Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. We’ve talked about this powerhouse before. They are one of the oldest foods in the world and can grow in a variety of climates.

Too often, we only eat them during the winter holidays. And then we heap them full of sugar, butter, and marshmallows. But there is more than one way to cook these super-tubers that’s good all year round. You’ll find this recipe plenty sweet, maybe even too sweet. But it’s still good and I think you could cut back on the sugar in the main part of the dish and still have it be great. Also, I replaced the regular brown sugar with a substitute of half brown sugar and half Splenda® artificial sweetener. Sweet potatoes have a lot of sugar on their own.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 cups sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes (about 2 large sweet potatoes)
• 1/2 cup sugar, sweetener, syrup or honey
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar or substitute
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF (165 C). Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish (Pyrex is best).
2. Place sweet potatoes into a 4 or 5 quart saucepan and add enough water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Drain and mash sweet potatoes.
4. In a large bowl, mix together sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, butter, milk and vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to the baking dish.
5. In another bowl, medium sized, mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the softened butter until the mixture is course, a little heavier than corn meal. Stir in the chopped nuts. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the sweet potato mixture.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is lightly brown. Allow to sit for at least five minutes before serving.

This recipe is ripe for lots of personal touches and alterations. And the leftovers are great after warming in the microwave for a minute or two.

We should be eating more sweet potatoes because of all the great nutrition in them.  They are full of vitamins and fiber.