Easy Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes
Candied Sweet Potatoes is a traditional Southern side that pairs with all sorts of classic main dishes. It is easy to make, affordable, and perfect for serving up at Sunday suppers, special occasions, and holiday meals.
You’ll also like Scalloped Corn and Corn Pudding Casserole.
Suitable for Gluten-Free diets.
Folks, it’s time to make the most delicious Southern side dish around, Candied Sweet Potatoes. They’re so tender, buttery and sweet that you may find yourself wanting to lick the plate.
Yeap, this plate licking side dish is a super popular side dish served up at every Southern holiday feast.
It’s a well known Thanksgiving recipe, but can be found at Christmas dinners, Easter brunches and Sunday Supper all year round.
They looooove to candy everything. Ever heard of Candied Asparagus, Candied Ham or Candied Cabbage??? All great Southern side dishes that could be found right next to a Baked Candied Yams casserole.
Why not try these Smothered Potatoes and delicious Southern Butter Beans and easy peasy Scalloped Corn Recipe.
Why Make This Recipe
- This dish is easy to whip up using a few affordable ingredients.
- It’s a great recipe for a crowd. You can easily double or triple the recipe to serve a big ol’ group.
- Highly adaptable – Add other toppings or mix-ins to your preference.
- Great for meal prep – Prep ahead and pull out when needed.
- Family approved – This is sooo good that everyone will love it.
Now baked candied sweet potatoes are also called candied yams. But there are actual yams (more info about these below guys) which you can use to make a yam version.
Ingredient Notes
- sweet potatoes – this recipe calls for the orange sweet potatoes.
- butter – I prefer using salted butter
- sweeteners – This recipe calls for packed light brown sugar and maple syrup
- spices – the warming flavors come from vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground allspice (pimento)
- water – plain tap just brings it all together.
How to Make Candied Sweet Potatoes
The full recipe is available in the recipe card further down below.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C.
- Use a sharp knife to peel and slice sweet potatoes.
- Arrange the sweet potato slices in a casserole dish.
- Melt butter in a saucepan, then add in the brown sugar, maple syrup, water, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir to combine.
- Pour mixture over potato slices and cover the casserole with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 40-50 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft.
Recipe Tips
- Try to cut the sweet potatoes about the same thickness to help them cook evenly.
- Try to make sure all of the sweet potatoes are covered in the liquid before they start cooking.
- Check to make sure your sweet potatoes are cooked through before removing this dish from the oven. If they are still firm, then continue cooking them.
- If this starts to burn when you’re cooking them uncovered, your dish may be too close to the heating element of your oven.
- This recipe is most tasty when using fresh sweet potatoes, so I don’t recommend using canned sweet potatoes.
- If you’re looking for a varying texture, feel free to toss the smaller ends of the sweet potatoes in the mix to have a few mushier bites with your slightly firmer, thicker bites.
Delicious Variations
The most popular and most scrumptious variation to this dish is adding marshmallows on top.
- Marshmallows Version. Once you’ve baked the Sweet Potatoes, toss your marshmallows on top and place under the broiler for 30 secs – 1 min. It seriously takes no time at all to brown the marshmallows up a bit. If you like a little crunch to your sides, consider adding a handful or two of pecans while baking the dish.
- Cinnamon Sugar Version. Use a cinnamon sugar sprinkle mixture. It complements the spices already used in the recipe well.
- Other flavors. If looking to vary the flavoring even more, try adding some orange zest, rosemary, and sea salt.
Chef’s tip ==> Make sure you’re watching with the oven door open, ready to pull the dish out as soon as marshmallows are done to avoid burning.
Prep Ahead And Storage
Even though this is super simple to make, if you’re anything like me, you may like to meal prep. You can easily prep this recipe the night before if you’re short on time or just want to get a jump start on Sunday Supper.
Related Link : Best Glass Containers For Meal Prep.
Prep ahead – Peel and slice the Sweet Potatoes up to 1 day ahead, as they’ll stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a day if covered. Prep sauce up to two ahead of time and refrigerate. The sauce may thicken up slightly as it cools in the fridge but will thin out while it’s baking. Reheat it slightly on the stove to thin it out a bit before tossing it over the potatoes.
Freeze – Once you’ve finished baking, remove from oven and let them cool. Then transfer to meal prep container or ziploc bag, making sure to press any excess air out before laying flat to freeze. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
FAQs
In the U.S., you’ll often find grocers interchanging the two names. But, you’ll find that Sweet Potatoes and Yams, while similar in appearance, taste different. In fact, most likely the “yams” you’re getting at the market are just Sweet Potatoes.
