Candied yams, with or without marshmallows, are a must for Thanksgiving! With an easy to make sweet syrup, cinnamon, and a hint of vanilla, these sweet potatoes are a classic holiday side. Add mini marshmallows and bake for a melty holiday favorite everyone will love.
Why we love this recipe
These candied yams can be made with or without marshmallows. As a child, the marshmallows were my daughter’s favorite part. The charred, melted gooey topping was irresistible! She’s now 26 and still insists on the marshmallows.
This classic side dish is a staple on any Thanksgiving or Christmas table, we can’t go without it!
We’ve also served this decadent Oatmeal Cookie Sweet Potato Casserole for Thanksgiving, and it was a big hit. We love sweet potatoes so much, that when it’s not Thanksgiving or Christmas, we make Sweet Potato Fries!
How to make candied yams
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. Please scroll down to simply print out the instructions!
- To start, scrub the sweet potatoes and carefully score a line around the entire circumference of the potato (see our video!) and place in a large pot of boiling water.
- Cover the pot and boil over medium-high heat until they are easily pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes.
- Plunge the hot potatoes into a bowl of ice water. Once they are cool enough to handle, slip the skins off the sweet potatoes and cut them into slices or cubes.
With marshmallows
- Place cut sweet potatoes into a square baking dish if you will be topping with marshmallows.
- For the syrup, simply bring all the ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan.
- Pour over the sweet potatoes, top with marshmallows and bake until golden brown.
Without marshmallows
- If you do not want to use marshmallows, combine the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.
- Carefully add the sweet potatoes and then simmer until thickened.
Expert Tips
- A note about yams or sweet potatoes: In the USA the terms are used interchangeably. My candied yams are actually sweet potatoes. In the grocery store, sweet potatoes are commonly labeled as yams, even if they aren’t true yams, which is confusing. Either way, you’ll want sweet potatoes for this recipe!
- You can use white or brown sugar for this recipe. I have used both and prefer brown sugar.
- Either water or orange juice works, but I prefer the juice. If you don’t have any, water works great!
- You’ll also need butter (salted or unsalted), pure vanilla extract, salt, and ground cinnamon.
- I always top my candied yams with miniature marshmallows. They are completely optional, but it’s how my family prefers them.
More Thanksgiving Ideas
- Roasted Broccoli
- Perfect Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
- Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
- Homemade Green Bean Casserole
- Pumpkin Brownie Trifle – Kitchen Gidget
- Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
- Rice Dressing – Kitchen Gidget
- Melting Sweet Potatoes – Foodie with Family
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Candied Yams
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes
- ⅓ cup white or brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons water or orange juice
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups mini marshmallows optional
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- Calorie count includes marshmallows.
- A note about yams or sweet potatoes: In the USA these terms are used interchangeably. My candied yams are actually sweet potatoes. In the grocery store, sweet potatoes are commonly labeled as yams, even if they aren’t true yams, which is confusing. Either way, you’ll want sweet potatoes for this recipe!
- Be sure to watch the video to learn how to easily peel sweet potatoes with just one cut of the knife!
Instructions
- Scrub and score the sweet potatoes around the center and place in a large pot of boiling water. Cover and gently boil for 20-30 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
- Drain potatoes and place in a bowl of ice water until cool enough to handle then slip the skins off (see our video for this method). Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch slices or cubes.
Preparation with marshmallows:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- For the syrup, combine the sugar, water, butter, vanilla, salt and cinnamon in a small saucepan and bring to a rapid boil.
- Place sweet potatoes in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and drizzle with syrup.
- Top with marshmallows and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Preparation without marshmallows:
- In a large skillet, combine the sugar, water, butter, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Add the sweet potatoes, stirring to coat. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and enjoy.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on this blog on Nov 3, 2017.
Amanda Davis
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Suswani says
This is my first time trying it this way. Very easy and stress free. I made it ahead too.
Elecia says
BEST YAMS EVER!! My granny have been on this earth for 76 years and says this is the best casserole she has ever had!! Thank you for this beautiful recipe. Perfecto!😍😍😍
Kate says
Third year in a row making this winning recipe. TASTE GREAT!! I even converted my stubborn stuck in traditional recipes mom to this recipe.
Brianna Giovannetti says
Made these last year and CAN’T WAIT to make these again this year for Thanksgiving ! I don’t know why or how I’ve waited a whole year to make them again. Thanks Amanda!
Marsha Kiker says
These candied yams were simple to prepare and tongue excitable.I used the marshmallows on top and it was delighteful to the eye. I give it a 5 star plus.
