Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
If you’re looking for a classic holiday side dish, look no further than Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow topping. This dish is a traditional favorite for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, featuring sweet potatoes baked in a rich maple syrup brown sugar glaze and topped with a fluffy, puffy marshmallow. Delicious and festive, it’s sure to be a hit at any holiday gathering.
Candied sweet potatoes are also called candied yams. Our family makes this dish every time we made a holiday ham for dinner. For Easter Sunday we always make a Crock Pot spiralized ham, scalloped potatoes, and sweet potato yam casserole with a marshmallow top. If you are looking for a full meal see my posts below.
- Easy Brown Sugar Pineapple Crock Pot Spiral Ham
- Classic Scalloped Potatoes Casserole
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
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The Difference Between a Sweet Potato and a Yam
From my experience, sweet potato and yam in my grocery store are almost the same food. They just have a different color but taste the same. But there are some differences if you are buying a real yam from a traditional sweet potato.
Sweet potatoes have an orange color out and in and are sweeter than a yam. The sweet potato, like its name, is sweeter and can be used in all your recipe. The sweet potato is what you will find in your local store and is the only one you want for this recipe.
Yams are less sweet and are dryer when cooked. It has a more brown skin that almost looks like tree bark. Being less sweet it is starcher. Unless your recipe calls for yams specifically I always buy sweet potatoes.
Our Family Recipe for Candied Sweet Potatoes
My mother and Jim’s mother were married and started their homes about the same time in the 1950s. Both of our families had candied sweet potatoes (or as my mom called them candied yams, even though she never used yams) for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Our moms made this casserole using canned sweet potatoes.
How to make Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
- Start by pre-cooking fresh sweet potatoes you find in the fresh veggie section of your store. You can buy sweet potatoes peeled and cooked in a can in your local store. My husband and my mom use to make their candied sweet potatoes using BRUCES YAMS. They used these caned potatoes for all the years I was growing up. They work and are convenient and I believe they were used during the depression years. But I would not recommend using them. The flavors and texture, not to mention the nutrition, are so much better if you start with the real thing.
- Start by washing and peeling the sweet potatoes. Cut them into about one-inch chunks as you do not want the potatoes too small and turn into mush when they are cooked.
- In a large pot of cold water add the cut-up potatoes. Turn the heat on the stovetop to medium and set a timer for 9 minutes. When done, drain off the water. We are just starting the cooking process not cooking them all the way through.
- While the potatoes are cooking, in a smaller pot mix together 1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons), 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Heat on low until all the ingredients are dissolved and heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Spray a large casserole dish with spray oil for easy cleanup.
- After the potatoes are cooked and drained layer them in the casserole dish.
- Poor on top of the potatoes the syrup mixture.
- Bake in a 350° F oven for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, top the casserole with marshmallows and return to the oven for about 10 minutes. Do not leave the oven but watch that the marshmallows do not burn. When the marshmallow top is golden brown remove the casserole from the oven.
Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
If you’re looking for a classic holiday side dish, look no further than Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow topping. This dish is a traditional favorite for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, featuring sweet potatoes baked in a rich maple syrup brown sugar glaze and topped with a fluffy, puffy marshmallow. Delicious and festive, it’s sure to be a hit at any holiday gathering.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3 pounds or 4 large sweet potatoes
- 1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons)
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup of maple syrup
- 1 bag of large marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Start by washing and peeling the sweet potatoes. Cut them into 1-inch chunks.
- In a large pot of cold water on the stove add the potatoes cook on medium for 9 minutes. Drain.
- While the potatoes are cooking in a smaller pot heat the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup mix until dissolved for about 5 minutes.
- Spray a large casserole dish with spray oil and add the cooked potatoes.
- Poor on top of the potatoes the hot syrup mixture.
- Bake in a 350° F oven for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove from the oven and top with as many marshmallows that will cover the whole casserole.
- Return the casserole to the oven and bake for about 5 to 10 minutes just until the marshmallow top is golden brown. Watch not to burn the top.
- Serve right away. If the dish sits too long the marshmallows will lose their puffiness.
Keywords: Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
