October 26, 2020

Sweet Potato Casserole – Two Ways

Sweet Potato Casserole is a MUST at every special holiday dinner! It’s one of my most requested recipes. Fluffy sweet potato soufflé topped with a buttery brown sugar and toasted pecan topping is to die for!

OR… creamy toasted marshmallows, browned to perfection!

Are you pecan or marshmallow people?

Do we have to choose? Why not make both? My family really likes them both ways, therefore, I usually make one of each to satisfy everyone! However, if it’s just us and I don’t need two entire casseroles, I divide the sweet potato mixture into two dishes, halve the pecan topping recipe and top one batch with pecan topping and the other with marshmallows.

Pecans

Pecans are hands down, the best nut to use here, the flavors work so well with sweet potatoes. It sort of reminds me of pumpkin and pecan pie combined… yum!

When to serve Sweet Potato Casserole

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Easter

Anytime! Pairs really well with ham, turkey or chicken dinners.

Traditional recipes become traditions for a reason, and this is a favorite for most of us.

Sweet Potatoes

Let’s talk potatoes. When picking sweet potatoes, try to find blemish free, bright orange ones if you can. I find that the nice orange ones are tastier than dingy colored.

Cooking Sweet Potatoes – Bake them in the oven! This is by far the EASIEST way to cook these babies! I used to peel them, then cut them, then boil them and lastly mash the little buggers… not anymore! Instead, bake them until they’re soft, the skin comes right off and they’re already practically mashed and recipe ready! This has been such a timesaver and I love timesaving hacks! I usually throw a few in the oven with my dinner the night before to save steps on baking day.

Are Sweet Potatoes and Yams the same?

You’ve probably noticed that sweet potatoes and yams are used interchangeably at times but they’re NOT the same! They are both root vegetables but very different in taste. Sweet potatoes are sweeter and tastier with skin like a potato. True yams are bark like on the outside and not as sweet.

Make sure you use sweet potatoes since this is sweet potato casserole!

Sugar

Brown sugar is the best in this recipe. I used to use white sugar in the sweet potato mixture and brown sugar in the topping however, after making it both ways I’ve decided that brown sugar is the way to go!

Butter

A final note, please use real butter in this recipe! The taste is so much better than some type of butter alternative. Also, I use regular salted butter in my recipes, I know some people use unsalted butter…. I just find it easier to buy the salted butter so that I can use it for everything, besides… it tastes better!

Sweet Potato Casserole – Two Ways

Sweet Potato Casserole with buttery pecan streusel topping or creamy toasted marshmallows. Enjoy this holiday favorite recipe either way!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 30

Cooling Time 30

Total Time 2 15

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Equipment

2 Quart Baking Dish

Ingredients

3 cups Sweet Potatoes 4-5 large potatoes
5 tbsp butter melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Pecan Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans chopped
3 tbsp butter melted
3 tbsp flour

Marshmallow Topping

2 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions

Scrub potatoes, pierce with a knife in the center and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until very tender. Cut in half to speed up cooling time.
Once potatoes have cooled, remove from skins and drop into medium sized mixing bowl.
Add all ingredients except for topping, mix well using an electric mixer.
Pour into an 2 quart casserole dish. (I use an 8×10 dish to allow good topping coverage)
Combine topping ingredients, mix well until streusel-like consistency.
Sprinkle evenly over sweet potatoes.

OR, If using marshmallows:

Arrange mini marshmallows in a single layer evenly over sweet potatoes.

Bake

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
*For Marshmallows: Bake for 20 minutes. Set oven to broil and brown for a minute or two to get a nice crispy, toasted marshmallow topping.

Keyword Holiday Side Dish,, Sweet Potatoes, Thanksgiving Sides

Make Ahead

To save some time on cooking day you can make the sweet potato mixture the day before, take it out of the fridge about a half hour before you plan on baking it. I like to make the topping fresh, right before I put it in the oven.