• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Email Series!

5 Time and Stress Saving Cooking Secrets

Free email series of my best tips!

Visit my other Site: Pancake Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Free Email Series!

    5 Time and Stress Saving Cooking Secrets

    Free email series of my best tips!

  • Visit my other Site: Pancake Recipes

Rachel Cooks®

Easy Healthy-ish Recipes

  • Recipe Index
  • The Basics
  • Free Meal Plans

Dinner Made Easy:

Slow Cooker

5 Ingredients

Grilling

Make Ahead

Sheet Pan

Tacos

Pizza

Home Recipes by Type Appetizers/Snacks
30 30 Minutes or Less VG Vegetarian

Sweet Potato Casserole without Nuts – Handheld!

4.50
/5
29 minutes mins
10 Comments
Jump to Recipe
By: Rachel GurkPosted: 11/18/2016Updated: 09/14/2023

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This sweet potato casserole without nuts is perfect for those nut-free homes -- plus it's a fun handheld version. It's a fun and tasty twist on a classic. Get the fun Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving recipe on RachelCooks.com!

This sweet potato casserole without nuts is a fun and tasty twist on a classic. Try the handheld version or bake it in a casserole.

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: This is a very versatile recipe:; it can be made in the mini bowls with marshmallows or in a casserole, with or without nuts. The filling can be made ahead.

How long it takes: about 30 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: baking sheet, mixing bowl
Servings: 12

Five mini boats filled with sweet potato, topped with marshmallow, arranged on a long brown board.
Table of Contents
open
  • 1 Recipe Overview
  • 2 More About This Sweet Potato Casserole
  • 3 Ways To Change This Recipe
  • 4 Make Ahead Ideas
  • 5 Storage & Reheating Tips
  • 6 More Sweet Potato Recipes
  • 7 Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole without Nuts – Handheld!

Sweet potato casserole is a Thanksgiving classic. Who can resist the combination of sweet potatoes topped with fluffy marshmallows? This twist gives you all that flavor in a little handheld package.

There are a million takes on sweet potato casserole but these mini bowls are unlike anything I’ve ever tried. Mashed sweet potatoes are flavored with cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup. That would be great on its own, right?

But put it in a mini soft tortilla taco bowl and magic happens. The edges of the tortilla bowls crisp up perfectly and the marshmallows are like icing on the cake. It’s the perfect handheld sweet potato casserole.

I envision these being perfect for a big Friendsgiving celebrating or a Thanksgiving. Mini sweet potato bowls are traditional with a twist; they are super easy to serve. I like to call them mini boats!

If you’re looking for more sweet potato ideas, try twice baked sweet potatoes or sweet potato bread pudding. If you prefer things more on the savory side, these scalloped sweet potatoes with Gruyère and bacon are amazing.

More About This Sweet Potato Casserole

Easy! After combining the sweet potatoes with brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, and cinnamon, spread the mixture into mini bowls and pop these delectable treats into the oven. Let them get hot and crispy, pull the bowls out, and top with marshmallows. Back into the oven for a couple minutes and you’re good to go!

Filled sweet potato mini boats before baking. on baking sheet.

Nut-Free! I made this handheld sweet potato casserole without nuts so my kids could eat them. Even if you’re not worried about nut allergies, I know that many children don’t care for nuts in their food and often sweet potato casserole recipes contain nuts. I wanted to give you an alternative recipe. However, feel free to substitute a nutty streusel topping instead of the marshmallows if you want.

Mini boats on baking sheet after baking.

Handheld! My kids thought these were the coolest things ever. What kid wouldn’t love something that they can eat with their hands — and something that is COVERED IN MARSHMALLOWS. E and N were thrilled when these showed up on their plate for dinner. The mini boats are small enough for kids to easily handle, too.

Sweet potato casseroles arranged on board, one with a bite removed

Ways To Change This Recipe

  • Make a casserole instead. If you don’t want to mess with the little bowls, bake the sweet potato mixture in a small casserole dish.
  • Add a nutty topping. If you’d rather have nuts than marshmallows, add a streusel topping. Add it right away and let it bake the entire time.
  • Pumpkin pie! Use pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon.
  • Make it vanilla. Fill the bowls with vanilla bean mashed sweet potatoes instead.

Make Ahead Ideas

  • Bake the sweet potatoes the day before so that they are ready to be combined with all the sugar and butter and cinnamon. You can also use your Instant Pot to cook them. The filling mixture can be made a day ahead.
  • Use leftover sweet potatoes. You could even make this the day AFTER Thanksgiving and use leftover sweet potatoes. What a yummy and creative way to use leftovers!

Storage & Reheating Tips

Store baked sweet potato casseroles in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For best results, reheat in a toaster oven or oven so the tortilla boats crisp up.

More Sweet Potato Recipes

Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole (gluten-free, dairy-free)

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Hash – with candied bacon!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

Browse All

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole without Nuts – Handheld!

