Sweet Potato Casserole

This Sweet Potato Casserole is a classic Thanksgiving casserole with a crispy cornflake and pecan topping and marshmallows. Sweet, crispy and delicious! A must have on your Thanksgiving table!

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 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.

Ingredients

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.

Sweet Potatoes Or Yams?

This recipe will work for sweet potatoes or yams- whichever you prefer/ are available to you.

How To Make Sweet Potato Casserole

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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.

Craving More Potato Recipes?

• 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
• Red Lentil Hummus And Sweet Potato Pizza
• Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
• Sweet Potato Hash With Eggs
• Chicken Thighs With Sweet Potato Corn And Kale Bake

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Sweet Potato Casserole

4.8 from 10 votes

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 1 hr

Total: 1 hr 10 mins

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Serves: 6

Print Pin Rate

This Sweet Potato Casserole is a classic Thanksgiving casserole with a crispy cornflake and pecan topping and marshmallows. Sweet, crispy and delicious! A must have on your Thanksgiving table!

Equipment

• ▢
  9×13-inch Casserole Dish
• ▢
  Glass Mixing Bowl Set (3 piece)
• ▢
  Potato Masher

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 lb sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into cubes then cooked (about 5 or 6 large)
• ▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup butter unsalted, or margarine
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cinnamon ground
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1/4 cup milk I used 3.25%
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt or to taste

For Topping

• ▢ 1 cup cornflakes crushed
• ▢ 1/4 cup pecans chopped
• ▢ 1 tbsp butter unsalted, melted
• ▢ 1 tbsp brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1 cup mini marshmallows

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

1. Store leftover potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.
2. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 413kcal (21%)Carbohydrates: 68g (23%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 13g (20%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Cholesterol: 53mg (18%)Sodium: 281mg (12%)Potassium: 824mg (24%)Fiber: 7g (29%)Sugar: 26g (29%)Vitamin A: 32610IU (652%)Vitamin C: 6.4mg (8%)Calcium: 99mg (10%)Iron: 3mg (17%)

Course:Side Dish

Cuisine:American

Keyword:casserole, sweet potato casserole, thanksgiving casseroles, thanksgiving sides

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Originally shared Nov, 2015. Updated with additional information, new pictures and video.