Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole + Video
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Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole is one side dish that absolutely steals the show. Check out my video in this post just to see how outstanding it looks! Lusciously creamy with a decadent streusel topping, it’s seasoned with spices that just scream “holiday.” But rest assured – you can make this delicious, marshmallow-topped Boston Market sweet potatoes recipe any day, any time, anywhere!
Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole
This copycat Boston Market sweet potato recipe combines a rich sweet potato mixture with brown sugar streusel topping and mini marshmallows. It’s popular for a good reason!
It’s always popular, along with my Sausage Cranberry Apple Stuffing, for a Thanksgiving meal that’s sure to please all of your guests. And don’t forget the Cranberry Sauce!
Slow cooked, air fried, layered into a cheesecake… It’s no secret that I love sweet potatoes! I hope that one of my recipes can make their way onto your table this holiday season!
Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams
Even though you will see labels for yams and sweet potatoes, what you find at the grocery store is typically two different varieties of sweet potato.
One will have lighter skin and pale yellow flesh, while the other will have darker skin with deep orange flesh.
Either will work just fine in this southern sweet potato casserole.
Making Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows
- Cook the potatoes.
Start by boiling the sweet potatoes until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Then place them into a colander in the sink to drain the water out. - Add back to the cooking pot.
The heat from the pot will help absorb any excess water. Then add and mix in the sugar, butter, cream, and spices until everything is creamy and smooth. - Transfer to baking dish and bake!
Then, smooth the sweet potato mixture into a greased baking dish and top with marshmallow and streusel.
Bake until the top is golden and crispy. It’s that simple!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutes
- Sweet Potatoes – The small and medium sized spuds tend to be the sweetest, so keep an eye out for ones around that size with little to no blemishes.
Larger potatoes are usually starchier – and that’s not what we want! - Light Brown Sugar – Brown sugar melds with the flavors of sweet potatoes much better than white granulated sugar.
Its deep, molasses-like sweetness is so incredible in this buttery, creamy casserole! Dark brown sugar works as well. - Heavy Cream – For that characteristic creaminess! Half and half or whole milk could work, too, but won’t add quite the same texture.
- Ground Cinnamon & Nutmeg – I can almost smell and taste these seasonings just by thinking about them!!
As far as substitutes go, your best options are allspice and cloves. Both are well suited for these colder months – they’ll warm you right up! - Mini Marshmallows – And I do mean mini, please!
Smaller marshmallows will toast and fluff up just fine, while larger ones will give you more of a droopy, sticky mess. - Old Fashioned Rolled Oats – Our streusel is built on these tasty grains. It’s like an oatmeal cookie!
Don’t use instant oats – they’re over-processed, thin, and will make the casserole mushy. - Nuts or not, Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole hits the spot!
Substitute chopped pecans for rolled oats, or use a mix of both! - Double the recipe to feed a crowd!
You can easily double the sweet potato casserole recipe if needed.
Bake it in two separate 9×13-inch casseroles dishes, or a 4 quart casserole dish, so it doesn’t bubble over.
Tips For A Perfect Copycat Boston Market Sweet Potatoes Recipe!
- Make It Dairy Free – The heavy cream can be substituted with coconut cream (the thick, creamy portion found at the top of full-fat coconut milk) or a plant-based milk.
Swap out the butter with plain ol’ margarine or another plant based butter substitute! - Can You Use Canned Sweet Potatoes? You absolutely can! Just drain them, rinse the syrup off, and mash them up.
You’ll need 8 cups of mashed sweet potatoes for this Boston Market sweet potatoes recipe. - Cook The Potatoes All The Way Through – Undercooked potatoes will totally sabotage your casserole!
Be sure to bake them until they’re fork tender – trust me, everyone would rather wait a couple of extra minutes for a super creamy casserole than get a lumpy, starchy mess earlier. - Try Frozen Potatoes! You can find sweet potatoes pre-skinned and cubed among the frozen veggies at the grocery store.
If you can snag them, do it! Those will be the ripest and sweetest potatoes around. Let them thaw in the fridge and then come to room temperature before using.
Prep Ahead Instructions
Because we’re not using eggs, this recipe is completely safe to prepare up to 3 days ahead of time! Talk about convenient!
Boil and mash your sweet potatoes the day before baking.
Season and store in the dish, either with a lid or tightly wrapped in plastic or foil, and refrigerate until a couple of hours before baking.
Set the dish out to come to room temperature before adding the streusel and marshmallows. Then, bake as usual!
This will really cut down on time and work for you on the day of!
If you’re making multiple portions and doubling up this sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, then I recommend doing so in two separate casserole dishes or using a larger 4-quart dish so that it doesn’t bubble over.
Recipe Video
To see this sweet potato side dish made from start to finish, watch the video! Look for it in the recipe card, at the bottom of this post.
Storing and Reheating Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows
I can’t imagine you’ll have any leftovers! But if you do, then you’ll want to keep this covered and chilled for up to 5 days.
You can reheat your Boston Market sweet potato casserole in the oven at 350°F or give individual portions a few 30-second trips in the microwave.
Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole FAQ
The original recipe does, but this one does not! I replaced the pecans in the streusel topping with rolled oats.
You can certainly add them back into the mix if you’d like, or try a combination of the two!
The yam is like the tough cousin of the sweet potato. It is in fact a kind of sweet potato, but a dry and starchy kind. It has a light skin and yellow flesh.
The sweet potato that we know and love is sweeter, has a softer flesh, and a reddish tinge.
But you know what? Either will do!
The original Boston Market sweet potato casserole has 448 calories per serving.
