3 Sweet Potato Pie Recipes By Black Cooks That You Need This Thanksgiving | Essence (2024)

Southern Sweet Potato Pie

INGREDIENTS:6 medium sweet potatoes1 stick butter, softened1/2 cup granulated sugar3/4 cup brown sugar2 eggs, room temperature1 tbsp vanilla extract2 tsp ground cinnamon1/2 tsp ground ginger1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg1/4 tsp ground allspice1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, finely ground1/2 tsp kosher salt3/4 cup evaporated milk1 unbaked pie crust, 9 inch DIRECTIONS:Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Bake sweet potatoes for 1 hour in the oven on a baking sheet. When done, let cool slightly. Peel the skin off of the potatoes and rice them, with a potato ricer, into a large bowl. Set aside.In a medium bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, spices, and salt. Add evaporated milk, then add mixture to sweet potatoes in the large bowl. Beat together with whisk or electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Pour into your unbaked pie shell. Bake on bottom rack of oven for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center of pie is firm. Serve warm or let cool completely with a dollop of whipped cream.via Sweet Tea & Thyme

Chef Garvin’s Sweet Potato Pie

INGREDIENTS:6 yams or sweet potatoes1/2 cup sugar4 large eggs1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk1/2 cup heavy cream1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened1 tablespoon vanilla extract2 teaspoons ground cinnamon2 9-inch pie shellsDIRECTIONS:Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake whole potatoes for 1 hour or until soft. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and mash them in a large bowl. Add sugar, eggs, condensed milk, cream, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon; mix well.Prebake pie shells in the 350 F oven for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and pour sweet potato mixture evenly into shells. Bake for 35 minutes more or until firm.via Chef G. Garvin

Patti LaBelle’s Sweet Potato Pie

INGREDIENTS:FOR THE CRUST1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for the work surface1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces1/3 cup ice water1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter1/4 cup packed light brown sugarFOR THE FILLINGSalt3 large orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, scrubbed7 tablespoons (most of 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted1/2 cup packed light brown sugar1/2 cup granulated sugar2 large eggs, beaten1/4 cup half-and-half3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmegDIRECTIONS:For the crust: Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the shortening. Use a fork or a pastry blender to cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea-size bits.Stirring with the fork, gradually add enough of the water until the mixture clumps together (you might need more or less water). Gather up the dough and press it into a thick disk. If desired, wrap the dough in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and as long as 3 days.Lightly flour a work surface. Place the chilled dough on it; roll out to a round that’s 13 inches across. Fold the dough in half.Transfer to the pie plate; gently unfold the dough to fit into it. Trim the dough as needed to leave a 1-inch overhang. (Bake or reserve the scraps for another use.)Fold the dough under itself so the edge of the fold is flush with the edge of the pan. Flute the dough around the edge of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you start the filling (and up to 1 hour).For the filling: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a generous pinch of salt, then the sweet potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium; cook until the sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 to 45 minutes.Drain the sweet potatoes, letting them fall into a colander. Run under cold water until cool enough to handle. Discard the skins; transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to a mixing bowl. Use a hand-held electric mixer to blend until creamy and smooth. You’ll need 3 cups for the filling; scoop out the remainder and reserve for another use.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Uncover the pie shell; brush the interior with the 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of brown sugar over the bottom of the pie shell. Par-bake until the crust is set and just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. (If the pie shell puffs, do not prick it.) Let it cool.Meanwhile, add the 7 tablespoons of melted butter, brown sugar, the granulated sugar, eggs, half-and-half, cinnamon and nutmeg to the pureed sweet potatoes. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Pour into the par-baked pie shell, smoothing the surface. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake (middle rack) until a knife inserted in the center of the filling comes out clean yet the filling still jiggles a bit, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.Adapted from “LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About,” by Patti LaBelle (Clarkson Potter, 1999).