Classic Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe - cinnamon and cloves spiced sweet potato casserole with gooey, toasted marshmallow topping. A classic holiday dinner side dish!
Serve this casserole with my Oven Roasted Turkey Breast and Cranberry Relish.
CLASSIC SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
A classic sweet potato casserole with toasted marshmallow topping is a must side dish for our holiday dinners. I know my kids always look forward to it because let's be honest, the toasted marshmallow topping is quite irresistible. I make it even more delicious by adding cinnamon and cloves to the sweet potato mixture and adding an extra layer of brown sugar just before the marshmallows. This Classic Sweet Potato Casserole with marshmallow topping is a must side dish for the holiday dinners. It's easy and can be made ahead of time, which is great when you are making it for the holiday dinner.
How to make Classic Sweet Potato Casserole?
Start by cooking the potatoes until soft. Drain well. Place in a large mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, spices, salt, butter, and eggs and whip the mixture with a hand mixer or mash with potato masher. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish and spread the sweet potato mixture in the dish. Top with mini marshmallows and bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden and toasted. Let the casserole cool for 10 minutes before serving.
How to cook sweet potatoes for a casserole?
The most common way to cook sweet potatoes for a casserole is to peel them, chop them and cook on a stovetop in a pot. Since I had my Instant Pot, I let it do the work and I have the stovetop free to make gravy or the cranberry sauce. You can also cook sweet potatoes baked style, scoop the flesh and mash for the casserole.
Tips for making the best Sweet Potato Casserole:
- After your potatoes are cooked till soft, it is important to drain them well. Best to do it over a colander and let as much water drip out as possible. It will prevent it from collecting at the bottom of your casserole.
- Add cinnamon and cloves for added flavor, perfect for the holidays.
- To make it ahead, cool potatoes after cooking, mix with remaining ingredients and spread the mixture in a buttered casserole dish. Do not top with marshmallows just yet. Wait to do that just before baking. If you chill the casserole in the fridge, let it sit for 30 minutes in room temperature before baking. If you take it from a cold fridge to a hot oven, the dish may shatter.
Can I make sweet potato casserole ahead of time?
Cook potatoes till soft, cool completely, then mix with remaining ingredients. Spread mixture in a buttered dish and cover the dish with saran wrap. Store in the fridge. Wait to top it with marshmallows (or pecan brown sugar topping) just before baking, for best results. After you take the casserole out of the fridge, let it sit in room temperature for 30 minutes. If you take it from a cold fridge to a hot oven, the dish may shatter.
MORE THANKSGIVING SIDE DISHES:
- Green Bean Casserole from scratch OR cooked in Slow Cooker
- Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing
- Sweet Corn Casserole
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs sweet potatoes
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Start by peeling and chopping sweet potatoes. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to boil over medium heat and cook until potatoes are soft. Drain well (see note).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish and set aside.
- Place cooked potatoes in large mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, butter, spices, salt, vanilla and eggs and mash with potato masher or whip with hand mixer.
- Spread the mixture in prepared casserole dish. Top with ¼ cup of brown sugar, sprinkling it evenly over the top.
- Layer marshmallows in a single layer on top.
- Bake casserole for 12 to 15 minutes OR until the marshmallows are golden and toasted and the sides are bubbling. I always place it under the broiler for just 2 minutes to toast the topping just a bit more. You have to watch it carefully so it won't burn.
- Cool casserole for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Denise says
Absolutely fantabulous!! Made this recipe twice in two days, it went fast, seconds and had really great raves.
Anna says
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making my recipe, Denise!
Mary Beth Gibson says
I love, love, love this recipe. The dish is simply scrumptious and it is easy to make. So good!
Courtney says
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! I doubled it and it turned out great! Everyone LOVED it!
Anna says
That's fantastic! Thank you so much, Courtney!
Trish says
We made this for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was perfect! Directions were great, spices were perfect! We’ll be making it every year, thanks so much Anna for sharing your recipe. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!
Anna says
You are very welcome, Trish! Thank you for giving it a try! I am so glad you enjoyed it.
Rita says
Try a little almond extract my girls love it!
Anna says
Sounds perfect, Rita!
Missy says
Hello. I would like to try this recipe it sounds so good. I wanted to know approximately how many sweet potatoes do you use ( I know it says the weight but was wondering how many that generally is)
Kelsey says
Made this for the first time for Thanksgiving today. Everyone loved it and it was so easy to make. I'm saving this recipe to make for holidays now.
Anna says
I am so happy to know you love the dish, Kelsey! Thank you for giving it a try!
Adrena says
Hello ! I’m just wondering if I make the casserole ahead will the cook time be longer than 15 minutes since it was in the fridge ? Or if letting it get room temperature solve it
Sarah Parsell says
Hi! So I meant to make this recipe for ahead-of-time baking, but forgot, and put all the ingredients in with the potatoes as they were still pretty warm. It's sitting in my fridge now all cooling off together. Any idea what the repercussions might be?
Megan St. Jacques says
Me too.... Guess we will see
Sparkles says
I'd be surprised if it weren't just as tasty! Maybe not crumbly on the top. You could always make extra crumble. I can't guess what marshmallows would do if they went in early though! Maybe be mushy and not get crunchy? You might add more on top to brown.
Stephany Flowers says
Think I could use regular size marshmallows? Need to use vegan marshmallows (family doesn’t eat pork) and could not find mini ones.
