Candied Yams

By Millie Peartree

Total Time: 1¼ hours
Rating: 4(383)
Notes: Read community notes

Sweet enough for dessert but savory enough for a side, candied yams are a quintessential Southern staple for Sunday dinner, get-togethers or holidays. Many supermarkets use the terms “sweet potatoes” and “yams” interchangeably. For this recipe, any orange-fleshed varieties like Jewel or Garnet will do. Whatever you use, this dish will definitely round out anything savory on your plate, on Thanksgiving and beyond.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

6medium yams (3 to 5 pounds)
½cup salted butter (1 stick)
½cup granulated sugar
½packed cup dark or light brown sugar
¼cup maple syrup
1large orange, zested
1teaspoon ground cinnamon
½teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛teaspoon kosher salt
1tablespoon vanilla extract (not imitation)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and peel the yams, then cut into ½-inch pieces. Transfer the yams to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Step 2
In a medium pot over medium heat, cook the butter until it starts to bubble, about 2 minutes.
Step 3
Once the butter is melted, add both sugars along with the maple syrup, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Turn off the heat and remove the pot from burner. Stir to combine, then add the vanilla extract. Pour the sugar-butter mixture over the yams, and toss to coat.
Step 4
Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, and using a spoon, baste the yams with the sugar-butter mixture collecting at the bottom of the baking dish. Cover again and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until tender. If desired, remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes to thicken the syrup. Remove the yams from the oven and serve hot.

Ratings

4 out of 5

383 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Renee3 years ago

So are we to use the orange sweet potatoes that are called "yams" in parts of the South, or are we to use actual yams, which are a different plant, in this recipe?

Alan3 years ago

If pressed for time, can I do steps 1-3 the night before and refrigerate overnight?

Annelise3 years ago

Took one for the team and tested out if you can prep these (make through Step 3) a day in advance then bake. Findings: yes, you can prep these the day before and leave in the fridge over night and bake the next day. Would recommend leaving out for one hour prior to baking (starting at Step 4). Other finding: I used sweet potatoes instead of yams and had trouble cooking the potatoes through. Still turned out ok and had good flavor but definitely impacted the texture. Happy Holidays!

David Las Vegas3 years ago

Hi Anthony--the recipe makes 6 to 8 servings. For 4, 1/2 the recipe, use 2 to 2/12 pounds of yams (3 medium). Bake in an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan. Half of our family likes marshmallows so 1/2 of it gets topped with marshmallows and run under the broiler. Easy.

Martha Cee3 years ago

I made this by cutting the recipe in half since I am the only one in my family who adores candied yams. Although this is not the same as the yams of my youth (marshmellows anyone?!) I prefer this recipe since they are not covered in carmelized goo (marshmellows). I also made the alteration of cutting the yams in coins with a mandoline, making uniform coins that were a lovely presentation.

KLAU4 months ago

Made half the recipe using some leftover purple sweet potatoes. They were on the smaller/skinnier side so they cooked in 1 hour. Cut all sugars by half and it was plenty sweet. Would make this again!

b7 months ago

Too sweet! Try cutting the sugar in half

Emily Z8 months ago

Sooooooo good. I used garnet sweet potatoes so it took about 10-15 minutes longer in the oven. I also omitted the orange and added pecans. I’m ditching my old candied yams recipe and will be making this one from now on!

Lauren8 months ago

Don’t sleep on this recipe! The sugar combination is perfect and the orange zest brings great brightness. I borrowed the cooking method from another recipe and think it pushes this over the top. Steam the yams/sweet potatoes first, then add the sugar mixture. You can keep the potatoes in chunks or mash to your desired preference. Will be adding pecans and a bit of marshmallows, too!

Sophia Lyons1 year ago

left out the granulated sugar, added the orange juice while the syrup was simmering, pre cooked the sweet potatoes. loved it! very citrusy, which i really liked

Mia1 year ago

Only used the maple syrup because I find yams as sweet as it is! They came out both mushy and burnt :) Back to my old recipe!

Gabrielle1 year ago

I made this for Thanksgiving this year and it turned out great! However, cook time for the yams took much longer than the recipe states. To get them all nice and soft, I foiled the top of the dish and stirred every 15 minutes. It could probably stand less orange zest in my opinion, as I used zest from 1 large orange and it was almost overpowering.

Beth S1 year ago

I made these with jewel sweet potatoes, not yams, and actually had the opposite issue as another commenter: they cooked faster than was directed. No problem, I just tested a fork as they cooked.

L. Covington1 year ago

Not bad for candied yams. The yams were kind of mushy, which I don't love, but the flavor was nice.

DM831 year ago

Incredibly delicious! Probably still delicious with 1/3 or even 1/4 of the sugar...but zero regrets.

Jen2 years ago

bake uncovered so yams stick together.

tlkoltz2 years ago

Made them as directed but took much longer to cook than recipe indicated. Also the “sauce” never really thickened for me so I added some corn starch at the very end. Really thickened the sauce into a glaze. Orange was a bit strong. Maybe I zested too much. Otherwise very nice.

Janice2 years ago

Made as written for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit. I did lower the temperature to 350. No burning and not overcooked. Definitely making it again.

Leek2 years ago

Tasty but tooth-achingly sweet. Next time I will cut back on both sugar and butter.

Brian2 years ago

Made this today and when I went for the maple syrup in the back of the cabinet…it was the neck of a Grand Marinier bottle!! BUT… in it went as a substitute and it was excellent!!

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