Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

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This Sweet Potato Casserole is our favorite version of the slightly sweet classic holiday side dish.  It’s filled with warm mashed sweet potatoes, brown sugar and cinnamon, and topped with ooey gooey mini marshmallows.

Jump to:

• Classic, Easy Sweet Potato Casserole
• What is the Difference Between Yams and Sweet Potatoes?
• What to Serve with Sweet Potato Casserole
• Ingredients in this Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
• How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
• Can I Make Sweet Potato Casserole Ahead of Time?
• Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Classic, Easy Sweet Potato Casserole

What kind of holiday would it be if there wasn’t a Sweet Potato Casserole on the Thanksgiving table?  This version, with a marshmallow topping, is our favorite way to prepare this holiday classic.  The sweetness of the marshmallow topping mixed with buttery brown sugar and mashed sweet potatoes is a match made in Thanksgiving heaven.

Another reason to love this side dish is that it’s insanely simple to prep and can even be made a day in advance.  Feel free to sprinkle with chopped pecans, if that’s your thing, or leave as is.

This dish's recipe twin, Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel Topping, is another delicious sweet potato option to add to your Thanksgiving dinner table, if you want to try something a little different.

What is the Difference Between Yams and Sweet Potatoes?

Both yams and sweet potatoes are root vegetables but are actually not the same thing.  Yams come from Africa and Asia and are much more starchy and dry than sweet potatoes.  Real yams aren't often found in grocery stores in the United States, so while your grocery store may label something as a yam, it may not actually be a yam!  

Confusing, we know.  There are actually two main kinds of sweet potatoes that you will find here in the United States, with one often mislabeled as a “yam:”

• Soft Sweet Potatoes: these are the ones with deeper orange flesh inside and often have a copper skin.  These are often labeled as “yams” at the grocery store, but they are the ones you will think of when you think of a typical baking sweet potato.
• Firm Sweet Potatoes: these have lighter flesh and more of a golden colored skin.

Long story short - it’s best to just look at how they look and ignore labels!  You want to choose the ones that have smooth copper colored skin with tapered ends.

What to Serve with Sweet Potato Casserole

This super traditional Thanksgiving side dish pairs well with other traditional Thanksgiving dishes, such as:

• Grandma’s Stuffing
• Sausage and Apple Stuffing
• Cheesy Funeral Potatoes
• Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast
• Cranberry Orange Sauce
• No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients in this Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

• Sweet Potatoes - try and find sweet potatoes that have smooth, copper skin with deep orange flesh.  For this recipe, you’ll want to wash and peel before dicing and cooking.
• Butter - we like unsalted butter for this recipe.
• Brown Sugar - we like to use dark brown sugar because of its deep molasses flavor, but you could also use light brown sugar.
• Cinnamon - any kind of ground cinnamon will work.
• Nutmeg - this adds a nice warm flavor.
• Marshmallows - you’ll want to use mini marshmallows for this recipe.

How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes, cut into 1" pieces and place sweet potatoes in a large pot.  Fill the pot with water to cover the potatoes and bring to a boil.  Continue to boil and cook sweet potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until they are fork-tender.
3. When the sweet potatoes have finished cooking, put them back into the cooking pot and use a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes until they are smooth.
4. In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Bring to boil and boil for 30 seconds, then reduce the heat slightly, add 1 1/2 cups of the marshmallows and continue to cook and stir until the marshmallows are melted. 
5. Pour the melted butter and marshmallow mixture into the sweet potatoes and stir until combined. Spread this sweet potato mixture into a 9 x 13" baking dish and top evenly with the remaining 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows.
6. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the tops of the marshmallows are golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.  Enjoy!

Can I Make Sweet Potato Casserole Ahead of Time?

Yup!  You’ll want to follow the recipe all the way through until just before adding the mini marshmallows on top.  Spread the sweet potato mixture evenly in your baking dish and let cool completely.  Cover with plastic and store in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove your baking dish from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400 degrees for at least 30 minutes, to give your baking dish time to come to room temperature.  Remove the plastic from the dish, top with the mini marshmallows and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the marshmallows are golden brown.

Here are some other sweet potato recipe that we love!

• Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
• Best Sweet Potato Fries
• Chili Spiced Sweet Potato Chunks
• Roasted Sweet Potato with Lime and Chipotle
• Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole

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This Sweet Potato Casserole is our favorite version of the holiday classic.  The sweetness of the marshmallow topping mixed with buttery brown sugar and mashed sweet potatoes is a match made in Thanksgiving heaven.