This sweet potato pie with graham cracker crust is a spin on a Southern favorite! It has a creamy custard filling made from baked sweet potatoes, warm spices and simple ingredients. The crust is buttery, crumbly and never soggy!
If you’re in the mood for classic sweet potato pie, just swap out the graham cracker crust for this tender, flaky shortening pie crust! Also make sure to check out my other graham crust versions of apple pie and pumpkin pie.
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⭐ Why you’ll love this recipe
This recipe has all the flavors of Southern sweet potato pie, but with a sweet graham cracker crust! Perfect for beginner-cooks or those who don’t want to fuss with pastry dough.
I love this recipe because it sets perfectly with no cracks! The trick to a custard pie without cracks is baking it at the right temperature and letting it cool in the oven.
📋 Ingredient notes
- Traditional graham cracker crust which is made from graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and a pinch of kosher salt.
- The filling is made by puréeing roasted sweet potatoes (boiling introduces additional liquid into the filling, which we don’t want) with eggs, softened butter, evaporated milk (you’ll need to measure it out, don’t use the full can!), granulated sugar and ground spices.
- Combination of warm spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and a pinch of black pepper. Adding pepper might sound odd, but it actually adds depth and enhances the flavor of the sweet potatoes.
Recipe substitutions
- It’s perfectly ok to use store-bought crust this recipe. You can opt for a graham cracker crust or traditional pastry crust.
- This recipe calls for granulated sugar which keeps the filling light in color and airy. For a dark, even more rich filling, use light or dark brown sugar instead.
⏲️ Step-by-step instructions
Prepare the crust
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in the melted butter and toss until the graham cracker crumbs are moistened. The crumb-mixture should be fine and grainy.
Step 2: Pour the crumb mixture into the pie plate and tilt/gently shake the plate so the graham cracker crumbs cover the bottom evenly. Use the edge of a dry measuring cup to press the crumbs along the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
Step 3: Bake the graham cracker crust for 10 minutes then remove it from the oven and let it cool.
Make the filling
Step 1: Adjust oven temperature to 425°F. Wash the sweet potatoes and pat them dry with paper towels. Rub the sweet potatoes with a very small amount of vegetable or canola oil, then wrap them tightly in foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Step 2: Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and let them cool. Remove the foil and peel the skin using your fingers or scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Place the flesh in a food processor bowl and discard the skin.
Step 3: Add the sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, butter, spices, salt and vanilla extract to the bowl with the sweet potatoes. Blend on high speed for 1 full minute or until the mixture is very smooth.
Assemble and bake the pie
Step 1: Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Pour the sweet potato filling into the pie shell. Be careful not to over-fill the crust. Leave 1-2 centimeters between the filling and the top of the pie shell. Bake the pie for 45 minutes.
Step 2: Once the pie is done baking turn the oven temperature off and crack the oven door slightly. Let the pie fully cool in the oven with the door open so the pie doesn’t crack. Once fully cooled, transfer the pie to the refrigerator and chill for 6 hours.
Note: The top of the pie will expand while baking. It will retain its flat shape as it cools.
Step 3: Cut the pie into slices and serve with whipped topping (optional).
💭 Tips & tricks
- For best results roast your sweet potatoes. Boiled potatoes can make the filling watery. Smaller sweet potatoes generally take 1 hour of roasting time to become soft, larger potatoes can take up to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- Sudden change in temperature can cause your pie to crack. Prevent cracks by turning the oven off, cracking the door and letting the pie cool fully before transferring o the refrigerator.
- A fully cooked pie will be firm with a slight jiggle. It will continue to firm up as it chills. Allow the pie to chill in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours before cutting into slices.
❓Recipe FAQ’s
Baking the crust for too long or at too high of a temperature can cause it to burn. As long as you follow the instruction in this recipe, you shouldn’t have to worry about the crust burning. An oven thermometer can help to gauge the exact temperature of your oven.
A runny filling indicates that there’s either too much liquid or that the pie is not set. Make sure to bake the sweet potatoes, because boiling the potatoes can make the filling watery. Also make sure that you are letting the pie set fully – a full 6-8 hours in the refrigerator. Overnight is best.
For this recipe, eggs are what binds the custard filling, so yes you will need eggs.
Bake your sweet potato pie for 45 minutes at 350°F. Overcooking the filling will cause your pie to crack.
❤️ Other recipes you’ll love
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Sweet Potato Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
Pie crust ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Filling ingredients
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes whole, skin on
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs large
- ⅔ cup evaporated milk canned
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg ground
- ½ teaspoon allspice ground
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the pie crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in the melted butter and toss until the graham cracker crumbs are moistened. The crumbs should feel grainy with no large clumps.
- Pour the crumb mixture into the pie plate and tilt the plate so the graham cracker crumbs cover the bottom of the plate evenly.
- Use your fingers or the bottom of a dry measuring cup to press the crumbs against the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Apply pressure as you're forming the crust but try not to pack the crumbs too tightly or it can become hard while it's baking.
- Bake the graham cracker crust for 10 minutes then remove from the oven and let cool.
Make the filling
- Adjust oven temperature to 425°F. Wash the sweet potatoes and pat them dry with paper towels. Rub the sweet potatoes with a very small amount of vegetable or canola oil, then wrap them tightly in foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and let cool. Remove the foil and peel the skin using your fingers or scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Place the flesh in a food processor bowl and discard the skin.
- Add the sugar, eggs, evaporated milk, butter, spices, salt and vanilla extract to the bowl with the sweet potatoes. Blend on high speed for 1 full minute or until the mixture is very smooth.
Assemble and bake
- Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Pour the sweet potato filling into the pie shell. Be careful not to over-fill the crust. Leave 1-2 centimeters between the filling and the top of the pie shell. Bake the pie for 45 minutes.
- Once the pie is done baking turn the oven temperature off and crack the oven door slightly. You'll notice the top of the pie will puff up during baking. It will retain its flat shape as it cools. Let the pie fully cool in the oven with the door open so the pie doesn't crack. Once fully cooled, transfer the pie to the refrigerator and chill for 6 hours.
- Cut the pie into slices and serve.
Notes
- For best results roast your sweet potatoes. Boiled potatoes can make the filling watery. Smaller sweet potatoes generally take 1 hour of roasting time to become soft, larger potatoes can take up to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- Measure out the evaporated milk – don’t use the whole can!
- The top of the pie will expand while baking. It will retain its flat shape as it cools.
- Sudden change in temperature can cause your pie to crack. Prevent cracks by turning the oven off, cracking the door and letting the pie cool fully before transferring o the refrigerator.
- A fully cooked pie will be firm with a slight jiggle. It will continue to firm up as it chills. Allow the pie to chill in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours before cutting into slices.
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