The . Thome . Home .

Thanksgiving Side Dishes – Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Struessel + Spinach Gratin

by

Spinach Gratin – Cheesy, creamy – and oh so good
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Struessel – fluffy, sweet and crunchy -YUM

Thanksgiving sides, are – well, let’s face it… are better than the Turkey. The sides are exactly what I crave each year and pile my plate high with. This sweet potato casserole dish is seriously the most requested dish that I bring to every holiday party. They are like fluffy sweet potato clouds topped with crunchy and sweet pecan crumble – it’s heavenly. The spinach gratin is a new one this year, and it’s literally Mac and cheese without the noodles. Creamy, cheesy, and packed with spinach, so hell, it’s good for you, right?!

Let’s whip these babies up, oh! And you can make these a day in advance and simply reheat on turkey day! “How easy is that?!” As the queen bee, Ina Garten would say, check out this video for a good giggle

I can’t handle her in the best ways – so unapologetic and just, well, INA.

Here are the two Thanksgiving side dishes you need to make this year!

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel 

  • 6 large sweet potatoes (or a dozen medium/small) 
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup half + half
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper 
  1. First, wash and dry the sweet potatoes
  2. Pre heat the oven to 375* 
  3. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, and carefully poke a few holes into the skin with a fork
  4. Bake at 375* for 90 minutes – 2 hours, until a knife can be inserted all the way through with no effort, potatoes completely tender
  5. Let potatoes cool before handling 
  6. Slice open the sweet potatoes and scoop the inside out into a large bowl.
  7. Add the two eggs, melted butter, half + half, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
  8. With a handheld mixer, whip everything together until the sweet potatoes are light and fluffy (3-4 minutes) 
  9. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish 

Next, it is time to make the streusel topping! 

Pecan Streusel

  • 5 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 heaping cup chopped pecans
  1. Toss all of the ingredients together, until the a sticky crumble forms
  2. Preheat the oven to 400*
  3. Sprinkle the pecan streusel on top of the sweet potatoes 
  4. Bake at 400* for 30-40 minutes uncovered, until the streusel is golden and the sweet potatoes are bubbly hot!

Spinach Gratin

  • 4 packages of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water drained
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 3 cup warm whole milk
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Panko Topping

  • 6 Tbsp melted buter
  • 1 1/12 cup panko bread crumb
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic 
  • 2 Tbsp parsley, minced

Pre heat the oven to 375*

  1. In a dutch oven, or large pot over medium-high heat on the stove, cook the onions with the butter until the onions are translucent and tender (8-10 minutes)
  2. Add the flour to the sautéed onions, and stir together for one minute
  3. Pour in 3 cups of warm milk, and turn the heat down to medium-low
  4. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg – stir to incorporate
  5. Turn OFF the heat, and add the mozzarella cheese.  Stir until the cheese has melted completely, and you now have a beautiful cheese sauce
  6. Add the thawed and drained spinach into the cheese sauce and stir to combine
  7. Pour spinach gratin into a greased 8×8 (or 9×9) baking dish 

Make the Panko Topping –

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, panko, salt, garlic and parsley until the panko is coated with butter and spices
  2. Sprinkle the panko topping across the entire spinach gratin dish
  3. BAKE at 375* for 30 minutes, until panko is golden brown and the gratin is bubbly