Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow Sauce

As a REAL food foodie, I get super excited by the challenge of taking classic comforting junkie foods and transforming them into nutrient-dense dishes that aren't lacking in deliciousness. Sweet potato casserole makes a perfect candidate.

You remember this holiday side dish, right? Sweet potatoes so sweet from marshmallows that you can only eat a bite or two, but they're still sinfully fun. The store-bought versions of this puffy white confection are almost exclusively made from genetically modified corn syrup – something you do NOT want adorning any special meal.

Luckily, the internet is teeming with healthier versions of marshmallows that are surprisingly simple to make. I chose to use these sweet and ever-so-slightly savory brown butter sage marshmallows for my healthy sweet potato casserole.

If you haven't heard, gelatin is a superfood when it comes from grass-fed animals. This is the gelatin that I keep on hand to recreate all of those childhood wiggly-jiggly delights.

Now, don't expect that your homemade marshmallow will hold up to the same broiling that the “Stay-Puft” do. My healthy sweet potato casserole has more of a marshmallow ‘sauce' than a cloud-like marshmallow topping. But I promise, this recipe will deliver all of the comfort and joy of the junkie food version – minus the cloyingly toxic aftertaste.

This recipe and the marshmallows are modified from BraveTart.

Healthy sweet potato casserole ingredients

8 large sweet potatoes
1 T. sea salt, plus more to taste
2 T. butter or olive oil
3 T. minced sage
1/2 batch maple sage marshmallows – prepare these in advance – get the recipe here

Healthy sweet potato casserole method

Preheat the oven to 350F. Peel and cube sweet potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Mince the sage.
Meanwhile, over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the sage until hot and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking until butter begins to brown. Turn off heat, and stir in the sweet potatoes, tossing gently to coat.
Transfer the sweet potatoes and all of the butter and sage to a shallow, oven safe serving dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven, cover and set aside until a few minutes before dinner is served.
Just before serving, reheat the potatoes if necessary. Preheat the broiler in your oven with a rack set to the highest position. Top sweet potatoes with brown butter sage marshmallows and broil for 3-5 minutes, until the marshmallows have melted and browned slightly. You must keep an eye on the dish or else your marshmallows will burn and all will be lost. Serve and enjoy!