While my copycat comes very close to what you’d get at the restaurant, calories always vary depending on the specific ingredients that you choose. So consider the calorie count of your own ingredients when preparing this recipe!
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole + Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1/2 stick
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats, not instant oats
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8”x10” casserole dish (8×8 or 9×9 works too).
- Fill a large pot with sweet potato pieces and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes.
- Drain water from potatoes and return potatoes to the pot. Using a potato masher or electric mixer, mash until mostly smooth. Add remaining ingredients (except topping ingredients and mix until combined.
- Spoon sweet potatoes into the casserole dish and use the back of a wooden spoon or mixing spatula to smooth out. Sprinkle marshmallows over top of mashed sweet potatoes.
- Add butter to a medium sized microwave safe bowl. Microwave on full power to melt the butter. Add remaining topping ingredients to the bowl, and use a fork to combine. Sprinkle over the top of casserole.
- Place the casserole in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the streusel is crisp and marshmallows are golden brown.
- Serve while warm, and enjoy!
Video
Donna’s Notes
Prepare the mashed sweet potatoes the day before and place them in your baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Bring it to room temperature the day of, add the marshmallows and streusel topping, and bake per recipe instructions.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published November 2013, updated and republished November 2022.
Disclosure: Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link your price will remain the same and The Slow Roasted Italian will automatically receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting us, it helps us keep creating new recipes.
Can I use anything besides heavy cream in the sweet potato casseroles?
You can substitute with half and half, milk, almond milk, soy milk… The flavor of each will change the casserole, but it will still be fabulous!
Donna, this brings back memories of my childhood! This is just like the old fashioned sweet potato casserole my mom made for Thanksgiving every year. Sometimes old "is" better! Thanks for the memories!!
Donna, this brings back memories of my childhood. This is almost exactly the sweet potato casserole that my mom would make every Thanksgiving. She didn't use rolled oats in the topping. Sometimes "old" is better! Thanks for bringing back the memories!!
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Donna, my husband loves Sweet Potato Casserole and, fortuntely, I found them on sale for .39/pound. Since I am going to roast and freeze them for later use, can you tell me how many cups equal 3½ – 4 pounds? Thank you.
Hi LaWanda. According to this site – there are approximately 2 cups mashed in one pound. Hope that helps.
http://www.barryfarm.com/How_tos/how_many_cups_in_a_pound_of.htm
I am so sorry. I am new to the sight and was not aware of that information. Thank you for pointing it out.
Oh no problem at all Lawanda! I actually had no idea, so I looked it up. The information I found was from a separate site, that I why I linked you too it. Feel free to ask any questions, any time!
Enjoy.
Pinning this! Love it!
Hi Donna! Could I use yams instead??? HUBBY bought them thinking they
were sweet potatoes….these yams have dark skin and are orange inside.what do you think?
Hi Donna! Could I use yams instead??? HUBBY bought them thinking they
were sweet potatoes….these yams have dark skin and are orange inside.what do you think?
Yams would be fabulous! Happy Thanksgiving and let us know how it goes.
Yams ARE sweet potatoes. They are the same.
This looks so good! I feel like I make the same things year after so maybe I should try this one!
Totally different from mine. Pinning it and hope to try it!
I have canned sweet potatoes that I need to use, have you tried this?
Do you think it would make a big difference in taste?
Do you think this would freeze well? We're going to be out of town visiting families for a few days and I'd rather make it at home to take rather than make it at their house! lol
Do you remove the skin at any point?
Yes, the recipe actually calls for peeled and cut sweet potatoes. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
I'm debating whether to try this recipe or just buy the Boston Market version for Friendsgiving! I've tried making sweet potato casserole before but the results weren't that great. This recipe looks easy enough! I might try it. 🙂
Made this today ahead of time to have ready to put in the oven tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Had a couple test bites and omg I love this!!!! It's not too sweet like my sister makes and the vanilla really makes a difference. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.Oh,and I used half milk and half and half and tastes yummy.
That is so awesome. Happy you loved it!
I was going to ask if you can make it a day ahead and put it in the fridge until the next day and then bake. Thanks for posting this.
Hello! This looks soooo yummy 🙂 do you use small or large marshmallows?
Mini marshmallows would work best. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
I'm not a fan of sweet potato casserole, or at least, I didn't think I was until trying this recipe. I made this for Thanksgiving this year, very delicious. Thank you for sharing!!
That is great to hear. So happy you enjoyed it!
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving last month. It went over well and was requested for Christmas. Other than the peeling of the potatoes it's very easy to put together.
Yes, if the potatoes only peeled themselves this would be an effortless dish. Perhaps a kitchen helper next time to help with the peeling. So glad you loved them.
I bake my potatoes when making sweet potato casserole. The taste seems much richer and they are easier to peel
This is the best recipe i have found by far. Just made it and it's delicious.
Awesome! We love it and I am so happy to hear you do too.
Try using flavored creamer in it instead of heavy cream. There are non-fat and non sugar. I use it with any kind of squash. It's delish!
I have made a small one for myself as I live alone, 1/4'd the recipe .. I haven't had a desert style sweet potato before but I have had Grammer pie when I was a kid … I sure it will be sensational
I made this recipe last month and we loved it. It freeze's well also. Thank You Lynn
Made this today, and me and my family gobbled it all up.lol Have to make a new batch for Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing 🙂
That is awesome! I am so happy you loved it. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
I like mine really sweet. Would it be ok to add plain sugar in sweet potato mix along with the brown sugar?
That would be perfectly fine. Enjoy and let us know how it goes!