Thanksgiving isn't complete without a homemade sweet potato casserole. Top this lightened version of a basic sweet potato casserole recipe with both marshmallows and toasted pecans.  Need more Thanksgiving side dish ideas? Check out our Ultimate Thanksgiving Guide.

Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole

sweet potatoes,

brown sugar

butter, softened

salt

vanilla extract

pecans, divided

Cooking spray

marshmallows

Place the sweet potatoes in a Dutch oven, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until very tender. Drain; cool slightly.


Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add sugar and next 3 ingredients (through vanilla). Mash sweet potato mixture with a potato masher. Fold in 1/4 cup pecans. Scrape potato mixture into an even layer in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pecans; top with marshmallows. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until golden.


A flexible and accommodating recipe that you can make your own.This recipe is simple and elegant. It can be easily and effortlessly tweaked to service a lot of different preferences. For instance you can use less or more sugar, or experiment with different types of nuts and spices. You can omit the marshmallows altogether, use just a sprinkling, or go all-out ;-)This can also be made vegan just as it reads. I suggest using Miyokos Butter (it's akin to the European style butter you've probably already tried) and Dandies brand marshmallows.

This recipe is a perfect balance of sweetness - a new standard for sweet potato casserole.  I roasted my potatoes and omitted pecans to accommodate my diners.  A sprinkling of mini-marshmallows was all the topping we needed.

we used "fluff" which is not made with gelatin. Just as good!

Great recipe! Since I am trying to reduce the sugar in our diet, I doubled the vanilla and reduced the brown sugar to 1/2 cup. It was amazing and everyone loved it!!!!

If you're at the grocery store they have weights. Measure how many pounds the recipe calls for go slightly over cause you are pilling the skin off. There you have it.As for the recipe I thought it was a great traditional simple recipe.

I made this recipe and tweaked it just a bit, by adding a pinch of allspice, nutmeg, and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice.  I used the splenda blend brown sugar.  And I did use the regualr mini marshmallows, but only used 1 cup.  My husband who is not diabetic and my mother-in-law with is diabetic, both raved about how wonderful it tasted!  If my husband likes it, you can bet it is good.  He hates the splenda blends in what I bake.  I just tell him it is regular sugar and he doesn't taste the difference.  His preference is real sugar, but he doesn't get it most of the timeand doesn't even realize it.One bit of inf on diabetes:  My brother also has type 2.  His doctor told him to never eat a carb without 2 proteins.  EVER, evenwhen you eat a snack.  This works! I've invested in a protien powdered shake with 3 grams of carbs and use Almond milk to mix it with, then I eat one carb serving.  Works like a dream!If you already KNOW you have adult onset diabetes (TYPE 2) then you already know you should NOT make this recipe as it is presented!  Use your MIND and cooking talents to substitute artificial sweeteners in the place for which sugar is stated.  I am Type 2 diabetic.  Five years ago, my diabetes was out of control and I was on oral meds AND insulin injections twice a day.  Today, my  fasting blood sugar runs in the high 70's to mid 80's.  How do I keep it there, I experiment with these recipes and have found out how to cook with Splenda Blend regular sugar and brown sugar blends.  I also use stevia in some of the recipes I prepare.  It was not just these sweetners, though.  I switched to an artificial margerine made with flaxseed oil.  I have to melt it first to get the water out, then I measure what the recipe calls for after the water is removed and voila---I have successfully adapted ALL the wonderful recipes and icings and have my cake, candy and eat them too.  I am highly allergic to soy and so cannot use any straight soy products.  The flaxseed margerine is made by Balance.  Once your taste buds adjust to it, it not only tastes like butter, but butter no longer tastes good in any form.  In fact, butter now makes me nauseaus.  Yu STILL have the to use the spenda blends in moderaton, of course.  If you are serious, you WILL find a way to lower your blood sugar and your H1-C.  Mine is now in the range 0f 5.4 to 5.9.  Good luck to you, sir or ma'am!  You CAN do it an not have to do without.  It is even possible to make our own marshmallows!  Just look online, you will find several recipes, using artificial sweetners.  I've had Type 2 for the last 35 years and at 64, my blood sugar is diet controlled and I take NO meds to control my diabetes.  You can too!

This has been my go to recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas sweet potatoes!  It is easy and such a better choice than traditional recipes.  I agree with another review that I have trouble determining how many sweet potatoes to use.

Made this every holiday since finding it and keep getting requests for it. Making it tomorrow for Easter.

Ever since I discovered this recipe last year, I made it every Thanksgiving and Christmas! Its my family's favorite!!!!! The recipe is amazing! The brown sugar definitely brings out the sweetness in the Sweet potatoes! Our family like to reduce the amount of sugar added just because my family likes the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes! The touch of marshmallows is like a cherry on top! Ties the whole dish together! Easy to make and such a popular dish at family gatherings! Love it!

hands down the best sweet potato casserole recipe out there!!! super easy to make too and i doubled it. i have never been a fan of regular heavy casseroles but this is just so delicious i wish i could make it all year round!

I'm typically not a sweet potato casserole fan, but this was amazing!  Made this for Thanksgiving and all of our guests loved it.  Personally, I really liked the texture the pecans added against the creamy sweet potatoes.  I use vanilla bean paste in place of extract and that definitely added a rich flavor.  Can't wait to make this again for a side dish on a chilly winter night.

I made this exactly as written for Thanksgiving and everyone in my family loved it. There wasn't any left at the end of the meal! I wasn't sure about it since it didn't have any of the traditional spices, but nobody even commented about that. Next time, I may try adding a few spices. But this is an easy and very tasty recipe and will be added to my recipe repertoire.

Really good and really easy!! My t
Thanksgiving guests loved it!

I really liked this recipe.  I adjusted the amount of butter used I used a tad bit more than the recipe called for and I used walnuts instead of pecans and nixed the marshmallows. Additionally I used white sugar and brown sugar.  I mixed dark brown and light brown sugar.  It sounds like a lot of sugar but I used 8 very large sweet potatoes. I also recommend using a pinch of salt.

Excellent go-to for a lightened traditional family favorite.  My friend (that we share Thanksgiving with) eats leftovers for breakfast.

This was my first "from scratch" sweet potato casserole. Usually I open a can, heat it and eat it lol. But this was fantastic! A dinner guest told me she NEVER has liked sweet potatoes but for some reason decided to try it. Needless to say, she loved it. This will be one more added family favorite for any future feasts!

Good recipe. For the person that commented on marshmallows, you can purchase real marshmallows not made from animal by-products at stores such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Of course then there is the issue of butter, so if you intend on being a crunchy vegan, butter is out too. Not sure why a bad review would be given because the person does not feel it is a good vegan recipe.... All that aside, it is easy, and a good fill-in for the higher fat, higher sugar one my mother makes with maple syrup, etc. In fact, my picky husband preferred this one, saying it was the perfect level of sweetness.

Marshmallows are made from animal product.... so if you add them to your dish... it is NO longer vegetarian.

The recipe was good. I didn't find it to be much better than other sweet potato casserole recipes, but it has the potential to be great with a little tweaking. I also did not find it to be too sweet, thought that was just about right.

I made this last Thanksgiving. Reviewing it now because i'm cleaning up my file. I remember this being relatively easy except for trying to figure out how many potatoes to use. Our celebration was small. I think it came out super sweet which is fine for me. Maybe cut down on the sugar next time. I'm tempted to make it with Splenda. That would allow me to probably justify eating too much. I will make it again.

I made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! Everyone commented on how great it was. This recipe is a keeper!

I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was by far the best sweet potatoe recipe I have ever tried.  I omitted the nuts because I didn't think my kids would like them, but it was still great.  I think I will use a little less sugar next time.  The flavor was light, sweet and delicious.

This is amazing. It's wonderfully sweet and the marshmallow crust is divine. I will be making this again and again!

I have made this a couple of times and just made it again for a Thanksgiving dinner at friends.  I follow the recipe exactly and it's perfect every time.  All fourteen guests at the party loved these sweet potatoes and fought over who got to take the tiny amount of leftovers home!

Prepared this exactly to recipe. This is so delicious, it's the only dish I had thirds of-- and I adore my grandma's stuffing! It tastes like maple syrup heaven with marshmallow clouds of happiness.

Usually I hate it when someone rates a recipe, then reinvents it by adding a bunch of additional ingredients, proclaims it "delicious", even though is scarcely resembles the original recipe.  I did take the advice of some previous raters and tweaked this a little to my own liking....here goes:  toast the pecans, cut the salt in half, add some orange zest, and don't put the marshmallows on until the last couple of minutes - then just broil briefly until browned.  My family did love this (maybe because it was made from scratch for a change:)  We will definitely make this again.

I like sweet potatoes with marshmallows but never had them with pecans, it looks and sound great so im putting this on my Thanksgiving to-do list!

Yuck. The default for one star reads: would not make again. scratch the 'again.. Please.
There are 2 problems with the idea of this. 
1. no one likes yams in their hot chocolate. 
2. the only tradition is to keep that platter moving. 
3. okay 3 problems with this idea of food. 
sweet potatoes lack the cellular structure to make a casserole righteous. 
Quite a notion itself.
4. oooops! 4 problems with the idea. 
this one most important: adult onset diabetes.
repeat it like a mantra during the next 6 weeks or so.

Easy to make and really delicious.  If you make this for Thanksgiving and like sweet potatoes, consider doubling the recipe.  We had ten people and ran out.

This is almost the same dish as my grandmothers. The only thing I do differently is add orange or pineapple juice whatever I have on hand. The juice gives it a great fruity flavor &amp; makes the dish a little creamier. Just thought you might like to try a little addition. My family would be so upset it I didn't make this. Even the little kids love it.

Everyone loved it at the Thanksgiving table.  Changes: I roasted the yams instead of boiling them, and cut the brown sugar down to 1/2 cup.

This was fabulous! My entire family loved it.It was "guilt free!" I used Mexican vanilla and it took it over the top!

The best sweet potatoes ever!!! Not super sweet, but just enough.  I made two batches- one with pecans and one without due to some allergies in the family.  Everybody raved about this dish and there were hardly any leftovers.  It was also easy enough to make anytime, which is why I made it again about 2 weeks after Thanksgiving on a work night- I was craving it!

DELICIOUS. I couldn't stop eating it! I would recommend putting in a little less sugar if you don't like a sweetness overload. Otherwise, it's perfect. I could eat this every day.

Last night was the 2nd time I made this; simply delicious! I cut down the butter and sugar a little and it's still delicious.

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving this year and the whole family loved it, even my mom who doesn't normally like sweet potatoes.I followed the recipe for the most part, but I made half of it without pecans and half with. This was to accommodate my 2 yr old son. I also made it up earlier in the day, stuck it in the fridge and just pulled it out and mixed in the pecans right before baking. I will definitely keep this recipe in my arsenal for Thanksgivings to come!

This sweet potato receipe is good! I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone raved about it. It will turn those nver cared for these year after year into fans.

This was absolutely delicious! I made the sweet potato puree the night before and refrigerated it overnight in the casserole dish, then added the pecans and marshmallow topping the next morning and finished the casserole in the oven. Everyone loved it, and no one guessed that it was a "lighter" version of an old favorite. My potatoes weren't very sweet (I guess I picked bad ones), but if they'd been sweeter I'd use less sugar - I'd start with half and add sugar to taste. The marshmallows add a lot of sweetness, so I used a bit less than the recipe called for. But overall a great, easy, quick recipe that everyone loved.

This was very good, definitely a hit at Thanksgiving.  I just don't know how outstanding sweet potato casserole can be!  Also, the next time I make it, I think I will just use chopped pecans as opposed to "finely chopped" for a little more texture.  Also, I used 40 oz of canned yams that I microwaved for 4 min so that saved a step.

I added two extra potatoes and roasted instead of boiling them.  Served this at Thanksgiving and everyone said it was the best dish there!  YUMMY!!

Yikes!  That can't be the right salt measurement.  I used barely 1/2 tsp.  Roasted the sweet potatoes and cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup.  Still awfully sweet for my taste, and I haven't even put the marshmallows on yet. Perhaps it will mellow in the refrigerator overnight.

This is an awesome recipe, and it is going to be added to my Holiday menu from now on! I did make a couple of changes...I added about a handful more pecans to the mixture because my famiy loves pecans, and a whole teaspoon of vanilla.  I also sprinkled a layer of brown sugar on the top of the casserole before adding the pecans and then the marshmellows on top. Everyone loved it! Also I made it the night before, put it in the oven for about 15 minutes to knock off the chill, added the marshmellows and baked. You will not regret making this recipe instead of candied yams, I promise.

This was delicious and easy to do.  Love marshmallows with sweet potatoes!!! Don't just leave this for Thanksgiving and Christmas...it's great all year long!

SO DELICIOUS! eating it right now, had an early thanksgiving w/ friends and they all loved it! so easy to make - and did everything the same, but more pecans, less marshmellows! will definitely be making it for the family!

Made this last thanksgiving it was the wonderful

 Pretty good, even if I am not crazy for seet potatoes

http://swedish-recipes.net 

I hosted Thanksgiving last year and this recipe was to die for. I could eat the entire pan myself, it's like dessert, only healthier. It's sweet and creamy and I'm looking forward to making it again this year.

This was really good.  Recipe calls for too much sugar though- I used half a cup and it was plenty sweet.  Also, didn't put the marshmallows on top- only the nuts, and it was great.

I hated, hated, HATED Sweet Potato Casserole growing up. After trying this, I now know the canned "yams" were the problem.  This stuff is delicious! Sweet, and buttery... yum!  I will be making this for more than just holidays. If you too were traumatized by the canned candied "yams" during your youth, give this recipe (and FRESH sweet potatoes) a try, it is so much better!

