Easy Sweet Potato or Yam Pie

This sweet potato pie is about as fuss-free as Southern baking gets. Cooked sweet potato puree, melted butter, sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, and spices all go into the food processor, get blended smooth, poured into an unbaked deep-dish pie shell, and baked until golden. That’s it.

The lemon extract is the detail that separates this from a generic recipe. It brightens the filling and keeps the sweetness from feeling one-note, working alongside vanilla and nutmeg to give the pie a warm complexity.

The food processor is doing all the hard work here. It breaks down any lumps in the sweet potato puree and creates a silky, custard-smooth filling that sets evenly in the oven.

Pro Tips

• Use freshly cooked and mashed sweet potatoes, not canned. The flavor is noticeably better and the texture is smoother.
• Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, but don’t overbake. The filling should still have a slight jiggle in the very center when you pull it.
• Let the pie cool completely before slicing. The custard firms up as it cools and will be runny if cut warm.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of ground ginger for a more heavily spiced pie.
• Top with a pile of toasted marshmallows under the broiler for a Thanksgiving crowd-pleaser.
• Swap the pie shell for a gingersnap crumb crust for a spicier base.