I love recipes that make life easier and this Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallows is one of those recipes! There is no peeling, chopping, or cooking of sweet potatoes involved because I use pureed sweet potatoes (in the form of baby food) and it works perfectly. And the brown butter elevates this pie to an entirely new level of deliciousness!
This Sweet Potato Marshmallow Pie is popular during the holiday season and also makes a wonderful Thanksgiving dessert, holiday dessert for Easter or Christmas, or an ideal alternative to pumpkin pie or Deluxe Apple Pie! This pie pairs perfectly with a holiday meal such as my Crockpot Turkey Breast with stuffing and Healthy Glazed Carrots.
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I love sweet potato pie almost as much as I love my Prize Pumpkin Pie and that's saying A LOT since I eat pumpkin pie for pretty much every holiday.
🥘Ingredient Notes
And since I'm not prepared to spend all my precious time peeling, chopping, and pureeing sweet potatoes, I turned to the obvious source of healthy, ready-to-eat, pureed food - BABY FOOD! It's the perfect way to make a delicious and rich sweet potato filling without much effort! I discovered this trick when my kids stopped eating baby food and I had a lot left over. For this recipe, you'll need:
- Scalded milk. Scalded milk adds richness and moisture to this pie. * I use 1% milk because it's what I always have on hand.*If you're not sure how to scald milk see the video below or in the Notes.
- Brown Butter. I prefer to use unsalted butter because I can control the salt in my recipes. Browning butter gives it a toffee like flavor that has the aroma of caramel -its divine! *If you're not sure how to brown butter, see the video below or in notes.
- Whipping cream. Use whipping cream that is 33%- 38% fat for this recipe.
- Mini marshmallows. Mini marshmallows are ideal for this recipe because you can melt them and use them for the garnish.
- Sweet Potato Puree. I use baby food for this (photo below). Baby Food is a great way to save time and effort. The beauty of baby food is that the work is already done for you. And since they make it for babies, there are no preservatives and fillers in it. It’s pure sweet potatoes. I have had luck finding it at Walmart, but you can also find it online and in some grocery stores.
You'll love how easy baby food is to use and that you'll want to use it in everything! And you're going to want to avoid peeling, chopping, and cooking carrots too. So, give baby food a try in my Carrot Cake Overnight French Toast Casserole or in my Carrot Cake Dessert Pizza!
You'll love this easy Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallows because it tastes like an old-fashioned sweet potato pie, but it's quick to make and tastes AMAZING. The Marshmallow Whipped Cream is the crowning glory of this delicious Thanksgiving dessert.
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Sweet Potatoes - You can use canned sweet potatoes and puree them yourself. Or you can cook sweet potatoes, then puree them.
- Pie Crust: You can buy a pie shell at the grocery store if you are in a hurry or make one from scratch. Try my No Fail Pie Crust (Cold Water Pastry) shown below.
- Marshmallows - you can use marshmallow fluff or marshmallow creme (marshmallow cream) instead of the marshmallows and water. You could also use full-size marshmallows.
- Butter. You can use salted butter if that's all you have.
This marshmallow sweet potato pie recipe is unique because it has a delicious marshmallow whipped cream, but it's also the brown butter that takes it to a new level. Brown butter adds a rich caramel flavor to this pie that is like no other! And the scalded milk also gives it a light and fluffy texture.
🔪How to Make Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallows
PREP:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. /218 degrees C.
- Brown butter in a small saucepan. Once browned, remove from heat. *See video on how to brown butter below or in NOTES.
- Scald milk in a separate saucepan. Cool (can be warm, but not hot) See video on how to scald milk below or in NOTES.
- Step 1: Pie: Add pureed sweet potatoes to large bowl, then add browned butter, cooled scalded milk (it can be warm, but not hot), cinnamon, flour, brown sugar and eggs.
- Step 2: Whisk just until combined. *Don't overmix.
- Step 3: Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F/218 degrees C. Turn oven down to 325 degrees F/162 degrees C and bake for another 30- 35 minutes or until firm. I found 30 minutes was perfect. * I recommend using an instant-read thermometer (affiliate link) to check for doneness. The thermometer should register 170 degrees F. The pie may not "look" ready, but it is. You don't want to overcook it. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Step 4: Marshmallow Topping: In a medium bowl, whip the whipped cream to soft peaks with an electric mixer on high speed.
