These Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes are covered in delicious syrupy goodness and will melt in your mouth with each and every bite. It’s the perfect side dish for every table.
You’ll find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Be sure to check out the blog post itself for extra tips and tricks!
One of my favorite Southern Sides is a small side of candied yams. It’s something I always grab a small spoonful of to go along with the savory goodness of collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and crispy fried chicken.
Now there’s a difference between a sweet potato and a yam. However, yams are hard to come by in my neighborhood, so I usually just grab a few sweet potatoes to make this classic side dish.
You know what I love about this Southern dish? It barely needs any ingredients, and there’s no need to go wild with spices. Honestly, the magic is all in that sweet, buttery syrup poured all over the sweet potato slices. I also added some orange juice to brighten it up.
It’s so simple, but it makes the potatoes taste amazing! I bake mine, so they turn out super tender with just a little bit of bite left. But if your oven is busy, these stovetop candied sweet potatoes are just as good.
♡ Tanya
Ingredients Needed
Ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions are on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Sweet Potatoes - 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about ½ inch thick, and a little salt.
- Syrup Base - unsalted butter, brown sugar, granulated white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange juice.
How to make Candied Sweet Potatoes
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grab 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs) and wash, peel, and cut them into ½-inch-thick slices. Then lay them flat in a 13x9 casserole dish. Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with salt. Set aside.
Step 2: In a heavy-duty saucepan, melt your butter over medium-low heat. Add the sugars, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the orange juice. This slight hint of citrus adds a lovely brightness to the dish.
Pour the butter mixture over the sweet potatoes, making sure each one is covered.
Cover tightly with foil and place in your preheated oven.
Step 3: Bake for 30 minutes with the foil on. After 30 minutes, remove the dish from the oven, remove the foil, and stir the sweet potatoes. Place back in the oven and bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender. I usually poke a few pieces with a fork to ensure they are tender to my liking.
Remove from the oven and allow the sweet potatoes to cool a bit. It’ll give the syrup a little time to thicken.
What to serve Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes with?
You can’t go wrong with these Southern staples:
- Fried Chicken (Air Fryer Method)
- Collard Greens (Pressure Cooker Method)
- Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
- Buttered Cabbage (Pressure Cooker Method)
- Corn Souffle
or - Vanilla Ice Cream
How to store
To store candied sweet potatoes, first, allow them to cool completely after cooking. Then transfer the cooled sweet potatoes to an airtight container or cover the baking dish with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for up to 3-5 days.
If you want to store them longer, you can freeze them by placing them in a freezer-safe airtight container or wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
To serve, thaw the frozen sweet potatoes overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat according to the instructions below.
To prepare this dish ahead of time
You can prepare candied sweet potatoes ahead of time for convenience. Cook them slightly underdone, cool them, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes and reheat at 350°F (175°C) for 20-30 minutes.
Tanya's Top Tips:
- You’ll absolutely want to make sure that every single potato is covered in that butter-sugar mixture. If not, it may result in some sweet potatoes being very tender and others less so. That would be the worst.
- I don’t add marshmallows to this recipe as I feel it’s sweet enough as is.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you love sweet potatoes, get your bake on and make this sweet potato pie or this sweet potato casserole.
Watch this video tutorial and see how I make these sweet potatoes from start to finish.
The Best Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Lay Sweet Potatoes flat in a 13x9 casserole dish. Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with salt. Set aside.
- Melt your butter over medium-low heat in a heavy-duty saucepan. Add sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and stir until your butter has melted and your sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add the orange juice.
- Pour the butter mixture over the sweet potatoes, making sure every single sweet potato is covered with the butter. Cover tightly with foil and place in your preheated oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the foil on. After 30 minutes, remove the dish from the oven, remove foil and stir the sweet potatoes. Place back in the oven and bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender.
- Remove from the oven and allow the sweet potatoes to cool a bit. Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!This post was originally published on October 3, 2019. It has been updated with additional helpful tips.
Lindiwé says
I made a few substitutions, Tanya. This dish was a last-minute addition to my independence day menu here in West Africa. I didn't have brown sugar on hand. I used organic honey from the local market. Oranges were out of season. I used limes (to die for!) I also added cinnamon, which I had to grate since I had the dried bark from the cinnamon tree in my back yard 😂 Lastly, for the zinger.... Some freshly grated ginger. Don't you just hate me 😁😁😁
Tanya says
Lol, I love your substitutions. I bet it was amazing! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Nicole says
This will be my first time making sweet potatoes myself! I'm looking forward to trying this recipe. I had a question though, I have heard that it makes peel and cutting the sweet potatoes easier if they are boiled first, do you recommend that?
Tanya says
Hi Nicole, I wouldn't boil it first, only due to the fact that it'll be easier to overcook it that way. One of the pros from cooking the sweet potatoes from scratch is so they don't overcook in the oven and the syrup has a chance to develop. If you choose to boil it, you would need to lower the amount of time it cooks in the oven.
Paula says
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! This year was the first time I had to prepare a full Thanksgiving meal by myself. I took a plate to my mom and she raved about these sweet potatoes! Will be preparing this every year (or maybe every few months-lol!) from now on! Simply delicious!
Pam says
So glad I found your recipe!! It was my favorite dish on my Thanksgiving table. It will be in my table again next year!
Linda Keymetian says
This was so good - my family loved it - a definite keeper
Al says
These were amazing and well liked by everyone. I found myself without nutmeg so I used some allspice and some clove. Amazing. I never thought I liked candied sweet potatoes until now. Many thanks!
Tanya says
Thank you Al! Love your flavor subs too. So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Joe says
I made this today for the family. Boy, was it good. Will be making them for every holiday. Thank you.
Tanya says
Thank you Joe! So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Toni says
Can these be made a day ahead of time?
Tanya says
Hi Toni, You could bake them and reheat them but I prefer to make it the day I'm serving it for the Holidays. If you want to partially prep the ingredients, you could slice the potatoes the day before.
Tonya says
This recipe is great! I am making it for the third time tonight to go with a baked ham. My familynloves it! Thank you for sharing, Tanya!
Tanya says
So glad you like it! Love your name too 🙂
Tanya says
Tanya, not only are you my namesake but your recipe is accurate and delicious. I have been searching for years for a recipe for candied sweet potatoes that are not runny and have a great flavor. You have done it! I just made these to go with fried fish, collard greens and corn bread and they are perfect. This will now be my "go to" recipe for candied sweet potatoes. Thank you very much for sharing Tanya. Stay well!
Tanya says
Thank you Tanya! So glad you liked the recipe and your meal sounds delicious!!! That's my kind of plate.
Tamora Williams says
Hello all, I made this recipe yesterday 05/25/20 for the holiday and everyone loved it! It was my first time baking the sweet potatoes from now on this will be the only way I make them. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tanya says
Thank you so much Tamora! So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Mell says
This recipe is super simple and yields the best candied sweet potatoes/yams I’ve ever had. THANK YOU!!
Tanya says
Thank you Mell! So glad you liked them 🙂
Ayra @ butterandthings.com says
Really delicious recipe!
Tanya says
Thank you! So glad you liked it ?
Saundra Johnson says
I made these potatoes on Sunday and they turned out great!
Tanya says
Awesome, so glad you liked them. They're a favorite in our house.
Monica says
These are amazing! I made them on Thanksgiving and am making them for Christmas
Tanya says
Awesome! So glad you liked them and Merry Christmas! 🙂
Annie Gibson says
Annie,
I made the sweet potatoes and they were great. This is one recipe I will used a lots. My family loved the new recipe. Thank for sharing.