I had never tried sweet potato casserole until I lived in California and attended several Friendsgivings. While we definitely have Thanksgiving in Canada, I hadn’t heard of or seen sweet potato casserole before. I’m not sure if it was just me who hadn’t clued in, or if this dish is less common in Canada.
At first, I was confused. Casserole with marshmallows on top? Then I tasted it and it all made sense. You call it “casserole” so that you can have it with your main meal, meaning you get to have dessert for two courses. Clever minxes you are! I see how you work this game. Since my recent recipe discovery of Easy Vegan Marshmallow Fluff, I knew I could finally make Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow. Omnomnom!
The sweet potato base was the easy part. Getting the marshmallow perfect, on the other hand, took a few rounds of testing.
Attempt 1: Meringue mistake.
The first time I tried this, I popped the marshmallow topped vegan sweet potato casserole in the oven to bake at a low temperature for 25 minutes. While it looked gorgeous, as I went to scoop a serving I heard a surprising crunch. The marshmallow fluff had baked into a firm meringue crust. Meringue is delicious, but this is not how vegan sweet potato casserole is supposed to be.
Attempt 2: Marshmallow smoke.
Since there is no egg in this dish, there is really no need to bake the sweet potato as it’s already cooked. So for this attempt, I thought I would just broil the marshmallow top in the oven for a minute. Guys, I was watching the marshmallow broil the whole time. It was in the oven for approximately 30 seconds. There were some bubbles, slightly browning, and so I opened the oven door… in the time it took me to open the oven door the top went from slightly browning to burnt. I’m talking 1/2 a second. Marshmallow smoke filled my house, Chickpea dog looked concerned, and I stomped around yelling at the marshmallow, like an angry, over-sugared, little kid.
Attempt 3: Toasted perfection.
Ehem. Attempt 3. Sam has calmed down a little and cleared the smoke out of the kitchen. Sam fluffs up her third batch of marshmallow fluff and piles it high on top of the sweet potato layer. Sam takes the easy way out and uses her brûlée torch to toast the top. It works. It works perfectly. All the control, none of the fuss. Gorgeous toasted marshmallow top. Do it this way. Sam is pleased.
Here we have it, creamy, sweet, buttery sweet potatoes, a crunch of pecans, all topped with gooey, fluffy, toasted marshmallow. Oooeeee you’re looking mighty fine!
To make Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow: Peel and chop sweet potatoes and bring them to a boil for 10 – 12 minutes until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Drain and return potatoes to the pot.
Add the vegan butter, non-dairy milk, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extra and use a potato masher to mash well.
Spread the hot sweet potato mixture into an even layer in a 9″ x 9″ square casserole dish or equivalent size.
Sprinkle the chopped pecans over top.
Then gently spread the marshmallow fluff across the top. For marshmallow peaks, touch the fluff with the flat side of the spatula and pull straight up. Repeat all over the surface of the marshmallow for desired look.
Finish by toasting the marshmallow top with a brûlée torch. Serve while still hot.
If you don’t yet own a brûlée torch I highly recommend getting one. Not only does it make toasting the marshmallow here easy and fun, but you can use it to toast marshmallow on hot chocolate, or make vegan crème brûlée from my book Fuss-Free Vegan (page 185).
Easy to make Thanksgiving classic side dish made vegan! Creamy sweet potato layer topped with homemade vegan marshmallow fluff (takes just 10 minutes to make). Toasted with a brulee torch for toasted marshmallow perfection.
- 4 - 5 medium sweet potatoes (8 cups cubed), peeled and cut into 2" cubes
- 1/4 cup vegan butter
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 recipe Easy Vegan Marshmallow Fluff
In a medium pot add the sweet potatoes and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 - 12 minutes until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Drain and return potatoes to the pot.
Add the vegan butter, non-dairy milk, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extra and use a potato masher to mash well. Spread the hot sweet potato mixture into an even layer in a 9" x 9" square casserole dish or equivalent size. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over top.
Gently spread the marshmallow fluff across the top. For marshmallow peaks, touch the fluff with the flat side of the spatula and pull straight up. Repeat all over the surface of the marshmallow for desired look. Finish by toasting the marshmallow top with a brûlée torch.
If you are making the casserole ahead of time, you can either reheat the sweet potato in the pot adding more water or non-dairy milk as needed, or you can heat in the baking dish. For the baking dish, spread the sweet potato mixture into the dish keeping the pecans and marshmallow fluff separate. Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Bake the sweet potato covered with foil for 20 to 25 minutes until heated through. Top with the pecans and marshmallow as usual and toast with brûlée torch.
Nutrition
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Bon appetegan!
Sam.
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This looks so good! What a great side to bring to the holidays!
Thanks Suzanne!
Yes please. I’m adding this recipe to to-do list. My kids love a good sweet potato casserole!
Yay! I hope you and your kids love it!