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Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and pecans is a tasty staple at our house and one we couldn’t live without!
This Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows is always on the Thanksgiving table, right next to the Green Bean Casserole Recipe and Best Mashed Potatoes.
A Holiday Staple we Love
Marshmallows and sweet potatoes go hand-in-hand. Who agrees?
- Sweet and Savory. Although it’s not quite to dessert level, like our tasty Sweet Potato Pie.
- Perfect Holiday Side Dish. It’s especially popular at Thanksgiving, but we’ve made it for many holidays (like Easter and Christmas) and it’s always loved by all. It’s definitely a holiday staple!
- Can be Made Ahead of Time. For busy holidays and a crazy cooking schedule, it’s great to have a few dishes that can be made early, and this is one of them!
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes – This recipe calls for 4 cups cubed and peeled sweet potatoes and depending on the size of the potato, it’s about 4-6 of them.
- NOTE: Sweet potatoes and true yams are different. They bot have orange flesh, but be sure to use sweet potatoes).
- Sugar – Adds the perfect amount of sweetness, but consider using other spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger for added flavor.
- Eggs
- Salt – Omit if using salted butter.
- Butter – We use unsalted butter but salted works too!
- Milk – We recommend using at least 2% milk, but use whole milk or heavy cream for a richer texture.
- Vanilla Extract
- Brown Sugar – This enhances the sweetness and makes it more flavorful.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Chopped Pecans – This is what we prefer but you can also use chopped walnuts.
- Mini Marshmallows – The perfect addition to this side, but you can also try covering the dish with dollops of meringue and baking until browned.
How to Make Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
- PREP. Preheat your oven to 325°F and grease the 9×13-inch baking dish.
- COOK & MASH. In a medium pot, cover the cubed sweet potatoes in water. Boil and cook over medium-high heat until tender. Once they are cooked, drain and mash with a potato masher.
- MIX. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk, and vanilla extract, until smooth. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Pour into a greased baking dish.
- PECAN STREUSEL TOPPING. Mix the light brown sugar and flour in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in pecans, and sprinkle pecan topping over your sweet potato mixture.
- BAKE. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Then, take it out of the oven and sprinkle on the marshmallows and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes (or until lightly brown).
Note: You can always leave off the streusel and just do the marshmallows – still tasty!
Recipe Tips
Avoid a watery baked sweet potato casserole with these tried and true tips!
- Watery. Overcooking the sweet potatoes can cause them to absorb too much moisture, leaving it wet and soupy. To avoid this:
- Cut the sweet potatoes into equal-sized cubes so they cook at the same rate.
- Once you have microwaved them, a fork or knife should be able to slide through without any resistance.
- Drain and pat dry.
- After mashing, allow them to sit for a couple of minutes.
- Drain any excess liquid before combining them with the other ingredients.
storing info
- Make ahead of time. This can be made a couple days in advance.
- Make the sweet potato filling, and smooth it into your casserole dish.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the potato mixture, then cover the dish with foil.
- Prepare the streusel topping and marshmallows, and put them in separate bags or containers.
- Keep the casserole covered in the fridge for 1-2 days and when ready, sprinkle with topping and bake as directed.
- STORE any leftover casserole in the fridge in airtight containers. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
- FREEZE. To freeze sweet potato casserole, complete steps 1-4. Do not add the marshmallows. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the sweet potato mixture. Wrap the entire pan with plastic wrap, and again with aluminum foil. Label and keep in the freezer for 3-4 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Remove all the foil and plastic. Bake as directed in step 5.
For more sides:
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows Recipe
Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and pecans is a tasty staple at our house and one we couldn't live without!
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed sweet potatoes
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons butter softened
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2-3 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a medium pot, cover sweet potatoes in water and cook over medium-high heat until tender; drain and mash.
- In a large bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk, and vanilla extract, until smooth. Pour in a greased 9×13" baking dish.
- Mix the brown sugar and flour in a medium bowl and cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in pecans, and sprinkle mixture over your sweet potato mixture.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle on marshmallows and bake an additional 10-15 minutes (or until lightly brown).ENJOY!
Video
Notes
STORE any leftover casserole in the fridge in airtight containers. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
FREEZE. To freeze sweet potato casserole, complete steps 1-4. Do not add the marshmallows. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the sweet potato mixture. Wrap the entire pan with plastic wrap, and again with aluminum foil. Label and keep in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight. Remove all the foil and plastic. Bake as directed in step 5.
Nutrition
Calories: 259kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 46mg, Sodium: 205mg, Potassium: 209mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 6553IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I can’t wait to try this recipe this year!! I love sweet potatoes with marshmalllows on top!! This looks like a fun new way to make them!
This is soooooo good! I like it just as written, but sometimes I’ll do diagonal stripes of the marshmallows and alternate with the pecan topping from your sweet potato casserole recipe. Both are delicious!
This recipe is amazing!! I will say that I did not use the pecans in the recipe. My son is allergic to nuts so I came up with an alternative. I used the same streusel recipe BUT I substituted the pecans with rolled oats. It was absolutely delicious! This recipe is a holiday staple in our home. We had no leftovers and guests were asking for more!! This year I will make double.
this is so different from my usual casserole, I love the texture and flavor.
I absolutely LOVE this casserole dish as one of my sides for thanksgiving, ever since my daughter introduced it to me I always make it, and since some of my kids don’t really like yams they do love this as an alternative. They now ask if we are having it for thanksgiving. I would recommend it to everyone at least try it. Before you know it you too will be making it every thanksgiving
I made this for Thanksgiving the past 2 years and everyone LOVED it!! Tastes like a treat it’s so good!! 😉
I used to make sweet potatoes a different way for Thanksgiving and decided to switch it up last year and do this recipe. I will never go back! This recipe is not only easy, but it is so good! We always go around the table to say our favorite dish and this one has been the winner since I started it. It was easy to transport too, but just make sure the marshmallows don’t stick to the cover you put on it. I do the whole thing with marshmallows and only half with the streusel.
Just how I remember it as a kid, the classic thanksgiving sweet potatoes!
Second year in a row making this and it’s delicious every time. Not overly sweet but just enough. This year I made it in memory of my oldest sister for which I originally made it for last year 💜
Another winning recipe for Thanksgiving! This was a huge hit this year and my favorite version of this recipe!