North Carolina Sweet Potatoes make delicious pies!

North Carolina sweet potatoes make delicious pies for a nice holiday treat to share with family and friends

If you’ve seen sweet potatoes from the Currituck farm stands and contemplated stopping, then maybe you should… here’s one great reason: they make the best incredible holiday treat, sweet potato pie. Also known as pumpkin’s southern cousin.

This easy to make pie is baked in an open pie shell without a top crust. The filling consists of mashed sweet potatoes, milk, sugar, spices such as nutmeg, and eggs. The baked filling may vary from a light and silky to dense, depending on the recipe’s ratio of mashed potato, milk and eggs.

But you’ll need to plan ahead to give this pie plenty of time to bake and cool down before serving.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

pumpkin pie spices used in sweet potato pies

Be prepared for rave reviews when you serve this delicious southern favorite.

Prep: 30 minutes

Bake: 1 hour

Serves: 8 slices

  • Dough for single-crust pie (easy method: ready-made 9″ frozen pie shell or refrigerated dough)
  • 2 pounds North Carolina sweet potatoes (about 2-3), peeled and cubed 
  • 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature softened 
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar (or white granulated)
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten 
  • 1/2 cup milk (evaporated or whole milk is best)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
  • Whipped cream for serving

Alternatively, you could use “pumpkin pie spice” which is typically a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and sometimes cloves or aniseed.

WHAT TO DO

enjoy your sweet potato pie on the Outer Banks this holiday season
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  2. Place peeled and cubed sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes; return to pan. Mash until very smooth; cool to room temperature.
  3. In a bowl with hand-mixer cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Add milk, two cups mashed sweet potatoes, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; mix well (removing all lumps). Pour mixture into ready-made or prepared pie crust.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350° F, bake another 45 minutes, or until set or a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a soufflé, and then will sink down as it cools. *To make sure that the crust around the edge doesn’t get too brown, cover with a pie shield/or foil for the final 25 minutes of baking.
  5. Cool on a wire rack (about 2 hours), and serve at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream, or place in refrigerator to serve chilled. Store any leftovers in fridge.

VARIATIONS

The sweet potato pie is a perfect ending to any holiday meal, from turkey at Thanksgiving or a baked ham at Christmas, and it’s always welcome at group gatherings like potluck suppers. If you would like to “bake up a storm” and have some sweet potato pie variations, consider some of these:

Bourbon and Bacon Sweet Potato Pie

Praline Sweet Potato Pie

“New School” with Grand Marnier and Maple Syrup

IS IT A SWEET POTATO OR A YAM?

Yes, all so-called “yams” are in fact sweet potatoes. Most people think that long, red-skinned sweet potatoes are yams, but they really are just one of many varieties of sweet potatoes.

A true yam is a starchy edible root of the Dioscorea genus, and is generally imported to America from the Caribbean. It is rough and scaly and very low in beta carotene.

Depending on the variety, sweet potato flesh can vary from white to orange and even purple. The orange-fleshed variety was introduced to the United States several decades ago. In order to distinguish it from the white variety everyone was accustomed to, producers and shippers chose the English form of the African word “nyami” and labeled them “yams.”

Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires labels with the term ‘yam’ to be accompanied by the term ‘sweet potato.’ Despite the label regulations, most people still think of sweet potatoes as yams regardless of their true identity. Source: NCSweetpotatoes.com

is it a yam or a sweet potato

Make it your tradition

We’re often told of the fond memories of generations coming to the Outer Banks over the holidays for years and years. They will rent a large home for multiple families to share, and enjoy the beach, plus all the activities found within the home, like baking together. This is a time honored tradition that continues here on the OBX.

If you’d like to own a vacation home on the Outer Banks to enjoy with your family and friends over the holidays, reach out to us any time at 252.301.3090. SAGA Realty & Construction has a simple approach to income producing beach houses which allows you an average of 15% – 20% return on your investment.