Browned Butter Sweet Potato Casserole

Published November 16, 2015. Updated March 11, 2020

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Sweet Potato Casserole – a classic fall recipe upgraded with rich browned butter!

Buttery mashed sweet potatoes are topped with crisp cornflakes and melty marshmallows and toasted. It must try side dish!

Sweet Potato in a white casserole dish. One scoop is removed to show sweet potato layer. It's topped with rows of crushed cornflakes and pecans then alternating rows of mini marshmallows.

A Must Have Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe!

This sweet potato dish has the best of everything and just the right amount of contrast with it’s creamy sweet potatoes, gooey melty marshmallows and that finishing crisp you get from the cornflakes and crunchy pecans.

Simply put this casserole is heavenly!

Who know the word casserole and heavenly could ever go together in the same sentence but it just does with this one. Try it and see for yourself! It might just become a family favorite for your family too!

Single serving of sweet potato casserole being scooped onto a white serving plate.

Can I Make This Ahead of Time?

For make ahead you can prepare the sweet potato portion the day before and refrigerate but wait until the following day to add the butter to the topping and wait to add the topping to the casserole until you’re just ready to bake and serve so it doesn’t go stale.

Showing how to make sweet potato casserole. Staring by baking sweet potatoes.

How to Make Browned Butter Sweet Potato Casserole

  • Bake the sweet potatoes until tender and mash.

Mashing sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl.

  • Brown the butter in a saucepan.
  • Add to sweet potatoes along with sugars and salt and mix.

Adding sugars, salt and melted browned butter to sweet potatoes in mixing bowl.

  • Blend in milk and eggs.

Adding eggs and milk to sweet potatoes in mixing bowl.

  • Spread mixture into an even layer in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.

Spreading sweet potatoes into an even layer in baking dish.

  • Mix cornflakes, pecans, and melted butter and brown sugar.

Making cornflake pecan topping for sweet potato casserole.

  • Spread mixture into rows over sweet potatoes. Bake 30 minutes.

Spreading topping into rows over sweet potatoes layer.

  • Remove from oven, cool 5 minutes add marshmallows between cornflake rows and bake 5 – 10 minutes.

Adding mini marshmallows to sweet potato casserole in rows.

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5 from 10 votes

Browned Butter Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole - with browned butter! A perfectly buttery and sweet layer of mashed potato potato is topped with crisp cornflakes and melty marshmallows. It's the perfect side dish in the fall and during the holidays!
Servings: 12
Prep30 minutes
Cook1 hour 40 minutes
Ready in: 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes

Topping

  • 2 cups (128g) crushed corn flakes*
  • 1/2 cup (54g) chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup (55g) packed light-brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp (42g) salted butter, diced into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 cups (148g) miniature marshmallows

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork and transfer to a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake about 1 hour, or until very tender when pierced with a fork.
  • Meanwhile melt 1/2 cup butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to brown, swirling pan occasionally.
  • Remove potatoes from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350. Cut each in half and scoop out flesh into a large mixing bowl. Mash potatoes with a potato masher.
  • Pour in 1/2 cup browned butter, using a rubber spatula to scrape excess butter from pan, add granulated sugar, 1/4 cup light-brown sugar and salt then using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together until well combine. 
  • Add in eggs and mix until well blended, then pour in milk and mix until well blended. Pour mixture into a buttered 13 x 9 baking dish and spread into an even layer.
  • Brown remaining 3 Tbsp butter in a saucepan. Pour crushed cornflakes into a mixing bowl, along with chopped pecans and 1/4 cup light-brown sugar and mix to combine. Pour browned butter over mixture and toss to evenly coat. 
  • Spread mixture into diagonal rows over mashed sweet potato mixture leaving about a 1 1/2-inch gap between rows. Bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for 30 minutes (if it's browning too much near the end you can tent with foil if needed).
  • Remove from oven and rest 5 minutes, then spread marshmallows between rows of corn flake topping. Return to oven and bake until marshmallows are melty and lightly golden if desired about 5 - 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes

  • *Begin with about 4 1/2 cups cornflakes and crush to 2 cups.
  • Note that if you are making this in advance to refrigerate then bake the following day, don't add the corn flake topping until baking or it will become stale. Also I'd recommend placing cold casserole in cool oven and let it preheat with oven.
Nutrition Facts
Browned Butter Sweet Potato Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 451 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 69mg23%
Sodium 353mg15%
Potassium 709mg20%
Carbohydrates 75g25%
Fiber 6g25%
Sugar 34g38%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 27395IU548%
Vitamin C 6.8mg8%
Calcium 85mg9%
Iron 4.6mg26%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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73 Comments

  • J

    I have been making this for YEARS and I will Probably never stop. People ask me for this every thanksgiving. Everyone loves it.

  • Donna

    This is a winner! Although I definitely made some modifications. I used two extra large cans of yams instead of raw sweet
    potaotes. I mashed them added all of the ingredients except the milk and also added 1 tsp. Of cinnamon and a few dashes of nutmeg. I used 1 cup of pecans instead of a 1/2 cup. I spread it all over the top and cooked it for half the time before adding the mini marshmallows again all over the top. It came out absolutely perfect like this. The marshmallows were perfectly toasted and I know if they would have been in there any longer they would have burned.
    This dish got rave reviews from everyone, even from my daughter and husband who don’t like sweet potatoes. My daughter took home leftovers and called me the next day and told me to make sure I save this recipe because it was so good. Quite the endorsement from a sweet potato hater. Thank you for the recipe.

  • Stacie Phillippi

    Love this recipe. I’ve made it two years in a row! Do you think that if I cut it in half to do an 8×8, the bake time would differ significantly? Thanks!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Hi Stacie – You could cut in half, then I’d check it around 20 mins. Glad you’ve enjoyed it!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Someone actually mentioned on Pinterest that they did use canned sweet potatoes here successfully (use no syrup kind).

  • Christa

    This is literally the best sweet potato casserole recipe I have ever made and had… There is something about the browned butter that adds a whole new element to the dish! My go to Thanksgiving recipe every year!!

  • Kodi

    Should this say yams or actual sweet potatoes. I used sweet potatoes and the color is not the same.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      As long as they aren’t white or purple it should be fine. Sweet potatoes and yams get mislabled but almost always in the US they are labeled as sweet potatoes.
      Sweet potatoes generally have tapered ends, thin, smooth skin and flesh that can range from light yellow to dark orange. They are wetter.
      Yams have a cylindrical shape with brown, rough, bark-like skin and usually has a white or purple flesh.
      They are starchier and dry.