What Louisiana dessert is a pie made with mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, milk, and spices?

Louisiana sweet potato pie is a dessert made with mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, milk, and spices in a pastry crust.

Sweet potato pie is part of the broader food traditions of the American South, where sweet potatoes grow well and have long been used in both savory and sweet dishes. The filling usually combines cooked sweet potato with sugar, butter, eggs, and dairy, then adds spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla.

The pie is sometimes confused with pumpkin pie because both have smooth orange fillings and warming spices. Their primary ingredient is different: sweet potato pie uses mashed sweet potato, while pumpkin pie uses pumpkin purée. Louisiana versions may reflect the state’s African American, Creole, and Southern culinary influences.

It is commonly served during autumn holidays and family gatherings, but it is not limited to Thanksgiving. Texture varies from dense and custard-like to light and creamy depending on the recipe.