Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie – A Classic Recipe

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Grandma’s old fashioned sweet potato pie recipe is a crowd favorite and is fairly easy to pull off. Sweet potato pie has had a spot on tables for years in many southern American and old-fashioned homes, and today, many people are looking to recreate this nostalgic dish, often as an ode to their loved one that often made it.

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Made of fresh sweet potatoes, milk, sugar, and a variety of other ingredients, you’ll likely be surprised at how easy a dish like this pulls together and how wonderful it tastes. So, without further ado, let’s explore how to make this old fashioned sweet potato pie and how to troubleshoot some problems you may run into while making it.

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sweet potato pie

Best Sweet Potato Pie Recipe Ever

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Recipes

It’s no secret that a good old-fashioned sweet potato pie can hit the spot any time of the year, but especially around the holidays. This beloved treat often spans generations and is a staple in many American households.

Looking for the best sweet potato recipe you can find? Look no further!

Our favorite sweet potato pie recipe can satisfy your craving for sweet comfort food while offering a variety of nutrients from using fresh sweet potatoes in the process.

So, let’s dive in.

To make old-fashioned sweet potato pie, follow these steps:

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Ingredients:

  • 1 unbaked pie crust (9-inch)
  • ¼ tsp of ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp of ground cinnamon
  • 1/16 tsp of all-spice (just a dash)
  • ¼ tsp of salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ stick of melted butter
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 2 cups of sweet potatoes (already peeled, cooked)

Directions:

Best Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

Prepare oven

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix

In a mixing bowl, gently mix your eggs and add your sugar. Once your melted butter has cooled slightly, go ahead and add it to the mix. 

Incorporate other ingredients

Add your sweet potatoes, spices, salt, and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add a little milk at a time ensuring that your batter is well incorporated.

Pour and bake

Pour your sweet potato pie mixture into a 9-inch pie crust and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a knife comes out moist but clean.

Store

Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Recipe With Condensed Milk

Southern Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

When making a sweet potato pie with condensed milk, you’ll usually find the recipe to have no added sugar. This is because the sweetened condensed milk is sugary enough to sweeten the dish without the need for additional sugar. The creaminess of the sweetened condensed milk also provides undeniable richness to the pie making it that much more tempting!

For many, making a sweet potato pie with condensed milk is easier to pull off than regular sweet potato pie because it takes less ingredients to pull the pie together.

As such, this is a great way to make sweet potato pie, just with a slight twist!

Grandma Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Tips

How Do You Know When Sweet Potato Pie is Done?

This is a tough question to answer because sweet potato pie will most likely look underdone when it is actually done.

Like cheesecake, sweet potato pie will jiggle slightly in the center when finished. But the key is that the edges of the pie will be firm.

Moreover, the pie should read 175 degrees Fahrenheit when read with an internal temperature taker when finished. If you don’t have a food thermometer, you can use a knife. The knife should be moist but come out clean when inserted in the center of the pie.

Still not convinced? Do your best to simply follow the recipe. If the recipe recommends you take the pie out after a certain amount of time, do it, even if it looks slightly underdone. This will prevent you from overcooking and ruining your grandma old fashioned sweet potato pie recipe.

Can You Overcook a Sweet Potato Pie?

Yes, it is possible to overbake a sweet potato pie.

To prevent this, simply follow the directions set for your sweet potato pie recipe, even if the pie seems a bit jiggly in the center.

Signs of an overcooked sweet potato pie include:

  • Cracking in the Filling of the Pie
  • Burnt Pie Crust Edges
  • Overly Tough Filling
  • Spongy Custard
  • Eggy Tasting

Why Did My Sweet Potato Pie Crack? How Do I Keep My Sweet Potato Pie From Cracking?

Sweet potato pies can crack due to over-cooking. It does so because the eggs in the custard mixture stiffen when cooked, causing separation in your luscious custard filling.

To prevent this, the best thing you can do is to avoid overbaking the pie.

Still, even if your pie does crack a bit, your pie is likely still edible assuming you didn’t bake it for much over the recommended amount of time as specified in your recipe.

holiday sweet potato pie

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie FAQs

Can Sweet Potato Pie Sit Out Overnight?

It isn’t advised that you allow sweet potato pie to sit out overnight, or even for more than a few hours. Because sweet potato pie contains milk and butter, it needs to be refrigerated only a couple of hours after having sat out to keep it fresh.

Why Is My Sweet Potato Pie Soft?

Remember that sweet potato pie is a softened dessert. Therefore, the filling should resemble the texture of pumpkin pie once done baking. Understandably, this can make it difficult to gauge whether or not the pie is actually done. Read on to learn more about how to accurately determine whether or not your sweet potato pie is fully cooked through. 

Grandma Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Recipe Is Easier Than You Might Think!

While your grandmother may have toiled long hours in the kitchen, it isn’t likely that most of her time was spent on sweet potato pie.

Sweet potato pie is ridiculously easy to pull together and the benefits of making this satisfying dessert may tempt you to make it multiple times of the year (even when it isn’t a holiday)!

We hope this has helped you! Cheers!

You can learn more about sweet potatoes on the blog:

By Anna

Hey, I’m Anna; writer, editor and amateur cook extraordinaire! Food has been my life and my passion for the most of my life – it’s crazy to think I didn’t pursue a career in cooking. I’m obsessed! However, keeping cooking as an obsessive hobby has worked for me – my passion grows as the years pass by – maybe I wouldn’t say the same if it was also my day job! I hope you find cooking inspiration, entertainment and “stop and think interesting tid-bits” throughout my writing – and I’d love to hear from you if you’ve got anything you want to share. Food feeds the soul – so get eating! Author Pinterest Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Tumblr Reddit Quora

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