This candied yams recipe is a must-have holiday side dish the whole family loves!
Sliced yams are cooked in a butter and brown sugar glaze until they are caramelized and irresistably delish. And with a sprinkling of pumpkin spice these are brought to a whole new level of flavor!
With simple ingredients and simple steps, these yams are the perfect fall side dish.
A Sweet and Savory Side Dish!
- Candy yams are a Southern staple side dish.
- So easy to make! Just slice, mix, and simmer on the stovetop!
Ingredients and Variations
Yams – Select fresh, firm yams without any tears or bruises on the skin. Garnet yams will have bright orange flesh making a beautiful presentation. Peel and slice them before adding them to this dish. Canned yams can be used but should be drained, patted dry, and sliced, if necessary.
Glaze – Lots of melty butter, brown sugar, and warm spices caramelize each yam slice perfectly. Try making homemade pumpkin pie spice with ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves.
Variations – Add a shot of vanilla extract or orange zest for more flavor! Swap the dark brown sugar with maple syrup. Top candied yams with toasted walnuts or candied pecans, bacon bits, mini marshmallows, or homemade marshmallow fluff. Chopped fresh or dried cranberries to the mixture will add a colorfully festive touch!
How to Make Candied Yams
Making candied sweet potatoes is so easy!
- Melt butter in a skillet and add sliced yams (as per the recipe below). Toss to combine.
- Add brown sugar, lower heat, and cover. Gently stir every 15 minutes for an hour.
- Taste and season candied yams with salt, if necessary.
IN THE OVEN:
- Prepare yams as directed in the recipe and place them in a 9×9 baking dish.
- Melt butter, brown sugar, and spices in a saucepan.
- Pour over sliced yams and mix.
- Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 40 minutes. Remove foil and stir candied yams.
- Bake another 20-25 minutes until fork-tender.
How to Serve Candied Yams
Serve candied yams as the perfect complement to a full Thanksgiving dinner, some simple turkey breasts, a holiday ham, pork chops, or even an everyday meatloaf.
Storing Leftovers
Keep leftover candied yams in a covered container for up to 5 days. For best results, reheat in the microwave, stirring halfway through to loosen the glaze. Freeze cooled portions in zippered bags indefinitely. Add leftovers to roasted vegetables or a sweet potato mash, or make them into hashbrowns.
More Holiday Side Dishes
Did you enjoy this Candied Yams recipe? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Candied Yams
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 6 yams peeled and sliced ⅓" thick (approx 3 ½ pounds)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large high-sided skillet, add butter and set over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted add the yams and toss to combine.
- Add the brown sugar and spices to the skillet. Stir to combine.
- When the sugar is melted, lower the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- As the yams cook they will start to soften, so be careful when stirring that you don’t break up the yams.
- When the yams are fully cooked and the sauce is thick, add kosher salt to taste.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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I will be making this for Thanksgiving. I love the fact that the potatoes are not precooked. What a time saver. Also, thank you for including the weight of the potatoes. I hate when a recipe says, 6 potatoes, a head of cabbage or a head of cauliflower. These amounts are so arbitrary since the sizes are all over the place. I will review the recipe after the holidays.
I hope you love the yams Charlotte!
Hi can you use red wine vinegar for red wine recippe
This recipe does not call for red wine Marica. Did you mean another recipe?
Hi, I have been doing my candied yams like this for years.My mother-in-law showed me how years ago. The only difference that I do is that I par boil the potatoes first when done set them aside make sauce in my cast iron fry pan then add potatoes. Doesn’t take as long to cook. Great recipe.
That is a great tip, thanks Kate!