Brittany Vance says
I made this for my family for thanksgiving today and everyone loved it! Even my brother that doesn’t like sweet potatoes loved it. I made it with orange juice and used regular sized marshmallows. It turned out perfectly. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again.
Amanda Formaro says
That’s awesome, thanks for sharing!
Maria says
I’m currently making it as we speak! My question is I prepared the potatoes in a tray and am about to make the syrup should I hold off on these until tomorrow or do you think they will be good if I make them tonight for thanksgiving tomorrow?
Thanks so much 😊 and happy holidays
Amanda Formaro says
They should be fine if you make them now, but I would wait until tomorrow! :) Happy Thanksgiving!!
Lisa says
I did all the peeling and cutting last night. Chopped to the size I like and covered completely with water (do NOT skip the water step!!). I boiled them this morning (they soften quickly), drained and made the syrup in the same pot. I added the not too soft potatoes to the syrup. Tossed and thickened. I tasted a tiny bit (never used this recipe before), they came out wonderful!! Can’t wait to serve them!
Amanda Formaro says
Hooray!! So glad you loved them, Happy Thanksgiving!
Laurie says
Could you make this a day ahead? What adjustments would you make if so? This looks so delicious! I purchased all the ingredients including marshmallows and can’t wait to try it! I’d love to make it Wednesday if I could though!!
Amanda Formaro says
You can make it all the way up to the part where you add the marshmallows. I would take the completed dish out of the fridge and warm it in the microwave. Then add the marshmallows and bake in the oven as the recipe states. Happy Thanksgiving!
Patty says
I always put pineapple in my sweet potatoes. I get pineapple chunks and drain all the juice into a small pan. I use the pineapple juice instead of the orange juice. I also add a tablespoon of cornstarch to the syrup mixture to make it thicker. There’s so many other things you can add to the sweet potatoes. Sometimes I’ll add raisins and sometimes I add walnuts or pecans. Last Thanksgiving I added maple syrup to the mixture. No matter what I do they always turn out so good.
Amanda Formaro says
All of those sound delicious!
Amber says
Every time I make these my marshmellows melt and you can’t see them anymore. How do you get yours to stick around. They are so beautiful like that .
Amanda Formaro says
It could be that your oven runs hotter than mine? Try putting the potatoes in for the first ten minutes then adding the marshmallows after.
Dawn Gaye says
My daughter is 29 this year and won’t be home for Thanksgiving. :(
But for Christmas Eve Dinner I will make her these; thank you! She always turns into her Mommy’s little girl at the holidays and she will love that I remembered to make these for her!
Amanda Formaro says
Aww It’s so hard as they get older!
April says
Can you prepare this with all the ingredients (including marshmallows) and then freeze and bake it another time?
Amanda Formaro says
I have no tried that before, but I feel like you could definitely do that. I would not put it in the oven directly from the freezer because I feel like the potatoes wouldn’t cook fast enough and the marshmallows would burn. So I would say defrost it first. My only real concern is that making the yams as written means that the potatoes are warm, so you are just warming them more in the oven and melting the marshmallows. If you freeze and defrost this, the temp of the potatoes will be cold and will take longer to warm up. To be safe, I would say to not add the marshmallows before freezing. I would defrost the dish, warm it in the oven for 10 minutes, then add the marshmallows and cook according to the recipe.
Jan says
How much does 2 lbs of yams weigh after baking instead of boiling?
I thought I bought enough but when I weighed it out it was shy of two pounds
Donna says
I am going to try these for Thanksgiving but can I add toasted pecans to them
Amanda Formaro says
Absolutely!
LINDA PUMNEO says
Can you mash the cooked potatoes lightly with a potato masher before adding them to the baking dish?
Amanda Formaro says
Sure!
Kathleen Archuleta says
Could you use canned sweet potatoes instead?
Amanda Formaro says
yes! Just drain them and place them in the baking dish, cover with syrup mixture, etc :)
Roger Garrett says
What is the temp to cook the yams i couldnt fine it
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you for pointing that out! I’ve corrected the printer friendly version of the recipe. The oven temp should be 350 F.
Eva says
Great recipe! Do you think that I could replace the sweet potatos with pumpkin?
Amanda Formaro says
I’ve never actually tried that, but I would imagine that squash or pumpkin would work!
Karly says
I just really cannot wait for Thanksgiving to get here. These look absolutely delicious- a classic that just can’t get left off the holiday table!
Inci @ Bella's Apron says
Love me some candied yams and these just look amazing. The pictures turned out really good also