Easy Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

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How can you have a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner without a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows? Not only are there marshmallows, but it’s also topped with a pecan streusel. Salty and sweet mixed with the earthy flavor of sweet potatoes, this decadent side dish is practically a meal all on its own.

You could also try my mashed sweet potatoes, candied yams or baked sweet potatoes with feta.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Nothing is more quintessentially Western that a sweet potato casserole. While some people might scoff at the idea of eating a root vegetable side dish that is topped with marshmallows, true food lovers know that it is the highlight of the holiday season.

For some more tasty ways to cook with marshmallows, fluffy cranberry salad or a Watergate salad are also holiday traditions! We sure love our marshmallow dishes during the holidays!  And why not make these Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares?

This version of sweet potato casserole has all of the classic ingredients, with a crunchy addition in the form of some chopped pecans. Expect this to be earthy, sweet, crunchy, and just a little bit salty; the perfect holiday treat.

Ingredients for Sweet Potato Casserole

There is NO sugar in the sweet potato part of the casserole, as you might notice, as the topping is SO sweet by itself! The earthy, buttery vanilla potatoes are the perfect match to the very sweet topping, but if you are a sugar hound you can add some in. I prefer the two layers to contrast.

This is just a list of ingredients for you to skim over and see if you have them or need to shop, the exact amounts of ingredients are listed in the printable recipe card below!

• Sweet potatoes
• Salted butter
• Half & half cream
• Vanilla

Pecan Brown Sugar Streusel Marshmallow Topping

• Brown sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Cinnamon
• Salted butter
• Pecans – chopped or whole, it’s your choice
• Mini marshmallows

How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole

• Clean your sweet potatoes and pierce a few times with a fork
• Bake on a baking sheet at 425 Fahrenheit until fork tender
• Cool the sweet potatoes until just warm, and then cut in half and scoop out the flesh into a bowl
• Add the butter, milk, and vanilla to the sweet potato and then mash until smooth, then place in a 9×13 dish
• Mix together the brown sugar, flour, pecans, and 2 tablespoons of the butter until crumbly, then sprinkle on the sweet potato mixture
• Add the marshmallows to taste, then bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 25 minutes until browned, crisp and bubbly

Roast or Boil Your Sweet Potatoes?

With every classic recipe, there are always going to be some controversial opinions, even with straightforward dishes like this one. The great debate when making sweet potato casserole is whether you boil or roast the potatoes – so, which is best?

Boiling the sweet potatoes is definitely a lot faster than roasting them, making it a great option for those that want to get their cooking done quickly. However boiling adds a lot more moisture to the sweet potatoes themselves, meaning you must thicken up the casserole, usually with eggs.

However, roasting is a lot easier, and it develops a ton more flavor. With roasting, you can just put the sweet potatoes in the oven and ignore them until they’re done; way easier than having to constantly watch a boiling pot of water and checking it with a knife every 3 minutes.

Plus, roasting the sweet potatoes gives them a really toasty, sweet flavor that goes really well with the naturally roasted flavors of the marshmallow, and you don’t have to thicken them up with eggs since you didn’t add moisture.

Can You Store & Reheat This?

Sweet potato casserole is a classic for a reason; it is tasty, tangy, and deeply satisfying, but a common problem is trying to finish it all in one setting. It is so filling and sweet that most people cannot stomach more than a little bit at a time.

So how do you store it so that you can enjoy it later?

• Storing sweet potato casserole is really easy; you just need to keep it tightly covered in plastic wrap in the fridge. As long as you make sure that air can’t get into it, it should keep for up to 4-5 days or so.

Reheating it, however, is a bit of a challenge.

• If you go with your first instinct, the microwave, then you will end up with a bubbly, soupy mess littered with the sticky remnants of marshmallows. Marshmallows do NOT nuke well!
• The best thing to do is to re-bake it in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit, covered with some foil, or in a tightly lidded Dutch oven. You want to heat it through, but you also don’t want to burn the sugars in the marshmallow, so keep an eye on it to ensure you don’t ruin it.

Make it Ahead of Time

You can make this the day before then pop it into the oven. Prepare everything, but don’t put the topping ON the casserole. Put the topping in a lidded container, cover the pan of sweet potatoes with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate both. Right before you go to bake it the next day, sprinkle the topping on and bake as directed!

Happy baking!

Love,

Karlynn

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