How to Make Sweet Potato Casserole

Now, onto the deep dive.

What's The Difference Between Yams And Sweet Potatoes?

Yams and sweet potatoes are two different plants from two different families.

The orange "yams" sold in most U.S. grocery stores are sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), a member of the morning glory family. True yams belong to the Dioscoreaceae family and are botanically closer to lilies and grasses.

So, Why Do Americans Call Sweet Potatoes Yams?

History lesson time. The name came from enslaved West Africans. When they encountered the soft, orange sweet potato in America, it looked somewhat like the yam they knew from home, so they called it that.

Marketing locked it in. In the 1930s, Louisiana growers promoted a new, creamier sweet potato variety as the "Louisiana yam," and by 1937 "yam" had become the unofficial trademark of Louisiana sweet potatoes. The name outlived the people who gave it, and it outlived the USDA trying to correct it.

The Two Things That Can Go Wrong With Sweet Potatoes

Most Thanksgiving sweet potato dishes go wrong in one of two ways. Fair warning, both of these are going to upset somebody's auntie.

Mistake 1

Marshmallows On Candied Yams

Marshmallows belong on mashed sweet potato casserole, not on candied yams.

If you're making sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, the rule is about texture, and it's the rule you should follow.

Who Put Marshmallows On Sweet Potatoes First?

A marshmallow company did. In 1917, Angelus Marshmallows, the first company to mass-produce marshmallows as we know them, hired Janet McKenzie Hill, founder of Boston Cooking School Magazine, to write a recipe booklet that would get Americans cooking with its product (Mental Floss). The breakout recipe was mashed sweet potatoes baked under a marshmallow topping, the earliest known printed version of the dish.

That dish on your table is a 109-year-old ad for marshmallows. Obviously, it worked.

The Marshmallow Rule In A Chart: Candied Vs. Casserole

Mistake 2

Sweet On Sweet On Sweet

Both classic versions stack sugar on an already sweet vegetable with nothing pushing back.

That's why they taste like dessert, and why a second spoonful is a lot. This is the one nobody says out loud.

Sweet potato, brown sugar, butter, maybe maple, maybe marshmallow. Every layer says the same thing. There's no smoke, no heat, no salt, no toasty depth for the sweetness to play against.

"Dessert showed up and catfished us all as a side dish."

The Chefs Who Agree

We're not the only ones who think so. Chef Michael Symon put it bluntly when asked about marshmallow sweet potato casserole:

"There's no texture, no balance — just sweet on sweet and soft on soft."

North Carolina chef Vivian Howard cooks in what she calls "the home of sweet potatoes," and she's clear on where she stands: "I am most definitely not in the mini marshmallow camp" (Milk Street). Her view is that the sweet potato is sweet enough on its own and is best balanced with savory flavors. Her Thanksgiving fix leans on smoke: "So you've got that sweet and then that smoky."

You don't have to give up the dish you love. You just have to give the sugar some support.

Sweet Potato Casserole Seasoning: How To Season Sweet Potatoes So They're Not Just Sweet

To make sweet potatoes taste balanced without cutting the sugar, add contrast: smoke, chile heat, salt or browned-butter depth.

That same approach works whether you're glazing candied yams or building a sweet potato casserole recipe.

1. For candied yamsSmoky Honey Habanero In The GlazeSpiceology Smoky Honey Habanero is honey granules, brown sugar, paprika and just enough habanero to remind you it's in there. It goes into the glaze, not on top of it. Melted into the butter and sugar, it coats every slice, so the sweet now has smoke and a little heat sitting behind it.
2. For casserole with marshmallowsBrown Butter Cookie In The MashFine, we're not fighting it. This casserole is a dessert. For a classic sweet potato casserole recipe, fold Spiceology Brown Butter Cookie into the mash before it bakes. It's buttery and aromatic, and it gives the marshmallow topping a richer, toastier base to land on. Lean all the way in.

Start with about 1½ teaspoons of Smoky Honey Habanero per 3 pounds of sweet potatoes. People are going to ask you what you did. You don't have to tell them, but we would, for the greater culinary good.

Put Brown Butter Cookie casserole in a crust and it's a pie, but that's a different chapter.

The recipe

How To Make Smoky Honey Habanero Candied Yams

Sliced, glazed and seasoned inside the glaze. No marshmallows.

Serves6 to 8

Active time15 min

Total time1 hr 10 min

Oven400°F

Ingredients

• 3 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½-inch rounds
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero, plus more to taste
• Flaky salt, to finish

Steps

1. 1Arrange. Heat the oven to 400°F. Shingle the sweet potato slices in a buttered 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. 2Build the glaze. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, honey and Smoky Honey Habanero and simmer for 2 minutes, until glossy.
3. 3Glaze and cover. Pour the glaze evenly over the slices. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
4. 4Uncover and baste. Remove the foil, spoon the pan glaze over the top and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until the slices are tender and the syrup pulls off a spoon.
5. 5Finish. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky salt. No marshmallows.

BlendSmoky Honey HabaneroSmoked paprika, honey granules, habanero

Shop Smoky Honey Habanero

The recipe

How To Make Brown Butter Cookie Sweet Potato Casserole

This sweet potato casserole recipe is seasoned in the mash and topped with marshmallows, the way they were written.

Serves8

Active time20 min

Total time1 hr 30 min

Oven350°F

Ingredients

• 3 lb sweet potatoes
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp Spiceology Brown Butter Cookie
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 3 cups mini marshmallows

Steps

1. 1Cook the potatoes. Bake or boil the sweet potatoes until very tender. Peel and mash until smooth.
2. 2Season the mash. Beat in the eggs, cream, melted butter, brown sugar, Brown Butter Cookie and salt.
3. 3Bake. Spread in a buttered 2-quart baking dish and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
4. 4Top. For sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, cover with marshmallows and bake 10 minutes more, or toast with a kitchen torch.
5. 5Rest. Let it sit 10 minutes before serving so it sets.

BlendBrown Butter CookieReal brown butter, brown and maple sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg

Shop Brown Butter Cookie

Yams And Sweet Potatoes FAQ

Sources

• Mental Floss: Why We Eat Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows
• AOL: The One Dish Chefs Agree Should Disappear From Thanksgiving
• Milk Street: Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes With Vivian Howard
• Spiceology: Smoky Honey Habanero Seasoning
• Spiceology: Brown Butter Cookie Spice Blend