Small Batch Sweet Potato Casserole (Small Batch Thanksgiving)

Topped with crunchy pecans and mini marshmallows, this lightened up small batch sweet potato casserole makes a tasty side dish for a small Thanksgiving gathering.

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Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers over the years have some things in common. One is growing amazing sweet potatoes. It seems every year the size, shape, and sheer number of sweet potatoes in the farm share box increases. No complaints here--just compliments! We went from a family who would occasionally eat sweet potatoes at Outback Steakhouse and Boston Market's Sweet Potato Casserole to a family who enjoys Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili and Roasted Sweet Potato Nachos at home.

Since Thanksgiving is all about the side dishes for me, when I planned our Small Batch Thanksgiving I knew I'd be including a version of sweet potato casserole (alongside a full size batch of MA's Make Ahead Mashed Potato Casserole because 5 pounds of mashed potatoes for 3 people sounds about right). I like the Boston Market sweet potato casserole, so I searched Copykat Recipes for a similar one. I changed up the recipe--reducing the butter and sugar, replacing the oatmeal cookie crust with just marshmallows and nuts, shrinking it to fit in a 3 cup baking dish--and made it my own. This was a keeper last year, and will return to the Thanksgiving table this year. Our sweet potatoes in the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve (which accommodates potatoes, onions, and garlic as well as winter squash) are ready to be of service.

For more recipes using sweet potatoes, please see my Sweet Potato Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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I composted the sweet potato jackets

Note: I roasted my sweet potatoes the day before, which saved time on the Big Day. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, rubbed the potatoes with a bit of vegetable oil and poked a fork in the skin in a few spots, and placed them in the hot oven for 45 minutes until they 'gave' when I squeezed them.

Small Batch Sweet Potato Casserole (serves 4)

(inspired by Copykat Recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 to 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, roasted (see Note above)
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• about ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (I was grating my own and didn't measure)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• butter or spray for greasing baking dish
• ½ cup marshmallows
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Scoop out sweet potatoes from their jackets. 
2. In a large bowl, beat sweet potato and egg until well blended. 
3. Add the seasonings, sugar and cream. Mix well.
4. Butter a 3 cup baking dish.
5. Transfer sweet potato mixture to prepared pan. 
6. Top with marshmallows and pecans, pushing them down into the sweet potato mixture a bit.
7. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until the marshmallows are browned and the pecan-coated sweet potato at the edges is crispy. The casserole will rise up during baking, but should not overflow. [Place it on a rimmed baking sheet if you're concerned.]
8. Serve hot. 

Leftovers were delicious in my Deep Dish Easter Leftovers Pizza.

Behind the scenes--the dogs are just standing by in case of a mishap.