Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole has the perfect combination of spices and is a super easy and fast way to make sweet potato casserole! Even better, you can prep it ahead of time and just put it in the oven to warm up right before the big meal.
While you can't make every dish in the Instant Pot during Thanksgiving (unless you have five Instant Pots!) it's really an amazing tool for making dishes faster and freeing up space in the kitchen. This recipe for Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole can even be made ahead of time, which means you can make it the day before and then make my Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole or Instant Pot Maple Mustard Turkey Breast the day of.
This Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole is definitely one of the highlights of my Thanksgiving plate. It is the perfect combination of lightly sweetened potatoes with a marshmallow/pecan crumble combination topping. I couldn't choose between a marshmallow topping and a pecan topping, so I did both!
If you're looking for an extra sweet sweet potato Thanksgiving treat, check out my Sweet Potato Pie with Bourbon Meringue Topping!
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Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes - I use 3-4 large sweet potatoes for this recipe.
Brown Sugar and Maple Syrup - the sweeteners for this sweet potato casserole.
Cinnamon and Vanilla - both add warmth to the dish.
Egg and Heavy Cream - binders in the filling.
Pecans - Add a lovely crunchy topping to the casserole.
Butter - in the filling and the topping.
Marshmallows - essential for sweet potato casserole topping!
Refer to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients.
Variations
Omit the marshmallows. If you're not a fan of marshmallows on your sweet potatoes, you can definitely omit them. The addition of the pecan topping means the sweet potato casserole will still have a crunchy sweet top!
Boil the Potatoes. No Instant Pot? You can still make this sweet potato casserole by boiling the sweet potatoes instead. Simply boil them in water for 15-20 minutes, until tender.
Step by Step Instructions
Photo 1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut each potato into 6-8 large pieces.
Photo 2. Place the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker on top of the trivet and with 1 cup of water.
Photo 3. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release and strain out the water.
Photo 4. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a large bowl and mash with a fork.
Photo 5. To the sweet potatoes, add the brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, heavy cream, and egg and stir well to combine.
Photo 6. Transfer mixture to a greased baking dish. You can use an 8x8" baking dish or an 8-9" round pie dish.
Photo 7. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, and chopped pecans.
Photo 8. Spread this mixture over the sweet potatoes.
Photo 9. Sprinkle with marshmallows.
Photo 10. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes.
Make Ahead Instructions
Okay, let's wrap up by talking about how this Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole can be made ahead of time (just like Cream Cheese Green Bean Casserole!). Basically, you'll do all of the Instant Pot prep in advance. This includes cooking the sweet potatoes and mixing it with the butter and spices.
Then you spread it in a casserole dish, make the brown butter and pecan topping, and finish it off! Wrap it with some plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it. So easy. So simple. And so delicious! Then you have more time for the Mayonnaise Roasted Turkey and Turtle Pecan Cheesecake!
Recipe FAQs
I have never made this using canned sweet potatoes, but I suppose you could. You just would not need the Instant Pot to cook the sweet potatoes first. Simply start from the step of mashing the sweet potatoes.
Yes. Simply omit them and you will still have the sweet pecan topping.
Sure. You can omit the brown sugar (but keeping the maple syrup) from the filling. You definitely need to keep the sugar in the topping. This Sweet Potato Casserole is meant to be sweet.
Other Thanksgiving Recipes to Consider...
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #greensnchocolate.
Instant Pot (and Make Ahead!) Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 3-4 large sweet potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks (about 6-8 chunks per sweet potato)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg
For the topping:
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
- ⅓ cup flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup pecans
- ½ cup marshmallows
Instructions
- Place water and sweet potatoes in pressure cooker.
- Seal lid.
- Cook on high for 8 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release.
- Remove lid and strain the sweet potatoes.
- Mash the sweet potatoes with a fork - this should be extremely easy because the sweet potatoes will be very tender.
- Add butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, cream, and egg to sweet potatoes and stir well to combine.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (If you are doing this as a make ahead recipe, do not preheat oven until ready to bake)
- Spray 8" baking dish with cooking spray.
- Spread sweet potato mixture into baking dish.
- Make the topping by combining melted butter, flour, brown sugar, and pecans in a small bowl.
- Evenly spread/drop pieces of the topping over the sweet potato mixture.
- *At this point, you can cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Sprinkle with marshmallows.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until marshmallows are golden.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Total time does not include the time it takes for the pressure cooker to build pressure.
- To make this sweet potato casserole ahead of time, prep everything up to the point of adding the marshmallows and baking. When you are ready to bake, add the marshmallows and bake according to directions.