The copper color skinned ones are often referred to as a Yam or a Sweet Potato Yam. However, they’re usually just a firmer Sweet Potato. The softer Sweet Potatoes are usually yellow inside and have lighter skin.
True Yams are native to Africa and Asia. They grow as a root vegetable to a flowering plant and cook differently than Sweet Potatoes. Yams have brown, bark-like skin and aren’t commonly found in US markets.
You would need to check out a special grocer and they may not taste as sweet in this Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes dish as regular Sweet Potatoes would.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this with any other amazing Southern Sides or festive dishes. Here are a few suggestions:
More Southern Recipes
If you like this Recipe, then you’ll want to check out these other quick, easy and delicious Southern recipes:
- Easy Creole Sauce.
- Best Dang Shrimp Creole.
- Cajun Shrimp.
- Cajun Shrimp Salad.
- Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice.
- Southern Butter Beans.
- Buttermilk Gravy.
- Instant Pot Bourbon Glazed Carrots.
- Salmon Croquettes.
- Smothered Potatoes.
Originally published Feb 2020.
Thank you for reading my Candied Yams recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue to slice, dice, and dream up affordable Air Fryer recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Southern Recipes, and more. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.
Get The Candied Sweet Potatoes Recipe:
Don’t forget to tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram or Twitter if you try Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes! It is really, really awesome for me when you make one of my recipes and I’d love to see it. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thank you for reading Recipes from a Pantry.
Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 lbs (1.81 kg) sweet potatoes
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup (198g) packed light brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground allspice (pimento)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F / 176 C.
- Use a sharp knife to peel and slice sweet potatoes.
- Arrange the sweet potato slices in a casserole dish.
- Melt butter in a saucepan, then add in the brown sugar, maple syrup, water, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir to combine.
- Pour mixture over potato slices and cover the casserole with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 40-50 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- Try to cut the sweet potatoes about the same thickness to help them cook evenly.
- Try to make sure all of the sweet potatoes are covered in the liquid before they start cooking.
- Check to make sure your sweet potatoes are cooked through before removing this dish from the oven. If they are still firm, then continue cooking them.
- If this start to burn when you’re cooking them uncovered, your dish may be too close to the heating element of your oven.
- This recipe is most tasty when using fresh sweet potatoes, so I don’t recommend using canned sweet potatoes.
- If you’re looking for a varying texture, feel free to toss the smaller ends of the sweet potatoes in the mix to have a few mushier bites with your slightly firmer, thicker bites.
Serving Suggestions
- Instant Pot Buttered Cabbage.
- Garlic Butter Sesame Instant Pot Green Beans.
- Parmesan Air Fryer Chicken Tenders.
This was so good and so super easy to make… Sweet potatoes are my all time favorite whenever I need to lose some weight..The recipe is so flavorsome and a great appetizer.. thanks for sharing!
This was so good and so super easy to make… Sweet potatoes are my all time favorite whenever I need to lose some weight.. This recipe is so flavorsome and a great appetizer.. thanks for sharing!
Such a classic, but I specifically like how your version has both brown sugar and maple syrup – and also the lovely combo of cinnamon with nutmeg and also allspice. Yum! And hey – seriously – Candied Asparagus and Candied Cabbage?? I totally did NOT know those were a thing lol! I might just stick with the candied sweet potatoes! 😉
Never tried sweet potatoes with maple syrup. And that tinge of spice surely takes it to the next level .. looks so delish !!
I can’t wait to try this recipe at home, it looks very tasty!
Always such a favorite and classic! I love love love sweet potatoes and this is a great way to enjoy them even more.
Bintu, those candied yams look stellar, I just want to dig in and eat them all.
Super easy to follow and quick. A very delicious meal receipe.
When my husband was in the military, we used to reside in a Northern state and could get yams, however, since his retirement from the military in we moved back to the South and can only find Sweet Potatoes in our area. Not many people know, but there is a big difference in taste and texture. Yams are much harder than the sweet potatoes and require a longer cooking time. I love my candied yams, but your candied sweet potatoes are fantastic, and we enjoyed them so much at Sunday dinner. I will be making them again!!!
These are so good you don’t even need anything else! Just hand me a bowl of them! YUM!
I love seet potatoes and can’t wait to try this!
This is my Auntie’s all-time favourite side dish. Can’t wait to make her your version.
I love how this can almost be a dessert! I’m dying to make this recipe. Sweet potatoes are my thing! Thanks for sharing.