Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet potato pie is a beloved Thanksgiving dessert, known for its warm flavor and cozy, nostalgic appeal. This brown butter sweet potato pie takes the classic recipe a step further, adding rich, nutty depth from browned butter to make each bite even more indulgent. The filling bakes up smooth, sweet, and slightly fluffy, while the browned butter adds a subtle savory note that balances the sweetness. It’s a memorable twist on tradition that’s sure to impress at any holiday gathering.
Table of Contents
What is Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie?
Brown butter sweet potato pie is a rich and flavorful twist on the traditional Southern classic. Instead of using plain melted butter, this recipe begins by browning the butter until it turns golden and fragrant, adding a nutty, toasted flavor that deepens the overall taste of the pie. That extra layer of complexity transforms a familiar holiday dessert into something special without losing its comforting roots.
Sweet potato pie is a custard pie, smooth and creamy with natural sweetness from roasted sweet potatoes. It’s often compared to pumpkin pie, but the two desserts, while seemingly similar, are distinctly different. Sweet potato pie tends to be bolder, sweeter, and more vibrant in flavor, while pumpkin pie is usually lighter, with its flavor defined more by warm spices and dairy.
The Rising Popularity of Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet potato pie is a perennial holiday favorite, but the use of brown butter in desserts is a relatively recent trend. Interest in “brown butter” as a baking term barely registered online before the early 2010s when influential food bloggers like Smitten Kitchen and Joy the Baker began publishing popular recipes with brown butter. These recipes elevated home baking favorites, like chocolate chip cookies, with a simple technique that took off with recipe creators and home bakers alike.
By 2013, searches for “brown butter sweet potato pie” started appearing and have steadily resurfaced every holiday season since. The combination marries a deeply rooted Southern classic with a modern baking trend, making it both nostalgic and fresh. Brown butter versions of pies, cookies, and other baked goods have become a sought-after way to elevate traditional recipes without needing fancy equipment or perfecting difficult techniques.
Brown Butter Explained
What Is Brown Butter?
Brown butter is simply butter that has been melted and gently cooked until the milk solids turn golden and fragrant, creating a nutty, toasted flavor. This transformation happens through the Maillard reaction, the same chemical process that gives baked bread its aroma, roasted coffee beans their depth, or a perfectly baked pie crust its flavor. The result is a butter that smells warm and nutty, with a richer, more complex taste than plain melted butter.
The technique has been used in European cooking for centuries and appears in recipes as far back as Medieval times. In French cuisine, it’s called beurre noisette, which translates to “hazelnut butter” because of both its color and flavor. Today, brown butter is an easy way to elevate everyday recipes. It can replace regular butter in baked goods, sauces, and custards to give the final dish a deeper, caramelized quality that tastes sophisticated without being complicated.
Why Does Brown Butter Taste Nutty?
As butter is gently heated, the water evaporates and the milk solids begin to undergo the Maillard reaction and brown. Those browned milk solids are what give brown butter its signature nutty, toasty flavor. As it browns, the butter will begin to smell fragrant with a distinctive warm, nutty smell.
Butter itself is an emulsion of water, butterfat, and milk solids. The exact composition depends on the type of butter: most American butter contains about 80% butterfat, while European and Irish styles hover around 82%, and Amish butter is even higher at 84%. Higher butterfat butters lose less volume during browning and often produce a richer flavor.
After melting your butter, the browning begins after all the water in the butter has boiled off. The browning comes from the milk solids heating up and beginning to cook and turn brown. Like caramel, another browning process, if you let the process go on too long, the milk solids will char and burn and you’ll end up with burnt butter.
How Much Volume Do You Lose When Making Brown Butter?
Butter doesn’t begin to brown until all of its water has cooked off. Since butter is made up of water, butterfat, and milk solids, the exact amount of liquid that evaporates depends on the type of butter you’re using. Most American butters contain about 80% butterfat, which means roughly 20% of the weight is water. As a result, when you brown 10 tablespoons of butter (about 1¼ sticks), you’ll usually end up with around 9 tablespoons of finished brown butter. European, Irish, and Amish butters typically have a higher butterfat content and less water, so the volume loss is ever so slightly smaller.
Preparing the Ingredients for Sweet Potato Pie
How to Brown Butter
You need 4oz (113g) or ½ cup of browned butter for this recipe. Because you lose some volume when you brown butter, I recommend starting with 1¼ sticks of unsalted butter, and then measuring ½ cup or 113g out after cooking.
Making brown butter is a quick, straightforward process that takes only a few minutes. Here’s how to do it:
1.
Melt the butter. Place your butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat. Let it melt completely.
2.
Cook until golden. Continue heating gently, stirring occasionally. The butter will foam and bubble as the water evaporates, then the bubbling will slow. Watch closely for the color to shift to a warm toffee brown and for golden specks (the milk solids) to appear on the bottom of the pan. The butter will smell intensely nutty and fragrant at this point.
3.
Strain and use. Once it reaches the desired color, immediately remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer to catch the darker milk solids. You’ll be left with smooth, aromatic brown butter ready for baking.
Cooking Tip: The process usually takes somewhere around 10 minutes depending on your stove and pan.
How to Roast Sweet Potatoes for Sweet Potato Pie
You need 650g (1lb5oz) of sweet potato puree for this recipe, which comes from roughly 2–3 large sweet potatoes. For the best flavor and texture, look for Beauregard, Jewel, or Garnet varieties. Beauregard sweet potatoes are the most widely available in American grocery stores, while Jewel and Garnet are slightly deeper in color and naturally sweet.