4.50 from 4 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 14 minutes mins
Total Time: 29 minutes mins
12 servings
Print Rate Recipe
Prevent your screen from going dark
This sweet potato casserole without nuts is a fun and tasty twist on a classic. Try the handheld version or bake it in a casserole.

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (about 3 large potatoes)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 12 Old El Paso Mini Soft Tortilla Taco Boats (5.1 oz. package)
  • 2 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed sweet potatoes, cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup.
  • Place Old El Paso Mini Soft Tortilla Taco Boats on a baking sheet. Divide sweet potato mixture evenly into each taco boat (see note).
  • Bake for 12 minutes. Carefully add mini marshmallows and bake for 2 more minutes or until marshmallows are puffy.
  • Turn on broiler for 1 to 2 minutes to brown if desired (watch carefully!!!).

Notes

  • To fill the mini boats easily, place sweet potato filling in a large zip-top bag. Snip off corner and pipe filling into mini boats. Press down with a spoon gently to get filling to edges.
  • Substitute pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, if desired.
  • Make a casserole: Instead of dividing the mixture into the taco boats, place in a small greased casserole dish. Bake as directed, adding 15 minutes to baking time. Top with marshmallows, if desired.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1boat, Calories: 150kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 144mg, Potassium: 123mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 4048IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 37mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk
Did You Make This?Be sure to upload a photo & tag me at @RachelCooksBlog. I love seeing what you made!
Share A Photo! Tag on Insta Rate It
Holiday Quick-Start Guide

Get my Holiday

Quick-Start Guide!

Free email series of my best tips!

FREE BONUS!

You May Also Like...

  • 25 Sweet Potato Recipes
  • Twice baked sweet potatoes with streusel topping.
    Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
  • Vanilla bean mashed sweet potatoes in a round bowl.
    Vanilla Bean Mashed Sweet Potatoes
  • Hasselback sweet potatoes in a white baking dish.
    Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Overhead of roasted brussels sprouts in square wooden dish, with spoon along side, on orange plaid cloth.
Previous Post
Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Walnuts (with video)
Sandwiches, crackers, bowl of soup, and cookies on square white plate.
Next Post
Turkey and Cheese Crescent Rolls – easy meal idea

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




The maximum upload file size: 1 MB. You can upload: image. Drop files here

  1. Amber says

    November 26, 2020 at 4:49 pm

    I have made this for Thanksgiving every year for the last few years. Everyone loves them! I can’t usually find the tortilla boats, so I make them in muffin pans with crescent rolls cut to fit and filled with the filling.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      December 1, 2020 at 10:38 pm

      That’s a perfect adaptation! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, it means a lot to me!

      Reply
  2. Ally says

    November 21, 2018 at 12:10 pm

    Can you make the filling the night before??

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      November 21, 2018 at 12:43 pm

      Yes! That will work great!

      Reply
  3. Anna says

    November 27, 2016 at 10:13 am

    Woooww, looks absolutely awesome. I really need to try this recipe as soon as possible. Looks very authentic and perfect for Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  4. Erin @ Texanerin Baking says

    November 20, 2016 at 9:36 am

    I think these are the coolest thing ever, too! Such a fun treat.

    Reply
  5. Gina @Running to the Kitchen says

    November 19, 2016 at 11:28 pm

    These are so cute! Great for the holidays!!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      November 20, 2016 at 1:49 pm

      Thanks Gina!

      Reply
  6. Cookin Canuck says

    November 18, 2016 at 5:20 pm

    What a fun idea for the holidays!  I have a feeling my boys would be tempted to eat sweet potatoes if I served them like this.

    Reply
  7. Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic says

    November 18, 2016 at 9:41 am

    SO thrilled to see a recipe for sweet potato casserole that is nut free! Making it in individual servings with marshmallows will send my boys over the edge of happiness. Who doesn’t like finger food?

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Rachel! Life can be complicated, cooking shouldn't be! I believe that you can put a delicious meal on the table without stressing. It's possible, and I'm here to help. Have a seat at my table...let's chat, eat, and have fun! Read more...

Air Fryer Instant Pot 30 Minutes One Pan Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Slow Cooker Vegetarian 5 Ingredients

Trending

Cooked salmon fillet on a grey-toned plate with cooked asparagus spears. The salmon is being flaked with a fork.

Air Fryer Salmon Recipe

Pizza pasta being scooped from a pan with a wooden spoon.

Pizza Pasta – 1 pan, 20 minutes

Image of a giant bowl of spaghetti with turkey meatballs.

Baked Turkey Meatballs

Asparagus Panzanella Salad

Seasonal

Cilantro lime rice in a bowl garnished with a lime wedge.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Round white bowl filled with guacamole, one chip dipped in.

How to Make Guacamole

Pico de gallo in a white bowl.

The Best Pico de Gallo

Overhead view of jar of taco seasoning with a wooden spoon in it.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window
Free Bonus!

5 Cooking Secrets to Save Time & Stress

Free email series of my best tips and recipes!

Featured On:

Back to Top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Work with Me
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
© 2023 Rachel Cooks®
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled