This post for sweet potato casserole contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I make a small portion when these links are used, at no additional cost to you.

My grandfather's sweet potato casserole has graced our family's holiday dinner table for over 50 years. I've come up with a couple of alternate topping options as well...so there's a little something for everyone in this revised recipe. See this sweet potato casserole recipe below.

My grandfather's Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe with Three Topping Options

This beloved sweet potato casserole recipe has been in my family for years. My grandfather made it topped with marshmallows, as well as brown sugar and pecans. Up until the late seventies, he made it faithfully for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. He passed away just a couple of months before I was born, and my mom took over making this dish. About ten years ago, I started taking over Thanksgiving dishes a little at a time...this being one of them. I love putting my own spin on them (somewhat to my mother's chagrin), and have come up with some pretty fun stuff over the years. Although I haven't tinkered too much with my grandpa's original recipe, I have been playing around with it this year to give everybody a little something special, in the form of individual casseroles with different topping options. We always have so many folks around our Thanksgiving table, both family and friends, that making individual dishes is such a special touch to add to the day's festivities.

Check out this delicious Sweet Potato Casserole recipe below>>>

A few years back at my parents' home, I spotted this gem. This picture was taken in the early sixties at one of my parents' first homes. This was one of the first times they hosted the entire family for a holiday meal. My dad laughed and said "You know where the rest of the tables were? THE GARAGE! That house was so small!". But this was the main table inside...and there are my grandpa's sweet potatoes, at the center of the table. My mom would still make it the same way...and every other year, we'd catch the marshmallows on fire in the oven (she preferred to broil her marshmallows...but always forgot about them in there!). And then we'd scrape the marshmallows off and try again. This recipe always brings us some good laughs and wonderful memories.

Grandpa's original recipe was topped with mini marshmallows.

Sweet Potato Casserole Toppings

These are the three main ingredients for all of the toppings: sweetened coconut, pecans, and mini marshmallows. Mixing different combinations of these up with other yumminess makes the toppings irresistible.

My mom and grandpa both boiled their sweet potatoes, however, I've found it much easier to bake the sweet potatoes instead. It makes them really easy to remove from their skins and mash. Complete recipe and directions below.

Topping nirvana: pecans, crushed corn flakes, brown sugar, and butter; coconut, brown sugar, pecans, and a pinch of salt; and of course, the original mini marshmallows.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Three Topping Options

Ingredients:

I'm listing the ingredients to prepare an entire casserole with just one of the toppings (since that is the most common way to prepare this). If you'd prefer to make the individual casseroles like I did, you'll need to either use one topping option for all of your mini casseroles, or reduce the amount of each topping's ingredients by 2/3.

4 pounds of sweet potatoes
1 stick salted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Topping Option #1:

1 bag Kraft Jet-Puffed Mini Marshmallows

Topping Option #2:

2 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Topping Option #3:

1 1/2 cups Baker's Sweetened Coconut
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
pinch of salt

Additional Items:

If you decide to do the mini casseroles (I mean, they're so cute!), you'll need several ramekins (depending on how much casserole you want each to have, you'll need between 8-12). You can purchase a couple of sets here on Amazon.

Directions:

Cut small slivers into the sweet potatoes. Bake them in a 400 degree preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Let cool, about an hour, before handling them.

Remove skins and place potatoes into a large bowl. Using a mixer, add the softened stick of salted butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup whole milk, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

At this point, you can either transfer the mixture to a greased 9x13 casserole dish, or you can create individual casseroles in ramekins, like I did (again, you'll want 8-12). Go ahead and mix the ingredients of your topping together. Topping options #2 and #3 can be baked the entire time on top of the casserole. The first topping, the marshmallows, will need to be left off until the last ten minutes of baking time. You'll have to watch them closely {as I mentioned above, we've caught many a marshmallow topping on fire}, until they're just browned. If the other two topping options start to get too brown for you, tent them with aluminum foil for their baking.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Again, if you're doing the marshmallow topping, you'll only add it for the last ten minutes of baking. Once the marshmallows are on, watch the casserole until they're lightly browned and then remove from oven. Let sit for ten minutes before serving.

As you can see in the photo above, I baked the second and third topping casseroles the entire time, but waited to add those marshmallows until the last ten minutes. If you do the mini casseroles, be sure to use a cookie sheet to bake them on. It will catch any overflow that may bubble out of your dishes.

***MAKE AHEAD OPTION***

When I serve this for Thanksgiving, I make up the casserole part the day before. I put it into its dish(es) and refrigerate without the toppings. The day of the feast, I mix up and add my toppings and bake as usual. This is a big time-saver on the big day. After hosting Thanksgiving for a few years now, I've finally worked out the perfect game plan of make-ahead dishes and day-of dishes. It's quite a balancing act, isn't it fellow hostesses?

This truly is a delicious recipe that, to me, just tastes like the holidays! Serves 8-12