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True fans of Taylor Swift (hi) know that when the megastar wants a break from world domination, she loves to kick back and bake. Her specialty? Sweet autumnal treats, as evidenced by Swift’s viral chai sugar cookie recipe and her passion for making Funfetti sourdough.
Now, with Thanksgiving upon us, it feels like a perfect time to try out another, slightly more surprising seasonal dish Swift has touted: the sweet potato casserole from the restaurant chain Del Frisco's Grille. A few years back, the artist reportedly told InStyle (as recounted by UsWeekly) that she can't get enough of this baked takeout dish—even though it’s a little outside the norm for her palate.
"I've never enjoyed anything with the word ‘casserole’ in it ever before, but it's basically sweet potatoes with this brown sugary crust," Swift said at the time. "Oh my god, it's amazing."
Although details are scant on how and when the artist first tried this Del Frisco's menu item, the recipe has been making the rounds again on social media. So I fired up my trusty Bluetooth kitchen speaker, cranked my favorite Swift album—Speak Now, obviously—and whipped up a batch as a trial run for Thanksgiving.
Follow along as I attempt to recreate Swift's favorite sweet potato casserole, and find out if the dish is truly as enchanting as she claims.
Related: I Tried Taylor Swift’s Favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and They’re My New Go-To Fall Treat
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Generally speaking, sweet potato casserole is a classic fall side dish that combines mashed sweet potatoes with various sweet toppings. It dates back to the late 1700s and has evolved over the centuries since. (The marshmallow topping you may know and love emerged somewhere around 1917.) Swift's favorite version combines rich, whipped sweet potatoes with sweet pecan–oat crumble. Here's the full recipe in all its sweet, buttery glory.
To make this sweet potato casserole, you'll need nine ingredients. For the filling:
4 lb sweet potatoes
4 large eggs, beaten
8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted
Granulated sugar
Vanilla extract
Salt
And for the topping, you'll need:
Rolled oats
Pecans, toasted
Brown sugar
An additional 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
I shopped for sweet potatoes at my local farmer's market, where the seller weighed them for me. My bag ended up being a little under the 4 pounds the recipe calls for, but I don't feel this slight difference affected the final result. The rest of the ingredients are pretty standard kitchen staples, many of which you may already have on hand.
Related: How to Make the Best-Ever Mashed Potatoes, According to Martha Stewart (and Her Mom)
Start by preparing the filling. (Keep in mind that you'll need a good chunk of time to bake and cool your sweet potatoes.) I scrubbed my sweet potatoes, wrapped each in aluminum foil, placed them on a sheet pan and put them in the oven at 350° for 90 minutes.
To make sure the potatoes are fully cooked, stick a paring knife in the biggest one. If the knife slices through easily, you're good to remove them from the oven. I then stuck the sweet potatoes in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to cool them, then peeled off the skins.
I placed the peeled potatoes in my KitchenAid mixer and added the granulated sugar, salt, vanilla extract, melted butter and beaten eggs. After a 2-minute whisk, the result seemed a little soupy. I decided to forge ahead anyway; this was a recipe test, after all!
To make the topping, ideally you'd pulse together the ingredients in a food processor. I didn't have that appliance handy, so I used a small blender instead. I think it worked well enough. I pulsed the oats first, then added the remaining stick of butter, brown sugar and toasted pecans.
From there, I transferred the topping to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and baked at 350° for 10 minutes to melt the butter and brown sugar into the nuts and oats. The result looked really buttery—some would say too buttery. Again, though, I decided to see the recipe through in the interest of Thanksgiving research.
The final step is to assemble and bake the casserole. Transfer the sweet potato filling to a baking dish and scatter the pecan–oat crust in an even layer on top. Raise the oven temp to 375° and bake the casserole for 12 to 13 minutes. You've now recreated Taylor Swift's favorite sweet potato casserole. But will it become your favorite? That is the question.
Related: The Secret Ingredient for the Easiest-Ever Sweet Potato Casserole
With all due respect to Swift (and Del Frisco's Grille), I probably wouldn't make this dish again without introducing some pretty major modifications. With two kinds of sugar plus the natural sweetness of the potatoes, it was just way too sweet for my taste. The texture of the filling wasn't all that appealing either—mine turned out weirdly mushy and runny, likely due to all that butter.
In this case, I think my response stems from both personal preference—for more savory mashed potatoes with a different balance of butter, salt and pepper—and a few correctable glitches in the recipe itself. (More on those below.)
Related: Patti LaBelle's Easy Candied Sweet Potatoes Capture the Essence of Soul Food
Just because this sweet potato casserole wasn't a true love story for me doesn't mean you shouldn't try it out. Here's what I recommend after giving this dish a shot.
The recipe calls for three sticks, when I suspect about half that amount would probably suffice—and might even improve the soupy texture of the filling.
When you combine your filling ingredients, leave some sweet potato lumps in there for body and textural interest. Whipping the filling until it's perfectly smooth may have contributed to its watery consistency.
The pecan–oat crumble toasted up fairly quickly on my baking sheet, so keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn't burn.
Because this is a fairly large casserole that contains raw eggs, 12 minutes in the oven may not be enough time to heat the dish all the way through. My suggestion: Bake the filling on its own for a good 20 minutes, then scatter the toasted crumble on top and bake until the casserole is nice and hot in the center, about 10 minutes longer.
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This story was originally published by Parade on Nov 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Food & Drink section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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