Sweet Potato Fluff

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Full of the flavors of fall, this sweet potato fluff recipe is perfectly spiced and topped with light and fluffy toasted homemade marshmallow layer.

Overhead shot of a sweet potato fluff in a square dish with a spoon missing. — Sweet Potato Fluff

We love this sweet potato casserole, we serve it every year as an option for our Thanksgiving dinner.

It's quite funny, as I was making this more recently (for this post) my daughter had just had her tonsils removed and this turned into the perfect dish for her, poor thing.

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❤️ Why you'll love it
🧅 Ingredients
🥣 Instructions
🔄 Substitutions and Variations
🔌 Equipment
📘 More Sweet Potato Recipes
🧊 Storage
💡 Tips
👩‍🍳 FAQs
Sweet Potato Fluff
Fan Favorite Recipes
💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love it

Deliciously soft and fully of the flavors of fall, this sweet potato fluff is the perfect side dish for your Turkey dinner and definitely a family favorite.
It's a great alternative to the traditional Sweet Potato Casserole that has the streusel (crunchy topping) on top of the casserole, if you're not a fan.
Making a homemade marshmallow fluff just makes for an even tastier sweet potato dish for your Thanksgiving table.

🧅 Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes
Light Brown Sugar
Unsalted Butter
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Nutmeg
Ground Ginger
Vanilla Extract
Salt
Half and Half
Water
Granulated Sugar
Honey
Egg Whites
Cream of Tartar

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities.

🥣 Instructions

This is an overview of the recipe steps. For more detailed instructions visit the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Collage of four images showing how to make sweet potato fluff, recipe steps 1-4.

Step 1: Pierce the sweet potatoes and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
Step 2: Remove the skin of the potatoes, then mash in a large bowl.
Step 3: Add the melted butter and mash again.
Step 4: Add the brown sugar, spices and half and half and mash again until you get a creamy texture. Spoon the sweet potato mixture into a 9x9 baking dish.

A collage of four images showing how to make sweet potato fluff, recipe steps 5-8.

Step 5: Add the white sugar, honey, salt and water to a small pot on the stove and boil for 10 minutes.
Step 6: Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the cream of tartar and whip up into soft peaks.
Step 7: Slow pour the hot syrup into the egg whites while mixing on low, then add the vanilla.
Step 8: Spoon on top of the mashed sweet potatoes.

Step 9: Using a kitchen torch, carefully lightly brown the top of the marshmallow fluff layer.

Hint: If you don't have a kitchen torch you can use the broiler setting in your oven, toast until golden brown - just be careful as it browns really quickly.

🔄 Substitutions and Variations

Light Corn Syrup - instead of honey.
Marshmallows - you could layer some mini marshmallows on top instead of making your own fluff.
Canned Sweet Potatoes - you could use this instead of baking fresh ones.
Heavy Cream - you could use this instead of half and half.
Pecan Topping - if you don't like the marshmallow fluff idea, perhaps make a streusel or pecan topping. Or even half one type and half the other.

Side shot of a dish of sweet potato fluff with a scoop missing.

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🔌 Equipment

The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

I used a stand mixer for whipping up the egg whites. If you don't have one, a regular hand mixer (electric mixer) will suffice, you'll have to be hands on though.

You'll also need a pot to make the syrup and some baking sheets for baking the sweet potatoes.

I have some affiliate links in the recipe card below for more information.

📘 More Sweet Potato Recipes

🧊 Storage

Once the sweet potato fluff is totally cool, store covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

💡 Tips

Expert Tip: Baking the sweet potatoes in the oven is the best way to avoid losing flavor as well as adding any unwanted fluid to your sweet potato fluff.

Overhead shot of a dish full of sweet potato fluff.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

Should I have so much marshmallow fluff left over from topping my sweet potatoes?

Those egg whites really do multiply in size and yes, when I make this dish in a 9x9" dish it always ends up with some extra marshmallow creme. You could either double up the potatoes and use a 13x9" casserole dish, or use it for something else?

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Sweet Potato Fluff

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

A tasty sweet potato fluff - which is a version of a sweet potato casserole, with a tasty, light and fluffy layer of toasted marshmallow on top.

Ingredients

3lb Sweet Potatoes
½ Cup Light Brown Sugar
⅓ Cup Unsalted Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
¼ teaspoon Ginger
½ teaspoon Vanilla
½ teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Half and Half

Marshmallow Layer

⅓ Cup Water
⅓ Cup Granulated Sugar
¾ Cup Honey
½ Cup Egg Whites
1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Line a baking sheet with foil and lay the sweet potatoes on top. Pierce a few times with a fork.
Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes (maybe more if the potatoes are larger).
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes then using a paper towel pinch the sweet potato skin off the potato. It should come off relatively easy.
Place in a bowl and mash the sweet potatoes with a potato mashed.
Add the melted butter and mash again.
Add the spices, brown sugar and half and half and mash again.
Spread into a greased 9x9" baking dish and set to the side.
Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip, using the wire whip attachment on high, until soft peaks have formed.
While that happens, add the water, sugar, honey and salt to a small pot on the stove and heat over medium-high heat, stirring.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to allow a slow boil. Allow to boil (without boiling over) for 10 minutes. Stirring often.
With the mixer on low, slowly pour this hot syrup into the egg whites, then add vanilla.
Turn the mixer on high and allow to whip up for about 6-8 minutes. The egg whites will become a lot 'more' and will glossy with stiff peaks.
Spoon this marshmallow mixture on top of the sweet potatoes (there will be a lot left over).
Using a kitchen torch, lightly torch the top of the marshmallow for a toasty look.

Notes

I like to use honey in my marshmallow topping - it adds a different, kind of seasonal flavor to it. If you don't like that though, you can use the traditional light corn syrup.

This recipe will yield a lot of extra marshmallow. You could double up on the sweet potatoes layer and make a 9x13" casserole with the same amount of fluff.