Sweet Potato Casserole unlike any you’ve seen before! Creamy savoury mashed sweet potato with pockets of browned butter, a crunchy parmesan-breadcrumb-sage topping sprinkled with crumbled bacon. Sinfully decadent and unapologetically rich, no marshmallows in sight!!!
Mashed potato bake is a side dish made for holiday gatherings like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter, and Sunday Suppers with family and friends. Make ahead and feeds loads!
Sweet Potato Casserole
I am beyond excited to share with you this sweet potato casserole!! I mean, plain mashed sweet potatoes have a place in this world – for everyday midweek meals.
But imagine the possibilities when you mash up sweet potato with parmesan, sour cream and butter, swirl it into a baking dish with drizzles of browned butter, top it with a crunchy parmesan breadcrumb topping littered with crunchy bits of sage THEN finish it with crumbled bacon…….
The smell when it’s baking in the oven, that insane golden crunchy topping calling for you to crack through it and reveal that sinfully creamy, butter mashed sweet potato underneath…
Here she is. Calling your name!!
If you’re new to mashed potato bakes, welcome to your new obsession. It’s not just practical – reheats 100% perfectly, just as good made ahead as it is fresh on the day.
And it’s also outrageously delicious. I’m talking OMG-I-feel-sick-but-I-can’t-stop-eating-it good (and that’s a direct quote from a friend).
What you need for sweet potato casserole
Here’s what you need. Nothing nothing unusual here. Don’t have sage? Skip it, use another herb or dried herbs instead (options in the recipe).
How to make it
Roast it, mash it, swirl it, drizzle it, sprinkle it, bake it.
Psst. Scoring a mouthful of sweet potato with a fully sealed pocket of browned butter inside feels like winning the lottery. It’s a swoon worthy moment that you just need to hope for. You cannot game the system.
Crunchy on the top, creamy underneath, the contrasting textures is one of the things that makes this SO GOOD!!!
What to serve with mashed sweet potato bake
This is a dish that’s designed for making ahead and sharing with family and friends. I have special occasion meals in mind because it’s a little….ummm (she subtly coughs)….shall we say indulgent than your everyday potato sides? Just a wee bit more butter than your everyday mash? 😇
I see it alongside a grand roast turkey, a golden turkey breast dripping with herb & garlic butter. Alongside the most perfect Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib), a Pork Roast with the most incredible juicy flesh and impossibly crispy crackling. A fall apart slow roasted lamb shoulder, or a perfectly cooked lamb leg that’s blushing pink on the inside.
For more ideas for your Sunday Supper or holiday feasting, head to one of these recipe collections:
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Savoury Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
Sweet potato mash:
- 1.75kg / 3.5lb sweet potato (3 large or 6 smaller ones)
- 1/2 cup (115g) sour cream
- 1/2 cup (50g) parmesan , freshly grated
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Browned butter & crispy sage:
- 250g / 8oz butter , salted, cut into 2cm/1″ cubes
- 15 sage leaves (Note 1)
Topping:
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup (50g) parmesan , finely grated
- 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
- 150g / 5oz bacon , streaky, cooked until golden then finely chopped
Instructions
Bake & mash:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Place potatoes on a foil lined tray. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes (small) to 1 hour 40 minutes (large) until knife can be easily inserted into the centre.
- Cool potatoes until they can be handled (but still piping hot inside!) or use tea towel to handle.
Browned Butter & crispy sage:
- Meanwhile, place butter in a large silver saucepan over medium heat.
- Once melted and starts to foam, add sage leaves. Cook 1 minute or until golden brown, then fish through the foam to find the leaves and drain on paper towels (will crisp when cool).
- Continue to leave butter on stove until foam dies down and you see black bits on the bottom of the pan (it will smell nutty).
- Strain through paper towel lined sieve – should have 180ml or so.
Topping:
- Crumble sage leaves in your hand (chop if not fully crisp) and place in bowl.
- Add 1/4 cup Browned Butter, panko, parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper, mix.
Mash:
- Cut slits down the middle of the potatoes then scoop flesh out into a bowl.
- Add 1/4 cup Browned Butter (below), sour cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. Mash or use electric beater to mash until smooth (if using food processor, be careful not to overdo as it will make potato gluey).