To roast the sweet potatoes:
1.
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
2.
Rub each sweet potato lightly with a neutral oil such as canola or avocado oil. This helps the skins crisp slightly and makes them easier to peel later.
3.
Poke the sweet potatoes several times with a fork to allow steam to escape during roasting.
4.
Place them on a baking sheet and roast for about 50 minutes, or until a fork slides easily through the center. Larger potatoes may take up to an hour.
5.
Remove from the oven and let them cool until safe to handle.
6.
Using your fingers, carefully peel the skin off of the roasted sweet potatoes.
Step-by-Step Southern Pecan Pie Recipe:
Crust:
Like most custard pies, you’ll want a dark-baked pie crust for this pie.
How to Make Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie:
Ingredients
- 1lb7oz Roasted Sweet Potatoes (650g)
- ⅝ cups Brown Sugar (125g)
- 1 cup Whole Milk (240g)
- 2 Eggs
- 1T Vanilla Extract (15mL)
- 2t Ground Cinnamon
- ¼t Salt
- ½ cup Brown Butter, melted (113g)
- 2T Heavy Whipping Cream (optional)
1.
Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
2.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the roasted sweet potatoes (cut into chunks), brown sugar, browned butter, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Blend on high until completely smooth. The mixture may remain slightly grainy at this stage, which is normal — the eggs will help emulsify it.
3.
Add the eggs to the mixture and blend again until fully incorporated.
4.
Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the milk, blending with an immersion blender or whisk until smooth.
Note: Many food processors do not have enough capacity to hold the mixture once the milk is added, which is why it’s best to finish this step in a separate bowl. If your food processor has the space, you can blend everything together there.
5.
Brush the edges of your pie crust with cream for a golden brown finish if desired. (This is optional).
6.
Place the crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour the filling in, filling to just below the rim of the crust.
7.
Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until the edges are slightly puffed and set while the center still has a gentle jiggle when the pie is moved.
8.
Cool and serve!
Popular Sweet Potato Pie Variations:
Like pumpkin pie and other classic seasonal favorites, sweet potato pie has countless variations that have popped up over the years and become family favorites. Each one brings its own flavor twist while still keeping the spirit of the traditional dessert.
- Classic Sweet Potato Pie: The tried-and-true Thanksgiving staple that never goes out of style.
- Maple Sweet Potato Pie: Sweetened with maple syrup for a rich, cozy maple flavor.
- Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie: A splash of bourbon adds depth and a touch of warmth that balances the sweetness.
- Caramel Sweet Potato Pie: Sweetened with caramel and sometimes finished with a brûléed top for a dramatic finish.
How to Serve Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie:
- Whipped Cream: A slice of sweet potato pie topped with freshly whipped cream is a simple, classic pairing that never goes out of style.
- A La Mode: For an extra decadent dessert, serve a warm slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and finish with a drizzle of hot fudge or salted caramel sauce.
- Toasted Marshmallow Fluff: Inspired by Midwestern sweet potato casseroles, spreading marshmallow fluff over the pie and toasting it creates a nostalgic finish.
- Meringue: For a vintage holiday look, top the pie with meringue and toast it until golden. The contrast of fluffy meringue and smooth filling makes every bite feel special.
How to Store Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet potato pie should always be refrigerated after baking. Once cooled, cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap or foil and store it in the refrigerator for 3–5 days. If you’d like to keep it longer, wrap the pie tightly in plastic to prevent freezer burn. It can be frozen for up to one month. To serve, transfer the pie to the refrigerator the night before so it can thaw.
For the best texture, especially if the crust has softened, reheat the pie in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 20 minutes before serving. This refreshes the crust, warms the filling slightly, and makes the pie taste almost as good as freshly baked.
We’d love to see your sweet potato pie creations! If you give this recipe a try, tag @doggone_baking on social media so we can share in the fall baking fun.
Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 Dark, Blind-Baked Pie Shell
- 2 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream (optional)
Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie Filling
- 650 g Sweet Potatoes*, roasted and peeled (1lb7oz) This is about 2-3 large sweet potatoes
- ⅝ cup Brown Sugar (125g)
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract (15mL)
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Brown Butter (113g)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Whole Milk (240mL)
Instructions
Prepare a Pie Crust
- Before beginning to make this pie, prepare a dark, blind-baked pie crust. Almost any other crust of your choosing can be used as well. Instructions for an all-butter crust can be found here.
Roast the Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Rub 2-3 sweet potatoes with a neutral oil, and poke all over with a fork.
- Bake for ~50 minutes until easily pierced through with a fork.
- Let cool and then carefully peel the skin off.
Brown the Butter
- Melt 1¼ sticks of butter in a small pot.
- Over low heat, bring the butter to a boil and watch as it begins to brown.
- When the butter reaches the desired level of brownness, strain through a fine mesh sieve and measure out ½ cup.
Making the Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the prepared dark-baked pie crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- In a food processor, combine roasted sweet potatoes (cut into chunks), brown sugar, browned butter, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Add eggs and blend again until fully incorporated.
- Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add milk and blend with an immersion blender or whisk until smooth.
- If desired, brush crust edges with heavy cream for a golden finish. (optional)
- Pour filling into the crust, filling just below the rim.
- Bake 25–35 minutes, until edges are puffed and set while the center retains a slight jiggle.
- Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
Notes
- Beauregard, jewel, and garnet varieties of sweet potatoes work best for this recipe.
