Instant Pot sweet potato casserole has perfectly spiced mashed sweet potatoes topped with a buttery maple pecan topping. It’s an easy Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish that frees up your oven and still delivers that classic holiday flavor everyone loves.
Sweet potato casserole is one of those must-have dishes on every holiday table, and this Instant Pot version makes it easier than ever. The sweet potatoes cook quickly and evenly in the pressure cooker, freeing up valuable stove space.
The mashed sweet potatoes are lightly spiced with warm spices, then topped with a rich maple pecan topping that adds sweetness and crunch. The combination of creamy, fluffy sweet potatoes and caramelized pecans makes every bite irresistible.
This recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners, potlucks, or any time you want a comforting, crowd-pleasing side.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Milk: Using whole milk will give you richer, creamier mashed sweet potatoes.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar will also work in this recipe.
- Spices: Feel free to adjust the spices according to your tastes. Pumpkin pie spice blend also works well in this recipe.
- Pecans: If you’d like to serve the casserole from the inner pot instead of from a casserole dish, I recommend toasting the pecans for more flavor.
How to make Instant Pot sweet potato casserole
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Add the sweet potatoes and water to the Instant Pot inner pot.
Step 1: Close and lock the lid. Be sure that the pressure release valve is set to “sealing”. Press manual high pressure and adjust the cooking time to 8 minutes. It should take about 10-15 minutes for the pot to come to pressure.
Step 3: Once the cooking time has ended, do a quick pressure release. Check to see if the sweet potatoes are tender enough by poking with a fork. If the sweet potatoes aren’t tender, close and reseal the pot and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Step 4: Once cooked, carefully drain the sweet potatoes and return the sweet potatoes to the inner pot.
Step 5: Add the milk, butter, brown sugar, spices, vanilla, and egg to the drained sweet potatoes.
Step 6: Using a potato masher or immersion blender, mash the potatoes until they are smooth, adding more milk as needed.
Step 7: Add the pecans, butter, maple syrup, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.
Step 8: Preheat oven to 400°F.
Step 9: Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes and spread into an even layer in a greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
Step 10: Spread the pecan mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
Step 11: Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Tips
- Sweetness: It’s easy to adjust the sweetness in the casserole. If you prefer it not as sweet, you can reduce or omit the sugar in the sweet potatoes. If you like things sweeter, simply add more brown sugar to the sweet potatoes.
- Make ahead: You can make the mashed sweet potato portion up to 24 hours in advance. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Set the casserole dish out while you preheat the oven, prepare the topping, and bake until warmed through. You will need to add additional baking time to warm the casserole through, so you may also need to tent the topping with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.
Serving suggestions
Sweet potato casserole makes a great side for ham or turkey at the holidays. You could also serve it with cranberry pork loin for a twist on the usual holiday dinners.
Storage
Store any leftover sweet potato casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored in the fridge.
More Instant Pot holiday side dish recipes!
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Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
Casserole
- 2 ½ pounds sweet potatoes about 4-5 medium, peeled and each cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup water
- 4-6 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch nutmeg
- Pinch ground cloves
- Pinch allspice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
Topping
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the sweet potatoes and water to the Instant Pot inner pot.2 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, 1 cup water
- Close and lock the lid. Be sure that the pressure release valve is set to “sealing”. Press manual high pressure and adjust the cooking time to 8 minutes. It should take about 10-15 minutes for the pot to come to pressure.
- Once the cooking time has ended, do a quick pressure release. Check to see if the sweet potatoes are tender enough by poking with a fork. If the sweet potatoes aren’t tender, close and reseal the pot and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Once cooked, carefully drain the sweet potatoes and return the sweet potatoes to the inner pot.
- Add the milk, butter, brown sugar, spices. vanilla, and egg to the drained sweet potatoes.4-6 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons butter, ¼ cup dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, Pinch nutmeg, Pinch ground cloves, Pinch allspice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Using a potato masher or immersion blender, mash the potatoes until they are smooth, adding more milk as needed.
- Add the pecans, butter, maple syrup, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.1 ½ cups chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, 2 tablespoons all-purpose, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes and spread into an even layer in a greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Spread the pecan mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Notes
- Milk: Using whole milk will give you richer, creamier mashed sweet potatoes.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar will also work in this recipe.
- Spices: Feel free to adjust the spices according to your tastes. Pumpkin pie spice blend also works well in this recipe.
- Pecans: If you’d like to serve the casserole from the inner pot instead of from a casserole dish, I recommend toasting the pecans for more flavor.
- Serving from the Instant Pot inner pot: You can serve the casserole from the inner pot if you prefer, though the oven adds a nice caramelization to the topping. Simply leave the mashed sweet potato mixture in the inner pot and spread the topping over the sweet potatoes.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
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