You’ve heard of candied yams and sweet potato casserole…well I love them both so I combined them into one amazing holiday side dish!
I wanted to incorporate the delicious topping of sweet potato casserole but also I loved the idea and ease of the candied yams (plus that’s what I grew up with)! So here we are the sweet potato casserole with a twist!
How To Make It
First you’re going to need about 10 fresh sweet potatoes (this makes a 6″ deep 9×13 dish full), either from the store or garden! I know what you’re thinking- “if I’m making this at Thanksgiving or Christmas how the heckers am I gonna go out and harvest sweet potatoes from the garden?” Root veggies are great pantry staples when kept correctly after harvest OR when you harvest you could go ahead and skin them, chop them up, and freeze them for later! So yes, besides buying them at the grocery store you can have fresh sweet potatoes from your garden YEAR ROUND! *gasp*
Now usually I am a advocate for washing them up really good and leaving the skin on, but this dish is different…just like that small town in the Hallmark Christmas movie you’re watching!
So you’re going to wash your taters and skin them (this is a great job for the husbands, just saying)! Then you’re going to chop them up, and this can be in big chunks, small cubes, bug cubes, however you darn well please! Cut off the ends and any bad parts and add it to your bowl of skins! (Give this to your chickens, goats, cattles, horses, etc. or put it in a container to add with other veggies to make veggie broth with later)!
This is personally the size I like to chop them up to, but there’s no exact measurement or science to it!
Now, you’re going to boil them in a large pot of water -the water should be covering the potatoes. Put them on medium/high heat and bring them to a rolling boil. Let them cook for about 20-30 minutes. When you can stick a knife or fork in the sweet potatoes and they slide right off, they are ready! Strain off the water and pour them into your baking dish – I use a 6″ deep 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish (it’s about 2″ deeper than a normal baking dish). I love this dish so much I actually named it my sweet tater dish because it’s perfect for this recipe!
While your taters are still hot you want to take a half stick of butter and chop it into slices and lay them over different parts of the dish, sprinkle about a cup of brown sugar over the top, and then take some marshmallows and do the same! Usually I use about half a bag of mini marshmallows but I already had some big marshmallows left over from bonfire season so I just tore them up and used them instead! You could definitely make your own marshmallows also! If you want it to be less sweet, don’t use the brown sugar & if you don’t like marshmallows, don’t use them! Simple as that!
Now let’s make the best part!
In a medium glass mixing bowl melt 1 stick of butter. Once that’s melted add in 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup of chopped pecans, 3/4 cup pepitas, and 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon. Stir this all together until everything is completely combined and coated.
What I love about this recipe is that it’s so easy to adjust the measurements without messing anything else up, if anything you’ll probably just make it better or be able to change it so it suits your family!
I grew up with this just being traditional candied sweet potatoes -so it was just sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows -which is absolutely delicious! I have since changed it to add it the lovely sweet potato casserole topping and have add a little extra to make it even better, in my opinion!
The pepitas (the inside of a pumpkin seed) just add a little color and crunch to the mix, and they are really good for you, sop it makes me feel a little better when I eat this sugar filled dish!
Pour this mixture on top of your taters and spread it as evenly as you can. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until those marshmallows are golden brown!
Another thing that’s great about this dish is that you can make it ahead of time and just warm it up when you’re ready to eat! With all the hustle on the day of a holiday I love to make as much as I can the day before so that life is a little easier on the day of! Just make this the day before,let it cool, cover it, and stick it in the fridge. When you’re a half hour out from eating stick this puppy in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes to heat back up and enjoy!
Sweet Potato Casserole ~with a twist
Description
You’ve heard of candied yams and sweet potato casserole…well I love them both so I combined them into one amazing holiday side dish! The soft sweet potatoes with sweet and gooey marshmallows and crunchy sweet topping are sure to impress any guest!
Ingredients
Topping
Instructions
- Fill a large pot about 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil on medium/high heat.
- Skin the sweet potatoes and chop them into cubes (any size you want)! Gently place them in the pot of water and let them cook for about 30 minutes. When you can stick a fork or knife in the potatoes and they fall off, they’re ready!
Strain off the water and pour them into your baking dish – I use a 6″ deep 9″x13″ glass baking dish (it’s about 2″ deeper than a normal baking dish) but you can use a regular baking dish you just may need to split it up into multiple pans. - While your taters are still hot you want to take the butter slices and lay them over different parts of the dish, sprinkle about a cup of brown sugar over the top, and then take some marshmallows and do the same!
- In a medium glass bowl melt the butter. Then add in the brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and pepitas. Stir this until everything is combined and coated.
- Pour this mixture on top of your taters and spread it as evenly as you can. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until those marshmallows are golden brown!
Enjoy!
Topping
Notes
- Another thing that’s great about this dish is that you can make it ahead of time and just warm it up when you’re ready to eat! With all the hustle on the day of a holiday I love to make as much as I can the day before so that life is a little easier on the day of! Just make this the day before,let it cool, cover it, and stick it in the fridge. When you’re a half hour out from eating stick this puppy in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes to heat back up and enjoy!
