This Hasselback Sweet Potato Casserole is a fun twist on the traditional sweet potato casserole. It has all the flavors without all the work! The sweet potatoes are sliced thin and then baked under a generous covering of delicious brown sugar pecan topping for an easy, playful side dish.
Sweet Potato Casserole is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. In its purest form it feels like sneaking dessert on your plate disguised as a vegetable. I even made a lightened up sweet potato casserole that doesn’t feel as indulgent but still tastes sinfully delicious. This Hasselback Sweet Potato Casserole requires no mashing and no mixing. It will be one of the easy side dishes that steals the show.
I created this recipe for my family’s Thanksgiving in 2021. I was in charge of making all the side dishes per usual. My husband’s favorite potatoes au gratin had already taken all my patience since I had to slice the potatoes by hand, but I really, really wanted sweet potato casserole. These easy hasselback sweet potatoes were born! All the sweet, brown sugar pecan topping that I craved with a fraction of the work!
Table of Contents
How to prepare hasselback sweet potatoes?
- Wash and peel sweet potatoes.
- Using a sharp knife, slice sweet potatoes almost all the way through. Slice as you would to make circles. Each cut is about ⅛th inch apart.
- Nestle snuggly in a baking dish and pour butter over the top.
- Cover and bake at 400°F until tender.
- While the potatoes are baking, mix together all ingredients for the topping.
- Remove the covering from the potatoes and crumble the topping over the top.
- Continue baking until the topping is browned, about 10 minutes more.
Ingredients
- Pecans: I chopped and toasted my pecans for even more flavor and crunch in this Hasselback Sweet Potato Casserole!
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a tender crumble topping.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Using dark brown sugar adds sweetness along with a nice, rich molasses flavor.
- Cinnamon: I use Saigon cinnamon but any cinnamon will do.
- Ground Ginger: Ground Ginger has a subtler flavor than freshly grated ginger root. It has less bite and is more warming.
- Kosher Salt: Kosher salt brings out all the other flavors and pulls everything together. Adjust to your preference but I wouldn’t suggest omitting.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter for baking, because you want to control the amount of salt you are adding. The butter is integral to creating a cohesive crumble topping. Too much butter will cause the topping to spread and too little with be dry and taste like flour.
- Sweet Potatoes: Choose sweet potatoes with smooth, tight skins that do not look shriveled. As sweet potatoes age, they lose moisture. They will not roast as sweet for side dishes, puree or baked goods. For hasselback sweet potatoes, look for long, thinner sweet potatoes. These will bake more evenly and faster!
Substitutions for Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
- Gluten Free: To make these hasselback sweet potatoes gluten free, simply substitute Gluten Free all-purpose flour for the regular all-purpose flour in the recipe as written.
- Light Brown Sugar: If you don’t have dark brown sugar on hand, you can absolutely substitute light brown sugar in equal amounts. The flavor will be a bit less robust but you will still get all the benefits of the added moisture and caramel notes. You could also use coconut sugar.
- Vegan: The recipe as written is vegetarian. To make it vegan use shortening or a vegan butter for the topping. Use ¼ cup vegetable stock to cook the sweet potatoes rather than the melted butter. You could, of course, also add a bit of vegan butter here as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store in the baking dish covered with plastic wrap or a reusable covering.
They will keep up to a week in the refrigerator!
You can freeze the baked hasselback sweet potato casserole but it would be best to make the topping ahead and freeze that until ready to bake and assemble.
Reheat covered in their baking dish either in the oven or in the microwave. The topping is best the day it is made but it can be refreshed and crisped in the oven before serving.
You can make and bake the whole dish ahead of time but it would be best to make the topping ahead and freeze that until ready to bake and assemble. The dish can be reheated to serve but I find it best the day it is made.
You can make as large a batch of these hasselback sweet potatoes as you would like. Just be sure to choose appropriate baking dishes as needed.
What to serve with Hasselback Sweet Potato Casserole?
I made this recipe to go with my Thanksgiving Menu 2022 but it is also delicious alongside potatoes au gratin, mushroom cornbread stuffing and roasted turkey or roasted chicken.
I also love to serve sweet potatoes with pork (like these baked mushroom pork chops) because the sweetness plays beautifully with the notes of pork.
Chef Lindsey's Recipe Tips
This hasselback sweet potato casserole bakes best at 400°F, but it can be baked at any temperature between 325° and 400°F. If you are making these as part of Thanksgiving or a larger meal, just pop them in at the temperature needed by your turkey or the most sensitive item you are baking.
Recipe
Hasselback Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 7 tablespoons Pecans (chopped and toasted)
- ½ cup All-purpose Flour
- ½ cup Dark Brown sugar (not packed)
- ¾ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 5 ½ tablespoons Butter (melted)
For the potatoes:
- 3 large sweet potatoes (long and thin potatoes are better)
- ¼ cup butter (melted)
- 2 pinches kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F conventional.
Prepare the sweet potatoes:
- Peel the sweet potatoes and then cut slices about ⅛th inch thick. The slices do not cut all the way through the sweet potatoes. You could place a ruler or a pencil next to it as a guide but sweet potatoes are not evenly sized and I found it easier to just go slowly. If you slice all the way through one, so what?! The next one will be better.
- Fit in baking dish snuggly. You want the potatoes to be touching. This helps them steam and cook evenly. Pour the melted butter over the top of all the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and cinnamon. Cook covered until tender. This took about 30 min but they were alone in the oven. If the oven is full, it will take them longer. If you find they are drying out, you can add a little bit of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Old sweet potatoes have less moisture so that could be the issue.
Prepare the topping:
- While the potatoes are baking, prepare the topping. In a bowl, mix together all ingredients for the topping. I find it easiest to mix with my hand, but you can use the back of a spoon as well. Set aside. You can make the topping up to a week in advance. Store in the refrigerator.
- Remove the covering from the potatoes and crumble the topping over the top like you would sweet potato casserole.
- Continue baking until the topping is browned, about 10 minutes more.
Video Instructions
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