Candied Yams
Ingredients
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- 3 pounds sweet potatoes – peeled and sliced into 0.5-inch rounds (~10.5 medium sweet potatos)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter – cut into pieces
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Arrange the sliced sweet potatoes in the dish in slightly overlapping layers.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking until the sugar dissolves, 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the sweet potatoes and toss or turn gently to coat. Cover the dish tightly with foil.
5. Bake covered for 30 minutes, until the potatoes begin to soften.
6. Uncover, baste the potatoes with the syrup, and continue baking 25–35 minutes, basting once or twice, until the potatoes are tender when pierced and the syrup is thick and glossy.
7. For deeper caramelization, broil 1–2 minutes, watching closely. Let stand 10 minutes so the syrup thickens, then spoon syrup over the potatoes before serving.
Candied yams are tender rounds of sweet potato baked in a buttery, caramel-like syrup infused with warm spices. The potatoes soften to a custardy center while the edges glaze and shine, creating a rich, spoonable side with cinnamon and nutmeg aromas. It’s deeply comforting and unabashedly sweet, a crowd-pleaser that pairs especially well with roasted meats and holiday spreads.
Despite the name, most American “yams” are actually orange-fleshed sweet potatoes; true yams are a different tuber. The dish grew to prominence in the American South, particularly within African American home cooking and soul food traditions, where sweet potatoes have long been a staple. Over the 20th century, baked candied versions became a holiday fixture, distinct from marshmallow-topped sweet potato casseroles and valued for their glossy, syrupy finish.