This old fashioned brown butter sweet potato pie recipe is the truth! If you love sweet potato pie, you'll really love browned butter sweet potato pie! Brown sugar, the nutty, buttery flavor of brown butter, and a black-bottom crust will make this easy brown butter sweet potato pie your go-to recipe from now on!
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If you like this brown butter pie recipe, you should try some of my other brown butter goodies like my Pineapple Bars with Cheesecake Filling and Brown Butter Coconut Icing, my Butter Pecan Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, or my Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter and Sea Salt!
Browned Butter Sweet Potato Pie
This is the very first recipe I posted on Chenée Today! It's a brown sugar sweet potato pie recipe with the added richness of brown butter, along with the "black-bottom" technique of Patti LaBelle's famous classic sweet potato pie.
I've made it for years for Thanksgiving, and it's always my favorite way to celebrate! I hope it'll be a part of your family's celebration for years to come.
Jump to:
- Browned Butter Sweet Potato Pie
- Southern Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
- What does butter do for sweet potato pie?
- What does Patti LaBelle put in her sweet potato pie?
- Is sweet potato pie better than pumpkin pie?
- What are sweet potato pies made of?
- Equipment
- How to Make Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie, Step by Step
- F.A.Q. for this browned butter sweet potato pie
- How do I keep my pie crust from shrinking?
- Can I make this brown butter sweet potato pie recipe ahead of time?
- More Delicious Holiday Recipes
- Top Tip
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Southern Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
Anyone who has had my baking will tell you I LOVE to bake with brown butter. I'm told that there is, in fact, more to life than brown butter, but like... is there? It makes everything better in a deliciously subtle way. And my favorite thing about it is how it can take a dish from delicious to unbelievable. Case in point: brown butter sweet potato pie.
What does butter do for sweet potato pie?
This is one of the recipes where brown butter truly shines. It makes SUCH a difference in the flavor, and it's what takes this sweet potato pie recipe to the next level!
Sweet potato pie is the only dessert I HAVE to have at Thanksgiving. My Grandma made the best sweet potato pie, and nothing will come close, but this is my attempt.
What does Patti LaBelle put in her sweet potato pie?
The key characteristic of Patti Labelle's famous sweet potato pie recipe is the black bottom crust! It's a layer of brown sugar and butter at the bottom of the pie between the sweet potato filling and the crust. It adds a rich sweetness that is SO good!
This recipe is inspired by the sweet potato pie recipe Patti LaBelle made famous. I love the "black-bottom" technique so much, and when you combine that with brown butter you get the best sweet potato pie recipe ever!
Is sweet potato pie better than pumpkin pie?
I may be biased because I grew up eating sweet potato pies -- the only pumpkin pies I remember having were in the Thanksgiving-themed school cafeteria lunches! But pumpkin pie has got nothing on a southern sweet potato pie recipe! The fluffy-yet-rich sweet potato pie filling, delicately spiced and enriched with butter and evaporated milk is just so delicious!
In my experience, pumpkin pie can certainly be delicious, and I love pumpkin-flavored desserts like my Pumpkin Mousse Pie with Maple Cookie Crust or my Pumpkin Pecan Dump Cake, or even pumpkin drinks like my Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini! But the flavors and texture of traditional pumpkin pie can't compare to an old fashioned sweet potato pie recipe. And especially not this brown butter sweet potato pie recipe!
What are sweet potato pies made of?
- pie crusts - you can use either a store-bought crust or homemade pie crust. I use a double batch of my easy all-butter flaky pie crust recipe!
- cubed salted butter - for the brown butter - the secret ingredient that we'll add into our filling! You can also use unsalted butter -- just add ½ teaspoon of salt in with your filling ingredients.
- melted salted butter - for the black-bottom crust!
- sweet potatoes - very important! I use 3 pounds of fresh sweet potatoes for this two-pie recipe, which ends up being about 3 large sweet potatoes. We'll be baking the sweet potatoes to bring out all that amazing sweet potato flavor.
- dark brown sugar - for the filling AND for the brown sugar black-bottom crust!
- granulated sugar - white sugar adds sweetness to the filling.
- evaporated milk - gives the pies that custardy texture.
- pure vanilla extract - very necessary for the flavor of these pies! Be sure to use the good stuff. I like this one.
