Candied Yams

5 from 1 vote

Make these tender Candied Yams glazed with a luscious mix of orange juice and brown sugar and topped with crunchy pecans for that golden, sweet Southern touch.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 5

Total Time1 20

Course: Appetizer, Dessert, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked candied yams, candied sweet potatoes, candied yams recipe, Southern candied yams

Servings:

Author: Katerina Petrovska

Equipment

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 9x13 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