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This Sweet Potato Casserole recipe will steal the show on your holiday table this Thanksgiving. It’s sweet, buttery, and creamy, made with brown sugar and cinnamon and a fluffy marshmallow topping.
Whether you like your Sweet Potato Casserole with marshmallows or without, my recipe is a must-have for your holiday dinner table. For more delicious Thanksgiving sides, try my Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese and Classic Sausage Stuffing next.
Pin this recipe for later!Why I Love This Recipe
This sweet potato casserole recipe has been perfected over many years, trial and error, and quite a few taste tests.
- Marshmallow Topping – Whether you’re a fan or not, you have to admit that there’s just something about golden brown, meltey marshmallows that makes them irresistible.
- Simple to Make – The recipe itself is simple and straightforward. Just a sweet, creamy, casserole with just 7 ingredients.
- Make it Ahead of Time – You can prep the potatoes, or the entire casserole, a day ahead of time and just bake it when you’re ready.
- Versatile – This classic side dish is almost dessert-like and as perfect for holiday meals as it is for a special Sunday supper.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- Cook and mash the sweet potatoes – Boil them until they’re soft, then mash them with a potato masher or whip them with a hand mixer, depending on how creamy you want them.
- Season – Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and salt.
- Add Milk – Pour in a little of the milk and stir, adding more as desired until you’ve reached a consistency you’re happy with.
- Bake – Pour the mashed sweet potato mixture into a 2 quart baking dish and top with mini marshmallows. Just a few or cover the whole pan like I do. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375℉.
Topping Variations
While you certainly don’t have to add a topping and can just bake the casserole as is, a topping adds color, texture and pizazz to an otherwise boring looking dish.
- Pecan Crumble – Candied pecans add a nice crunchy texture and sweetness. Buy them already candied, or try making the crumble with butter, sugar and flour and sprinkle that on top of the casserole.
- Streusel Topping – A mixture of brown sugar, butter and chopped nuts.
- Marshmallows – This is my favorite! You can use mini marshmallows, or the jumbo ones, cut in half.
How To Prepare Sweet Potatoes
There are two simple ways to cook sweet potatoes for a casserole: Boil or bake.
Baking: Preheat the oven to 425 ℉. Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes with a vegetable brush to remove any dirt. Use a fork or the point of a sharp knife to poke the potatoes several times and bake them for about 40-50 minutes, or until they are tender and easily pierced with a fork or knife.
Boiling: Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes, then peel and chop into large chunks. Add potatoes to a large pot and bring the water to a boil. Cook the peeled potatoes in boiling water until they’re soft and break apart easily with a fork.
Using Canned Yams
While I definitely recommend using fresh sweet potatoes for this recipe, you can use canned in a pinch or to save time. You’ll need 3 29-ounce cans of cut up sweet potatoes. Drain the liquid out using a mesh strainer to get as much out as possible.
To prepare, mash the sweet potatoes and add butter, cinnamon, and salt. Omit the milk as the canned potatoes are wet enough. Taste and add brown sugar if you want them sweeter. They are canned in syrup so they are sweet already. Bake as directed.
Make Ahead Instructions
This is a great Thanksgiving Dinner make ahead recipe! Prepare the casserole but don’t bake it. Cover it tightly and pop it in the fridge up to 2 days in advance. Wait to add the marshmallows until you’re ready to bake.
About 20-30 minutes before baking (or while you’re oven is preheating) take the casserole out of the fridge so it can come to room temperature. Add the marshmallows and bake as directed.
Storage and Reheating
Storing and Reheating: Cool completely, then tightly cover any leftovers with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. Keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or enjoy cold or at room temperature.
Freezing: Freezing after baking is not recommended. However, you can freeze the prepped sweet potato without the marshmallow topping. Spread the mashed sweet potato in a casserole dish, or even in a freezer bag, and squeeze out as much air as possible. Lay flat and freeze for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is on the sweeter side, and can be served as a side dish or as a dessert recipe. It’s a must-have Christmas or Thanksgiving favorite at our house, along with turkey and gravy, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and my homemade stuffing recipe.
We serve it with Glazed Ham for Easter, along with Broccoli Rice Casserole, Deviled Eggs, and Sauteed Asparagus.
It’s also wonderfully easy to serve any time of the year.
Don’t forget the turkey!
Get the best roast turkey recipe, plus TONS of tips!
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- How to Make Mouth-Watering Sweet Potato Pie
- Brown Sugar & Bacon Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato and Apple Cobbler
- Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Cake with Marshmallow Frosting
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and roughly cubed
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup milk as up to 1 cup for desired consistency
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- Toasted Pecans for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and boil sweet potatoes until fork tender; about 20 minutes. Drain.
- Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. (Use a hand mixer if you want absolutely smooth with no lumps).
- Stir in brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Add the milk a small amount at a time to reach desired consistency.
- Spray an 11-inch x 7-inch (medium sized) casserole baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread sweet potatoes evenly in the prepared casserole dish and top with a layer of the marshmallows.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until marshmallows are golden brown.
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with toasted pecans.
Notes
- If you find the marshmallows are starting to burn, remove the casserole from the oven sooner. You just need the casserole to be hot throughout, so there’s no worry about under-cooking anything.
- To make this ahead of time: Refrigerate the potato mixture in the casserole dish overnight and leave off the marshmallows until you’re ready to bake. Add 5-10 minutes to the baking times and add the marshmallows halfway through the baking to avoid burning.
- Freezing after baking is not recommended. However, you can freeze the prepped sweet potato without the topping. Spread the mashed sweet potato in a casserole dish, or even in a freezer bag, and squeeze out as much air as possible. Lay flat and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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Thanks for stopping by Debbie.
Awful!!! Followed recipe to the T. Way too sweet and cinnamony even for my 6 year old!! I weighed 3 pounds of sweet potato in the store..I can’t imagine that much weight coming off for the peels. Never again..Thanksgiving RUINED
If you not caring for a recipe (a very well liked one at that) ruined your Thanksgiving, you must not have had much else to eat!
Thanksgiving ruined from one dish being too sweet? I made this today and was just about to close the recipe when I noticed this comment. I hope you found a way to redeem your day & I have a feeling the person that put this recipe out for everyone to use was just trying to help make all of our days easier. Grateful I was able to use this as a guide & hope the kiddos appreciate it, after all the day is about THANKS.
Yum
Thank you Linda!
Can this be made in a slow cooker?
Hi Lisa, I have never tried this in a slow cooker so I can’t offer any exact times but I imagine since everything is fully cooked that it would work. I would wait to add the marshmallows though.
Looking forward to trying it!
Hi Maria, give it a try and let us know here in the comments. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Can’t wait to try it!
Hi! I’ve made this several times and always love it, but have to be dairy-free the next time I make this recipe. Can the milk be substituted for coconut milk?
You can sub with other types of milk and it should be fine.