Make this classic sweet potato casserole side dish with your next meal. It's so simple and it goes well with pretty much anything! Plus, it doubles as a side and dessert. Your family will love you!
Sometimes the hardest parts of putting a meal together for your family are the sides. Nobody wants to eat the same thing over and over, and there's usually one in the bunch who just doesn't like what everybody else does. What's a mama to do?!
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Whip up this easy sweet potato casserole recipe with your next meal and rest assured, you just made a new favorite side dish that everybody can agree on! It's always a classic for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas dinners, but who says it just has to be a holiday side dish? Whip it up anytime you've got some sweet potatoes lying around that need to be used, even leftover ones! That's what we call a shelf cooking win. *Fist pump, grunt like a man, yea!*
HOW TO COOK SWEET POTATOES
There are a variety of ways to cook those little orange pockets of deliciousness. Roasting your sweet potatoes will result in the sweetest version, so that's definitely our preferred way of cooking them. Air fryers work GREAT for this! You could also peel, slice, and boil them if you're pressed for time, but they just lose a little somethin' somethin' when you do it that way.
(Pssst… This is a great way to get some meal prepping in and cook a bunch of sweet potatoes for lunch or dinner during the week, as well!)
IN THE OVEN
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash and dry your sweet potatoes, then pierce them all over with a fork. Put on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until tender. Usually, that will be around 45 to 50 minutes for medium-sized potatoes. Insert a fork in the thickest part of the potato to see if they're done. You shouldn't have any resistance!
Once they're done, let them rest for a bit before you take the skin off and continue with our easy sweet potato casserole recipe. Nobody needs to pull a Men in Black and burn their fingerprints off in the process of making this yummy side!
IN THE SLOW COOKER
The slow cooker will take longer, but the results are just as good, if not better! Wash your sweet potatoes and throw them in a lined slow cooker. No need to poke holes or wrap in aluminum foil. Let it cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours, until they're tender. It's as easy as that, folks!
IN THE INSTANT POT
Did you guess that you could also make them in the instant pot?! It is a little magical pot that can do just about anything (like make the easiest shredded chicken), so why couldn't it also make some amazing sweet potatoes, too? Start off by adding a cup of water to the bottom of your instant pot.
Scrub your sweet potatoes and put them on top of the trivet that came with the pot. Use the manual mode to pressure cook on high for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of your sweet potatoes. Don't be afraid to err on the side of caution! You can always cook them for a few more minutes if they're not done.
SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE TOPPING OPTIONS
Alright, on to the goods! While sweet potatoes are perfectly delicious by themselves (seriously, they don't need anything!), you can never go wrong by adding these delicious toppings on top to really take them to the next level.
MARSHMALLOWS
This age-old tried and true sweet potato casserole topping is always at the top of our list! Come on, who doesn't like a sweet, gooey, and crispy marshmallow on top of their already delicious sweet potatoes? There's no need to worry about any nut allergies with this go-to topping. Plus, you can use basically any size or shape of marshmallow that you have sitting in your pantry: mini, regular, jumbo, or smores-sized. Mix and match using what you've got!
Just remember, they don't go on until the end! Don't throw a funeral for your marshmallows because you put them on too early. Follow the directions in the recipe card below, and you'll have happy little golden clouds of marshmallows, ready to be devoured.
PECAN CRUMBLE
For all of those nut-lovers out there, this will be a crowd favorite! Mix together:
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (or a brown sugar substitute if you're out)
- ¾ cup chopped pecans – If you're starting with whole pecans, use one cup, then chop those puppies up!
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 Tbsp room-temp, unsalted butter
Use a pastry cutter or fork to mix into a crumble. Spread on top of your sweet potato mixture and bake away! You could also leave the pecans out if you didn't have any, or substitute with walnuts, and the topping will still be delicious.
HOW TO MAKE SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE AHEAD OF TIME
One of the best things about this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time! Whip up the sweet potato mixture and add it to your baking dish, leaving the topping off. Then, cover with plastic wrap or foil and stick it in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you're ready to bake it, remove the cover and stir it around if it's a little watery. Give it an extra 10 minutes bake time to allow enough time for the cold mixture to get warm throughout.
Remember, if you're putting the marshmallows on top, those don't go on until the last few minutes. If you're using the pecan crumble topping, add it before putting the casserole in the oven. Just make sure the topping isn't getting overly done. If it is, lay foil on the top of the dish to keep it from burning.
YOUR NEW FAVORITE SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
Okay, enough is enough! Let's get on to the best sweet potato casserole that you could possibly ever ask for in your life.
Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 medium sweet potatoes, baked and skinned
- 4 Tbsp butter, softened
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 32 oz marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9×13 dish.
- In a mixing bowl, add sweet potatoes, butter, sugar, milk, vanilla, salt, and eggs. Beat until smooth and transfer to the dish.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and add marshmallows on top of the sweet potato mixture.
- Put back in the oven and bake for 2-3 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden brown.
Notes
Let the mouth-watering commence while you bake away, (im)patiently waiting for this baby to come out of the oven already! Luckily, this makes just about the best leftovers that you could ask for and it'll last in the fridge for a few days. Feel free to double or triple the recipe so you can have it with multiple meals or as a (healthy?!) dessert throughout the week!
What's your favorite topping for your sweet potato casserole? We're always looking for new things to try, so let us know in the comments!
Looking for more deliciousness?
- Lasagna roll-ups are mouthwatering and they make a great freezer meal!
- Want (or need) to cook a turkey for your next get together, but you're not sure how? We've got you covered!
- These quick and easy egg sandwiches make a great on-the-go breakfast option that's tasty and filling!
Enjoy your healthy dessert! 😉
YUMMY ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS ALL VERSIONS!!!
This was ridiculously good! I prepped it the day before (minus the marshmallow topping) and threw it in the fridge so I could easily heat it up on Thanksgiving. I added an extra sprinkle of cinnamon on top before heating it up in the oven and cooked it an extra 10 minutes before adding the marshmallows since it went in cold. Everybody raved about it and the leftovers are outta this world!!!