This southern sweet potato pie recipe with condensed milk is a variation of black folks sweet potato pie that substitutes condensed milk for evaporated milk and sugar. This great recipe is easy to make and can be prepared in advance, making it the perfect dessert for the holidays and other busy days. Learn how to bake the best sweet potato pie with sweetened condensed milk using 8 simple ingredients.
Why Make This?
- Holiday favorite: Are you looking for a delicious dessert option that is similar to traditional sweet potato pie? Want to wow your guests without breaking your back during the holiday season? This pie dish will be the “star of the show” and deserves the central spot on your holiday table. It’s a perfect fall favorite that leaves everyone asking for more.
- Easy to make with simple ingredients: You don’t need to be a baking expert to make the best sweet potato pie. The process is as easy as it can get, and the ingredients are simple.
- Make in advance: Because holiday cooking schedules are always crazy, you can cook the sweet potatoes in advance to save prep time or bake the entire pie ahead of time.
Ingredients Needed
- Pie crust: I picked up a frozen pie crust from the store. Do not thaw it before baking.
- Sweet potatoes: I used fresh sweet potatoes.
- Butter: Salted, melted
- Sweetened condensed milk: Substitute for evaporated milk and sugar
- Eggs
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Vanilla extract
How To Make Southern Sweet Potato Pie With Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Soften the sweet potatoes: Add the sweet potatoes to the steamer insert of an instant pot or other electric pressure cooker and pour one cup of water into the bottom. Cook the sweet potatoes on high pressure for 12 minutes (while the sweet potatoes cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees). Use quick pressure release to stop the cooking process.
- Make the filling: Peel the sweet potatoes and add them to a food processor or blender with the remaining ingredients. Mix until incorporated.
- Add the filling to the crust: Pour the sweet potato pie filling into the frozen pie crust.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for a baking time of 50-60 minutes (or until you can poke a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean). Allow cooling completely before cutting.
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- Use a potato masher if you wish, but I’m using a food processor in this southern sweet potato pie recipe with condensed milk. I find that to be the best method to properly mix.
- You can use your favorite flaky pie crust recipe or a pre-made pie shell (frozen) like I do to save time.
- For best results, allow the cooked pie to cool on a wire rack (cools faster than just on a countertop).
- Optional Variations: You can add orange zest or orange extract to compliment the warm spices. You can also substitute pumpkin spice (in place of the ground cinnamon and nutmeg)
- For the best flavor, use fresh sweet potatoes. But, if you have canned sweet potatoes or sweet potato puree, then you can use this sweet potato pie with canned yams recipe.
- Allow the ingredients (not the pie crust) to come to room temperature before baking.
- Keep the pie crust frozen: by baking it from frozen, it can thaw and cook without burning.
How to Soften Sweet Potatoes
I use a pressure cooker to “boil” my sweet potatoes because it saves time, but you can boil sweet potatoes in water like I do in my southern candied yams post. Or, you can roast the sweet potatoes as Imma does in our black folks sweet potato pie.
How to Sweeten a Pie to Taste
Sweetened condensed milk is very sweet and I use it as a substitute for both evaporated milk and sugar. If you want to add additional sugar and sweeten this to taste, you can add the eggs to the filling last.
Storage and Leftovers
Store your leftover pie in the refrigerator covered with foil or plastic wrap. I keep mine for up to five days.
You can also freeze individual slices for up to 4 months. When you’re ready to eat them, simply thaw them out overnight in the refrigerator.
Yes! This recipe shows you how to make southern sweet potato pie with sweetened condensed milk.
The best way to thicken the mixture is to use fresh sweet potatoes that do not have a lot of extra liquid (for example, you should drain your sweet potatoes thoroughly if you boil them to soften).
Yes – this helps the sweet potatoes blend into the pie filling. To save time, I pressure cook my sweet potatoes.
It depends on personal preference. Both are concentrated and shelf-stable, but condensed milk is thicker and has more sugar than evaporated milk.
Yes, you can! You can eat this with homemade whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, cool whip, a little bit of maple syrup, or marshmallow fluff on top of the pie. But, you may want to add those on your individual slices, rather than the entire pie.
More Southern Sweet Potato Pie Recipes
- Sweet Potato Pie with Graham Cracker Crust: this is a more traditional sweet potato pie filling using evaporated milk, but also a fun twist with the graham cracker crust
- Patti Labelle’s sweet potato pie Use sweet butter, Louisiana yams, warm spices, and creamy half-and-half to make Labelle’s signature dessert.
- Vegan sweet potato pie: Here’s a vegan treat for the holidays. It uses coconut milk.
- Sweet Potato Pie with Canned Yams: uses canned yams or sweet potato puree.
Sweet Potato Pie with Sweetened Condensed Milk
Ingredients
- 9 inch frozen pie crust do not thaw
- .75 lb sweet potatoes about 2 large sweet potatoes, or 2 cups of the softened sweet potatoes
- ¼ cup salted butter melted
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk this comes in a can
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Soften the Sweet Potatoes
- Add the sweet potatoes to the steamer insert of an instant pot.
- Pour one cup of water into the bottom.
- Cook the sweet potatoes on high pressure for 12 minutes. Use quick pressure release to stop the cooking process.
- While the sweet potatoes cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Make the Pie Filling
- Peel the sweet potatoes and add the peeled sweet potatoes to a food processor or blender with the remaining ingredients.
- Mix until incorporated.
- Pour the sweet potato pie filling into the frozen pie crust.
Bake the Pie
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until you can poke a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting.