Besides mashed potatoes and gravy, the candied sweet potatoes/yams are my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner.

Yes, I know, a yam and a sweet potato are not the same thing, but we do use the words interchangeably, so let’s move on. What a shame I only make this dish once a year. In reality, it seems that it would be a shame to do otherwise; it’s just so much of a Thanksgiving dish!

The way that I have always enjoyed candied sweet potatoes is to have them cut into thick slices and baked in a rich brown sugar syrup. Just before serving they are topped with marshmallows and put under the broiler to toast. I’m smiling just thinking about these.

Print Recipe

Candied Sweet Potatoes or Yams

A Thanksgiving classic. This recipe for Candied Sweet Potatoes offers options for sweeteners and includes time saving microwave cooking methods.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Servings:

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

4-5 sweet potatoes or yams (about 4-5 lbs.)salt, to taste3/4 cup brown sugar1/4 cup butter1/4 cup pure maple syrup or corn syrup or Lyle's Golden Syrup1 (16 ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
4-5 pounds sweet potatoes or yams
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter
salt, to taste
¼ cup pure maple syrup can also use corn syrup or Lyle's Golden Syrup
16 ounce bag miniature marshmallows

Instructions

For the Sweet Potatoes

Peel potatoes/yams. Cut into ½- to ¾- inch thick slices. Parboil* (see notes) until the sweet potatoes just start to soften; the middle should still be a little firm, but not hard. Put into a buttered 9- x 13-inch baking dish, sprinkle with salt to taste. As a note I cooked these last night for about ten minutes in the microwave and they were perfect. I simply put the raw sliced potatoes into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, added a small amount of water, covered the dish with plastic wrap, and cooked on high for 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes after cooking, before you add the syrup.

For the Syrup

In a small saucepot, add the brown sugar, butter, and pure maple syrup (or corn syrup or Lyle's Golden Syrup if using). Cook and stir over medium heat until the brown sugar has melted and bubbles appear around the edges of syrup. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for one minute.
Pour the “syrup” over the potatoes. It will be a little thick, but as it cooks the liquid from the potatoes will make a thinner syrup.

Putting it all Together

Bake, covered with aluminum foil, in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and check the potatoes; they should be soft when pierced with a fork. If the syrup looks a little runny, allow the potatoes to bake uncovered for about 15 minutes, then remove from oven.
Pour the marshmallows evenly over the top. Turn oven to broil, place the marshmallow topped dish a few inches away from the broiler and broil until marshmallows are golden brown. Watch carefully because the marshmallows can easily burn.

Notes

The candied sweet potatoes (without the marshmallows) can be cooked the day before, warmed in the microwave, and then the marshmallows can be added just prior to serving. It saves a lot of stress on Thanksgiving day and frees the oven for other uses.*See this link for instructions on parboiling: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-parboiling.htm

The Yams

Peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch slices.

Put them into an appropriate sized baking dish and a little water in the bottom of the dish.

I chose to cook these in the microwave. It only took about 10 minutes on high.

Perfect from the microwave. Drain off the water and juices before adding the syrup.

The syrup is so easy. Make sure you stir it while you are cooking it. Cook over medium heat until the brown sugar has dissolved and bubbles appear around the edges of the syrup. Cook and stir for about one minute. Do not overcook or else you will have caramel candy!…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing under the right circumstances.

Pour the syrup over the potatoes.

Ready for the oven. Cover the dish with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about thirty minutes. The potatoes will have given up more liquid and will thin the syrup. If you don’t want the syrup to be thinner, then leave the dish uncovered when baking.

After the potatoes have baked, remove the dish from the oven, and set the oven to broil. Pour the marshmallows evenly over the top of the potatoes. Toast the marshmallows under the broiler. Watch carefully and don’t let them burn.

Candied Sweet Potatoes or Yams