My southern bourbon sweet potato pie is a Soul Food family favorite! With a silky smooth, spiced and spiked sweet potato filling and all-butter crust, you'll fall in love at first bite.
I referred to the soulful baking prowess of my dear, late maternal grandmother and the infamous Patti LaBelle when developing this recipe and I think I did them proud. Don't be intimidated by the history behind this recipe because I know that you can make it for your family, too.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my southern sweet potato pecan pie or sweet potato pie ice cream, too!
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
- What You'll Need for this Recipe
- Should I roast or boil sweet potatoes for pie?
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Sweet Potato Pie with Bourbon
- Pro Tip #1
- Pro Tip #2
- How to Make Sweet Potato Pie Filling Smooth
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Serve
- More Soul Food Favorite Dessert Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Made the Old Fashioned Way - If you look forward to Thanksgiving all year, this southern-style bourbon sweet potato pie recipe is for you. It is a staple at our holiday table that I've perfected over the years thanks to two great culinary muses in my life.
Perfect Sweet Potato Flavor - The flavor profile of this pie is creamy, sweet, and earthy with caramelized warming spices and notes of butter, oak, and vanilla.
I inherited my knack for holiday desserts from my grandma, and it doesn't stop with this bomb sweet potato pie. Check out my butter pecan pound cake, Georgia peach cobbler, apple pear cranberry crumble pie, sweet potato pie cookies, and praline sweet potato bread pudding!
This has become my family's favorite sweet potato pie and I came searching for your recipe ahead of Thanksgiving because I've already been "assigned" to make it. The filling is very tasty and I make sure to use good bourbon as you recommend. Just want to extend a word of thanks to you Jazz! My family will accept no other sweet potato pie!
-reader review from Cassandra
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Wondering what does Patti Labelle put in her sweet potato pie? My version is actually how to make Patti Labelle sweet potato pie better! Here's what to add to your grocery list.
Sweet Potatoes, of course! I recommend Jewel or Garnet for their earthy and slightly sweet flavor, bright orange color, and texture that's easy to work with. If you already have sweet potato puree on standby, use about two cups of it.
Should I roast or boil sweet potatoes for pie?
Short answer: You should roast sweet potatoes for sweet potato pie.
Roasting sweet potatoes deepens and concentrates their flavor and doesn't mess with their texture the way that boiling does. When you boil sweet potatoes, they get tender, but they also lose flavor and starch and can get a bit waterlogged, which is not great for pie filling.
Many recipes, including Ms. Patti's original recipe, will instruct you to boil your sweet potatoes. I'm not here to say that's wrong, but I am here to say that roasting is my preference.
Bourbon Whiskey: I recommend using a good quality bourbon to spike this sweet potato filling. Go for one you would enjoy sipping neat or in your favorite whiskey cocktail. The alcohol will cook away, leaving only the flavor behind, which is why the quality matters.
Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar for texture and taste. I love the caramelized molasses flavor that brown sugar adds. You can use either light or dark brown sugar interchangeably.
Cinnamon and Nutmeg add dimension of subtle warmth, and it's my opinion that you can't make a good sweet potato pie without them.
Heavy Cream helps make the filling smooth and, well, creamy. Alternatively, you can use half and half or even plain milk in a pinch.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Spices - Wondering what spices belong in a sweet potato pie? in addition to nutmeg and cinnamon, you can also mix in cardamom, ginger, and/or clove!
Store-bought Crust - If you are short on time come Turkey Day, you can grab frozen or chilled pie dough from the store and proceed to make the homemade filling.
Canned Yams - On the flip side, you can jazz up a can of candied sweet potatoes or even use leftover homemade candied yams. Either way, you won't need to roast them and can reduce the amount of sugar by about half.
How to Make Sweet Potato Pie with Bourbon
Crust
- Step One: Combine the crust ingredients until a dough forms then shape the dough into a disc (like a hockey puck). Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill. (Photo One)
Pro Tip #1
Be sure to use ice cold butter and water for making the sweet potato pie dough. This helps create pockets of butter throughout the dough that bake into beautiful flaky crust.
- Step Two: Roll out the chilled dough and place it over a round pie pan. (Photo Two)
- Step Three: Gently press the dough into the pan, cut off the excess around the edges, and shape the edges. Use a fork to prick the bottom. (Photo Three)
- Step Four: Par bake the dough for about 15 minutes. (Photo Four)
Pro Tip #2
Par baking, also called blind baking, partially cooks a pie crust before adding the filling so that it doesn't shrink while baking. Add pie weights or dry goods like rice or lentils over parchment paper to help it keep shape.
Filling
- Step Five: Roast the sweet potatoes until fork tender--meaning you can pierce them with a dinner fork. The skin will be wrinkly and easy to pull away. (Photo Five)
- Step Six: Peel and puree the sweet potatoes until smooth. (Photo Six)
How to Make Sweet Potato Pie Filling Smooth
For silky smooth pie filling free of any pesky sweet potato strings, use a food processor to break down the sweet potatoes and combine your filling ingredients. You can use a stand mixer or your own elbow grease, if need be, but a food processor is the most efficient and yields the best results.
- Step Seven: Mix the sweet potato puree with the other filling ingredients until uniform and smooth. (Photo Seven)
- Step Eight: Spread the filling into the crust and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is cooked through. (Photo Eight)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can make the whole pie up to two days ahead of time and chill or freeze it until you need it. Alternatively, you can make just the pie dough ahead of time and/or roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time. Either step will be a good start.
