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a perfect slice of brown butter sweet potato pie, with whipped cream on top, sitting on a black plate with a fork.
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Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie features a buttery flaky pie crust with a velvety smooth and rich homemade sweet potato filling, all topped with freshly whipped cream. The perfect Thanksgiving pie recipe!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 8 minutes
Chilling time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 23 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Author Tessa Arias

Ingredients

For the crust:

For the filling:

  • 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter
  • 2 cups (545 grams) sweet potato puree*
  • ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature and beaten
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
  • ½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature

For the whipped cream:

  • 1 cup heavy cream, cold
  • 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Blind bake the crust:

  • Remove the pie crust from the fridge. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, until slightly pliable.
  • Roll the dough out on a generously floured work surface. Keep turning the dough after every roll to ensure it doesn’t stick to the counter and is of even thickness and to avoid overworking the dough. Add additional flour to the dough, the counter, and your rolling pin as needed. Roll out into a 13-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick.
  • Gently roll the dough up and around the rolling pin then unroll and drape over a 9-inch pie pan. Gently press into the pie pan, being careful to avoid stretching it to fit. Use scissors or a knife to trim the excess dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under itself and crimp or flute. Avoid making the flute so heavy that it slumps over. Pierce the base of the dough with a fork.
  • Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line the chilled crust with foil pressed gently into the bottom and sides, leaving an overhang to protect the edges.
  • Fill the crust completely to the top with pie weights, rice, granulated sugar, or dried beans. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until just barely beginning to brown and no longer raw, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven, and carefully remove the foil and pie weights.
  • Let cool on a cooling rack and reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Make the filling:

  • In a medium stainless steel sauté pan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Swirling the pan occasionally, continue to cook the butter. It should become foamy with audible cracking and popping noises. Once the crackling stops, continue to swirl the pan until the butter develops a nutty aroma and brown bits start to form at the bottom. Once the bits are amber in color, about 2 to 3 minutes after the popping stops, remove from heat. Let cool until just warm.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients except the brown butter. Once smooth, slowly pour the butter into the mixture, stirring until it’s completely combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell.
  • Bake on a rimmed baking sheet at 350°F for about 50 minutes, or until the pie is set and the internal temperature is 165-175°F. If the crust begins to brown too much, carefully place a pie shield on it then return to the oven. Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before serving.

Make the whipped cream:

  • In a large bowl, use an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to beat the cream until it begins to thicken. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and continue to whip until medium-stiff peaks form.
  • Just before serving, spread the whipped cream over the pie.

Notes

*Do not use canned sweet potato puree, as it contains too much excess liquid, will take much longer to cook, and doesn't taste as good.
Here's how to make homemade sweet potato puree:
  1. Take 3 large sweet potatoes, place on a foil or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, and bake at 425°F for 45 to 60 minutes, or until completely fork tender.
  2. Let cool then peel off the skin.
  3. Mash the flesh with a potato masher or blend in a food processor or blender.
  4. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let come to room temperature before using in this pie recipe.
  5. Do not boil the sweet potatoes, to avoid adding any excess water. You can microwave, but the cooking will be less even.