Starchy and Sweet, These Candied Yams Can’t Be Beat
This deliciously sweet, warmly-spiced candied yam recipe is sort of a hybrid of a few different, beloved Thanksgiving classics. Take a classic Southern candied yam recipe, and a rich, Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole recipe. Then, cherry pick the best bits of each—and toss the rest out—and put the best of both together and you end up with this lovely side dish. It may be a controversial opinion to some, but we just feel like marshmallows belong smooshed between a graham cracker and a piece of chocolate and basically nowhere else. Even if you’re a diehard fan of old-fashioned sweet potato casserole, we’re pretty sure you’ll be into this candied yam (or sweet potato) recipe.
Sweet Potatoes Or Yams? And What’s The Difference? Does Anyone Know?
Before we dive into the differences, we’ll cut right to the chase: you could make this candied yam recipe with either sweet potatoes or yams. But, you also probably don’t need to worry much about it because what you find at the grocery store are sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes can be either white or orange on the inside—sometimes you’ll even find purple ones—and are much, much more widely available than yams. Maybe you’ve seen bright orange root veggies labeled “garnet yams” at the grocery store before? Yeah, those are actually sweet potatoes. True story! Yams are much larger, and have white flesh and brown skin reminiscent of a russet potato. They’re a bit tougher than sweet potatoes, and more fibrous. Long story short you’re probably going to make this recipe using sweet potatoes. Even in the South, where candied yams originated, it’s often made using sweet potatoes. Why the confusion? Well, as Mary-Frances Heck, a food writer who has written an entire book about sweet potatoes, explains: “Louisiana sweet potato growers marketed their orange-fleshed as “yams” to distinguish from other states' produce in the 1930s—and it stuck.”
Everything You’ll Need To Make The Best Yam (or Sweet Potato) Recipe Ever.
In addition to salt, olive oil, and pepper, here’s everything you’ll need to make this candied sweet potato recipe:
- Sweet potatoes
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Pecans
How To Make Candied Yams From Scratch
Roasting the rounds of sweet potatoes before you toss them with the honey-brown sugar syrup will give them an extra depth of flavor and texture that many candied yam recipes lack. In other words, this is the very best candied yam—well, probably candied sweet potato—recipe ever, in our humble opinion. Try it out and see for yourself! Here’s how easy it is to make:
- Roast the sweet potato rounds!
- Make the candying syrup by warming honey, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Brush both sides of the roasted sweet potatoes with the honey syrup.
- Sprinkle the whole thing with pecans, and roast it until everything is lovely and browned and caramelized.
- Serve!
Tools You’ll Need
- Baking sheet
- Sharp knife
- Good vegetable peeler
- Small saucepan
- Pastry brush is handy, but not essential.
More Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes
Even more sweet potato recipes, plus some delicious greens and a classic stuffing—we’ve got your Thanksgiving side dish line up ready to go!
A Sweet New Tradition
If one of our recipes earns a spot on your holiday table, well, we just can’t think of a higher honor! So, if you make these candied yams, let us know! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