Every Thanksgiving we try a new Sweet Potato recipe.  This one garnered rave reviews with my family and requests to repeat it on Christmas!  It was easy to prepare, not too sweet with plenty of flavor, and even easier to eat seconds!

I love sweet potato casserole but my family's recipe calls for an ungodly amount of butter and sugar.  When I found this and the great reviews I gave it a try and now I need to look no futher.  Even my husband, who claims to hate sweet potatoes, ate this and asked when I would make it again.  I baked the potatoes whole and scooped out the insides rather than peeling, cutting and  boiling them.  I initially cut the sugar and butter in half per other reviewers but ended up adding it back in.  Not sure if my potatoes were on the less sweet side originally or what?  Anyway, I was hesitant about mixing in the pecans but did it anyway and it was a good touch.  The marshmallows and pecans on top made a delicious crunchy texture that you would bit into every so often.  YUM!

I always wanted to make a sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, but the Triple Corn Spoon Bread from this site is the one requested year after year.  I got to host this year so I was able to make both.  This was a HUGE hit.  I even used the lighter colored sweet potatoes and it was still delicious.  I did make a note to my copy of the recipe to reduce the brown sugar just a bit for next year.

Fantastic recipe!!!  My family loved it so much that I am making it again two days after Thanksgiving to go with the other leftovers.  I didn't add the marshmallows until sweet potatoes were hot, them added the marshmallows for the last 10 minutes.  I mashed the cubes but still left them with some small "lumps."

Can't say enough about this one.  Left the pecans out of the main dish so the kids could easily separate what they didn't want.  Delish!

I thought this was good, but the rest of the family felt it was too sweet.  It tastes a lot like candied yams you make during the holidays, except, as my husband put it, candied yams are primarily only sweet on the outside.  Mashing the sweet potatoes makes this sweet throughout.

Loved this recipe.  Really easy.  Doesn't need the marshmellows.  It's sweet enough with the brown sugar.

Heaven!!! I leave out the marshmallows and cut the sugar. Everyone raved and wanted the recipe. Easy to make  but did take longer to mix smooth. light as a souffle. This will definitely be part of Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinner from now on.

I have made this twice and it is outstanding! My mother has always made a traditional sweet potato dish laden with butter and painstakingly cooked in a skillet with sliced potatoes.  This recipe combines convenience and lightened calories all into one fantastic dish with even better taste because of the pecans. The whole family loved it and this will now be our traditional holiday sweet potato dish! My only change was to toast the pecans first - yum.

I made this for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house this weekend to try something different rather than the usual sweet potatoes from a can and marshmallow topping. My mom loved this! I think my dad liked it too, allthough he is not a huge sweet potato fan. My mom even had me write down the recipe for her for future holiday meals!

FANTASTIC!! I used yams, about 4 lbs instead of 2.5, and kept all the other ingredients the same. I cubed them small enough before boiling that I just mixed in the sugar and other ingredients and got a nice lumpy texture (I like having chunks of potato in my casserole). Everyone raved, and no one would have guessed it was a light version - just as comforting as the original.

I baked the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them, but otherwise kept the recipe just the same.  I topped the casserole in rows so that those who preferred the pecans got the pecans..same with the marshmellows.
this one is a keeper!!

Yes, this is a keeper!  I made a few slight changes to this recipe.  First I roasted my yams instead of boiling, roasting added so much deep flavor to the yams.  Then I cut the amount of brown sugar in 1/2. I felt that the sweetness of the yams was enough, and they didn't need more.  This dish turned out to be an excellent sided dish that everyone loved.

I used yams instead of sweet potatoes. I made it the night before but didn't add the pecans or marshmallows until I was ready to take the dish to my grandmother's house, where we were having our Thanksgiving meal. Once we got to her house, I baked it according to the directions in the recipe. It was very popular and I thought it was delicious. I would definitely make this again and I wouldn't change a thing.

This is the best sweet potato casserole I've ever had.  We had it as part of our Thanksgiving dinner.  Everyone loved it.  The kids especially liked the marshmallow topping.  We mixed it up the day before and stored it in the refrigerator.  We took it out of the refrigerator about two  hours before putting pouring it into a baking dish, adding the remaining pecans and topping with marshmallows.  I was afraid the texture was too thick and it would be dry, but it was perfect.  No one would ever guess that it is a "light" recipe.

It is such a hit on our early Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. Four of us devoured this casserole after a full dinner. Even my older son who never liked sweet potato ate about 3 servings. Nothing left in the bowl. They specially loved the topping. Will definitely make it again with more nuts.

traditional sweet potato casserole

Servings: 16

Cost: $1.63 /serving

Author : Alison Ashton

Ingredients

Instructions

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