Quick and Easy?! Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans and Marshmallows Recipe!

Want to spice up your Sweet Potato Casserole that you usually made during the holidays? 

Why not live on the edge and add a crunchy Pecan Topping with gooey marshmallows! Quick and easy recipes are hard to come by during the holidays. The pressure can be great to produce a delicious, show stopping dish meant to impress. 

Sweet potato casserole are the traditional Thanksgiving side dish or Christmas recipe but they can also be served at Easter and during friends/family gatherings.

Why is Sweet Potato Casserole a Great Side Dish?

There is something special about a roasted sweet potato. Many times we have seen sweet potato casseroles with marshmallows and sweet potato casseroles with a pecan topping. 

But the best, in our opinion, is the sweet potato casserole with pecans and marshmallows. There are a couple things that contribute to the deliciousness that makes this particular sweet potato casserole recipe better than the rest. 

• Pecan and Brown Sugar Topping: The combination of pecans and brown sugar when baked at the right temperature creates a sweet and savory topping that is initially crunchy but then melts in your mouth.
• Casserole Consistency: We like to make our sweet potato casserole in three layers to get the best mouthwatering texture. It is a combination of baked sweet potatoes, roasted pecans and fluffy marshmallows.
• Ease of Preparation: The best part about this recipe is that it does not take any time at all and it is very easy to put together with very simple ingredients.
• Visually Appetizing: Everyone knows people tend to eat with their eyes, at least we do! This Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans and Marshmallows is an impressive sight indeed.

How to Make a Sweet Potato Casserole

Overview of Ingredients

What makes a sweet potato casserole easy to make? Its simple and wholesome ingredients!

• Sweet potatoes – are the foundation of the recipe
• Heavy cream – adds the creamy texture
• Brown sugar – provides the sweet taste
• Vanilla extract – adds richness and depth to the flavor
• Chopped pecans – provides the crunchy texture
• Mini marshmallows – binds it all together

General Directions to Make a Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans and 

Marshmallows

For full directions, check out our video and recipe card below!

1. Roasting: The first step is to prep your potatoes for roasting by drizzling olive oil and salt on each potato, then wrap them individually in foil.

2. Sweet Potato Mixture: Once your sweet potatoes are baked, remove the skin and combine in a dish with all other ingredients (heavy cream, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla extract, butter and cinnamon)

3. Pecan Streusel Topping: In a separate dish, add all topping ingredients except for the marshmallows, we save those for last!

4. Bake: Add your Sweet Potato Mixture to one of your favorite baking dishes! Then top with your Pecan Streusel Topping and garnish with your mini marshmallows. Throw that in the oven, bake, serve and enjoy!

And that’s what makes this sweet potato casserole recipe so easy!

Tips and Tricks

Here are some quick tips and tricks to help with the preparation and storing of your Sweet Potato Casserole.

• Prepping your sweet potatoes: When using fresh sweet potatoes it is important to ensure you wash them well to remove all the dirt. Fun Fact: Sweet potatoes are a root vegetable! 

• Easy to make ahead: Parts of this dish are easy to make ahead of time! The Sweet Potato Mixture can be made and stored in the fridge 48 hrs before cooking. If you opt to go in this direction, after getting your Sweet Potato Mixture from your fridge, make sure you cook the Sweet Potato Mixture for 30 minutes before you add the Pecan Streusel Topping. Once the sweet potatoes are baked, you can sprinkle on the brown sugar and pecan topping, add your marshmallows to the top, and return your Sweet Potato Casserole to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes so that your marshmallows get toasty.

• Marshmallow topping: We recommend using mini marshmallows but feel free to use large marshmallows. Also, the amount of time you leave the Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans and Marshmallows in the oven the more toasted they become. If you prefer a darker toasted marshmallow, you can broil the Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows briefly.

• How to store leftovers: The best way to store this sweet potato casserole is in an airtight container. This can last up to 4 days. For best results with close to day-of flavor, we recommend reheating in an oven but a microwave can be used as well.

What Makes Our Sweet Potato Casserole Different

One of the differences our recipe has is the use of eggs. Eggs have two main purposes in this dish: One, it serves as a binder to pull all of the ingredients together. And two, it adds an element of creaminess to the sweet potatoes. 

As a quick pro tip, you’ll notice in our video we make the Sweet Potato Mixture first and then we set it aside before we add the eggs.

The reason we do this is because we want to give the mixture an opportunity to cool off before adding the eggs so they don’t get cooked when added.

While we recommend fresh Sweet Potatoes for a better overall palette, you can also use Candied/Canned Yams. All you would have to do is substitute the canned yams for the fresh sweet potatoes. 

Be mindful of the amount of heavy cream you use. The candied yams are runny as it is, adding too much heavy cream will turn your casserole into a soup. Also, be aware of the amount of sugar you use as the canned yams will most likely already be sweet.

How to Serve with Style

We love to serve our baked sweet potato casserole with roasted turkey! There’s just something about having a tasty, juicy turkey with our sweet, toasty casserole. If you’re looking for a good turkey recipe, might we recommend ours!

We think this is the best baked sweet potato casserole with pecans and marshmallows around. Try it out and let us know what you think!

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