutes, until fork tender.
- Drain the water from the potatoes.
- Add 6 Tbsp butter, 3 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and orange juice to the potatoes.
- Mash until well incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, combine chopped pecans, 2 Tbsp melted butter, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Stir to coat the pecans.
- Grease a large baking dish.
- Fill with the sweet potato mixture and top with the pecan topping mixture.
- At this point, you can cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it to bake later OR bake it right away.
- If you bake it right away, preheat the oven to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes or until the pecans turn a golden brown and start to caramelize.
- If you reserve it for later, you will want to bake it for 45-50 minutes, because you will be starting with a cold casserole.
Nutrition
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Yum!