This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Southern Candied Yams bring that feel-good magic to the table. Imagine this: tender, sweet yams bathed in a sweet buttery glaze, with warm hints of cinnamon and vanilla filling the kitchen. I’m telling you, this dish doesn’t just sit on the side, it demands attention.
Why I love candied yams
These yams are all about taking a simple ingredient and making it shine. They bring warmth, sweetness, and a little Southern charm to any meal, reminding us that the sides are just as important as the main.
Ever since I was little, I loved candied yams. I don’t know if it’s my sweet tooth or what but I just can’t get enough of them. I love when they touch the mac and cheese on the plate! Phew, pure bliss I tell ya!
They are pretty simple and easy to make as well. There’s so many ways to make yams but this is one of the best candied yams recipe, trust!
Ingredients for southern candied yams recipe
- Sweet potatoes: The base of this dish, bringing a natural sweetness and soft texture.
- Salted butter: Adds richness and a slight saltiness that balances the sweetness.
- Cinnamon: A warm, comforting spice that’s essential for classic Southern flavors.
- Nutmeg: A pinch goes a long way to add depth to the sweetness.
- Brown sugar: Adds a rich, caramel flavor and helps create that syrupy glaze.
- Granulated sugar: Balances the brown sugar for a perfectly sweet mix.
- Vanilla extract: Enhances the flavors and rounds out the sweetness.
The full written recipe with measurements is below on the recipe card.
How to make southern style candied yams
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into ½-inch pieces, then arrange them in a greased baking dish.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and stir in sugars, spices, and vanilla until smooth.
Pour this mixture over the sweet potatoes, mix them up a little and cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes.
Increase the heat to 425°F, remove the foil, and bake another 15 minutes for a beautiful caramelized finish.
Serve warm and enjoy the cozy goodness!
Recipe Tip
Adding a little squeeze of orange juice will bring out all the flavors. This is optional but something I do from time to time.
Commonly Asked Questions
Yes! Prepare the dish as directed, let it cool, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat in the oven at 350°F until warmed through.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven for best results.
Of course! Just add a pinch of salt to balance the flavors.
Check out more holiday recipes
Please remember to leave a review if you make this recipe. The feedback helps me to become a better cook and develop amazing recipes for you.
Southern Candied Yams
Ingredients
- 3 sweet potatoes, about 1.5lbs
- 5 tbsp salted Butter, see notes
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- ½ c Brown sugar
- ¼ c granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Peel the potatoes, rinse them off and cut them into ½ inch to 1 inch thick circles. Feel free to cut the circles in half as well to fit them into the dish you may be using.
- Grease a small baking dish with butter.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Once melted, reduce the heat to medium low. Add in the sugars, spices and vanilla extract. For the spices, gradually add them and taste the mixture until it’s spiced to your liking. Stir to combine for about 3 minutes.
- Pour the mixture evenly over the sweet potatoes and cover with foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. After the 45 minutes, remove the foil and mix around the potatoes a bit. Turn up the heat on the oven to 425 and let bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.
- Take out the oven, let cool, serve with your favorite main and other sides. Enjoy!
Video
@theres.food.at.home Ep 5 Candied Yams! The full recipe is on the blog as always. #thanksgivingrecipes #sides #foodtiktok ♬ Heart Of A Woman – Summer Walker
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Who needs dessert with this on the plate! Thanks for sharing this is a staple in American dishes. I would love to see some of the variations. Smashed sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows and nuts.
ooo I love those variations!
okay Im a huge fan of yams. Very important dish for the holidays. I was on yams duty & this dish was sooooo easy to make & guests loved it! I definitely looked like a natural cook with this dish!
Thank you =) I’m glad it was a hit!
I doubled the recipe and when I tell you this was the easiest recipe with the BEST results! The sweet potatoes were fall of the bone tender and I was able to customize the sauce to my specific liking. I have tried to Mac candied yams before and this is by far the best one I’ve ever made.
Thank you!! I’m so happy this came out perfect for you.
Turned out so good! Will definitely be making again!
=) I’m so happy!
