Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes are a classic side dish perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners and, of course, family dinners. Sweet potatoes cooked in a rich brown sugar and butter sauce make this recipe irresistible. They’re easy to make and full of warm, comforting flavors!
More Southern side dishes to try are Brown Butter Butternut Squash Casserole, Southern-Style Green Beans, and Mom’s Macaroni Salad.
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Candied yams are always at the top of my must-make recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There’s just nothing like soft, buttery sweet potatoes alongside tender green beans and a slice of turkey or ham. It’s downright perfection.
Making this dish for my family is one of the highlights of my day when I cook during the holidays. It makes my heart full knowing I’m sharing something special that my boys will cherish for years.
Why You’ll Love Classic Southern Candied Yams
- Easy to Make – This recipe only uses 8 ingredients and only takes 10 minutes to prep.
- Classic Flavors – What’s not to love about cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and sweet potatoes?
- Prep It – To save time on the actual holiday, you can prep these yams and store them in the fridge. Then, you can bake them when you’re ready.
What’s The Difference Between Yams And Sweet Potatoes?
Even though people call yams sweet potatoes and sweet potatoes yams, there is a difference. Yams are a root vegetable found in Africa and Asia. They have brown, rough skin and white flesh. Sweet potatoes, grown in the Americas, are also root vegetables with smooth skin and orange flesh and are easily found in your local grocery store. Sweet potatoes are much sweeter and creamier, making them perfect for “candied yams.”
Ingredients For Oven Baked Candied Yams
- Sweet potatoes, also called yams, are the star of the show! Any variety will work, but I like the classic bright orange ones.
- You’ll need both brown and granulated white sugar to sweeten the potatoes.
- Ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg add the classic fall flavor and spice, while a bit of salt helps elevate all the flavors.
- Butter and vanilla help bring the sauce together while also creating richness.
Recipe Variations
- Marshmallows: It may be controversial, but I don’t use mini marshmallows in my candied yams recipe. But you can! Once the candied yams are done cooking, sprinkle miniature marshmallows over the potatoes and place them under the broiler for a few seconds until browned and melted.
- Pecan: Chopped toasted pecans are great sprinkled on during baking, and candied pecans are a delicious finishing touch before serving.
Step By Step Directions
- Prepare the Sweet Potatoes: Scrub, peel, then cut them into rounds. Place them in a large pot and cover with water. Bring the potatoes to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and cook until tender on the edges but still firm in the middle.
- Make the Sauce: While the potatoes are cooking, make the sugar mixture in a small saucepan with brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, spices, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.
- Combine: Drain the potatoes, put them back in the pot, and pour over the syrup. Gently stir to coat the potatoes. Spoon the potatoes into a baking dish and cook in the oven until soft in the middle and the syrup has caramelized.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once the potatoes are coated in the sugar syrup, they must cook in the oven until soft and tender in the middle, which takes about 30 to 35 minutes.
Sweet potatoes are loaded with minerals and Vitamins A, B and C, making them a superfood.
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Serving Suggestions
When I serve this traditional Southern side dish for dinner, it’s usually for a complete holiday feast. I will serve them alongside Southern Style Green Beans and Simple Oven Roasted Turkey and Brown Sugar Mustard Bake Ham. And don’t forget the Homemade Apple Crostata and Bourbon Maple Pecan Pie for dessert!
More Comfort Food Side Dishes
If you tried this Southern Candied Yams Recipe or any other recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds peeled sweet potatoes
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees
- Slice sweet potatoes into rounds and place in a large pot, and cover with water. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook for approximately 5 minutes until the potatoes are tender on the edges but slightly firm in the middle. Drain the potatoes and place them back in the cooking pot.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the sugar syrup by adding the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, vanilla and salt to a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has melted, about 5 minutes.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the sweet potatoes. Gently stir to coat the potatoes, then place them into a baking dish. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven and carefully toss in potatoes in the syrup. Return to the oven and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are done and the syrup has caramelized.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
Notes
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- Marshmallows: It may be controversial, but I don’t use mini marshmallows in my candied yams recipe. But you can! Once the candied yams are done cooking, sprinkle miniature marshmallows over the potatoes and place them under the broiler for a few seconds until browned and melted.
- Pecan: Chopped toasted pecans are great sprinkled on during baking, and candied pecans are a delicious finishing touch before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Nutrition
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I made this for part of Christmas dinner and everyone loved it. I made a double recipe for six adults and two children hoping to have leftovers for a few days; there’s barely any left. The only change I made to the recipe was subbing allspice for the nutmeg (was out of nutmeg) and it was awesome! The two kids hate sweet potatoes; they had seconds of this dish!
Thank you for sharing! This makes me so happy.
Happy New Year!
~Donya
My sister-in-law always makes the sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving and they are delicious. We went to NC from FL for Thanksgiving this year, and we were sad to have no leftovers when we got home. So we did a “do-over” Thanksgiving yesterday and I made these. They were just perfect!
Kelly! Thank you for sharing. I love all of it.
Merry Christmas to you and your family,
~Donya
Nice twist for different cooking