Sweet Potato Casserole

This Sweet Potato Casserole has been part of my Thanksgiving dinner for literally my whole life. When I was a child, Annie Mae made it. I remember her boiling and peeling the hot potatoes without even waiting for them to cool off. She mashed them with all the other ingredients and spread the mixture out in a casserole to bake. The most important part, of course, was watching her arrange all the marshmallows on top of the Sweet Potato Casserole and browning them at the end. Those ooey gooey marshmallows were and are such a treat.

My husband loves nuts; so I swapped out the marshmallows for chopped nuts and brown sugar over the top of the casserole. Years later, when we learned that my elder grandchildren were allergic to nuts, I reverted back to the marshmallows. You can’t go wrong either way.

Prep time: about 90 minutes: 30-45 minutes to boil potatoes plus about 20 minutes to let them cool before peeling, and 15 minutes more to mash all the ingredients together.

To Prep and Freeze: Follow the recipe and either spoon into an oven to table casserole that is also meant for the freezer; or spoon into a foil baking pan. In both cases, let the mashed potatoes cool completely before covering with a layer of waxed paper and then wrapping tightly in foil. Label and freeze. Defrost the night before you’re planning to serve it. Transfer into an oven to table serving dish before baking and serving. You can also purchase nice looking foil baking pans these days; so you can freeze, heat and serve all in the same pan.

Note: Marshmallows, both kosher and non-kosher are made with gelatin. Buy vegan marshmallows if you want to avoid the gelatin.

For an unusual recipe with white sweet potatoes, try White Sweet Potato Soup.