Sweet and Savory Sweet Potato Casserole — A fun and EASY twist on classic sweet potato casserole that uses potato chips in the topping for a SALTY-SWEET flavor the whole family will love!! Great for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations!!
Unique Thanksgiving Side Dish
Most Thanksgiving tables have sweet potato casseroles on them, but this isn’t your average sweet potato casserole. This casserole incorporates a fun twist on the classic that you’re going to love.
The recipe is a spinoff of my Sweet Potato Casserole With Butter Pecan Topping, which has been a reader favorite for years.
Rather than adding pecans, I added crushed Sea Salt Kettle chips. The potato chips add the perfect salty crunch to this otherwise sweeter side dish. I love salty-and-sweet recipes and this one is no exception.
The underlying sweet potatoes are soft, creamy, and buttery while the topping is crunchy yet crumbly thanks to big buttery brown sugar crumbles and the Sea Salt Kettle chips.
The saltiness of the chips really balances out the sweet potatoes and brown sugar. There are only three ingredients in these classic chips: potatoes, oil, and sea salt — so you know the taste is going to be pure.
They work beautifully in the sweet potato casserole. Or of course just eating out of the bag by the handful.
Your family and friends are going to love this sweet potato casserole. Who needs a marshmallow topping when you’ve got potato chips instead!
Be sure to check out the Kettle Brand Instagram for all their amazing flavors of chips. I was blown away.
What’s in the Savory Sweet Potato Casserole?
For the mashed sweet potato filling, you’ll need:
- Sweet potatoes
- Eggs
- Unsalted butter
- Milk
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Cinnamon and nutmeg
And for the savory topping, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Sea Salt Kettle Chips
How to Make Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
Not only is this recipe made with potato chips, but I also opted to make the sweet potato casserole with NO NUTS. I know it’s tough dealing with food allergies (whether yours or you guests) around the holidays, so it’s nice to have a nut-free side dish for those who need one.
To make the potato base, boil the sweet potatoes until tender. Then, mash them up with the rest of the filling ingredients.
Turn the sweet potato mash into a 9×13-inch baking dish before making the savory potato chip topping.
For the topping, in addition to butter, brown sugar, and flour, I used half of one 8.5-ounce bag of Sea Salt Kettle chips and briefly (less than 10 seconds) pulsed them in my high speed blender.
You don’t want to pulverize them into dust. Rather, you want them to be in small recognizable pieces so that the topping has plenty of crunch and texture.
Sprinkle the topping over the mashed sweet potato casserole, then bake the entire thing for about 40 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden browned and set.
Can Sweet Potato Casserole Be Made in Advance?
Yes! When cooking a holiday meal it’s so helpful to have as many things in the ‘ready to pop into the oven’ stage as possible and this nut-free sweet potato casserole is one of those dishes.
It’s an easy recipe to pre-assemble before baking it off and if you’re cooking it for a holiday meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve dinner, that’s one less thing to do the day of.
You can prep the sweet potato filling portion the night before, put it in your baking dish, cover, and refrigerate. Before baking it off the next day, prepare the topping — which takes less than 5 minutes — and bake it off.
Can You Freeze Sweet Potato Casserole?
Yes, the mashed sweet potato base can be baked and then frozen for up to three months. Do not freeze the casserole with the potato chip topping, as it will lose its crispness and not freeze well.
I also don’t recommend assembling and freezing the sweet potato base before baking it. The filling contains dairy and raw egg, which can change texture once frozen.
When you’re ready to reheat the frozen, baked casserole, pop it straight into a pre-heated oven. Make sure to freeze the casserole in a metal baking dish and not a glass one, as transferring a freezing cold glass dish to a hot oven can cause it to crack.
What to Serve with Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
Serve this nut-free sweet potato casserole with your favorite Thanksgiving entrees and sides. Here are some long-time reader favorites I think your family will love:
- Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Classic Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
- Sweet Dinner Rolls
- Honey Baked Ham
- Parker House Rolls
- Easy Foolproof Roasted Turkey
- Perfect Homemade Gravy
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Sweet and Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
Filling
- 4 pounds raw sweet potatoes, peeled, diced into 1-inch chunks, boiled, and drained
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
Topping
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4.25- ounces Sea Salt Kettle chips, lightly crushed
Instructions
Filling:
- To a large stockpot, add the sweet potatoes, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Drain in a colander (really shake out the water well) and transfer to a large bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 3-quart baking dish or a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- To the large bowl with the sweet potatoes, add the eggs, butter, milk, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, salt, optional nutmeg, optional cinnamon, and beat with a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed until combined and smooth.
- Turn out into the baking dish, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula; set aside.
- If making ahead, stop here, cover, refrigerate, and pick up with step 4 just before you're ready to bake it off the next day.
Topping:
- To a large, microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute.
- Add the brown sugar, flour, salt, and toss with a fork until large crumbles form; set aside.
- To the canister of a high speed blender or food processor, add the chips and pulse very briefly (about 10 seconds) to lightly crush them. The chips should be in small pieces, do not pulverized them into dust. Alternatively, you can transfer the chips to a large ziptop bag, seal it, and lightly beat it with a knife or roll a rolling pin (or wine bottle) over the bag as necessary to crush the chips.
- Add the chips to the topping mixture and toss to incorporate.
- Evenly turn topping out over filling and bake for about 40 minutes, or until top is lightly golden browned and set. If you chose to make-ahead, you will likely need to bake for about 50 minutes because you're starting with a cold casserole dish from the fridge.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Thanksgiving Potato Recipes:
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Post is brought to you by Kettle Brand. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own.