Sweet potato casserole is a simple and beloved Southern dish that has been a staple Thanksgiving side for generations of Americans. At its most basic, it's simply roasted sweet potatoes, whipped with butter, sugar, and seasoning, then topped with marshmallows and baked.
Some people top their casseroles with streusel or spiced nuts, but marshmallow is the most striking. And some might argue it's the most delicious of the classic toppings.
Store-bought mini marshmallows are cheap and yummy, but they don't have the fancy touch that makes Thanksgiving dishes feel special. You can easily make a marshmallow meringue topping at home. Just put it under the broiler for a few minutes to get a delicious golden and campfire-like taste. It's the best!
Is it better to boil or bake sweet potatoes?
This depends on whether flavor or time are more important to you.
Boiling sweet potatoes is much faster than baking them. You can boil a sweet potato in about 15 minutes. But the quick cooking method doesn't allow as many of the starches to break down into sugars. So the potatoes will be tender, but will not be as sweet.
When you bake sweet potatoes, it takes a lot longer. We recommend baking sweet potatoes for at least an hour at 375°F. That long cooking time gives the potatoes time to get much tastier, making a more satisfying casserole, but it's also more time intensive.
How do you make sweet potato casserole?
At its simplest, sweet potato casserole is simply cooked sweet potatoes that have been blended or mashed in some way, and then cooked again, with a topping of some sort (such as marshmallows). So to make it, all you have to do is:
- Cook the sweet potatoes
- Mix the sweet potatoes with sugar, spices, and egg
- Top it, and bake it.
That's it! The real trick is in the blend of spices, the cooking, and the topping.
What's the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?
In American recipes, "sweet potato" and "yam" are often used interchangeably, but they are actually different vegetables. A yam is a starchy root vegetable that is central to many West African cultures, among others.
Africans who were made to come to America began using sweet potatoes instead of yams for cooking when they couldn't get yams anymore. The term caught on, and now Americans continue to call sweet potatoes yams.
Can you make sweet potato casserole ahead of time?
Sweet potatoes are an easy dish to make ahead of time, though we recommend saving the marshmallow for right before baking. You can roast and mash the potatoes, and proceed all the way through step 3. Then wrap the dish and keep it in the fridge for up to three or four days before you eat it.
Let it come to room temperature, then mix up the marshmallow topping, and finish it up. To prepare sweet potatoes ahead of time, you can freeze them. Just make sure to wrap them tightly to prevent air or water from getting in.
Can you store leftover sweet potato casserole?
While the marshmallow topping is okay at freezing, the casserole will definitely keep for a few days in the fridge. After that, you can freeze the leftovers as long as you wrap them as airtight as possible. Reheat in the oven for best results.
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- Yields:
- 8 serving(s)
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 50 mins
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp.
(1/2 stick)unsalted butter, melted, plus more for baking dish
- 4 lb.
sweet potatoes
- 2 tbsp.
dark brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp.
freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp.
cayenne pepper
- 3
large eggs plus 4 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 tsp.
pure vanilla extract, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2/3 c.
granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp.
cream of tartar
Directions
- Step1Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart broiler-safe baking dish. Roast sweet potatoes on a baking sheet until tender, 60 to 70 minutes. Cut a slit in the top to release steam and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Step2Scoop out sweet potato flesh (discard skins). Transfer to a food processor and process until completely smooth, 30 seconds. Add butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, whole eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pulse until fully incorporated, 3 to 4 times.Season with salt and black pepper; transfer to the prepared dish.
- Step3Bake until sweet potatoes are set, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes.
- Step4Whisk together egg whites, granulated sugar, and cream of tartar in a bowl. Set the bowl over (but not in) a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved and whites are very warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes; remove from heat. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed, gradually increasing speed to high, until glossy and soft peaks form, 4 to 6 minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
- Step5Heat the broiler with rack in the middle position. Spoon meringue over cooled sweet potatoes. Broil until meringue is browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Note: This recipe has been corrected. The original, printed version did not indicate when to add the butter.
