Sweet potato pie is a custard pie made with mashed or pureed sweet potato, eggs, sugar, butter, milk or cream, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, baked in a pastry crust until set. It has a dense, custard-like texture and earthy sweetness, distinguishing it from the smoother, more heavily spiced pumpkin pie it's often served alongside at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sweet potato pie developed in the American South, where enslaved and free Black cooks adapted English-style custard and pumpkin pies using the sweet potatoes available to them, and it remains closely associated with African American Southern cooking. Variations add bourbon, pecans, or a meringue topping.