Anna says
Hi Stephany! You can use regular marshmallows. You can even cut them with kitchen scissors and place them cut side down. They will be perfect!
Stephany Flowers says
Thank you! Just finished the dish (without the toppings) and it smells amazing. Will put them together tomorrow. Thank you!
Lisalia says
Anna this is a classic! Looks so good. Can it be made without the eggs? I'm allergic. But I don't know if that's part of the flavoring?
Anna says
Hi Lisalia! Thank you so much! Yes, you can skip the eggs. It will still be delicious! Let me know how it goes. Have a wonderful holiday week!
Beth says
Yummy! My family and I love sweet potato casserole for the holiday!
Kimberly says
This has the perfect balance of flavors and spices, thanks for this recipe! Thanksgiving just isn't complete without a sweet potato casserole! 🙂
Allyson says
I was looking to make this type of dish for Thanksgiving, and this recipe looks amazing, just what I was looking for!
Keri says
I’m serving 12 for Thanksgiving and this recipe serves only 5(?)
Do I simply double every ingredient?
Kathy Foreman says
You can never make enough of this dish. Such a favorite for years. I would double it. I make a huge pyrex oblong and there's never any left.
Enrique Delgado says
🔥😋Legit! I made it this last Thanksgiving and it was the best sweet potato casserole I've ever had
Anna says
Awesome! Thank you so much, Enrique!
RoRo says
Bake those potatoes and use Madagascar vanilla! More flavorful. Yumm!
Erica says
Very delicious and easy to make!
Anna says
Thank you so much, Erica!
Tami Metts says
I just randomly picked this sweet potato recipe to make for Thanksgiving. OH MY GOODNESS! It was so very good! I have now printed it off to add to my favorite recipe stash. Thank you for sharing!
Anna says
That's fantastic, Tami! I am so glad you love it! Thank you for trying my recipe!
Lilith says
is the serving size correct because i’ve seen plenty other recipe calling for about half that amount of sweet potatoes but the serving size is 14-16 people?
Nicolette Scarfo says
Hi! If I cook my sweet potatoes in the instant pot, do I need to peel them or will the skin come off when they are cooked? Thank you! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Anna says
Hi Nicolette! Here is my recipe for mashed sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot: https://www.crunchycreamysweet.com/instant-pot-mashed-sweet-potatoes/ Once cooked, I mix them with ingredients in the recipe above and bake with marshmallow topping. I hope this helps!
Lynn Thompson says
HELP! Making this right now and Ijust noticed you have brown sugar listed twice in 2 different amounts! What is the correct amount?
Lynn Thompson says
Nevermind, I see it!
Anna says
Glad you found it, Lynn!
Laura says
This looks great! I’m still new to all of the instant pot cooking. Can you tell me how you cook your sweet potatoes using this method?
Anna says
Hi Laura! You can follow the instructions in this post: https://www.crunchycreamysweet.com/instant-pot-mashed-sweet-potatoes/ I hope this helps!
Heather says
How come last year when I made this the marshmallows melted and it completely ruined my casseroles look? Help!! It wasn’t this recipe by the way.
Anna says
Hi Heather! It's hard for me to say since I don't know what recipe you followed but my guess would be that it was cooked for too long or it was too high up in the oven. I never had marshmallows melt completely. If the dish was cold before baking, it would take longer for it to heat up and the marshmallows could melt. It's just a guess. Hope this helps!
patricia says
can u use canned sweet potatoes?
Anna says
Hi Patricia! I did not test this recipe with canned sweet potatoes but it should work just fine. You just won't need to cook fresh sweet potatoes, but simply skip that step and use already cooked from the can. Just mash them and proceed with the recipe. Let me know how it goes!
Kelli says
Did you try this last year and how many cans did you use?
Judy Allen says
Absolutely the best.. made it and added pecans to half. Delicious
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you so much, Judy!
Jan says
I’m making this right now and just wonder why the color is not a pretty orange like yours. Do you use yams or sweet potatoes?
Sabrina says
nice dish, especially since I love sweet potatoes, thank your for this "just in time" recipe, much appreciated!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Sabrina!
Sandra says
This looks perfect for Thanksgiving!!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Sandra!
Erin says
I love this! looks so good!
Brandy says
Can't beat a classic! This will be on my Thanksgiving table!
Cathy says
A Thanksgiving MUST!!!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Totally!
Lawanda says
can I make this ahead and freeze it and then bake it on the day I need it or bake it ahead and then freeze it?
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
I never tried freezing a sweet potato casserole, but I think it should be fine. Just make sure to thaw it out completely before baking.
Chrissie Baker says
This is absolutely fantastic! So YUMMY! I add this sweet potato casserole to my favorite. I can't WAIT to try this!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thanks so much, Chrissie!
Natasha says
That golden brown crown of marshmallows are calling my name. Yum!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
That's the best part! 😀
Kellie says
That marshmallow topping makes me swoon!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
It's the best part! Thanks, Kellie!
Sommer says
Classic sweet potatoes at their best!!!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
I agree! Thanks, Sommer!
Meghan says
This is a must-have on the table for Thanksgiving!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Absolutely! Thanks, Meghan!
Meghan says
This has always been my fave Thanksgiving side dish and it always will be!
Andie Thueson says
I love sweet potato casserole! It is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. I love this classic take! ❤
Carolin says
This was the exact recipe I was looking for. Thank you!
Brenda says
Hello Luv,
This is my first time making this type of casserole.
Is there a substitute to using eggs or can I go without it?
B.