- Step 5: In a separate bowl, add ¼ teaspoon of water to marshmallows, then melt the marshmallows in the microwave for about 10 seconds and stir.
- Step 6: The stirring will usually melt the remaining unmelted marshmallows. However, if not melted, return to microwave in 10 second intervals until melted.
- Step 7: Immediately add melted marshmallows to whipped cream and beat on medium speed, to stiff peaks. *If you don't add the marshmallows right away, they will harden and you'll have lumpy whipped cream.
- Step 8: Add marshmallow whipped cream to the top of cold pie. I used a pastry bag with a 1M frosting tip to pipe the whippped cream frosting to the pie, then I added additional marshmallows. The pie should be chilled in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature. Sprinkle cinnamon sprinkles, if desired.
HINT: When you fill your pie shell with filling, place it on a baking sheet. It will be so much easier to move your pie from the countertop to the oven and avoid spills.
Top Tip
If you are using a store-bought pie shell for this sweet potato pie with marshmallow, ideally you'll want to transfer it to a glass pie pan (affiliate link) before baking, as glass pans are the best type of pie pan for achieving a flaky crust.
That doesn't mean you can't bake pies in ceramic, steel, or aluminum pans, too. It just might take a little longer to get the flakiest crust in these other types of pans.
Gently loosen the pie shell around the rim of the pie plate and transfer the pie shell to the glass pan when it is still frozen - this makes it much easier and you're less likely to crack it. *Make sure the glass pie pan is generously coated non-stick cooking spray.
👪 Serving Size
This easy sweet potato pie recipe makes 1 whole 9-inch pie. That is typically 8 servings, but you can cut the pieces larger or smaller, depending on your preference. However, you can double or triple the recipe and make additional pies by clicking on the number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🌡️Storage
Fridge: Store this sweet potato pie for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can cover it in plastic wrap if you are storing it for a short time (overnight) and have not yet decorated it. Store marshmallow whipped cream separately.
Freezer: The pie freezes well for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
To Defrost: Defrost from frozen overnight in your refrigerator. Serve cold.
❔ Frequently Asked Questions about Sweet Potato Pie
There are a couple of reasons your sweet potato pie is soggy. Sweet Potato Pie filling has a high moisture content and if the crust doesn't cook fast enough, the pie shell will absorb too much moisture. That's why you need to either cook the pie at an initial high temperature (as I do) or blind bake it, using pie weights, first. Secondly, using a glass pan will help create a flaky crust and avoid a soggy one.
Technically, NO, you don't need to scald milk for this sweet potato pie. In the early days before pasteurization, scalding milk was done for safety reasons. However, today if a recipe calls for scalded milk, it's because it's an excellent carrier of flavors, bringing more flavor into the final dish. It also helps cut down on cooking time.
High temperatures expedite the fat in the dough melting and producing steam, which in turn, gives pie crust its flaky texture and prevents a soggy pie crust. Reducing the oven temperature after about 10 minutes allows the pie to bake fully without danger of burning.
The key to avoiding a cracked sweet potato pie is to avoid both overcooking and overmixing it. You can also bake it on a lower (but not the lowest) rack and should also use a thermometer. This pie is ideal when the thermometer registers 170 degrees F/76 degrees C. Keep in mind, it may not "look" cooked to you and still be a bit jiggly but it cooks after you take it from the oven. But if you're a new pie baker, trust the thermometer. Make sure you follow the directions closely to avoid overmixing the pie filling.
Yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Although similar, they belong to different plant families. Sweet potatoes are sweeter than yams, and less starchy. The texture of yams is close to potatoes or yucca. I do not recommend substituting canned yams for sweet potatoes in this pie as it won't be sweet enough and the texture will be substantially drier and starchier.
My husband had never had a sweet potato pie before I made him this one and he fell in love with it! So, if you're looking for an easy Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallows, you'll love this EASY recipe!
Happy Holidays and enjoy Pie Baking!!
