Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows will be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dinner. All you need are sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar and marshmallows!
We use canned sweet potatoes for this dish. I find it is an easier alternative to fresh sweet potatoes.
The best part is that it’s so quick and easy to make. That’s super important because our holiday meal, like most people’s, is an all day affair.
This classic side dish has been a holiday tradition for as long as I can remember! They were always on our Thanksgiving table when I was a kid and now I make them every year. Today, we serve them with my Roaster Oven Roasted Turkey and 3-Ingredient Crockpot Ham, or my Honey Mustard Glazed Ham.
They were known as candied yams in our house. But, I think (maybe) that’s a classic southern dish that’s different from my simple recipe using only 4 ingredients.
A quick google search yielded many different sweet potato recipes that are very similar to this. I am not sure which ones are actually candied yams. Some have orange juice, maple syrup, vanilla extract, pecans, and warm spices like ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon.
Some have a gooey marshmallow topping and some don’t. No marshmallows?! I can’t even imagine this dish on my holiday table without marshmallows.
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Ingredients
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Ingredient Notes
See recipe card for exact amounts.
sweet potatoes – we use canned sweet potatoes to make this quick and easy. Our grocery store usually carries a couple of different brands. They are almost always on sale during the holiday season.
brown sugar – we use light brown sugar because that is what we always have on-hand. You can use dark brown sugar if that is what you have.
butter – I like unsalted butter for this, you can use salted. You can use margarine or plant based butter, too.
marshmallows – our family has always used mini marshmallows. Large marshmallows can be used, you still add them at the end and cook until they start to turn golden brown.
How to make Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 13″ X 9″ casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Drain sweet potatoes. Cut large chunks into bite sized pieces and spread evenly in the casserole dish.
- Top the sweet potatoes with butter cut into cubes. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Place into the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are hot. Top with miniature marshmallows and return to the oven until the marshmallows begin to turn light golden brown, about 5 – 7 minutes. You want fluffy marshmallows that are just beginning to brown. Make sure to watch them closely so they don’t melt.
Additional information
- We don’t use much brown sugar in this dish. Additional sugar can be added if you want them to be sweeter.
- Fresh yams can be used, just cook them first. Peel whole sweet potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces, then cover with water in a large pot and boil 20 – 25 minutes or until fork tender, then proceed with the recipe. You can most likely shorten the cooking time in the oven by about 5 minutes.
- I always put these in the oven while the turkey is resting. It’s the perfect amount of time for these delicious sweet potatoes to get hot.
Are canned yams just sweet potatoes?
While the canned variety has the word “Yams” on it, they are indeed sweet potatoes. True yams have a dark brown skin, often compared to tree bark. A quick google search tells me yams can be found in the United States. But, I am pretty sure I have never seen them at my local grocery store.
Who started putting marshmallows on yams?
The tradition of putting marshmallows on sweet potatoes has been around since 1917. It was the marketing team of Angelus Marshmallows who hired the founder of the Boston Cooking School Magazine, Janet McKenzie Hill, to develop recipes to encourage home cooks to utilize the candy as an everyday ingredient. That’s when the first appearance of mashed sweet potatoes with a baked marshmallow topping appeared. Source: Saveur
Storage and reheating
Store leftover sweet potatoes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave, or the whole casserole in the oven. If reheating the whole casserole, make sure the dish you are using can go from the refrigerator to the oven, or let the dish become room temperature before putting it into the oven. The marshmallow topping will melt when it’s reheated.
Make these classic Thanksgiving side dish recipes too!
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Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
Ingredients
- 2 cans sweet potatoes 40 oz each
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 cups miniature marshmallows
- nonstick cooking spray
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9" X 13" casserole dish with cooking spray.nonstick cooking spray
- Drain sweet potatoes and cut large chunks into bite-sized pieces.2 cans sweet potatoes
- Cut butter into small chunks and scatter on top of sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake 25 – 30 minutes or until hot.1/4 cup butter, 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Cover with miniature marshmallows and bake until marshmallows melt and begin to brown, about 5 – 7 minutes. See note below.4 cups miniature marshmallows
I made a half batch for our small family Thanksgiving and it was absolutely delicious! I’ll definitely be making it again.
Thank you, we are so glad you liked them!
Halved recipe used sweet potatoes in light syrup drained . Honey instead of brown sugar and a kiss of cinnamon . Baked per instructions topped with marshmallows .Turned out great everybody loved it . It’s a keeper
Great idea to add honey and cinnamon, sounds delicious!
That’s a fantastic Fall dessert, Mindy!
We actually eat these as a side dish with our Thanksgiving meal. Then we have pumpkin pie and pumpkin roll for dessert. So yummy!