Name: Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Pecans
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 40 ounce cans of canned sweet potatoes (drained); 4 tablespoons melted butter; 1/3 cup orange juice; 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed); 2 large eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup all purpose flour; 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed); 1/2 stick softened butter; 1 cup pecans (chopped); 1-1/2 cup mini marshmallows

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This easy Sweet Potato Casserole topped with both pecans and marshmallows is a traditional side dish at our Thanksgiving table. No need to miss out when these perfectly spiced sweet potatoes are topped with BOTH toasted mini marshmallows and a crunchy pecan streusel!

While it is perfectly acceptable to serve Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Pecans at any time of the year, Thanksgiving is truly it’s no-fail security blanket.

How many holiday dinners can you remember sitting down to and passing that heavy casserole dish back and forth until it was scraped clean of all traces of its sweet potato casserole marshmallow topped goodness? Too many to count!!

What is better than some mashed sweet potatoes, some cinnamon, some toasted pecans, a sprinkle of mini marshmallows? … um, nothing!

While I LOVE the traditional take of sweet potato casserole and am a HUGE fan my Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole recipe, I will admit to some moderately heated discussions on what is the right topping for sweet potato casserole.

I am not a huge fan of marshmallows whereas my husband could sit down with a bag and eat the entire thing in one sitting. #thishasbeenproven

Instead, I love the sweet, crunchy bite of pecan streusel to compliment my forkful of creamy sweet potato filling so in the interest of amicable Thanksgiving dinners, I simply top my favorite Thanksgiving side dish with both and everyone is happy!

Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and pecans is a winner any way you look at it!

WHY THIS SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE IS THE BEST

When is come to passing around the casserole dish, it gets no better than a perfect combination of sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy – this sweet potato side dish is a must have for your holiday meal!

No more embarrassing Thanksgiving Day mug shots from the county jail since no one has to fight over what casserole topping is the ‘right’ one.
With every forkful of sweet potato, you get a bit of marshmallow sweetness and pecan crunch along with savory sweet potato filling.
This sweet potato casserole comes together in 5 just minutes and in the oven it goes!
You can make this favorite holiday side dish ahead of time so you have more time to drink wine and hover over the cheese platter.
This easy sweet potato casserole recipe is made using canned yams. No need to spend time peeling, cutting and baking sweet potatoes.

To make this Sweet Potato Casserole, you will need:

Canned yams in syrup
Butter
Orange juice
Eggs
Spices
Vanilla extract
All purpose flour
Brown sugar
Pecans
Mini marshmallows

HOW TO MAKE SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Drain your canned yams before adding them to a large bowl and lightly mash them until you reach your desired consistency or whip them together using an electric hand mixer if you prefer your sweet potato casserole to be super smooth.

Stir in the orange juice, milk, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until well incorporated. Sneak a bite and see what you think as seasoning dishes is completely a personal preference.

Transfer your potato filling to your casserole dish and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix up your quick streusal topping by combining flour, brown sugar, softened butter.

Stir in the pecans and sprinkle your streusel in stripes on top of your sweet potato filling. Fill in between the streusel stripes with mini marshmallows.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until streusel is golden brown and marshmallows are toasty and just starting to melt. Serve immediately.

HOW TO MAKE AHEAD OF TIME

Can this sweet potato side dish be made ahead of time? Absolutely! To assemble this easy casserole dish the day before, simply mix together your sweet potato filling, add the streusel topping and mini marshmallows, cover and refrigerate.

When you are ready, uncover your casserole and bake as instructed but add on an extra 5-10 minutes to your total baking time.

This is a great make ahead Thanksgiving side dish to free up some valuable time in the kitchen on the big day. That extra time allows you to work on other holiday dishes or spend time with family and friends.

MELTED MARSHMALLOWS AND CRUNCHY PECAN TOPPING

Depending on how you like your marshmallows will determine how long you bake this sweet potato casserole with both marshmallows and pecans.

I have made this easy casserole dish to be made with both pecans and marshmallows together but if you prefer lighter marshmallows, feel free to add your streusel topping to your sweet potato casserole and bake it without the marshmallows if you prefer your marshmallows to be just barely melted.

Baking your marshmallows for about 8-10 minutes will give you lightly toasted marshmallows. Letting them go a bit longer at 10-15 minutes will make them a bit darker.

If you want the marshmallows to maintain their shape and not melt at all, add them at the very end and bake them for just a few minutes.

For even darker marshmallows, pop the casserole under the broiler for a few seconds but this can go from yummy to ‘Mom ruined Thanksgiving’ in the blink of an eye so keep a close watch on them.

PRO TIPS FOR PERFECT SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

Be sure to drain your canned sweet potatoes well before adding them to your mixing bowl.
Canned sweet potatoes are canned in a sweet syrup. If you prefer your sweet potato casserole to be more savory, add only half of the brown sugar called for in the recipe and take a bite to see if your filling is the perfect combination of sweet and savory.
If you don’t like like pecans, consider replacing them with walnuts or almonds.
Don’t care for marshmallows at all? Leave them off and simply top your sweet potato side dish with your pecan streusel.
If you like your marshmallows a bit on the lighter side, consider baking your sweet potato casserole with just the steusel topping and add your marshmallows to the side dish at the end and bake as preferred using my tips above.
This is a great make ahead side dish for the holidays. Assemble this casserole the day before and free up some much needed time on the big day!

MORE HOLIDAY DISHES YOU WILL LOVE

Enjoy!

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