- cinnamon and nutmeg - these warm spices give the pie it's classic autumn flavors and complement the brown butter and vanilla flavors so well. Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking. And if you love the spices in this recipe, you'll definitely want to check out my Chai Spice Bundt Cake!
- orange juice - adds enough tartness to cut the sweetness and perk up the flavor of this pie.
- all-purpose flour - just enough to help bring the filling together.
- room temperature eggs - helps with the richness and the structure of our pies.
Equipment
This brown butter sweet potato pie recipe is easiest when you have the right tools! To start with, you definitely will need pie pans, measuring cups and spoons, a whisk, and mixing bowls. You'll also need a hand blender, hand mixer, or food processor to purée your sweet potatoes into a creamy texture so that they're nice and smooth, a baking sheet to bake your sweet potatoes -- here's the one I use, and a light-colored sauté pan to brown your butter.
How to Make Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie, Step by Step
This sweet potato pie recipe has a a few important steps-- nothing too intense, but it's important to not skip any. I would recommend gathering your ingredients a few days in advance, and taking your time with each step. Steps 1-3 can be done a day or two ahead of time, so you won't be stuck doing everything on the same day! Ok, here are the steps to make the best brown butter sweet potato pie!
Step 1: Get your pie crusts ready
The key to the black-bottom technique is to blind bake the pie crust with butter and brown sugar. Blind baking is a technique of pre-baking a pie crust to ensure a fully cooked crust, and in this case it also gives us a nice brown sugar layer on the bottom of our pies! The best way to ensure that the crust doesn't shrink during blind baking is to chill the crust in the pan for at least an hour before your blind bake. I like to put mine in the freezer to be extra safe.
If you're using a store-bought pie crust that comes in its own pan, you're one step ahead. Just keep them in the fridge until you're ready for the blind bake!
For this technique, we'll just brush the chilled pie crust with butter and sprinkle it with brown sugar. Then pop it in the oven for 15 minutes!
When you remove the pie from the oven, it may have shrunk a bit, but it should still have kept its shape. If necessary, carefully press the pie back into place with a spoon.
Step 2: Brown your butter
This is a step that is a bit daunting at first, but once you've mastered it, you'll feel like you have a baking superpower! It's definitely a cheat code to make baked goods (and savory dishes) absolutely amazing -- like my Brownie Blondies recipe!
I have a full post on how to brown butter where I go into detail and share images of the process -- if you're new to browning butter, I'd recommend checking it out before you make this brown butter sweet potato pie!
To brown the butter, we'll just place the cubed butter in a light-colored saucepan and cook it on medium heat until it's bubbly and the milk solids are starting to separate. That means it's almost ready. Once the butter smells nutty and fragrant (you'll be able to tell, trust me -- it smells amazing) and it's starting to look golden brown, scrape it into a heat-safe container to cool.
Step 3: Bake your sweet potatoes
This is one of my favorite variations for sweet potato pie! I've had a lot of great pies made with boiled sweet potatoes, but baking them brings out the natural sweetness so much! It's a game changer.
To do this, you'll just prick them with a fork and bake them on a foil-lined pan until they're nice and soft -- no need to peel them. Let your baked sweet potatoes cool.
Step 4: Prepare your filling, and bake!
I love it when a plan comes together! This is the moment when the prep work pays off. You'll first want to scoop out the flesh of your cooled potatoes, and purée them in a large bowl -- I like to use a hand blender but you can also use an electric mixer on high speed. You can even use a potato masher, but I prefer a smoother texture. Then you'll mix in the slightly-cooled brown butter and the rest of your filling ingredients to your mashed sweet potatoes.
Finally you'll pour it all into your pie pans, and bake! When pouring each pie into its pie shell, make sure not to overfill. You might have some sweet potato pie filling left over, especially if you use a standard size pie pan or if your pie crust shrunk during blind baking, so just discard it or make it into little mini pies. But for best results don't overfill because your pie will rise a bit during baking and you don't want it to overflow!
When your pies are done, let them cool completely on a wire rack before serving. When you're ready to serve, don't forget the whipped cream!
F.A.Q. for this browned butter sweet potato pie
I definitely prefer evaporated milk, since it adds a richer flavor without adding too much fat to the mixture.
