Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
This Sweet Potato Casserole recipe blends creamy mashed sweet potatoes with warm cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter, then finishes with your choice of a crunchy pecan streusel or gooey toasted marshmallows. The dish combines sweet and savory flavors in every bite, using simple boiling-and-mashing techniques for perfectly smooth potatoes. Ready in about an hour, this classic holiday side is easy to prepare ahead and always a crowd favorite.
Servings: 8
Calories: 635kcal
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Filling:
- 2.5 lbs sweet potatoes
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter chopped into pieces
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup brown sugar not packed
- 1 tsp salt more or less to taste
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Pecan Crunch Topping:
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour*
- 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
Marshmallow Topping Option:
- 1 1/2 cups pecan halves (or chopped)
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
Sweet Potato Filling:
- Peel sweet potatoes and chop them into 4 pieces. Place sweet potato chunks into a pot and fill it with water, just enough to cover the potatoes.
- Bring water to boil and cook potatoes until fork-tender. Strain all the water out of the pot and let potatoes cool for a few minutes.
- Add butter, eggs, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla extract and mash it all together using a potato masher.
- Grease a 9×9 casserole pan with some butter all over the bottom and up the sides. Spread potato mixture evenly in the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Pecan Crumble Topping:
- Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans in a mixing bowl and mix until all evenly incorporated.
- Pour in melted butter while stirring with a fork. Continue to cut and fold with a fork until coarse crumbs form. The topping should look like crumbs, not paste.
- Spread the pecan topping over sweet potatoes evenly and bake the casserole for 40-45 minutes.
Marshmallow Topping Option:
- For the marshmallow topping, you can choose to add marshmallows on top of the crunchy pecan topping or just stick to simple pecan and marshmallows.
- Spread pecans (or pecan crunch topping) over the sweet potato filling and bake for about 30 minutes.
- Take the casserole out and spread marshmallows over the top. (If you want to get super creative, sprinkle a little bit of coarse salt on top as well.)
- Bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the marshmallows are golden brown.
Video
Notes
- Nutrition NOTE: nutrition is calculated for Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crunch Topping.
- Gluten free - to make this casserole gluten free, use gluten free all purpose flour in the pecan crumble topping.
- Make Ahead (full instructions in post!): You can prepare the filling 1 day in advance. Spread it in the baking dish, cover tightly, and refrigerate. Add the topping right before baking.
- Storage: Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for 3–4 days covered air-tight. Reheat covered at 325°F until warmed through.
- Freezing: Freeze unbaked casserole (without the topping) up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, add topping, and bake as directed.
- Reheating: Reheat baked casserole at 325°F for 20–25 minutes. If using marshmallows, add a fresh handful at the end so they toast nicely.
Nutrition
Calories: 635kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 521mg | Potassium: 665mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 20636IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 2mg