My praline sweet potatoes gratin is a decadent southern side dish that's perfect for your holiday table. And it's surprisingly simple to make with just a few easy everyday ingredients. Let's get into it!
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my praline sweet potato bread pudding, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Easy to Prepare - Just mix, slice, pour, and bake--that's about it. With all the fuss around creating a magical Thanksgiving meal, this praline yams dish won't add any extra stress. It's simple enough to let your helpers handle.
Perfect Praline Flavor - My southern praline sauce captures the flavor of Louisiana candy in liquid form and in this recipe, sweet potato slices get bathed in it. Name a better duo, I'll wait!
Southern style side dishes are a big deal around here because they're honestly my favorite part of holiday meals. Like my extra cheesy baked bacon mac & cheese or slow cooked collard greens with smoked turkey, massaged kale salad, and garlic butter green beans.
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Sweet Potatoes are the star, duh! I recommend Jewel or Garnet (also called red) sweet potatoes for their bright orange colored flesh and earthy sweet taste.
Praline Sauce made from scratch with butter, cream, and brown sugar transforms humble sweet potatoes from fiber-rich root vegetable to a luscious and indulgent soulful side dish.
Spices like cinnamon and nutmeg round out the flavor profile with sweet warmth and a bit of zing. Don't forget sea salt to balance everything out.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Pecans are the finishing touch and I recommend using pecan cookie pieces (aka pecan chips) but you can also do pecan halves and pieces or hand chop them yourself.
Brown Sugar is a key ingredient but you can use either dark or light brown sugar interchangeably. Dark brown sugar will have of more pronounced molasses flavor.
Other Flavors are fair game in this recipe. Add vanilla extract or a splash of bourbon whiskey, cognac or rum for more depth. And you can also mix in more spices like cardamom and ginger.
How to Cook Praline Sweet Potatoes
- Step 1: Combine the butter, brown sugar, cream, and spices to make the praline sauce (Photos 1-3) and peel and slice the sweet potatoes in the meantime (Photo 4).
- Step 2: Arrange the sweet potato slices in a casserole dish in a cascading pattern (Photos 5 and 6) then pour the praline sauce over top and bake (Photos 7 and 8).
Pro Tip #1
You can make the praline sauce ahead of time and store in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the gratin bake. Just warm it back up and stir well to reconcile any separation.
Pro Tip #2
To make arranging the sliced sweet potatoes easier, place them in a horizontal stack, standing up on their sides, then flick the stack over to fan them out into an overlapping line. Repeat until you've used all the slices.
- Step 3: Sprinkle pecans over top of the finished dish.
Pro Tip #3
You'll know the sweet potatoes are done when they are fork tender, meaning a slice can be skewered by a table fork then slides off of it easily. The praline sauce should be golden brown and bubbly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keep in mind that some separation may occur with the praline sauce so for the absolute best presentation and taste, I don't recommend making it in advance. But yes, you can make this dish up to two days ahead of time, refrigerate, and warm it back up in the oven.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container refrigerated. They last in the fridge for up to five days.
You can freeze praline candied yams for up to three months using an airtight, freezer-safe container. Note that the texture is usually much softer after thawing.
How to Serve
Praline topped sweet potatoes are best enjoyed warm with pecans all over top and an extra lil drizzle of praline sauce never hurt nobody!
Everybody knows sweet potatoes and Thanksgiving go together real bead. And scalloped sweet potato au gratin dish is a great alternative option to your classic candied yams or sweet potato casserole dishes or savory sweet potato mash.
Enjoy pecan praline yams in your southern Thanksgiving spread or serve them up at the Friendsgiving feast next to the Cajun roasted turkey, crispy brussels sprouts, buttermilk cornbread, and bourbon cranberry sauce.
More Favorite Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you and yours enjoy sweet potatoes with praline sauce soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Praline Sweet Potatoes Gratin
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 baking dish
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes preferably Garnet, Jewel or Red sweet potatoes
- ¾ cup pecan cookie pieces or chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- To make the praline sauce: melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add brown sugar, heavy cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt, and stir until mixture is uniform. Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to allow sauce to thicken. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, peel and slice sweet potatoes.
- Arrange sweet potato slices in baking dish in an overlapping scalloped pattern then pour praline sauce over top.
- Cover dish with foil then place in oven to bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and return dish to oven uncovered to bake for another 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork tender and sauce is golden and bubbly.
- Garnish with pecan pieces and serve warm.
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