To make your pie ahead of time, let it cool fully to room temperature, then wrap it up in foil and refrigerate until it's go-time.
Store sweet potato pie covered in foil or plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Keeps for up to five days.
To freeze, wrap the cooled pie in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, then place in the freezer. Keeps for up to three months.
How to Serve
This pie is great served warm or chilled, but I prefer mine heated up. Add a dollop of whipped cream or a spoonful of southern praline sauce for extra razzle dazzle. Serve with ice cream if you want to get real decadent.
A good sweet potato pie is typically a given in Black families, whether you're serving Sunday dinner recipes or preparing a traditional Black family Thanksgiving spread. I've got a few more sweet thangs for you below!
More Soul Food Favorite Dessert Recipes
Want more recipes like this one? Try these:
Creating a sweet potato pie from scratch can seem like a daunting task because most of us think about the shoes we fill when doing so--my Grandma Carolyn and Ms. Patti, in this case. Now, there's a little magic and plenty of love poured into these steps, but making this bourbon sweet potato pie is really as simple as it appears.
I am over here wishing you a wonderful holiday season filled with all the Thanksgiving pies you can handle and lots of family time. And sharing is carin,g so be sure to pin this soulful sweet potato pie recipe over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Southern-Style Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor or stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 9-inch pie pan
- 1 silicone spatula or kitchen spoon
Ingredients
For the Bourbon Sweet Potato Filling
- 1 pound sweet potatoes (about 2 large sweet potatoes roughly 6 inches long and 3 inches thick)
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons bourbon whiskey
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
For the All-Butter Crust
- ¾ cups cold butter cut into cubes
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
How to Make the Pie Crust
- Make the pie crust by incorporating sea salt, flour, and butter until a coarse, sandy-looking meal forms. This can be done in a bowl with your hands or in a food processor. Add cold water and continue working or pulsing the mixture until a dough forms. Shape into a disc (like a hockey puck), wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
How to Roast Sweet Potatoes for Pie Filling
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a fork or knife, pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork or knife (this will help them let out steam as they bake) then place directly on oven rack with a sheet pan underneath to catch any drippings. Roast for about 45 minutes or until tender then set aside to cool. You can place them in the refrigerator to speed up this process.
Making the Pie
- Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees. Roll out chilled pie crust and place in a 9-inch pie pan. Remove excess dough from around sides of pan and crimp or style edges, as desired. Prick bottom of dough with a fork a few times then par bake for about 15 minutes then remove and decrease oven heat to 350 degrees. See notes about par baking below.
- While the crust par bakes, process cooled sweet potatoes in a food processor until smooth. Add heavy cream, butter, eggs, bourbon, brown sugar, granulated sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sea salt then or pulse until uniform, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
- Spread filling into prepared pie crust. Return to oven and bake for about one hour and 10 minutes or until top of filling is firm to touch. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Crystal says
LOVE the addition of the bourbon to this pie!!! It's definitely a winning combo!
Kate says
I now know what I have been doing wrong this whole time. I roasted the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them as you have recommended and my pie turned out amazing! Thank you and I can't wait to make this again.
Marta says
My husband side-eyed me when he saw me grab the bourbon, but quickly retreated when he saw I was making pie. A winning recipe for sure! Thank you.
Diana Thrift says
This is the best recipe for bourbon Sweet Potato Pie I've made or eaten! Got lots of kudos. "Best pie I've ever had," said my son-in-law. My Polish husband could never warm up to pumpkin pie, but asked if we could always have this instead. The amount of bourbon is perfect, not overwhelming, like another recipe I'd tried. I used a high quality bourbon from Cedar Ridge, IA, and coconut sugar instead of white. I also used a gluten-free graham cracker crust which went very well.
Fabulous Pie--this recipe is a keeper! Thanks, Jazz (and to your Granny and Patti LaBelle!)
Jazz says
I'm so glad you enjoyed, Diana!
Aline Shaw says
OMG! Bourbon!!! This sounds amazing - I have to try this ASAP!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Katrina Adams says
Wow!! I love this remix to sweet potato pie! I will be trying this next week! Thank you for sharing!
Jazz says
I hope you love it!
Shanika says
Oh my, oh my! This Sweet Potato Pie looks and sounds amazing! I've never tried it with Bourbon, but this is tempting!
Calysta says
You had me at bourbon! This recipe looks delicious and make it I hope I don't 'accidentally' add too much bourbon!
Tisha Salkey says
Whew! I love a great sweet potato pie. I ran to Walmart when when that Patti review came out? bourbon is always a great idea. Def going to try!
Christa says
Wow, this looks amazing! I’m so excited for Thanksgiving baking and Thanksgiving eating. I’m adding this to my recipe list!
Shane Prather says
Oh my! I love pumpkin pie and all but this looks out of this world!
Annette Dattilo says
Yum! The best of both worlds. I can totally see this being a pleaser for the upcoming holidays. Thanks for sharing.
jessica says
I don't think I've ever tried sweet potato pie! This sounds divine 🙂
Tanvi Rastogi says
That sounds and looks absolutely decadent. Will have to try it.
❥ tanvii.com
jenna | the urben life says
I love those plates and your pie looks absolutely delicious! For as much as I love sweet potato, it's hard to believe I've never tried a sweet tater pie... Gotta change that this year.
Jazz says
Thank, Jenna! I found the plates at Marshall's.