Soul Food Candied Yams (Printable)

Sweet potatoes glazed with rich brown sugar syrup and warm spices for a Southern style side.

# Components:

→ Vegetables

01 - 4 large yams or sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

→ Syrup & Sweeteners

02 - 1 cup packed light brown sugar
03 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
04 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
05 - 1/4 cup water
06 - 1/4 cup fresh orange juice

→ Spices

07 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
08 - 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
09 - 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
10 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
11 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

# Steps:

01 - Set oven to 350°F and allow 10 minutes for preheating.
02 - Layer sliced yams in a single even layer within a 9x13-inch baking dish.
03 - Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, water, and orange juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until butter melts and sugar dissolves, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.
04 - Remove saucepan from heat and incorporate cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir thoroughly to distribute spices evenly.
05 - Pour hot syrup evenly over yams, ensuring complete coverage of all slices.
06 - Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
07 - Remove foil, baste yams with accumulated syrup, and continue baking uncovered for 20 minutes until yams are tender and syrup achieves a thick, glossy consistency.
08 - Allow dish to cool for 10 minutes before serving to permit syrup to thicken further.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The butter and brown sugar melt into a glossy syrup that caramelizes right on the yams, creating a texture that's neither mushy nor crisp but somehow perfectly in between.
  • Those warm spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger—make your kitchen smell like comfort without any of the pretense.
  • It's genuinely foolproof, which means you can make it when you're tired or distracted and still have something impressive on the table.
02 -
  • I learned the hard way that pouring cold syrup over hot yams can make them cook unevenly, so keep that syrup hot and pour it right from the pan.
  • If your yams are releasing a lot of liquid by the 30-minute mark, that's actually fine—it means they're cooking perfectly and will eventually reduce into an even thicker syrup.
03 -
  • Slice your yams uniform thickness by using a mandoline slicer—it seems fussy but ensures they cook at exactly the same rate, which means no raw pieces and no mushy pieces.
  • If you can't find true yams, sweet potatoes work beautifully and are actually what most people use despite what they call them—don't stress about the distinction.
Go Back