Assemble & bake:
- Place half the potato in a baking dish (2 litre / 2 quarts). Make swirls across surface with spoon (as catchment for butter!), then drizzle over 1/4 cup Browned Butter. Cover the butter pools with remaining potato – the less you disturb the butter, the better!
- Sprinkle over Topping. Bake 25 minutes until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling.
- Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, then bake a further 5 minutes. If you've got any leftover butter, drizzle it on then serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Flashback to Melbourne Cup Lunch – he got to was forced to try on everyone’s fascinator!!! 😂
I love your Asian dishes have tried several and not a bad one yet. Well done
Fantastic update!
We had no clue that you were away in France all this time!
🤞🤞good luck on the exciting news about your house
Congratulations on buying your new house – fingers crossed it all goes well. As soon as you post the details of pre-ordering your cookbook, you will have one sale immediately!
Lovely dish, I’ll try it tonight for dinner.
Congrats on your very own home for you and your ‘best mate’. Hope you are near the beach as well.
Loved reading your life update. Everybody thinks their life is dull but there is always somebody that thinks it’s interesting, as we do yours. Would love to know more about your trip to France. Being a lover of travelling there myself, and especially Paris, I am always wanting to know what you got up to while there.
Thanks for another great post. :))
Nagi your recipes are just divine and I tried your yummy slow cooker chicken a while ago which was delish and look forward to your wedges and the sweet potato bake. Do other comments mean you wont be posting recipes again? LOVE and adore Dozer aww he is so cute, very clean and fluffy lol x
When you’re living the life you’re supposed to live, the next steps fall into place. I’ve always loathed marshmallows on yams, so looking forward to your recipe.
Cookbook?!?!?!?! Sign me up, cash my check and get it in the mail! I’m so so happy for you. I’m a generally silent follower and habitual Recipe Tin Eats recipe maker and am just so excited!!! Also congrats on the house and good luck with your move!!!
This sounds delicious! I can’t wait to make it, even though it is a bit sinful. Exciting news that you have bought a house. I hope it is near the water that you and Dozer love so much. The news of your cookbook is very exciting but I will be very sad if you can no longer keep up the website. Plus, not getting updates on Dozer will be devastating.
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes, and wishing you all the best on life in your new home! So excited for you!
I will make this for turkey day. The low carbs make it even more appealing.
Dozer is a delight
Waaaaht! This looks savorly decadent. yes. I’m premiering this dish soon!
Thanks so much!!
Hi, Nagi… I can’t wait to make this for our Thanksgiving meal, but I have two questions, please. First, your intro mentions that it is a great make ahead dish, but I didn’t see any instructions for that, unless I missed them which is entirely possible! Second, what size casserole dish would you recommend… 8 x 11 or 9 x 13?? Thank you!! And give Dozer a kiss from me.
Hi Janet! Sorry about that – added the make ahead directions and dish size (8×11)! N xx PS Kiss passed on and I got a mouthful of fur and sand from his filthy head 🤮
Sounds delicious. Am planning a dinner party in a couple weeks. Will be trialing this recipe tomorrow.
Can I make this ahead, freeze it and rewarm? Make the potatoes and add the topping the day of service? What are your reheating instructions. Thanks!
This is going on my Thanksgiving menu!!!
I love reading about your life updates, and wish you would do one every month! You feel like an exciting friend on another continent, who is living a fabulous life that we get to experience vicariously through your blog. The amazing recipes are the cherry on top!
Congratulations on your buying a new home for you and Dozer, and I can’t wait for your cookbook! Good things happen to good people!
This recipe is perfect timing for us as the cold weather is just kicking in here in Spain. But I really wanted to write to say thanks for the lengthy postcard/update – we thoroughly enjoyed reading it and seeing the pics. After all this time following you and your excellent recipes it’s almost as if we know you personally.
Our regards and best wishes from Almeria.
What is the recommended temperature for baking the sweet potatoes? The casserole? What are your recommendations for making it ahead? I love your website (and Dozer, of course)!
OMG…this sounds totally delish. With calories to last til next week Perfect! It’s next on the (extensive) menu ;-). Thanks much for the great recipes.
This one has my name all over it! I love sweet potato everything. I may cut down on the butter a bit for day to day purposes or siwtch out with olive oil, what do you think Nagi? Thank you for everything that you do!
What a wonderful change from the over the top sweet potato recipes that are as sweet as dessert! Thank you! Dozer is so mistreated…NOT!