Candied Yams
Candied Yams are a classic side dish that is always welcomed during the holidays. These sweet potatoes/yams are seasoned with butter, spices, and sugar for a sticky, delicious coating.
We love candied yams with our Thanksgiving dinner. We love to serve it with Air Fryer Turkey Breast, Green Bean Casserole, Sausage Stuffing and Mom’s Dinner Rolls to make it a complete meal.
Candied Yams are a sweet yam dish that melt in your mouth with tender yams mixed with all the flavor from the seasoned sauce.
This is more of a sweet than savory dish. And is rich in flavor, tender, and oh so delicious.
When it comes to a classic side dish for holiday meals, this is it.
We love candied yams in our family! They are so simple to make and add so much flavor to our meals with this simple side dish.
Making these yams are easy and effortless. Only a few steps to make your holiday table complete. This is even a great recipe to double or triple if you want extras! And it can be frozen ahead of time.
My sauce contains butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger, orange juice and brown sugar. You can’t go wrong with this sweet and savory sauce that will turn these yams into the perfect taste and texture you are looking for. They are like eating candy… hence the name!
How to make candied yams?
- Place the peeled and cut sweet potatoes in a large stock pot or dutch oven and cover with a couple inches of cold water.
- Bring to a boil and add 1 tsp salt.
- Boil for 5-10 minutes, or until you can pierce with a fork, but they aren’t fully cooked or mushy.
- Drain and set aside.
- In a sauté pan, add butter, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger, as well as orange juice, brown sugar, and vanilla extract, and bring to a boil on high heat.
- Once boiling, stir well, then add the sweet potatoes, stirring to coat with the sauce.
- Continue to boil until the sauce reduces to a thick, syrup consistency (about 10 minutes) Serve hot.
What is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?
Ok there is a lot of controversy over what a sweet potato is versus a yam, and which is used in these recipes. Yams are considered a type of sweet potato.
What you need to know for this recipe is you want the root vegetable that is orange on the inside and a dark orange or ruby color on the outside. The brown outside and white inside is NOT what you want.
So while this recipe is usually called candied yams, the vegetable used is more commonly referred to as a sweet potato. And you do not want to confuse it as the “Yams” with the white inside are often dry and starchier and this is not a great recipe to use them for.
Sweet Potatoes are lower in calories and higher in vitamin C compared to yams. Yams have slightly more potassium and manganese in them.
They both have the same amount of vitamin B.
So either way they are going to be good for you, but use the orange ones if you want this delicious dish.
Can you substitute sweet potatoes for yams?
As we already established, when it comes to this dish, the term is often used interchangeably.
What you want to use are the orange flesh colored sweet potatoes, often called ruby or garnet yams or ruby or garnet sweet potatoes.
Can you make candied yams from a can?
Fresh is best.
I am a big proponent of using fresh sweet potatoes, but if you are in a rush or don’t have yams available to you, canned works.
If using canned yams for candied yams:
- Drain the canned yams
- Skip peeling and cutting, as it is already done.
- Adjust baking time as needed (canned yams are often fairly tender and don’t require as much baking time).
Do you need to peel yams?
Technically no. However, I prefer to peel my yams but you do not have to peel them if you prefer the outside apart of the yam.
The skin is edible and will be softened in the process.
However, for candied yams, you get a nice caramelized exterior and pillowy soft interior, and that is best without the peel! So peel those babies. It is not too hard and makes a big difference.
Baked candied yams
You COULD make these in the oven, and still get that nice caramelized exterior. The stove top recipe is faster, but requires more hands on time. If you want to bake the yams, do the following:
Here is how to bake candied yams:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
- Peel and cut yams.
- Mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, ground clove, ground ginger and salt. Cover the yams with sugar mixture and stir.
- Bake until done.
Southern candied yams
Southern candied yams are often made stove top. Here is how:
- Peel and cut yams.
- Melt the butter in a skillet and add the yams.
- Mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, ground clove, ground ginger and salt.
- Cover the yams with sugar mixture and stir.
- Cover skillet.
- Reduce heat to low and cook for about 1 hour or until yams are “candied”.
Can you freeze candied yams?
I am not sure about your family but ours would not have any candied yams leftover to freeze.
However, if you do, candied yams are best eaten the same day but you can freeze what is left of your yams and place in the freezer up to 6 months.
Sometimes they will lose some structural integrity in the freezer, and be a little mushy. But honestly, I have made them ahead several times without a problem. I simply toss them in a skillet to reheat.
How long do candied yams last?
Place in an airtight container and refrigerate up to a week.
Reheat on a stove top, microwave or in the oven.
Can I add marshmallows?
We love marshmallows on top of our candied yams. But this does not work as well for stove top yams.
If you choose to bake the yams, after baking the candied yams, add a thin layer of marshmallows over top the yams and sauce.
Broil for 4 to 5 minutes, watching it closely so it does not burn.
Make it a Complete Meal:
- Thanksgiving Turkey
- Mashed Potatoes or Smashed Potatoes
- Green Bean Casserole
- Broccoli Salad
- Sausage Stuffing
- Cranberry Sauce
Check out these sweet potato recipes that I have that are similar to candied yams:
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
- Scallop Sweet Potatoes with Maple Butter
- Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges
Candied Yams
Ingredients
- 4 pounds ruby sweet potatoes (yams) Ruby or garnet yams, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 8 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 ½ cups orange juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract not imitation
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Place the peeled and cut sweet potatoes in a large stock pot or dutch oven and cover with a couple inches of cold water.
- Bring to a boil and add 1 tsp salt.
- Boil for 5-10 minutes, or until you can pierce with a fork, but they aren’t fully cooked or mushy.
- Drain and set aside.
- In a saute pan, add butter, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger, as well as orange juice, brown sugar, and vanilla extract, and bring to a boil on high heat.
- Once boiling, stir well, then add the sweet potatoes, stirring to coat with the sauce.
- Continue to boil until the sauce reduces to a thick, syrup consistency (about 10 minutes)
- Serve hot.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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Toni says
My kids really loved it! So good!
Trang says
I know this is a Thanksgiving dish but this is such a great idea to get picky kids to eat their veggies!
Valerie says
My husband would really enjoy these. His mother used to make them for the holidays and they were one of his favorite things.
Sara says
These are my kind of yams! I love that they aren’t too sweet and there’s no marshmallows.
Kristyn says
Wow, these are soft & so tasty! Love all the different flavors. They go so well together!
wilhelmina says
I love the simplicity of these candied yams! The flavor of the yams isn’t buried away under marshmallow goo!
Jessica Burgess says
Candied yams are my FAVE and this recipe was so easy, thank you!
Trang says
I’ve never made this classic dish with orange juice until now and that ingredient totally puts some needed acid but still sweetness to the dish. Love!