🍽 More Thanksgiving Desserts
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📋 Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallows Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 deep dish pie shell (store bought or homemade) https://foodmeanderings.com/no-fail-pie-crust/
Filling
- 2 tablespoon flour
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup scalded milk * See video in post
- 1.5 cups sweet potato puree * I use baby food (3 - ½ cup/4 ounce squeeze bottles)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, browned * See video in post
Marshmallow Whipped cream:
- 1 ½ cups whipping cream
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- ¼ teaspoon water
Garnish
- additional cinnamon sprinkles and mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. /218 degrees C.
- Brown butter in small saucepan. Once browned, remove from heat. *See video on how to brown butter in NOTES.
- Scald milk in separate saucepan. Cool (can be warm, but not hot) See video on how to scald milk in NOTES.
- Add pureed sweet potatoes to large bowl, then add browned butter, cooled scalded milk (it can be warm, but not hot), cinnamon, flour, brown sugar and eggs. Whisk until combined.
- Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F/218 degrees C.HINT: When you fill your pie shell with filling, place it on a baking sheet. It will be so much easier to move your pie from the countertop to the oven and avoid spills.
- Turn oven down to 325 degrees F/162 degrees C and bake for another 30- 35 minutes or until firm. I found 30 minutes was perfect. * I recommend using a thermometer (I use my meat thermometer) to check for doneness. The thermometer should register 170 degrees F/76 degree C. The pie may not "look" ready, but it is. You don't want to overcook it.
- Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.
Marshmallow Whipped cream
- In a medium bowl, whip the whipped cream to soft peaks with an electric mixer on high speed (with the whisk attachment).
- In a separate bowl, add ¼ teaspoon of water to marshmallows, then melt the marshmallows in the microwave for about 10 seconds and stir. * The stirring will usually melt the remaining unmelted marshmallows. However, if not melted, return to microwave in 10 second intervals until melted.
- Immediately add melted marshmallows to whipped cream and beat on medium speed, to stiff peaks. *if you don't add them immediately, they will harden and you'll have lumpy whipped cream.
Garnish
- Add marshmallow whipped cream to the top of pie. Sprinkle cinnamon sprinkles and additional marshmallows, if desired.
Yvonne Langen
This is the perfect fall treat Terri! I am obsessed with a mini marshmallow moment, so nostalgic of childhood!
Wanda
I've used baby food in recipes too - it's like the best kept secret to flavouring recipes! This pie looks delicious!
Terri Gilson
I know, it's great stuff, isn't it?! Baby food for the win!!!
YtheWait
Thanks for sharing, this looks lovely............
Terri Gilson
Thanks you, I hope you enjoy it!
nancy
What a cute idea to use baby food!! It must be way lower in sugar than conventional products!
Terri Gilson
Yes, that's what I love about using baby food, Nancy- it generally doesn't have added sugar, fillers or preservatives!
Elaine
I love it when I find traditional recipes like this one! (And I like your creative genius in solving the problem of finding sweet potato purée! A dessert that everyone loves to dig into!
Terri Gilson
Thank you, Elaine! Yes, it is definitely a Thanksgiving favorite!
Leanne
Using baby food is a genius idea! I also haven't seen canned pureed sweet potato around here, so whenever I bake with sweet potato, I cook and puree my own. Love your short cut idea of baby food. Also, can we just take a moment to admire the deliciousness of that marshmallow whipped cream?! The perfect topping!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Leanne - I'm also glad you like the topping! I came up with this recipe years ago and am only getting a chance to share it now.
Joss
I love that you used baby food, why not?! This is delicious with that marshmallow whipped cream, yum!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Joss! Yes, I discovered the idea of using baby food when my kids grew out of it and I had a bunch left over!
Bernice Hill
Well, I'm sure that using baby food is convenient and possibly lower in sugar than the canned sweet potato but I'd probably just buy sweet potatoes and puree them. That said, I've never done it! I've got to try sweet potato pie!
Terri Gilson
Hi Bernice- I used to buy canned sweet potatoes, but I can't find them anywhere around here. Amazon wanted $300 to ship them! If you do find them in Calgary, let me know please. Although, I'll probably stick with the baby food because it's still easier! haha
Sonya
Ok, this was absolutely delish! WOW!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Sonya - glad you enjoyed it!
Cindy
This looks delicious and is quite simple to make.