5 / 4 votes

Candied Sweet Potatoes

These candied sweet potatoes are basted in a sweetly spiced butter mixture and roasted until tender. A Southern classic.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 30

Course: Sides

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: to 10 servings

Calories: 431

▢ 5 medium (about 3 pounds) sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and sliced about 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick
▢ 1 stick (4 oz) salted butter
▢ 1 cup granulated sugar, or less to taste
▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar, or less to taste
▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
In a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish, arrange the sweet potatoes in 2 or 3 layers, overlapping them slightly.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle in the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Remove from the heat and give the spiced butter a good stir. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture over the sweet potatoes and turn to coat them thoroughly. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and baste them with the candied mixture in the dish. Cover again and bake until tender, 20 to 40 minutes more.
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Baste them again with the spiced syrup in the pan before serving.

Using yams for this recipe--Yams will take slightly longer to cook than sweet potatoes, so I recommend using only one or the other.
Storage and reheating--Store leftover potatoes in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a covered dish in a 300°F oven until warmed through.