This easy sweet potato side dish recipe is perfect for your holiday meal but it's so good you'll want to have it all year long!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- One of those southern recipes that's gobbled up first at holiday dinners
- A buttery candied mixture easily caramelizes tender, sweet yams
- An old-fashioned, delicious side dish that you'll want to eat in place of your main—or as dessert
With toasted, lightly-crisp mini marshmallows on top of warm sweet potatoes, this is a yam recipe that everyone loves—whether 8 years old or 80! Plus, it's a great way to make any Sunday dinner feel like a special occasion.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- In a large pot, simmer the sweet potatoes.
- Mix the potatoes with the remaining ingredients (except marshmallows.)
- Simmer the sweet potatoes in the brown sugar mixture.
- Top with mini marshmallows and bake or broil until golden brown.
🥫 Storage
You can keep leftover Southern candied yams covered in the refrigerator for three to five days. Reheat small portions in the microwave, or cover the skillet with aluminum foil and bake until heated through.
The marshmallow topping doesn't freeze well. So, if you wanted to freeze the candied yams (for instance, when prepping the dish in advance) do so before topping with marshmallows. It'll last for up to three months. Just be sure to let the candied yams thaw in the fridge before topping and baking.
📖 Variations
- Some people like to add a splash of lemon or orange juice to the syrupy mixture as it simmers. The subtle acidity is a nice touch, especially if you grew up eating candied yams with it.
- You can add a splash of vanilla extract or ground ginger to the syrup mixture if you like those flavor notes.
- Substitute some of the Karo for maple syrup if you love maple or if you don't have enough corn syrup.
- Sprinkle raisins, roasted pecans, or a bit of ground cinnamon on top when garnishing with marshmallows.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Fresh sweet potatoes are preferable in this recipe, as opposed to canned yams. Pre-softened sweet potatoes from a can have the potential to become too mushy and don't candy as well.
- For the best candied yams, be sure to use dark brown sugar. It makes a deeper, more flavorful candied taste than white sugar.
- Watch the marshmallows carefully in the oven. They'll toast rather quickly. We want a nice, gooey topping, rather than charred marshmallows—unless you prefer 'em that way!
👩🍳 FAQs
Nope. Sweet potatoes are, well, sweeter! They have orange or red flesh, brown skin, and come in many varieties. Though some people lump them together with yams, sweet potatoes are a different root vegetable altogether.
True yams are more popular in South America and Africa. They are a bit starchier and have rough, bark-like skin and white flesh.
However, typically in the United States, when people refer to a yam recipe, they are actually talking about varieties of sweet potatoes. The words "yam" and "sweet potato" in this recipe (and in most grocery stores in the US) both refer to sweet potatoes.
Whatever you call it where you're from, we can all agree: they make the perfect holiday side dish!
For starters, see the question above. There isn't too much of a difference between candied yams and sweet potato casserole, since they both actually use sweet potatoes.
Some sweet potato casserole recipes will have you mash the potatoes, and then top them with a crumbly, marshmallow garnish. For easy candied yams, we keep the potatoes in small pieces, rather than smashing them.
First things first: invest in a large skillet—it's a Southern cookin' essential and you'll use it in plenty of delicious recipes. If you don't have one yet, though, prepare the sweet potatoes in a non-stick pan. Then, transfer to a casserole dish for baking.
Normally, yes. However, in this recipe, we don't want to cook our sweet potatoes all the way—we just need to get them tender. Using a microwave might make them too soft after they're candied. If you're experienced using a pressure cooker and can get them just tender, though, feel free to use that!
Some candied yam recipes skip the simmering on the stove step and go right to baking—I prefer stove-top candying because the water/moisture can evaporate. It helps you have a gooey, soft end result that's never runny.
Some kinds of butter have a higher liquid content than others, too. If your syrup seems too liquidy after thorough simmering, you can add a tiny bit of cornstarch to thicken it up.
📚 Related recipes
- It's not Tex-Mex if it's not spicy and sweet—these Whipped Sweet Potatoes have a scrumptious kick from chipotles in adobo.
- Bourbon Sweet Potato Crunch Casserole is a Thanksgiving dinner classic—the praline topping replaces marshmallow, and we don't miss it!
- Crossing over from sweet side dish to delectable dessert, Southern Sweet Potato Pie is comforting, nostalgic, and hits the spot every time!
🍽️ Serve with...
- Beef Bottom Round Roast
- Southern Crockpot Mac and Cheese
- Classic Green Bean Casserole
- Southern Coconut Pie
📞 The last word
I love sweet side dishes like this in the winter or pineapple fluff salad in the summer!
I can eat sweet potatoes about any way you care to make them but there are a favorite.
This family recipe is over 100 years old and was handed down to a friend by her grandmother. She kindly shared it with me and, trust me it's awesome!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Southern Candied Yams
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Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes
- 1 ½ cups Karo Syrup, light or dark is fine
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, more or less to taste
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 ½ cups mini marshmallows
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Instructions
- Peel the sweet potatoes.
- Slice into thick rounds (about 1 inch) or cut in a large dice.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add the sweet potatoes and simmer until just tender. Don't overcook - it will take 10 - 15 minutes depending on the size of the sweet potatoes.
- Remove from heat and immediately drain really well.
- Gently transfer the sweet potatoes to a heavy, large skillet.
- Add the brown sugar, Karo syrup, butter, and salt.
- Place on medium heat until the butter and brown sugar melt and the mixture is thick and bubbly.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 1 ½ hours, basting every 10-15 minutes.
- Just before serving top with the marshmallows and place in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes or until marshmallows get golden and melty.
Notes
- Fresh sweet potatoes are preferable in this recipe, as opposed to canned yams. Pre-softened sweet potatoes from a can have the potential to become too mushy and don't candy as well.
- For the best candied yams, be sure to use dark brown sugar. It makes a deeper, more flavorful candied taste than white sugar.
- Watch the marshmallows carefully in the oven. They'll toast rather quickly. We want a nice, gooey topping, rather than charred marshmallows—unless you prefer 'em that way!
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