Your browned butter sweet potato pie will last for about 4 days, well-wrapped in an airtight container, in the fridge. If you freeze it, it'll stay fresh for about a month.
Use a pie shield if necessary: If your pie crust edges start to brown too quickly in the oven, top them with a pie crust shield. I like this type of shield, because the silicone is easy to work with and the size is adjustable! If you don't have a pie crust shield, you can use strips of aluminum foil.
First, your sweet potato pie shouldn't be too firm. It should set nicely, but still have a light texture that's not too thick or stiff -- definitely not as firm as your typical pumpkin pie. But if it's runny, you may have added a bit too much liquid in the mixing stage -- I would suggest adding an extra tablespoon of flour to help it solidify a bit more. If it's runny after baking, your pie may need a bit longer in the oven to set.
Yes -- since sweet potato pie is essentially a custard pie, this sweet potato pie recipe calls for three eggs to make two pies.
To me, the biggest difference is that a typical old fashioned sweet potato pie recipe is more lightly spiced than a pumpkin pie recipe.
This sweet potato pie recipe will bake for about 50-60 minutes.
When the edges of your pie is set, but it still jiggles a bit in the center, then it's done! You should take it out while it's still a bit jiggly so that the center sets with a perfect custardy texture and doesn't crack.
Yes you can -- an overbaked sweet potato pie will crack as it cools. Be sure to bake only until the edges are set, but the center of the pie is still jiggly. It will set as it cools.
They generally bake a little faster, but because they tend to be larger, it can take just as long, if not longer, than a russet potato.
It's a dessert -- in fact, it's the best dessert you could ask for for your Thanksgiving menu or Christmas dinner. Actually it's a great recipe anytime throughout the holiday season (But my Pecan Pie Tart is a close second)! Top it with some vanilla ice cream and it's undeniably the best dessert ever!
Baked sweet potato pie can sit out up to a day or two, covered loosely. If you're saving it for longer than that, I would recommend storing it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
I would definitely recommend blind-baking your crust the way we do in this browned butter sweet potato pie recipe! It allows your crust to get a head start on browning, and the "black-bottom" layer acts as a seal to keep excess moisture away from the crust!
I always choose to bake my sweet potatoes! It creates an incredible caramelized flavor that makes this browned butter sweet potato pie even better!
Well in this easy brown butter sweet potato pie, the butter adds a TON of flavor! But in any traditional sweet potato pie, butter adds a delicious richness to any filling and can help smooth out a puréed filling.
I have so many for you! Check out my Sweet Potato Pie with Graham Cracker Crust for another twist on this classic, and for another fun dessert idea, try my Sweet Potato Pop Tarts! If you're more in the mood for something savory, you'll love my Sweet Potato Patties with Chickpeas and Creamy Avocado Sauce, my Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chunks, and my Frozen Sweet Potato Fries in Air Fryer recipe!
How do I keep my pie crust from shrinking?
As you'll see in the recipe card below, we're not using pie weights to blind bake the pie crust. So there's a risk of shrinking, which but I've made this pie so many times that you can benefit from all my mistakes! Here are a few dos and don'ts for this black-bottom technique! If it still shrinks a bit, it's not a big deal, but hopefully these tips will help minimize shrinking!
- Don't use glass pie pans. Normally I love glass because it cooks evenly and you can literally see that your pie crust is baked through, but in this case, glass is too slippery and makes your dough more likely to shrink down during the blind bake. I recommend standard metal pie pans that are 9 in. x 1½ in. (not deep dish). I haven't tried this sweet potato pie recipe with a ceramic pan, but I don't think it would be safe to transfer a ceramic pie pan from the freezer to the preheated oven (see the chilling step below), but if you have used ceramic for this recipe let us know in the comments below!
- Don't stretch your pie dough to fit the pan. Stretching the dough while you place it in the pan will cause it to stretch back once it's in the oven blind-baking. So if you're using a homemade crust, be sure to roll the crust dough out to a full 13-inch circle so that you won't need to stretch it while placing it in the pan.
