Sweet Potato Pecan Pie Recipe

This sweet potato pecan pie recipe combines creamy mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar, pecans, and a few secret ingredients to make a Thanksgiving pie everyone will fall in love with. And even better yet, this pie couldn't be easier to make! Just 10 minutes - and 4 simple steps - are all it takes to prep it, and then the oven does all the heavy lifting!

The Best Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

If you're looking for the best homemade sweet potato pecan pie recipe then you've come to the right place.

This pie has a smooth and creamy spiced sweet potato filling, a buttery pie crust, and a melt-in-your-mouth brown sugar pecan topping that is just so, so good.

Seriously, fall dessert recipes really don't get better than this pie! It tastes almost like a pumpkin pie made a baby with a pecan pie, and yes, it's as delicious as it sounds.

Anyway, along with being out-of-this-world delicious, this sweet potato pie is also a piece of cake to make. As I mentioned, just a few minutes - and a few simple steps - are all it takes to prepare. So, even if you've never made a pie before, this recipe will be a breeze.

Also, the fact that it's so easy is one of the reasons that I make this pie every year for Thanksgiving. Well, that and because my family doesn't stop reminding me to make it. They're just obsessed with this sweet potato pie, and I have a feeling you and your family will be too!

The only pie recipe that seems to rival it in our house is this pumpkin custard one. It's my famous pumpkin pie that is one of our most popular recipes on the blog. 

Ingredients

Although this recipe is a little different from your average typical sweet potato pie - or pecan pie - the ingredient list is about as average as it gets. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you have everything you need to make this pie in your kitchen already!

Anyway, here are the ingredients you'll need to make this sweet potato pecan pie recipe:

• 1 pie crust
• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 6 tablespoon butter, divided, softened
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoon gingerbread spice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 2 tablespoon orange juice
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 cup pecan halves

Pretty basic stuff, right?

By the way, if you want to make a classic sweet potato pie, you can use many of these same ingredients to make my old fashioned sweet potato pie. So if you're in the mood to keep things more "traditional," give that one a look. Or, for something a little different but with the same delicious flavors, give this sweet potato pudding or sweet potato crunch casserole a try.

Ingredient Substitutions and Suggestions

Did you notice anything out of the ordinary in the ingredient list? Well, the two secret ingredients in this sweet potato pecan pie are oranges and gingerbread spice!

That's right, a little orange zest - and orange juice - brighten up the flavors of the pie while the gingerbread spice balances out all of the sweetness of the cooked sweet potatoes and other ingredients.

So, as far as those ingredients go, I wouldn't replace them. They both serve vital roles in this recipe.

However, if you're in a pinch, and don't have gingerbread spice, you could always replace it with equal parts ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Now, when it comes to the pie crust, I like using a premade crust to cut down on the preparation time. But, if you want to make your own homemade pie crust you totally can do that too.

Oh, and if you want to knock off more time from this recipe, you could even use a ready-to-go store-bought graham cracker crust instead of the pie dough.

How To Make Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

This easy pie recipe comes down to following just 4 simple steps - prepping all of the ingredients, making the filling, making the topping, and baking the pie!

Like I said earlier, it's a piece of cake. Or, uh, maybe a piece of pie!

See what I did there?

Anyway, let's stop wasting time and get into those steps!

Step 1: Prepare The Pie Crust

First things first, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C), take out a regular-sized pie pan, and grease the surface with butter.

Next, unroll the pie shell over the pie dish and line it with parchment paper. Then add baking beads or other pie weights - like dried beans - to the parchment-lined pie crust, and par-bake it for 12 minutes. 

Also, just so you know, while the pie dough is baking, you can prepare the sweet potato filling - we'll talk more about this process in the next step.

Anyway, once the pie dough is baked and slightly golden, you can set it aside for later.

Step 2: Make The Sweet Potato Pie Filling 

So, now that we've got the crust cooking we're going to move on to making the pie filling.

To start, beat half the butter (3 tablespoons of it) and eggs in a large mixing bowl until they're well combined and fluffy. Then, once that's looking good, add in the cooked sweet potatoes, heavy cream, gingerbread spice, orange juice, and orange zest. Now you can give all of the pie filling ingredients a good mix until they fully combine. 

Once the filling is mixed - and the pie crust is baked - pour the prepared filling into the pie shell and bake the pie at 375°F for 20 minutes.

Step 3: Make The Topping

Now, while the pie is baking, you'll want to make the brown sugar pecan pie filling topping to complete the pie. 

So, to make it, you'll want to melt the rest of the butter and then combine it with the maple syrup. Then, when that's well combined you can set the pecan pie filling topping aside for later. 

Step 4: Finishing The Pie

So, now that the initial 20 minutes of cook time are up, you can remove the pie from the oven and carefully arrange the chopped pecans evenly on top of it. Then, after you've added the pecans, you can drizzle the entire pie with the butter & maple syrup topping to complete the candied pecan topping.

Lastly, to finish up, you'll want to put the pie back in the oven and bake it for another 25 minutes - or until the topping has firmed up and the crust is nice and golden brown.

Finally, let the pie sit to cool in the pie dish before slicing and serving.

Serve your pie as is, or accompany it with some fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

How To Store Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

So, this recipe for sweet potato pecan pie will make about 8 slices, depending on how you cut it.

If you're lucky enough to save a slice or two, you can store any leftover pie you have - once it's fully cooled of course - in an airtight container or in the pie dish itself wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. Stored this way, the pie will last in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Alternatively, if you don't plan on eating it within that time, you can store the pie in the freezer for up to 2 months. To store the pie in the freezer, again, either wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and put it in a freezer safe plastic bag, or put it in an air tight container.

How To Reheat Baked Pies

Whenever you want a slice of leftover pecan sweet potato pie, you can enjoy it cold or you can reheat it. 

To reheat your leftover pie, put the slices on a baking sheet and lightly cover them with tin foil. Then, put the pie in a preheated oven set to 350°F and warm it for about 10 minutes.

Just keep in mind, if you're leftover pie is frozen, you'll want to thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating it. 

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make sweet potato pecan pie!

This sweet potato pie with pecan takes the most delicious elements of two classic pies - sweet potato and pecan - to create a dessert like no other. It has a smooth and creamy filling, a buttery crust, and a sweet and a melty brown sugar butter topping that's sure to wow anyone.

Honestly, as far as Thanksgiving pies go, this one is tough to beat. We never end up with any leftovers of it, and it's gone almost immediately after we put it out. 

Anyway, if you gave this pecan sweet potato pie recipe a try, leave a comment below and let me know what you and your family thought! 

Also, don't forget to follow us on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram for more easy dessert recipes just like this one.

More Pie Recipes

If you liked this easy pie recipe, we have a ton of other delicious pie recipes on the blog that you have to try next! All of them make the perfect addition to any dessert table (or holiday table).

Check all of these out:

• Grandma old fashioned apple pie recipe
• No bake pumpkin pie
• No bake Oreo pie
• No bake peanut butter pie
• No bake chocolate pie
• Million dollar pie
• Jello pudding pie
• Fudge pie

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