Easy yams made …very good thank u. Now for the old fashion corn bread stuffing
Thank you Delores =)
Can you premake these?
Yes
Loveee this recipe! So easy to follow & really delicious! A new favorite in my family
Thank you!
I’ve always made sweet potatoes for holiday gatherings but over the years lost my recipe and never quite got it right since. Then, I found this recipe and it’s absolutely delicious! It’s not overly sweet like some other recipes. Perfectly balanced! I doubled the recipe so we would have some leftovers. I highly recommend keeping this recipe in your recipe box to use all the time! Thank you so much!!
I’m so glad Sara!
My husband made Candied Yams for the first time in life this Thanksgiving and this receipt did not fail us! It was simple, easy to follow & delicious. Having the how to video accessible was the perfect pairing! If you want actual southern receipts, look no further. Thanks girl!
This was a huge hit in my house and my first time making it myself. Normally a family member cooks yams but thought I’d try. It was absolutely delicious and will make it again.
Thank you! I’m happy it was a hit.
The best yams recipe! I was nervous about making yams for the first time but they came out great! The sugar content is just right so don’t bother adding any extra unless you like it extremely sweet! I’m
Thank you Shaylah!
I love the way you make your candied yams I don’t know what I am doing wrong I think I am cooking them to long
Hi Dorothy,
Do you mean they are coming out wrong when following this recipe?
These were so awesome, my husband loves sweet potatoes and this was such a delicious treat. Thank you!!!
Thank you Margie for trusting my recipe =)
I made the candied yams and they were soooo delicious. Recipe was very easy to follow. Loved it!
Thank you! Enjoy!
Hi, can this be prepared on the stove , instead of baking it?
I would suggest to look up a stovetop candied yams/sweet potato recipe. I developed this recipe specifically to be baked candied yams so I can not advise how to make this on the stove.
Followed step by step and it was delicious. Thank you. It doesn’t have to be a holiday to enjoy yams.
Thank you!
This was a wonderful recipe, I’m serving with smothered pork chops
Thank you!
Here I am mid august and I made it because I had the taste for some candied yams.
So delicious 🤤
Thank you!
OH! MY! WORD! Best candied yas ever!! No fuss, no miss!! I fixed pork medallions with apples, bacon and red onions; these potatoes were a perfect side to go with squash and onions! Thank you thank you thank you!!
Thank you Millie!!
The thing I don’t understand is a yam and a sweet potato or two completely different plants.
Yes, it is a sweet potato, however we refer to it as candied yams in my community. There are many articles online that explain how this came to be =).
Question: Has anyone made this dish the day before and reheated the next day? If so, do you have any suggestions on rewarming? Thank you for any replies.
Hi Craig. I like to re-heat the candied yams in the microwave for a minute or until warmed through or in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.
I live this recipe young lady. My favorite. Im 71 & have tried a bunch. Proud of you for cooking homemade things! Keep it up!
Thank you Linda =)
Can I slice the yams and pour the glaze over and bake later?
Yes, you can. The glaze will probably solidify a bit, but will melt once baked. You might have to just bake a little longer but it should be fine. =)
I love the yam recipe very good easy to make and I love that it don’t have a lot of ingredients , love it.
I’m going to try the recipe this year. I can’t wait!. You’re going to make me look like I can cook!
I’m using your recipe this year for Thanksgiving.
This recipe is just like the one my Mom used to prepare, unfortunately we didn’t get the recipe from her before she passed away. This is my favorite way to have sweet potatoes, my grand-father and father used to grow yams many years ago!
Bless your heart for providing these instructions!
Andre Beaugh
Morgan City, Louisiana
Thank you Andre!
I never really rate or comment, but these really were the best candied yams I have ever had. I did add marshmallows on top. Delicious! You did well with this recipe.
I missed the lesson on making candied yams the old school way! This recipe was easy and the best by far of the many I have tried. As Thanksgiving is approaching my family wanted to make sure I was using this recipe again! Thank You for the Candied Yam Breakthrough!!! Tasty, Tasty!!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Im excited to use this recipe for thanksgiving, I would like to add a layer of marshmallows on top but ive never done so. Is that okay? Any tips on how to do so?
