Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows is a classic holiday side dish that tastes more like dessert than potatoes. Warm fall spices, brown sugar, pecans, and mini marshmallows highlight the natural flavor of the sweet potatoes in this beloved old-school recipe. Your loved ones will scramble to get to the table with this casserole as part of your Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner spread!
Serve with delicious roasted turkey, glazed honey ham, or juicy prime rib. Enjoy!
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Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows is a classic holiday side dish always guaranteed to please!
The brown sugar mashed sweet potatoes, crunchy chunks of pecan, and gooey toasted marshmallow topping are an indulgent treat that many reserve for extra special occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving.
This is one of my favorite sweet potato side dishes for that very reason. In fact, I look forward to making it all year long!
🥘 Ingredients
Everything on this list is easy to find at any grocery store, especially around the holidays.
- Sweet Potatoes - 3 pounds of sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes). This will take about 5 large sweet potatoes, 7 medium potatoes, or 10 small potatoes.
- Milk - ½ cup of milk, or half & half, or evaporated milk at room temperature.
- Brown Sugar - ½ cup of light brown sugar, packed. You can use dark brown sugar, but it will give your casserole more of a 'molasses flavor.'
- Butter - ⅓ cup of butter softened at room temperature.
- Salt & Pepper - ¼ teaspoon each of salt & pepper.
- Cinnamon - ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
- Ground Cloves - ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves.
- Nutmeg - ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
- Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor).
- Eggs - 2 large room-temperature eggs, beaten.
- Pecans - ¾ cup of chopped pecans divided into 2 equal parts of about 6 tablespoons (or ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) each.
- Mini Marshmallows - 2 cups of mini marshmallows.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Sweet Potato Casserole (With Marshmallows & Pecans)
The most time-consuming part of this recipe will be peeling and dicing the potatoes; everything else is easy!
You'll need a vegetable peeler, a sharp knife, a 9x13 baking dish, a large pot, a wooden spoon or spatula, and a potato masher (or use the backside of a fork) to get started.
I love serving sweet potato casserole for the holidays because one 9x13 dish has 16 servings!
- Prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
- Boil. Fill a large pot with enough water to cover 3 pounds of diced sweet potatoes and bring it to a boil. Add the diced sweet potatoes and boil until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
- Mash. Return the potatoes to the pot (or a clean bowl) along with ½ a cup of milk, ½ a cup of light brown sugar, ⅓ cup of butter, ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon each of ground clove, nutmeg, and salt & pepper. Mash the potatoes until no large lumps remain and the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed in.
- Fold. Mix 1 teaspoon of vanilla into the 2 beaten eggs, then pour the vanilla/egg mixture into the mashed sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Fold the first half (6 tablespoons) of the pecans into the mashed sweet potatoes.
- Spread. Transfer the potatoes to your prepared baking dish and spread it out as evenly as possible.
- Bake. Sprinkle the remaining half of the pecans (6 tablespoons) and 2 cups of mini marshmallows over the top of the sweet potatoes. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden-brown.
No matter the main course, this sweet potato casserole with marshmallows will be the perfect addition to your holiday dinner menu.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- ⅓ cup of butter is equal to 5 ⅓ tablespoons.
- To soften the potatoes quickly, you can microwave them instead of boiling them. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes with the tines of a fork and place them in the microwave. One potato takes about 5 minutes; add 2 minutes for each additional potato.
- You can add some optional mix-ins like cranberries or raisins if desired. Shredded coconut also makes a tasty addition to the marshmallow topping!
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Once your sweet potato casserole has cooled, cover it tightly or place it in an airtight container and refrigerate the leftovers for up to 4 days.
Reheating
Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave or place the whole casserole in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15-20 minutes.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes! Yams and sweet potatoes are great substitutes for one another in many recipes, including this one. They are similar but different vegetables despite being used interchangeably quite often. See my candied yams with marshmallows here.
To learn more about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, check out my post 'yams vs sweet potatoes'.
To save time, you can prepare this casserole 1-2 days in advance. First, follow steps 1-4 to make the sweet potato filling. Smooth it out into the greased baking dish, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed.
You can also combine the second portion of the pecans and marshmallows for the topping and keep it at room temperature in a Ziploc bag. When ready, uncover your casserole, add the topping, and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30-35 minutes.
Sweet potato casserole can be made with canned sweet potatoes. You will need to make some adjustments to the cooking time and the amount of liquid used (canned sweet potatoes have more liquid in them).
I recommend checking out my brown sugar candied yams recipe! It has marshmallows and all but is made using canned sweet potatoes/yams, that way you don't have to change a thing!
🍠 More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Cornbread - This soft and savory cornbread is made even more delicious by adding sweet potato!
- Sweet Potato Pie - A creamy and comforting dessert that is full of warm fall spices!
- Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes - An easy savory side dish that can be made in just 15 minutes!
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes - These creamy mashed sweet potatoes are hard to resist! You can add spices to enhance the flavor or keep it simple with butter.
- Sweet Potato Sushi - A vegetarian sushi that will wow your friends and family!
- Microwave Baked Sweet Potatoes - Whip up some fluffy baked sweet potatoes in a matter of minutes!
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📖 Recipe Card
Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows & Pecans
Ingredients
- 3 lb sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes)
- ½ cup milk (or half & half, or evaporated milk)
- ½ cup brown sugar (packed)
- ⅓ cup butter (softened at room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepper
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature, beaten)
- ¾ cup pecans (chopped, divided into two equal parts)
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
- Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the potatoes and bring it to a boil. Add the diced 3 lb sweet potatoes and boil until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
- Return the potatoes to the pot (or a clean bowl) along with the ½ cup milk, ½ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup butter, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepper. Mash the potatoes until no large lumps remain and the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed in.
- Mix the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into the beaten 2 large eggs, then pour the vanilla/egg mixture into the mashed sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Fold the first half of the ¾ cup pecans into the mashed sweet potatoes.
- Transfer the potatoes to your prepared baking dish and spread it out as evenly as possible.
- Sprinkle the remaining half of the pecans and all of the 2 cups mini marshmallows over the top of the sweet potatoes. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden-brown.
Notes
- ⅓ cup of butter is equal to 5 ⅓ tablespoons.
- To soften the potatoes quickly, you can microwave them instead of boiling them. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes with the tines of a fork and place them in the microwave. One potato takes about 5 minutes, add 2 minutes for each additional potato.
- You can add some optional mix-ins like cranberries or raisins if desired. Shredded coconut also makes a tasty addition to the marshmallow topping!
- To store: Once your sweet potato casserole (with marshmallows) has cooled, you can cover it tightly or place it in an airtight container and refrigerate the leftovers for up to 4 days.
- To reheat: Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave, or you can pop the whole casserole in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15-20 minutes.
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