Crushed pineapple and toasted marshmallows put the “sweet” in this family-favorite Sweet Potato Casserole.
Some things are better left untouched. I’m all for innovation and trying new things and being open to different foods and traditions most of the time. The ultimate exception to that rule is Sweet Potato Casserole on Thanksgiving. It’s a crime punishable to the highest extent of the law in our family if there isn’t a giant dish covered in toasted marshmallows at the table. I don’t want to know what would happen if we somehow forgot to make them one year. I can guarantee it would not be one of those offenses that everyone decides to forgive and forget. We would never hear the end of it.
You just can’t mess with them. It’s wrong. It’s in my blood or something. On paper they sound kind of terrible considering I strongly dislike marshmallows on the other 364 days of the year. There’s just something about Thanksgiving that makes those little processed sugar filled pillows the perfect crunchy/creamy topping to the canned "yams". I also choose to overlook my snobbish disdain for canned foods when it comes to this dish. You just can’t beat the version that has graced our table for decades.
By the way, even though the label on the can says "Yams", it is my understanding that that is incorrect. Yams and Sweet Potatoes are not one in the same, and the what is labelled as "yams" is actually sweet potatoes. I could be wrong, but that is what I've read. Call them whatever you want, but I call them sweet potatoes. I also call them amazing.
This recipe is almost a non-recipe. It can easily be done freestyle and adjusted based on which cooking implement is most convenient during your Thanksgiving cooking process. If you are running low on oven space, you can heat all of the ingredients in a pan on the stove and then just add to the baking dish and top with marshmallows. Just pop it in the oven at the last minute to toast the marshmallows on top.
If you happen to have extra oven space, you can just mash all of the ingredients (minus the marshmallows) and add them to the baking dish and put it straight into the oven to heat through before topping with marshmallows and returning to oven to toast before serving.
PrintSweet Potato Casserole with Toasted Marshmallows
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8-12 1x
Ingredients
- 2 40-ounce cans Bruce’s Yams, drained
- 1 ½ cups Crushed Pineapple in Juice, drained (about ⅔ of a 20-ounce can)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mash together the sweet potatoes, crushed pineapple, brown sugar, melted butter, salt, and ground cinnamon.
- Spread mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.
- Bake 30 minutes, or until heated through, stirring a few times. Top with mini marshmallows and return to oven until marshmallows are golden brown, about 10 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
**Alternate stovetop method: Heat the sweet potato mixture in a large saucepan on the stove until heated through. Spread in a large baking dish and top with marshmallows and place in preheated oven until marshmallows are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
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Valerie wright
On your recipes look so good and I don't know which to try first
Gus Luttrell
Mandy you're a woman after my own heart! I agree with you 100% about this recipe. It's total comfort food for Thanksgiving, and an obvious must even if everything else on your table is organic, cage-free, fresh picked, etc. It's true, it's almost a non-recipe. A couple of my ingredients are different than listed here but that's just because I initially tried to wing it and recreate my mom's recipe (ie. I don't use butter, salt or brown sugar, but that's probaly just because I forgot or didn't think of them. I do use real maple syrup, lots of cinnamon and some nutmeg). It's a slice of bliss that can never be skipped. Non-believers will always become believers at first bite. :-)
Karen Kay
Can this be made ahead of c time
Mandy
You can prep the sweet potato mixture ahead of time and just cover and refrigerate the baking dish until you’re ready to bake it, but do not add the marshmallows until immediately before serving. Honestly, this is so quick to whip up that I typically do it as soon as I remove the turkey from the oven to rest on Thanksgiving. While everything else is finishing up and being kept warm, I usually just have the sweet potatoes in the oven finishing up, and I also pop the pan of rolls in to quickly warm up a bit before they go to the table.
Elizabeth Barbier-Szafranic
Love the sweet potato recipe. Iam trying it for Thanksgiving
★★★★★
Mandy
I hope you enjoy it! I’m making it for Thanksgiving too. Have an amazing holiday!
Carol
Thank you for this recipe it is my first time trying it like this but my guy loves it he wants it for Christmas dinner too.
★★★★★
Mandy
Enjoy!!