Old Fashioned Candied Yams

candied sweet potatoes that are tender and fully baked with a buttery syrup in their baking dish

4.58 from 241 votes

These old fashioned Southern candied yams are my Grandma Reid's recipe: sweet potatoes baked until they're fork tender and wrapped in a glossy, buttery brown sugar syrup with vanilla and warm spices, just the way she made them every Thanksgiving.

Prep Time15

Cook Time55

Cooling Time5

Total Time1 15

Course: Thanksgiving

Cuisine: African American

Servings: servings

Calories: 294kcal

Author: Eden Westbrook

Equipment

9x13 baking dish
Vegetable Peeler for potatoes

Ingredients

6 medium sized sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
8 tablespoon butter melted
1 cup brown sugar packed, light or dark works
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375ºF (190ºC).
In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and kosher salt well.
8 tbsp butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp kosher salt
Use your clean hands or a large spoon to mix the butter-sugar mixture and sweet potatoes in a baking dish or casserole dish. Make sure each sweet potato chunk is well coated in the mixture and the potatoes are laying in an even layer. It's okay if it's not in one layer, but we don't want a big pile or else
6 medium sized sweet potatoes
Bake the candied yams in the preheated oven for 55 minutes, uncovered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, the sugar and potatoes have caramelized, and there is that buttery syrup in the baking dish.
Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving, sugar burns aren't fun!

Notes

Less sweet: Cut the brown sugar to ½ cup (107 grams).
Make ahead: Bake a day ahead, cool, cover, and refrigerate. Or peel and chop the sweet potatoes up to 2 days ahead, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge, and coat and bake them on the day.
Storage: Cool to room temperature, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat: Cover with foil and warm at 325°F (165°C) for about 15 minutes, until warmed through and the syrup has melted again. A single serving can go in the microwave until warmed through.

Nutrition