Savory Sweet Potato Casserole

This is not your traditional sweet potato casserole!!

I never grew up with burnt marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole that everyone always has at their Thanksgiving table. Nope! My mom, for one, doesn’t like marshmallows (I know, don’t ask, I don’t know why either), and she was in charge of making dinner, so she would never make them! One year she came up with a recipe for twice baked sweet potatoes that are served inside of the actual potato skins. They were rich and savory and we went nuts! I will tell you though, they were a PAIN to make!! So, over the course of the years, my mom actually tested the savory recipe out as a casserole and not only does it taste amazing, but it makes the whole recipe so much easier.

I have been making my mom’s recipe, in the casserole form, for years and it is ALWAYS the first dish at Thanksgiving to be finished. This year, I did my own spin on her recipe and wanted to share it with you!

Ingredients

2 pounds sweet potatoes

8 ounces bacon, uncooked

about 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Two small or one large shallot, finely minced

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced

One egg, room temperature 

3 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature

1 cup freshly grated Gruyere

Salt and white pepper 

Freshly chopped parsley for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°

Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment

Poke the potatoes with a knife (or fork) to create holes in the sweet potatoes

Drizzle with a little olive oil; optional

Bake until tender, about one hour

Remove from oven and let cool until able to touch 

Please a cooling rack onto a baking sheet with edges, or a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (you will want something with edges to catch the bacon fat in the oven)

Place the bacon onto the rack and sprinkle with brown sugar, around a teaspoon or so per piece

Bake until crispy, about 12 to 15 minutes

Remove from the oven to allow to cool; once cool, chop into bite size pieces

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat

Add the shallots and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes 

Stir in the rosemary and cook for another minute until fragrant and then remove from the heat

Scoop the insides of the sweet potato into the bowl of a stand mixer and add in the egg, sour cream, gruyere, and shallot mixture

Mix until well combined using the paddle attachment; this can also be done with a hand mixer

Season with salt and white pepper

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray

Pour the sweet potato mixture into the casserole dish and bake at 400° for about 20 minutes

Remove from oven and garnish with an extra sprinkle of gruyere, the chopped bacon, and fresh parsley