When holiday meal planning time rolls around during the holiday season, I always include some sort of sweet potato recipe as one of my side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner. Traditionally I have always made a simple sweet potato casserole by mixing sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar and then topping with marshmallows. However, a few years ago, my husband and I decided to try something new. And, so, one of our side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner that we decided on a few years ago while doing our holiday meal planning was the following variation on the classic sweet potato casserole.

Ingredients

• 4-6 extra large sweet potatoes
• 64 ounce jar of no sugar added apple sauce
• 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 cups of miniature marshmallows
• 8 ounce can of pineapple tidbits

Directions

1. Wash the sweet potatoes. Remove any eyes or blemishes. Do not peel the potatoes.
2. Place the sweet potatoes in a large sauce pan.
3. Cover the sweet potatoes with water.
4. Boil the sweet potatoes until tender.
5. Drain the cooked sweet potatoes and rinse with cold water.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°.
7. Peel the cooked sweet potatoes.*
8. Cut the sweet potatoes in half length-wise.
9. Place the cut sweet potatoes in an ungreased 9×13 glass baking pan.
10. Spread the applesauce on top of the sweet potatoes.
11. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a separate bowl.
12. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apple sauce.
13. Dot the casserole with butter.
14. Bake uncovered for about thirty minutes or until hot.
15. Remove the casserole from the oven.
16. Sprinkle with the miniature marshmallows.
17. Return the casserole to the oven and bake until the marshmallows are golden brown.
18. Sprinkle with the pineapple tidbits immediately before serving.
19. Serve hot.
20. Refrigerate any uneaten sweet potato casserole.

*You can also peel, boil, and mash the sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes scream of fall, which is the reason that I always include some sort of sweet potato recipe when I am doing my holiday meal planning for Thanksgiving. One year a few years back, when I decided to try some new recipes, I made a sweet potato casserole with applesauce and pineapple in addition to the traditional brown sugar and marshmallows. My whole family loved the recipe. (My dog especially loved this recipe because some of his favorite foods are sweet potatoes, apples, and pineapple.) I highly suggest adding a little variety to the same old sweet potato recipe with this unique take on traditional side dishes for a holiday dinner.

Image Credits

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe © 2010 James Johnson
Sweet Potatoes © 2012 Heather Johnson
Cutting the Sweet Potatoes © 2012 Heather Johnson
Chopped Sweet Potatoes © 2012 Heather Johnson
Cooked Sweet Potatoes © 2012 Heather Johnson
Mashed Sweet Potatoes © 2012 Heather Johnson
Apple Sauce on Sweet Potatoes © 2012 Heather Johnson
Brown Sugar and Cinnamon © 2012 Heather Johnson
Brown Sugar Sprinkled on Apple Sauce © 2012 Heather Johnson
Finishing the Sweet Potato Casserole © 2012 Heather Johnson
Sweet Potato Casserole © 2010 James Johnson