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Coated in a caramelized glaze, these Southern Candied Yams are loaded with orange juice and bourbon. Baked until fork-tender and topped with pecans, they’ll go from a holiday side to dessert in a second.
Serve them alongside your favorite holiday main courses, such as glazed ham or hot honey chicken, and a side of butternut squash salad.
Topped with crunchy pecans and mixed with a dose of bourbon, these baked Southern candied yams will win everyone over. Seasoned with my favorite festive spice combo, every bite screams cozy fall and winter vibes. Between the cinnamon’s spicy earthiness and the nutmeg’s bitterness, a bit of bourbon balances out the sweetness and gives these yams a boozy kick. Best of all, you barely have to do a thing because the oven does most of the work for you.
Candied Yams Vs Sweet Potatoes
Candied yams, in the USA, are a dish, whereas sweet potatoes are an ingredient. While yams and sweet potatoes are root vegetables, they’re not the same. Sweet potatoes have smoother, orange, or yellowish skin. The inside is usually a vibrant orange. On the other hand, yams have brown or black skin. Their interior is beige, reddish, and even purple. They’re also creamier, unlike sweet potatoes, which tend to be starchier like regular potatoes. But if you love sweet potatoes, you will really, really like this recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
To make this candied yams recipe, head to the grocery store, grab some sweet potatoes and bourbon (along with a few other essentials listed below), and let’s get started. For the complete amounts and directions, please scroll down to the recipe card.
- Sweet potatoes – I use 3 pounds of sweet potatoes, cut into ½-inch slices.
- Orange juice – Try to use fresh juice. It adds a tangy sweetness and helps create the caramel-like glaze.
- Light brown sugar – Dark brown sugar works too.
- Granulated sugar – Helps achieve the perfect glaze consistency.
- Butter – Please try to use unsalted butter to create a smooth, silky glaze.
- Salt and black pepper – Enhances the overall flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Bourbon – Honey whiskey is great too.
- Ground spices – Ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg add warmth and spice and help enhance the sweetness of the yams. You can also substitute all the ground spices for the same amount of allspice.
- Pecans – They provide a crunchy topping that contrasts with the tender yams.
How to Make Candied Yams
All it takes is whipping up the glaze, slicing the sweet potatoes, and popping them into the oven – voila! In no time, you’ll be savoring perfectly roasted sweet potatoes, their edges caramelized and centers tender, each bite bursting with the delightful flavors of the glaze.
- Prepare the baking dish. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Grease a 9×13″ baking dish.
- Add the sweet potatoes. Arrange the sweet potatoes in the baking dish. Set it aside.
- Mix the sugars. Combine the orange juice, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, salt, and pepper in a small pot over medium heat. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes or until the butter has melted.
- Add the bourbon. Stir in the bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Remove from heat.
- Bake. Carefully pour the sugar-juice mixture over the potatoes. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake the sweet potatoes for 40 minutes.
- Baste them. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes. Baste the sweet potatoes with the mixture every 15 minutes or so.
- Serve. Remove the candied yams from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. Top with chopped pecans and enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- Poke some holes. Use a fork to poke holes in the sweet potatoes to help the yams bake faster and more evenly.
- Use a slurry. Mix 1-1/2 teaspoons water and 1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch until well combined. Add this to the sugar-juice mixture to help the glaze thicken more.
- Pick small ones. The longer, narrower sweet potatoes are, the more chances they have of being stringy. Smaller, plump sweet potatoes are younger and are rarely stringy. However, for this recipe, I suggest using long, narrow sweet potatoes because they are smaller and easier to cut into evenly sized slices.
Serving Ideas
Candied yams are great for Thanksgiving and Christmas. As main dishes, my lobster ravioli with cream sauce, easy roast turkey, and tender and juicy pork loin roast are great options.
For sides, I prefer red beans and rice! I also like these creamy green beans and mushrooms, my roasted Italian mushrooms recipe, or grilled asparagus with lemon dressing and feta cheese.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate any cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Reheat them by sprinkling 1 to 2 teaspoons of water over them and microwaving them for up to 2 minutes or until warm.
More Easy Side Dishes
- Roasted Garlic Parmesan Carrots
- Air Fryer Corn on the Cob
- Crispy Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
- Sweet and Spicy Carrots and Green Beans
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
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Candied Yams
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices
- 1 cup orange juice
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Arrange the sliced sweet potatoes in the baking dish and set aside.
- In a saucepan, combine orange juice, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, salt, and pepper. Set the saucepan over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes or until the butter is melted and everything is well combined.
- Stir in the bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Remove from heat and pour the orange juice mixture over the potatoes.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for 20 more minutes, basting the potatoes a couple of times during cooking.
- Remove from oven and top with chopped pecans.
- Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Sweet Potatoes: I suggest using long, thinner sweet potatoes to make candied yams. They are smaller, and almost all slices will be similar in size. FYI: Yams in USA grocery stores are called sweet potatoes. For this recipe, you want to use sweet potatoes and not yams. Yams are root vegetables from Africa and Asia with dark brown skin.
- Glaze: If you do not want to use bourbon, you can always use whisky or don’t add any alcohol at all.
- Make Ahead: Arrange the sliced sweet potatoes in the baking dish, coat them with the glaze, then store them covered in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Take them out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you bake them.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Looks absolutely fantastic! I’d love to make this!
Thank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! ๐
My family would love this! Can’t wait to try this!
That’s great! I hope everyone loves it! Thank YOU! ๐