I would add the marshmallows during the last 5-10 minutes of baking and leave it uncovered =).
Hi! Can’t wait to make this tomorrow for thanksgiving. Wondering, can I precut them a day before and cook the next morning? Do I have to put them in water overnight?
Hi, yes you can precut the sweet potatoes and submerge them in water in a container. Drain when ready to use and pat dry.
Made them 2 days in advance perfect taste and texture thank you
Does the syrup solidify into an actual syrup as it cools? Mine is very liquidy? 😣
Did you follow the recipe exactly and use a small enough baking dish? I’ve never had it come out with too much liquid or had anyone say this. During the last 15 minutes when it’s cooked uncovered, the liquid should thicken a bit, you can alway bake it a little longer and keep basting the sweet potatoes. It won’t be a super thick syrup, more like pure vermont maple syrup not an artificial syrup. If you seem to have too much liquid, you can always spoon some of it out as well.
Made these today to save my oven space tomorrow. Had to taste as they smelled so good, and the smell didn’t lie! Can’t wait for guests to taste this dish. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Thanks for the review =)
I plan on tripling the recipe, does the temperature or time cooked change at all?
The temperature should remain the same, add maybe 10 minutes to the cook time when the sweet potatoes are covered. Otherwise, you can check when finished and always stick it back in the oven for a bit.
A winner!!! I normally just add all ingredients. Making the sauce in advance and pouting it over added more flavor!!! I also added a little lemon peel. Yum yum a big hit. Thank you!
Thank you!
What’s the best way to adjust the recipe for canned yams?
I did not develop this recipe with canned yams in mind or tested it that way so I am not 100% sure how it would come out. With that being said, I would drain the canned yams and then just follow the recipe the same way.
I just made this for Thanksgiving and it was fabulous.
I’m not a cook or chef and I struggle but I was able to follow along and not mess it up.
I always ask my husband if I should make the respce agagin and this was the first one where he said “YES”!
Thank you.
The best candied yams I have made. The family loved them! Took to friends house and I was asked for the recipe. Thank you!
Made this recipe for thanksgiving dinner and about half my family do not like sweet potatoes but everyone even the harshest critic loved them and ate them. Suffice it to say this is my new go to recipe!
Amazing and easy
Please read entire recipe before prepping! I read everything but the last bit of instructions and supper wasn’t ready when I thought it should’ve been. It was my fault!
This side turned out AMAZING! Thank you
So glad it turned out amazing for you =)
I made these the night before Thanksgiving and reheated them at 350 on Thanksgiving day. They were delicious! I will definitely be making these again!
Thank you Tamara!
Hi August, I thought I saw your recipe that used Demerara sugar and dark brown sugar. Is that right? Did you make another version with the two dark sugars? Thanks. I love dark sugars. Virginia
I don’t recall using two dark sugars but if that’s what you prefer, I’m sure it will still turn out great!
Absolutely the best recipe I’ve ever found for candied yams.
Loved the recipe. My husband loved it too. The aroma has my home smelling delicious. It was easy to make. I have new dish to take to family gatherings! Thank you for posting.
I have always loved yams 🍠 every since I was a little child 🧒🏽 when my grandmother was making them for us
I cooked this recipe for Christmas dinner. My family and I love it!! I’m still finishing the leftovers! Thank you for this recipe! 😊
Recipe is good but HIGHLY RECOMMEND parboiling the potatoes. Mine came out hard the first time. I needed to double the time to get them close to done.
Made these for Christmas ’25 and they were soooo yummy. Super easy to make and actually tasted even better the next day. I guess those spices had to marinate 🙂
Why do people call cooked sweet potatoes, yams? They are not the same vegetable?
There’s plenty of articles on google that explain why, I would suggest to search there.
Can we use yams from the can? 🤞🏻
You can but it would change the cook time. I haven’t tested this recipe with canned yams.
10/10
Easy recipe and delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Yes ma’am, this recipe is a winner!! I’ve been trying to make consistent candied yams and this has done it. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe that I will follow over and over! I’ve got plenty of time before Thanksgiving rolls around again and I’ll definitely use this one!!!