Sweet potatoes have always been a Southern food staple, and they’re a regular part of living in the South. We buy them by the boxes from local farmers. Actually, we often get them for free. Once the sweet potatoes have “cured,” they’ll last a long time without refrigeration.
I have lots of recipes for sweet potato soufflés, sweet potato puddings, and sweet potato casseroles. The following is a delicious basic recipe that I usually cook whenever we’re having baked chicken or pork chops.
You can use canned sweet potatoes for this recipe, but trust me – it won’t be nearly as tasty. Sure, baking your own sweet potatoes is a little more trouble, but the results are far superior.
Southern Sweet Potato Casserole recipe
Ingredients:
- 5 or 6 medium-large sweet potatoes
- ½ stick butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup cream
- 2 beaten eggs
- miniature marshmallows
Directions: Wash sweet potatoes and dry. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and pierce each tuber a couple of times with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the potatoes. To test for doneness, stick a fork in the thickest part of a sweet potato. If it’s done, the fork should sink in easily.
Remove sweet potatoes from oven and allow to cool slightly – just until you can handle them. Pull off skins and remove any tough, stringy fibers.
Place baked, peeled sweet potatoes in a large baking dish that has been generously buttered. Mash sweet potatoes with a fork or potato masher.
Cut butter into slices and add to the taters. Stir in brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix in cream. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then add beaten eggs. Stir again. All this mixing can be done in a large bowl, but I do it in the baking dish. Why wash more dishes than you have to?
Bake casserole at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cover with miniature marshmallows and continue cooking until marshmallows have browned. Let casserole sit for five minutes before serving.