This Sweet Potato Casserole is a classic Thanksgiving casserole with a crispy cornflake pecan topping and marshmallows. Sweet, crispy and delicious! A must have on your Thanksgiving table!
Sweet Potato Casserole
What’s not to love about a sweet potato casserole? It’s sweet and delicious with a crispy cornflake and pecan topping and more importantly it has marshmallows. Sounds like a kid’s dream come true kind of side dish.
But you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy this, it’s for adults too! It really is a must have side dish on your Thanksgiving table, right there next to your favorite stuffing recipe. We’re talking vegetables in a creamy, sweet and decadent way!
You’ll need some brown sugar for extra sweetness, an egg, milk and butter to make it extra creamy, a bit of cinnamon and a pinch of salt to bring all the flavors together.
I love to add a crunchy topping to my casserole; cornflakes, pecans, brown sugar and a bit of butter. In my opinion this crunchiness makes all the difference. Of course, let’s not forget the marshmallows. I love to use the mini ones because they’re super cute, but the large ones work as well.
What You’ll Need To Make This Sweet Potato Casserole
Casserole
- Sweet potatoes – Peeled, cut into cubes, and cooked.
- Spices – Cinnamon pairs really well with sweet potato and creates that all too familiar comfort casserole.
- Vanilla – Our secret weapon flavor enhancer. Extract works just fine!
- Sugar – Use brown sugar for this component as it will create caramel notes and depth as well as sweetness.
- Egg – We’re just using 1 egg today as a binder for our filling.
- Milk – I used 3.25% as I wanted a nice rich filling but feel free to use whichever fat percentage you prefer.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter so that you can control the sodium content in your cooking.
- Seasoning – Salt only.
Topping
- Sugar – Use brown sugar for this component as it will create caramel notes and depth as well as sweetness.
- Cornflakes – Crushed up and sprinkled over top for some delightful crunch and texture.
- Marshmallows – These will brown and puff up perfectly in the oven – trust me you won’t want to skip this step.
- Pecans – Chopped up for a sharp nutty note.
- Butter – Use melted unsalted butter so that you can control the sodium content in your cooking.
How To Make Sweet Potato Casserole
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Create the filling: Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, milk, egg and salt to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. You can use a hand mixer as well if you wish. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes in the prepared casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes.
- Create the topping: While the casserole is baking, add the cornflakes, pecans, butter and brown sugar to a medium size bowl and toss everything together. Top with marshmallows in the center of the casserole, then sprinkle the cornflake mixture around the marshmallows.
- Finish the casserole: Place the dish back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the marshmallows are puffed and golden brown.
How To Cook Sweet Potatoes
There are multiple ways to cook your sweet potatoes. First of all you should clean the sweet potatoes, scrub them then pat them dry.
- MICROWAVE: Pierce the potatoes with a fork 5 or 6 times then place them on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 5 to 10 min per potato. Add 2 minutes for each additional potato. Make sure to rotate them halfway through. Sweet potatoes are cooked when a fork spears into them easily. If you feel they are too firm, continue cooking them in one-minute increments.
- BOIL: Peel and cut up the sweet potatoes in cubes and add them to a large pot of boiling water. Cook them over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes.
- BAKE: Preheat your oven to 375 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then rub each potato with some vegetable oil. Prick the potatoes 5 or 6 times with a fork, then place them on the baking sheet. Depending on the size of your sweet potatoes it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour until they’re done.
Sweet Potatoes Or Yams?
This recipe will work for sweet potatoes or yams- whichever you prefer/ are available to you.
Let The Casserole Rest Before Serving
When you first take the casserole out you’ll notice that there might be a bit of liquid in the dish, but let the casserole rest for 10 to 15 minutes, and the sweet potatoes will soak up all that liquid and all that’s left to do is eat!
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.
Make Ahead
The great thing about this sweet potato casserole is that it can be made ahead of time. Prepare it just as instructed in the recipe but leave out the cornflake topping and marshmallows.
Let it cool completely then cover it up with aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Before serving top it with the cornflake topping and marshmallows and bake as instructed.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
- Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
- Easy Potato Salad
- Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes Corn and Kale Bake
- Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins
- Sweet Potato Turkey Meatballs
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Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 pound sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into cubes then cooked (about 5 or 6 large)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter unsalted, or margarine
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup milk I used 3.25%
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
For Topping
- 1 cup cornflakes crushed
- ¼ cup pecans chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted, melted
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar packed
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Create the filling: Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, milk, egg and salt to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. You can use a hand mixer as well if you wish. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes in the prepared casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes.
- Create the filling: Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, milk, egg and salt to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. You can use a hand mixer as well if you wish. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes in the prepared casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes.
- Create the topping: While the casserole is baking, add the cornflakes, pecans, butter and brown sugar to a medium size bowl and toss everything together. Top with marshmallows in the center of the casserole, then sprinkle the cornflake mixture around the marshmallows.
- Finish the casserole: Place the dish back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the marshmallows are puffed and golden brown.
Video
Recipe Notes
- When you first take the casserole out you’ll notice that there might be a bit of liquid in the dish, but let the casserole rest for 10 to 15 minutes, and the sweet potatoes will soak up all that liquid and all that’s left to do is eat!
- Store leftover potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.
Nutrition Information:
Originally shared Nov, 2015. Updated with additional information, new pictures and video.
What can I use in place of cornflakes?
You can make a topping with flour, brown sugar, melted bother, salt and pecans. Use that instead.
I made this for Thanksgiving last year and it was a hit! Everyone is looking forward to having it again this year! Thank you Jo!!
This is the best sweet potato casserole! We LOVE it. I double the topping because it’s so yummy 🙂 it’s a perfect compliment for our Thanksgiving and Christmas meals!!!
For the young woman that is allergic to egg. I am 80 and from the south we have never added an egg to our sweet potatoes, we add butter in place of margarine as margarine has additives to it. Believe it or not butter is healthier for you than margarine, pecans are delicious in the potatoes and I am diabetic so I use the Splenda Brown Sugar Mix. We’ve never added dry cereal for the crunch, because of the nuts. In place of milk we add about 1/4 cup of bourbon. The alcohol cooks out of the sweet potatoes and it gives a delicious flavor to the potatoes, I use marshmallows on mine but leave a small portion marshmallow free for me due to my diabetes.
Do I have to use an egg in this? I have an allergic to eggs in my family. Thanks
You could try an egg substitute like EggBeaters if you want or certainly could try some milk as well. Hope this helps
Hi Jo
This is by far the most delicious Yam casserole dish I’ve made. I make a lot of your recipes – you’re one of my favorite chef!:)
Ah, thanks Jo-Ann!
Can canned sweet potatoes be used for this recipe? I have the 40oz cans of Bruce’s yams.
I’ve never tried it myself, but I think it should be ok.