- Do chill your pie crusts: Whether you use homemade pie dough or store-bought roll-up crusts, you'll need to chill the crusts for at least an hour after it's been pressed into the pan. I just put mine in the freezer during this time to be sure. This is an important step! It keeps the pie crust from shrinking while you're baking the brown sugar layer into the crust. If by chance your crust still shrinks, when it first comes out of the oven it's still pliable enough to smush it back up the sides of the pie pan with the back of a spoon -- it's a little wonky, but I've had to do that in a pinch.
Can I make this brown butter sweet potato pie recipe ahead of time?
Sweet potato pie definitely does not need to be served warm or anything, so feel free to complete this brown butter sweet potato pie a day or two in advance, according to your schedule. It also freezes very well! I always make holiday pies several days, if not weeks in advance and then freeze them, and they turn out great!
Just wrap them very well with plastic wrap and foil to freeze. Then, a day or two before you plan to serve it, allow the pie to thaw in the refrigerator, still wrapped. To serve them, let them sit on the counter and then come to room temperature, still wrapped.
More Delicious Holiday Recipes
Top Tip
Remember -- this recipe makes TWO pies! Be sure to prepare two pie crusts, or just halve the recipe to make less filling for one pie.
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
📖 Recipe
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
Black Bottom Crusts
- 2 pie crusts - store-bought or homemade (see note**)
- 4 tablespoon (56 g) salted butter - melted
- ⅔ cup (147 g) dark brown sugar - packed
Brown Butter Sweet Potato Filling
- 1 cup (284 g) salted butter - cut into cubes or slices
- 3 lbs (1.3 kg) sweet potatoes - about 3 large sweet potatoes
- ¾ cup (220 g) light brown sugar - packed
- ¾ cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (256 g) evaporated milk
- 4 tsp (20 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon (3 g) ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon (1 g) ground nutmeg - freshly ground, if possible
- 3 tablespoon (44 ml) orange juice
- 2 tablespoon (15 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
Instructions
Prepare Pie Crusts
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- If using a homemade or roll-up pie crust, roll pie crust into pan and crimp sides, and let chill in fridge or freezer at least 1 hour (this is important -- see note**)2 pie crusts
- Brush 2 tablespoon melted butter in each pie crust. Sprinkle ¼ cup of dark brown sugar into each crust and bake for about 15 minutes. Set aside.4 tablespoon salted butter, ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
Prepare Sweet Potatoes
- Increase oven temperature to 425°F.
- Pierce sweet potatoes repeatedly with a fork and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake sweet potatoes for 60-70 minutes, or until very tender. Let cool to room temperature.3 lbs sweet potatoes
Prepare Brown Butter
- Add the cubed butter to a light-colored sauté pan over medium heat. Heat, whisking constantly.1 cup salted butter
- Remove from heat once it starts to smell nutty and turn golden brown.
- Pour your browned butter into a heatproof container, scraping the pan to get all the brown bits, and set aside to cool.
Prepare Filling
- Decrease oven temperature to 350°F.
- Scoop the flesh of your cooled sweet potatoes into a large mixing bowl and puree until smooth using your preferred mixing tool (see note*)
- Mix in the cooled brown butter, followed by the brown sugar, white sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, juice, and flour until well combined.¾ cup light brown sugar, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 cup evaporated milk, 4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 3 tablespoon orange juice, 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Taste the mixture to ensure that the flavors are to your preference, and then whisk in your eggs until smooth.3 large eggs
- Pour filling evenly into your prepared pie crusts and smooth out the tops. Don’t overfill -- pies will rise a bit in the oven!
- Bake on middle rack in preheated oven for about an hour, or until center of pies jiggle only slightly. Begin checking after 50 minutes.
- Remove pies from oven and let cool at room temperature. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Last Updated on November 24, 2025 by Chenée Lewis
Dee says
I can't wait to make this again!
Tila says
This is my new go-to from now on! Loved it!
Nina says
This is my new go-to from now on! Loved it!
Chenée Lewis says
Glad you liked it!
Sandy says
This is my all time favorite sweet potato pie recipe! It's the best
Chenée Lewis says
So glad you like it!
Lynn says
My family loved this!
Chenée Lewis says
That's so great to hear! Thanks Lynn!
Briar P says
No longer will I search for a better sweet potato pie recipe. Chenee's is the best! I followed it to the letter except for to use orange juice concentrate (what I had on hand) and parbaking the crust. Thanks so much, Chenee!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much!!!
