Sweet Potato Pie

An old fashioned Sweet Potato Pie flavored with brandy, lemon, vanilla and the faintest hint of nutmeg. A creamy, smooth filling baked inside a cream cheese pie crust for the perfect bite.

This creamy sweet potato pie is simply flavored with brandy, vanilla and lemon. The recipe is from Mary Randolph, the author of The Virginia Housewife (1824), via The Southern Heritage Pies and Pastry Cookbook (1984 Edition).

True sweet potato pies don’t use any spices or strong flavorings like pumpkin pie, rather the vanilla, brandy and lemon accentuate the nuanced flavors of the sweet potatoes. You could add a teaspoon or two of my pumpkin spice recipe, but I love letting the sweet potatoes shine on Thanksgiving and all year round!

Professional Tips for Making Sweet Potato Pie

• Use room temperature mashed sweet potatoes. Many recipes call for melting the butter into the sweet potatoes, however, for the best texture in this pie, you’ll want them to be room temperature or just slightly warm so they don’t melt the butter.
• Roast sweet potatoes for the best flavor. Roasting the sweet potatoes steams them in their skins, which concentrates the sugars. This pie will still be delicious with microwaved or boiled potatoes.
• Use a ricer for smooth puree. Press warm, baked sweet potatoes through a ricer for the smoothest puree. You can also puree it in a food processor and then press it through a sieve. Maybe double it and make this sweet potato casserole too!
• Par-bake the pie crust for the best of both worlds. Get a flaky, never-soggy bottomed pie crust with a smooth, creamy filling by partially blind baking the crust. Read more about how to par-bake pie crust in this tutorial.

Ingredients Needed

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• Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar is here for sweetness and to trap air when creamed with butter. This makes for a light sweet potato pie.
• Sweet Potatoes: Choose sweet potatoes with smooth skins that are blemish free. Sweet potatoes dry out as they age or if they are stored improperly, which can result in chunky and dry pie. You can also use canned sweet potato puree to make this a super easy recipe!
• Whole Eggs: It is important that the eggs are at room temperature to properly incorporate into the filling. This will ensure everything stays emulsified and smooth. Cold eggs will chill the butter and cause it to separate.
• Brandy: Choose a brandy that you like because you will taste it in the final, baked pie. If you don’t love the taste of brandy, smell it and find one with an aroma you find pleasing.
• Lemon: This recipe uses both zest and juice. Just remember to zest the lemon before juicing and just take off the bright yellow parts.
• Vanilla Extract: The vanilla extract complements and rounds out the flavors in this pie.
• Fresh Nutmeg: The recipe calls for freshly grated nutmeg. If you only have ground nutmeg, I would recommend omitting it. Ground nutmeg has a different flavor that will overwhelm the sweet potato.
• All-purpose flour
• Kosher Salt
• Cream Cheese
• Butter

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations & Substitutions

• Use a different alcohol or omit it: Try bourbon, dark rum, or Grand Marnier for a different flavor profile. You can also just omit the alcohol without substitution.
• Use a different winter squash: This pie would be delightful with butternut, honeynut or sugar pumpkin squash puree instead.
• Use brown sugar for a more wintery flavor. The lemon, brandy and vanilla gives this pie a light, bright flavor, but it would also be delicious with brown sugar and a hint of ground cinnamon or ginger. I’ve also been known to put a swirl of lemon buttercream frosting or lemon whipped cream on top, just to make it extra bright! 
• Use a different pie crust: Rather than using the cream cheese crust below, try this all butter pie crust recipe, this foolproof vodka pie crust or even a sweet tart crust.

How to Make Sweet Potato Pie

Use these instructions to make the perfect sweet potato pie every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Prepare the cream cheese pie dough:

Step 1: Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).

Step 2: Reduce the speed of the mixer and add in the flour and salt. Mix until the dough comes together. If the dough is not cohesive and will not stay in a ball, sprinkle ice water a tablespoon at a time over the dough and mix with a fork until it comes together in a ball.

Step 3: Flatten into a circle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, at least 4 hours. Overnight refrigeration is recommended.

Step 4: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll out your pastry to 1/8th inch thick, chill for about 30 minutes, line a pie dish, trim the edges, roll them under and crimp decoratively.

Step 5: Place parchment paper in the pastry shell and fill with baking beans or weights. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the bottom has begun to brown and the center looks matte (not shiny).

Prepare the pie filling:

Step 6: Preheat oven to 400°F. Wash sweet potatoes and prick them a few times on each side with a fork. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the hot oven until soft. They are done when they can be pierced easily with a fork or cake tester. Peel when just cool enough to handle.

Step 7: Mash the sweet potatoes with a hand masher or the back of a large wooden spoon.

Step 8: Warm the brandy in a small saucepan and reserve warm. This isn’t necessary but it will help keep the filling from breaking when it is added.

Step 9: Cream butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer: gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition. Add potatoes; beat on medium speed until well blended.

Step 10: Add eggs, one at a time; beating after each addition.

Step 11: Add the brandy, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and nutmeg to the sweet potato mixture; stir until well blended. Pour mixture into pastry shell and smooth.

Step 12: Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350°F and continue baking until the center has puffed and jiggles like jello, about 25 more minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed pie recipes! You might also like the 25 Best Pumpkin Recipes for Fall!