About This Recipe
For Thanksgiving, I always have sweet potatoes in some form on the table. I love the color and the texture and the sweet flavor this root vegetable brings to the meal. And this recipe for Praline Sweet Potatoes tops them all.
And they are so easy to make! You don’t have to peel, cube, and chop sweet potatoes, which, to me, is an unnecessary chore to add to Thanksgiving preparations. You just use a can of sweet potatoes, drain them well, then add goodies like cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla, and pecans. Yum.
The pecan topping is candy-like and really does taste like pralines. It’s the perfect foil to the smooth and creamy sweet potatoes.
And even better, you can make this recipe ahead of time! Just prepare it all, cover, and refrigerate. Then on the big day, just pop it into the oven and add an extra 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time.
Or, if you prefer, make it in the slow cooker! Just keep the potato mixture in a bowl, and make the topping and refrigerate it separately. Then combine the two mixtures in your slow cooker and cook for 7 to 8 hours on low.
This is a wonderful recipe. The cream cheese adds a big of tang, and the brown sugar and pecan mixture for the topping adds some crunch, a texture contrast that is necessary for the best recipes.
How to make the best Praline Sweet Potatoes
- Make sure you do not buy candied yams. Buy plain old canned sweet potatoes. Read labels!
- The sweet potatoes will naturally smooth out when you beat in the cream cheese, cream, butter, sugar, and eggs, so you don’t need to mash them first.
- The pecans should be coarsely chopped. That means chop them yourself instead of buying a bag of chopped pecans, which are almost always too small. I prefer to break whole pecans into pieces with my fingers so I can control exactly what size they are.
Steps
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1
Done
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Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish with nonstick baking spray containing flour and set aside. |
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2
Done
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Drain the sweet potatoes and place them in a large bowl, stirring to break up the root vegetable. |
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3
Done
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Beat in the cream cheese, heavy cream and 2 tablespoons melted butter until smooth. Then beat in 2/3 cup brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Spread into the prepared baking dish. |
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4
Done
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In a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup butter. Watching carefully, cook the butter until the foaming subsides and the butter browns. Do not let the butter burn or you'll have to start over. |
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5
Done
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Remove the butter from the heat and pour into a medium bowl. Add 1 cup brown sugar, the flour, and pecans and mix until crumble. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture in the baking dish. |
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6
Done
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Bake for 23 to 28 minutes or until the mixture is hot. |