Robin James says
This recipe was a BIG HIT with my family. I made 12 pies and my family were literally arguing over who would take one home. My aunt passed away unexpectedly and she was our pie baker. I love sweet potato pie so I started looking for recipes so that we would have our pies for the holidays. My mom made my day when she told me that I had it. She told me that I must've went to the grave and got her sister's recipe. Thank you for helping to brighten my family's holidays!!!
Chenée Lewis says
That is so beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing and I'm so happy that your family liked the recipe! 🙂
Flora says
This pie was incredible!! Everyone kept asking for the recipe. And I shared it of course!
Briar Parmer says
Over the years, I've tried different sweet potato pie recipes, trying to put together my favorite preparation. Chenee's recipe blew all my previous efforts away! It is amazingly good! The only changes I made were to parbake the crust (to reduce shrinking) and substitute frozen orange juice concentrate (what I had on hand, plus I think it intensifies the orange flavor). This will definitely be my go-to recipe in the future. No more fiddling with other recipes and ideas! Thank you, Chenee!
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so happy to hear that Briar! Thank you so much for giving it a try!
Laurie says
I have never posted a recipe review before, and now that I want to, it’s hard to find the right words to express how utterly delicious this pie is! With no previous sweet potato pie baking experience, I searched last night for recipes. Your “brown butter” twist resonated w/me, and I made the pie (half recipe, and I did reduce butter & sugar amounts slightly) today using a frozen crust. It is absolutely the ultimate harvest pie: sweet, luscious, flavorful, satisfying and so pretty! I’ll never make pumpkin pie again. My husband won’t eat sweet potatoes, but he raved about this dessert tonight. Chenee, you have truly created a culinary masterpiece!!!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you SO much Laurie!! I make this pie every year and I'm so glad you love it as much as I do!
Kiki says
Hi, I love this pie!!! I remember ginger and cloves in the recipe. Could you tell me how much to add to this recipe? Thank you so much!!
Chenée Lewis says
Hi Kiki! It's been a while since I changed that part of the recipe, but from what I remember it was a 1/4 tsp of ginger and a pinch of cloves. So glad to hear you like the pie! 🙂
Denise says
This is by far the best sweet potato pie I've ever had in my life!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much!!!
Natalye says
I love this recipe! I am so picky about sweet potato pie ! And I wanted to make a recipe that I know I’m going to stick with forever . I love brown butter and sweet potato pie I did think about. Combining these in the past but finding this recipe changed the sweet potato pie game for me . I will always be making this recipe as my go to sweet potato pie recipe. And the brown sugar bottom was so new to me and it didn’t disappoint. Will also be trying your other recipe , the sweet potato pie with graham cracker crust too! .thank you Chenee for getting me excited about sweet potato pie again lol
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much Natalye! Im so happy you liked the recipe because sweet potato pie is always something to get excited about! 🙂
Cynthia says
Chenee, excellent pie recipe. The nuttiness of the brown butter can be tasted in this pie. The brown butter really elevates the taste in this pie. It was simply delicious. After I filled up both pie crusts, I had leftover pie filling.; about a cup and a half. I was not going to toss it so I looked for a recipe for mini sweet potato pies in a graham cracker crust. I needed to know how long to bake a mini sweet potato pie. And wouldn’t you know it… I stumbled upon your sweet potato pie in a graham cracker crust. You also had a variation for making mini sweet potato pies in a graham cracker crust. Those mini pies came out delicious! So just so you know… your brown butter sweet potato pie recipe is also delicious and a graham cracker crust. Thank you again for sharing such yummy recipes.
Chenée Lewis says
That's great to know Cynthia!! Thank you so much for trying both recipes!
Ruby says
Thanksgiving 2023 was the first time I ran across "Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie." Don't get me wrong, I had been baking sweet potato pies since in my Mother's Home. However, I tried this recipe and my Husband, my sons, and all of our Thanksgiving guests raved how rich and delicious the pies tasted. This is my "Go To Recipe" for any event, holiday, or "just because" the cause for Sweet Potato Pie.
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much! This is definitely my go-to pie every thanksgiving! I'm so glad your family liked it!