Soul Food Candied Yams (Printable Version)

Sweet potatoes baked in a buttery brown sugar syrup with cinnamon and nutmeg, perfect for Southern meals.

# What You Need:

→ 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 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

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F.
02 - Arrange sliced yams in a single, even layer in a large 9x13-inch baking dish.
03 - In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, water, and orange juice. Stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves, approximately 3-4 minutes.
04 - Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and vanilla extract.
05 - Pour hot syrup evenly over yams, ensuring all slices are thoroughly coated.
06 - Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
07 - Remove foil, baste yams with syrup, and continue baking uncovered for 20 minutes until yams are tender and syrup becomes thick and glossy.
08 - Let cool for 10 minutes before serving to allow syrup to thicken further.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The syrup becomes thick and glossy in the oven, coating each yam slice like edible caramel.
  • It's hands-off cooking once everything goes in the dish, leaving you time to handle other dishes.
  • Nobody can tell this is naturally vegetarian and gluten-free until you mention it.
02 -
  • Don't skip the resting time—rushing to serve means runny syrup and yams that fall apart on the plate.
  • If your syrup looks thin after 50 minutes, the oven temperature might be off; a quick broil for 2 minutes at the end creates that glossy finish.
03 -
  • Taste the syrup before pouring it over the yams—if it's too sweet for you, add a pinch more salt or a squeeze of lemon juice to balance it.
  • The key to glossy syrup is patience; resist the urge to turn up the oven temperature, which leads to burnt edges and thin syrup instead of that beautiful reduction.
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