With our sweet potato casserole Instant Pot recipe you are going to be ready to impress every guest at your holiday table. Made with pressure-cooked sweet potatoes, then topped with classics such as brown sugar and pecans, and baked to crispy perfection, our sweet potato casserole recipe is super easy to make ahead and the best option when you are looking for a healthy version that is a WHOLE LOTTA YUM.
Pressure Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole
The pressure cooker sweet potato casserole recipe is a family FAVORITE that we've been cooking for over 15 years. This is the first time we have cooked the sweet potatoes in the pressure cooker before baking the assembled dish, and we are hooked! Using a pressure cooker for holiday cooking helps free up so much space, and simply makes holiday prep easier.
This recipe is SO GOOD my son declared it his favorite Thanksgiving recipe (sorry, hubby, who spent 10+ hours in the cold smoking the turkey 😉 and hoped we'd eat it again for Christmas.
Whether you are pairing this sweet potato casserole Instant Pot recipe with a smoked turkey, an oven-roasted one, or an air fryer turkey breast, your holiday meal is not complete without this pressure cooker sweet potato casserole.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- With our sweet potato casserole instant pot recipe you can make the perfect holiday side dish every time!
- The key to the perfect pressure cooker sweet potato casserole is cooking your sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot so they come out peftectly soft every time.
- Made as directed, our sweet potato casserole is gluten free.
- We are making our sweet potato casserole instant pot recipe without marshmallows to help cut down on the sugar, but all of the flavor elements are still there thanks to pecans and brown sugar.
No matter how you serve them, sweet potatoes are always an amazing choice! Be sure to also try our mashed sweet potatoes with pecans and maple syrup, baked sweet potatoes in air fryer recipe, and our pressure cooker sweet potatoes recipes.
Ingredient Notes
Most of the ingredients for our sweet potato casserole Instant Pot recipe are pretty standard and recognizable if you are a fan of the sweet potato casserole.
- packed brown sugar - either light or dark brown sugar will work
- chopped pecans - unroasted
- butter - cut into ¼" pieces
- garnet yams - (the red skinned sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into 1 ½" pieces
- large eggs
- maple syrup - real maple syrup is always recommended.
- vanilla extract - real vanilla extra is recommended.
- fresh lemon juice - fresh squeeze is best instead of concentrate.
- salt - we used fine sea salt, if you have something like Morton's table salt just know it's about 25% stronger and to cut back slightly on the salt if you're using table salt.
Variations
- Maple Syrup - Honey can be substituted for maple syrup if desired.
Equipment
A Pressure Cooker - This is the Instant Pot model that we used.
Diet Adaptions
- Sugar-free - To make a sugar free version without brown sugar, you can swap coconut sugar, erythritol, or monk fruit for the brown sugar.
Step by Step Instructions
Your sweet potato casserole (Instant Pot recipe) is the easiest way to create the ultimate holiday side dish. We are going to utilize the pressure cooker to perfectly soften our sweet potatoes before mashing them and topping them with the traditional brown sugar and pecan mix.
Prep Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, chopped pecans, and butter until crumbled. Chill the mixture in the fridge until you're ready to use it at the end.
Grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or butter.
Wash, peel, and cube the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1 ½" pieces.
Assemble
Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot and insert a vegetable steamer.
Place the sweet potatoes into the Instant Pot and close the lid.
Cook the sweet potatoes on High for 10 minutes and then do a Quick Release of the remaining pressure.
Transfer the sweet potatoes to a bowl and mash them.
Beat the eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add in the pureed sweet potatoes and mix until well combined.
Transfer the sweet potato casserole ingredients to the 9x13 baking dish.
Sprinkle the pecan mix over the top.
Bake
Bake until the casserole is set and the top is bubbling, which takes about 1 hour.
Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Cut your sweet potato as evenly as possible to ensure even cooking in your Instant Pot.
- Using the vegetable steamer helps keep your sweet potato cubed from becoming soggy.
- Be sure to refridgerate the brown sugar, pecans, and butter mixture until you are ready to crumble it on top of your sweet potato casserole mixture.
- Cut the recipe in half and use an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish if you need a smaller amount.
- The red skinned sweet potatoes, also called garnet yams, will give you the best flavor. The light-skinned sweet potatoes don't have as much flavor and are milder but will still taste great if that's what you have.
Common Questions
Serve your Instant Pot sweet potato casserole alongside all of your favorite holiday dishes including air fryer turkey breast, slow cooker orange cranberry sauce, and pressure cooker mashed potatoes.
Store any leftover sweet potato casserole in the fridge in a covered container for 5-6 days.
While it's common to use the terms yams and sweet potatoes interchangeably, technically they are two very different items.
Sweet potatoes originated in both central and South America and are widely available in the US, especially in the late fall. There are two varieties, the white and the orange sweet potato, and they can be eaten raw or cooked. Cooking the sweet potato will actually make this root vegetable sweeter as the internal sugars caramelize.
Yams, on the other hand, originated in Africa and Asia, and they cannot be eaten raw they are toxic until they are cooked. Generally, yams are not sweet, but they will take on the flavors you add to them during cooking quite well.
And technically yams are not even a potato. They are, however, related to lilies.
More Holiday Recipes
Looking for more holiday recipes?
- Air Fryer turkey breast
- Air fryer boneless turkey breast roast (from frozen)
- Crockpot orange cranberry sauce
- Fast sweet potato casserole
- Instant Pot mashed potatoes
- Fall roasted vegetables
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
Sweet Potato Casserole Instant Pot Recipe
An easy sweet potato casserole recipe for the holidays in an Instant Pot! Steam the sweet potatoes in your pressure cooker to speed up this traditional Thanksgiving dish and then finish baking it in the oven until golden brown.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup chopped pecans (2 oz)
- ¼ cup butter, cut into ¼" pieces (4 oz)
- 5 lb garnet yams (the red skinned sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into 1 ½" pieces
- 4 large eggs
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, chopped pecans, and butter until crumbled. Chill the mixture in the fridge until you're ready to use it at the end.
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or butter. Wash, peel, and cube the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1 ½" pieces.
- Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot and insert a vegetable steamer. Place the sweet potatoes into the Instant Pot and close the lid.
- Cook the sweet potatoes on High for 10 minutes and then do a Quick Release of the remaining pressure. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a bowl and mash them.
- Beat the eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add in the pureed sweet potatoes and mix until well combined.
- Transfer the sweet potato casserole ingredients to the 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the pecan mix over the top.
- Bake until the casserole is set and the top is bubbling, which takes about 1 hour.
- Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Cut the recipe in half and use an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish if you need a smaller amount.
The red skinned sweet potatoes, also called garnet yams, will give you the best flavor. The light-skinned sweet potatoes don't have as much flavor and are milder but will still taste great if that's what you have.
Honey can be substituted for maple syrup if desired.
To make a sugar free version without brown sugar, you can swap coconut sugar, erythritol, or monk fruit for the brown sugar.
The casserole recipe is a variation from the Nov. 1998 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.
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