Dolly Parton always loved whipping up feasts of Southern comfort food for her loved ones, including her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.
The late country icon loved it so much that she even wrote a cookbook with her sister, Rachel Parton George, which came out in 2024.
My favorite section of “Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals” is dedicated entirely to Thanksgiving dishes. And the best recipe of the bunch is Parton’s sweet potato casserole.
Here’s how to make it.
Dolly Parton’s sweet potato casserole has a nutty twist.
To make the sweet potato casserole at home, you’ll need:
- 5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 cups of miniature marshmallows
- ½ cup of chopped raw pecans
- ½ cup of light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (1 stick) of butter at room temperature, plus more for greasing
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
First, I preheated the oven and prepped my potatoes and baking pan.
I set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and buttered a 9-inch-by-13-inch pan.
I also washed, peeled, and quartered my sweet potatoes.
I placed my sweet potatoes in a large pot and covered them with cold water.
I brought the pot to a boil over high heat, then lowered the heat to maintain a low boil for 20 minutes while the potatoes cooked.
You’ll know they’re ready when the potatoes are fork-tender.
I drained the potatoes, placed them in a large bowl, and added the butter and seasonings.
I threw in the brown sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and butter, adding the latter in knobs so it’d be easy to mix.
Then it was time to mash.
The recipe recommends using a potato masher to mix the ingredients until they’re “well combined.” I don’t own one, so I simply used a big wooden serving fork — it worked like a charm!
I transferred my mashed sweet potatoes to the baking pan, smoothing the top.
I sprinkled the pecans on top, then evenly covered the casserole with my miniature marshmallows.
I covered my pan with aluminum foil and threw it in the oven.
The recipe says you should bake your sweet potato casserole for 20 minutes.
Once the 20 minutes were up, I baked the casserole uncovered for five additional minutes.
The marshmallows should turn golden brown, but mine were still white as snow after five minutes passed. So I turned on the broiler and baked the casserole for two additional minutes to give them some color.
I let my sweet potato casserole cool for 15 minutes before serving.
I was slightly disappointed when the sweet potato casserole came out of the oven. The marshmallows got a little overcooked by the broiler and now only covered half of the casserole. Next time, I think I’ll just let the marshmallows cook uncovered the entire time.
Unphotogenic marshmallows aside, this sweet potato casserole was delicious. The crunchy pecans added a delightful twist, and the combination of brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon was well balanced. The texture was satisfyingly creamy, and the dish made my kitchen smell delicious.
I brought this to a Friendsgiving, and the pan was empty within minutes — despite having a lot of competition!
I’ll definitely be missing Dolly during this holiday season. Serving up a casserole that’s warm and sweet seems like a fitting tribute.
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