This old fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes recipe delivers tender, buttery, caramelized sweet potatoes on the stovetop just like your grandmother made them. Simmered low and slow in brown sugar, orange juice and warm spices, this is the perfect southern side dish for almost anything. We love it for Thanksgiving, with fried chicken, and it’s unbeatable with Louisiana Dirty Rice!
If you love sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving too, you’ll also love my sweet potato casseroles– with pecan topping or with marshmallow topping!
Sometimes called candied yams, this is one classic southern recipe that almost everyone’s grandmothers used to make. My grandmother served them with turnip greens and cornbread. My dad loved it! And I, for one, could hardly believe this melt-in-your-mouth caramelized goodness could pass as a vegetable! I’ll have seconds, please!
And I know your family is going to feel the same! Candied sweet potatoes deliver so much rich, delicious homestyle flavor that every meal feels extra special when they’re served.
Over the years, I started adding the occasional cranberries and pecans at the holidays, but they’re not a part of the original recipe. And I don’t add them if I make this dish any other time of the year.
Are Sweet Potatoes & Yams The Same
Technically, sweet potatoes and yams are not the same, even though here in the United States we do use those words interchangeably, even in the grocery store! (Those canned yams are, in fact, sweet potatoes.)
Sweet potatoes are orange when cut open, have a smoother skin and tube-like shape with tapered ends. This is the root vegetable most of us are familiar with.
Real yams, are a tuber native to Africa and have a dark, rough skin, a white, not so sweet flesh that is dry and starchy and not commonly found in American grocery stores.
If you know this recipe as candied yams instead of sweet potatoes, never fear, it’s really the same dish! It’s commonly known by both names and is 100% delicious all the time!
Recipe Ingredients & Overview
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!
Look for specifics at the end of the post in the recipe card.
- sweet potatoes
- light or dark brown sugar
- butter
- orange juice
- vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground ginger
- salt
- chopped pecans (optional)
- dried cranberries (optional for the holidays)
TIP: Longer, thinner sweet potatoes work better for this recipe. They slice much more easily and create the perfect size medallions..
How to Make Candied Yams on the Stovetop
Prep the Sweet Potatoes. Wash, peel and slice the sweet potatoes into ½ inch medallions.
Melt the Sugar. Melt butter in a large skillet on the stovetop. Turn the heat to low and add the brown sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Stir in orange juice and spices. Allow the mixture come to a low simmer while stirring.
Coat the Potatoes. Carefully add the sliced sweet potatoes to the skillet. Make sure each slice is coated with the sugar mixture on both sides. Stir the sugar every 5 minutes for the first 15 minutes, turning the potatoes over, making sure neither the sweet potatoes or the sugar is sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
Simmer. Gently continue to check that the potatoes aren’t sticking and stir the sugar occasionally while potatoes cook for another 10-15 minutes. If your skillet has a lid, you can partially cover the sweet potatoes.
Optional. When the potatoes began to caramelize and become fork tender, add those optional cranberries if desired. Continue to cook until the cranberries begin to slightly plump (about 5 minutes).
Serve. Remove the candied sweet potatoes from the heat and allow to cool at least 5 minutes. Add the chopped pecans if desired, and serve.
Storing, Reheating & Making Ahead
Leftover stovetop sandied sweet potatoes will last in the refrigerator 4-5 days if stored in an airtight container. To reheat, simply place in a stovetop safe dish over low heat until warm.
This recipe is perfect for making ahead of time. The flavors only get better. Make it up to 2 days in advance of serving.
TIP: Warm it in the crock pot to free up space on your cook top during the holidays!
More Sweet Potato Recipes You’ll Love
- Fluffy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust
- Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Southern Sweet Potato Soup
- Garlic Parmesan Sweet Potato Wedges
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup dried cranberries (optional)
- ¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Wash, peel and slice the sweet potatoes into ½ inch medallions.
- Melt butter in a large skillet on the stovetop over medium heat.
- Turn the heat to low and add the brown sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Stir in orange juice and spices. Allow the mixture come to a low simmer while stirring. As the mixture warms, the spice will dissolve fully.
- Carefully add the sliced sweet potatoes to the skillet. Make sure each slice is coated with the sugar mixture on both sides. Stir every 5 minutes for the first 15 minutes, turning the potatoes over, making sure neither the sweet potatoes or the sugar is sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
- Gently continue to check that the potatoes aren't sticking and stir the sugar occasionally while potatoes cook for another 10-15 minutes.
- When the potatoes began to caramelize and become fork tender, add those optional cranberries if desired. Continue to cook until the cranberries begin to slightly plump (about 5 minutes).
- Remove the candied sweet potatoes from the heat and allow to cool at least 5 minutes. Add the chopped pecans if desired, and serve.
Video
Your recipe reminds me of my Great-Great Aunts candied yams. That was the dish she would bring for the holidays. She would juice and slice fresh satsumas from her yard to use. Ah the great memories!!!
Hi, Crystal! This makes my day!! I love those food memories that tie us all together and bring us close. That’s what it’s about for me! I hope you love these candied yams!