Southern sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and pecans and warm spices is a southern staple side dish during the holidays in my home. It’s creamy, smooth light and luscious. It offers some lovely sweetness alongside your classic savory, hearty meals.
Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
Growing up, southern sweet potato casserole was always served alongside our Turkey. As a kid, it was one of my favorite side dishes. It felt festive and it was a little sweet. I mean, it’s an excuse to eat marshmallows for dinner! What’s not to love? I decided to update the recipe and put my own spin on it, by using roasted potatoes in the filling.
Some people may call this sweet potato pudding or sweet potato soufflé but my grandmother insists that it's a sweet potato casserole. I'm not going to make grandma mad, so I'm gonna call it sweet potato casserole too.
Why This Sweet Potato Casserole Works
You probably have most of the ingredients to make it! This casserole uses ingredients you probably already have. I opt to roast my sweet potatoes instead of boiling them, because it has a more sweet savory flavor that way. The filling in this casserole is light and smooth and it's not overly sweet. This sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and pecans is so easy to make and guaranteed to please your entire household!
How to Cook the Potatoes
Before you assemble this southern sweet potato casserole, you need to prepare the sweet potatoes. Here are two options.
- Roast the sweet potatoes. Poke holes all over the sweet potato. Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and poke several holes into the foil. Roast in the oven until very tender.Roasting times will vary depending on the size of your dice. The bigger the potato the longer it will need to bake. I baked mine for about an hour.
- Boil the sweet potatoes. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them in half, and place them in a pot filled with water and some salt. Bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are fork tender. Typically, this takes about 20 minutes.
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole in Advance
Sweet potato casserole is a forgiving dish that you can prepare fully cooked ahead of time for the holidays. First you'll need to put the marshmallows to the side for a bit. Cover and store the casserole in the fridge.
To reheat, simply set stove to 350-degree Fahrenheit. Place the casserole in the hot oven and baked until warmed through. Then top it with the marshmallows and bake until the marshmallows are melted and golden.
You can also prepare the sweet potato filling. Then pour it into a container with a tight fitted lid. When you are ready to make it, just pour the filling into a greased baking pan and proceed with the recipe directions below.
Alternatively, you can prep your sweet potatoes one day in advance. Oil them and roast them and store in the refrigerator. The next day, all you’d have to do is mash the potatoes, brown the butter (optional) or melt it then make the filling, and bake the sweet potato casserole in the oven.
Tips for Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
- Salt – If you boil the sweet potatoes, use more salt than you think you’ll need. Most of the water is going down the drain when the sweet potatoes are cooked, and you want to ensure the sweet potatoes are well-seasoned throughout.
- Melted Butter – I used brown butter but if you don't have time you can just melt your butter before whisking into the filling. Melted butter mixes in with the filling much more effectively. If you don't know how to brown butter, check out Bonappetit easy recipe.
- Filling Texture – If you like your sweet potato casserole to be velvety smooth, roast your sweet potatoes and use an immersion blender, electric mixer or a food processor to achieve that perfect consistency. If you prefer yours to have a thicker texture and some and chew, mash by hand with a fork or potato masher.
- Add-Ins – Different households incorporate different spices into their sweet potato casserole recipes. You can add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and / or allspice if you enjoy the flavors of these comforting spices.
- Toppings – If you want to add some crunch to your casserole, top with your favorite nuts.
How to Speed Up Cooking Time
If you're boiling the potatoes, the best way to speed up the cooking time of your casserole is to cut your sweet potatoes in halve. If you prefer, cut the sweet potatoes in half. They will roast quicker in the oven this way. To save on prep time, I keep mine whole.
You could also fill little ramekins with your casserole filling, top with marshmallows, and roast. Small ramekins will cook in a shorter time than one big casserole dish. The down side? You’ll end up with more dishes to clean at the end of the night!
How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole
- Boil or roast the sweet potatoes. I roasted mine. FYI, foil isn't necessary. It's just my personal preference.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit . Prepare your filling. You'll need to add all the ingredients in to a bowl and then use whatever appliance you have to make the sweet potato casserole smooth.
If you like a thicker filling, just mash the potatoes with a fork or masher. I might be biased, but this is how my grandmother used to make it. It was never thick or heavy. So, to make a smooth light filling that's not too thick (once it cools off) and similar to her casserole, I use my food processor. I actually had too much as you can see so I had to improvise by processing the sweet potato filling in two batches.
- Assemble the sweet potato casserole. Grease the pan all over with butter.
- Pour the sweet potato filling into a the baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Lastly, take the sweet potato casserole out of the oven. DON'T turn off the oven just yet.
- You can leave it as is (without pecans or marshmallows) or make it more decadent by topping it with marshmallows and pecans. Once you add the toppings, bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the marshmallows are gooey and golden brown. This is best served at room temperature.
If you make this sweet potato casserole recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment below!
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 lb sweet potatoes
- 2 eggs plus one yolk
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- small pinch of nutmeg
- ½ cup brown sugar plus an additional 2 tbsp
- ¼ cup white sugar plus an additional 1 tbsp
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream or regular milk
- ½ cup browned butter **See notes below**
Topping
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 16 oz marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Oil the potatoes and wrap them in foil. Place them in a baking pan. Foil is optional.
- Bake the sweet potatoes for about an hour or until they're fork tender
Sweet potato pie filling
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Add all of the sweet potato pie filling into a bowl, for a thicker texture mash with a potato masher, a fork. For a smoother lighter texture, use an electric mixer or a food processor and mix until smooth. It'll only take a few seconds or so to process in a food processor. Once the filling is prepared pour it into the baking pan. **See notes**
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is firm. Remove the pan and top it with marshmallows and pecans. Bake for an additional 15-20 or until the marshmallows have melted and golden in color. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
- Roast the sweet potatoes. Poke holes all over the sweet potato. Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil. The foil is optional. Roast in the oven until fork tender.Roasting times will vary depending on the size of your dice. The bigger the potato the longer it will need to bake. I baked mine for about an hour.
- Don't want to bake the sweet potatoes? If so, peel the sweet potatoes, cut them in half, and place them in a pot filled with water and some salt. Bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are fork tender. Typically, this takes about 20 minutes.
- The filling. If you like a thicker filling, just mash the potatoes with a fork or masher. I might be biased, but this is how my grandmother used to make it. It was never thick or heavy. So, to make a smooth light filling that's not too thick (once it cools off) and similar to her casserole,
I use a food processor.
Tips for Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
- Salt – If you boil the sweet potatoes, use more salt than you think you’ll need. Most of the water is going down the drain when the potatoes are cooked, and you want to ensure the sweet potatoes are well-seasoned throughout.
- Melted Butter – I used brown butter but if you don't have time you can just melt your butter before whisking into the filling. Melted butter mixes in with the filling much more effectively. If you don't know how to brown butter, check out Bonappetit easy recipe.
- Filling Texture – If you like your sweet potato casserole to be velvety smooth, roast your sweet potatoes and use an immersion blender, electric mixer or a food processor to achieve that perfect consistency. If you prefer yours to have a thicker texture and some and chew, mash by hand with a fork or potato masher.
- Add-Ins – Different households incorporate different spices into their sweet potato casserole recipes. You can add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and /or allspice if you enjoy the flavors of these comforting spices.
- Toppings – If you want to add some crunch to your casserole, top with your favorite nuts. Add the nuts before adding the marshmallows.
Nutrition
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