These baked candied yams are a Thanksgiving and holiday favorite. Glazed in a deliciously gooey butter and brown sugar sauce that’s packed full of warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. This ultimate candied yam recipe is an impressive side dish and is a southern staple on a Thanksgiving table.

Close up of a wooden spoon scooping candied yams in a baking dish

Table of Contents

Why We Love Baked Candied Yams

Holiday Traditional Recipe– Candied yams are a holiday tradition that goes back years! It is the perfect side dish to share for Thanksgiving, Christmas or other holiday meal.
Quick To Make– Most of the work for this delicious recipe happens in the oven. Do the slicing prep ahead of time to make it even easier to make when it’s time for your meal.
Sweet Gooey Sauce– The brown sugar glaze on these sweet potatoes is buttery, sweet and oh so gooey on the yams making a really delicious dish!
Bring This Casserole Dish To Share– This dish is a great addition to bring and share with a crowd during the holiday season. It’s casserole style is easier to keep warm for sharing.

These candied sweet potatoes are a classic southern side dish that I tried for the first time at a holiday dinner when I was living in the south. It is definitely a richer, classic side dish perfect for a special occasion or holiday but that glaze is the best part. These sweet yams should definitely be a part of your holiday traditions.

If you’re looking for something creamy and a little lighter, try the quick and easy mashed sweet potatoes, it’s one of my favorite sweet potato recipes and a super easy recipe.

Ingredients Needed For This Candied Yams Recipe

Labeled ingredients for candied yams in bowls labeled from overhead

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.

orange yams – peeled and cut in half/cubed, or other sweet potato. See below for more information about the type of yam you are looking for. I recommend using fresh yams, not canned or frozen.
butter – melted
brown sugar – packed, , you can use dark brown sugar or light brown sugar
white granulated sugar
orange juice- you can use with pulp or without, your choice.
vanilla extract
cinnamon
ginger
nutmeg
ground cloves
salt

How To Make Baked Candied Yams

You can find the4 condensed version of these direction in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. You can also line the pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup but still spray it lightly with oil. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Peel the yams with a peeler. Slice the yams in half the long way. Slice evenly into half in half moon shaped pieces. The more even you can slice the yams in size, the better the final dish will be. Add all yams to the baking dish.

Sliced yams on a cutting board with a chef's knife

In a medium-sized bowl add the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, orange juice, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt. Stir until well mixed.

Pour the butter mixture over the yams. Gently stir to coat the yams evenly with butter.

Sliced raw yams in a baking dish covered in brown sauce

Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the baking dish and baste the yams with butter candied mixture with a silicone brush or spoon.

Cooked glazed yams in a brown sauce in a baking dish from overhead

Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are golden and tender when pierced with a fork. Serve and enjoy this amazing recipe! The sauce will continue to thicken as the yams begin to cool.

Are Yams And Sweet Potatoes The Same Thing?

This can get a little tricky, as both yams and sweet potatoes are root vegetables. If you are in the US almost all yams are sweet potatoes.

This recipe works best with a bright orange “yam.” Depending on the grocery store, this vegetable will sometimes be labeled as a yam and sometimes as a sweet potato.

Yams In The United States

In the US the orange variety of sweet potatoes is often labeled as a “yam” in the grocery store even though it is technically a sweet potato. This can be a bit confusing but totally varies from grocery store to grocery store, and region to region. Almost all US yams are sweet potatoes and are not true yams.

Sweet Potatoes can be white, orange, red (sometimes called garnet yams), or even purple (sometimes called Ube). Sweet potatoes can also vary in size from long and skin to large as big as a fist.

You can use any color of sweet potato for this recipe but the orange tends to be the most delicious for its soft, fluffy sweet inside after cooking. See the picture below.

Pile of United states orange sweet potato yams with a few sliced

Caribbean Yams

A true yam is originally from the Caribbean, has bumpy rough skin, and is harder and starchier than the soft and sweet “yams” we find in the US. I have occasionally seen this Caribbean variety of yam in the United States. Typically they are more likely to be found at a smaller specialty grocery stores or health food-style grocery stores if they are carried at all.

I do not recommend using the Caribbean-style yam in this recipe, see the picture below.

Still not sure if you are looking for the right vegetable? Check out this article about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes.

Can I Add Marshmallows To These Yams?

You can totally add marshmallows to this sweet dish. While not everyone does, it is considered pretty traditional at the holidays to add marshmallows.

How To Add Marshmallows To Candied Yams

Cook the yams as directed in the instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this article.
Stir the yams one more time after removing from the oven.
Bump the temperature of the oven up to 450.
Top the yams with 3-4 cups of miniature marshmallows.
Place the dish back in the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the marshmallows are gooey and have just begun to brown.

Can I Add Nuts To This Dish?

Yes! Another common variation for these candied yams is to add nuts. Try adding pecans or walnuts to this dish before baking. I like to add nuts during the last fifteen to twenty minutes of cooking as it tends to avoid scorching the nuts accidentally.

Help! Why Did My Yams Burn?

Slicing the yams evenly helps with cooking more evenly. Yams typically burn if some pieces are much smaller than others or if you left them in the oven too long.

Do I Boil The Yams First?

No need to boil the yams with this recipe, they cook right in the sauce. Some recipes call for par-boiling the yams ahead of time but that isn’t necessary with this recipe. I’m not a huge fan of boiling the yams first when I am baking them as I find they tend to overcook much more easily and become too mushy.

What Meat Or Main Dish Goes Best With Candied Yams?

These are the best candied yams and go well with so many dishes! This recipe is traditionally served alongside roasted turkey, chicken or glazed ham. This dish also pairs well for any special dinner with roast beef, roasted pork loin, steak, or a mild fish such as a delicious salmon or any white fish fillet. Also try this baked ham and corkscrew mac and cheese together with candied yams for the holidays!

Cooked candied yams in a bowl close up with a baking dish full of more yams in the background

How Do I Store Candied Yams?

Candied yams can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Can I Freeze Candied Yams?

I don’t recommend freezing candied yams, they tend to become really mushy in texture when frozen.

Other Holiday Recipes You Will Love

Green Bean Casserole With Bacon– This delicious green bean casserole is made with fresh green beans in a creamy onion cream sauce made from scratch, then topped with delicious bacon. No canned soup here, and everyone will love this decadent dish!

Quick And Easy Cornbread Muffins – Better then boxed, these cornbread muffins are on our table all the time- but especially at the holidays.

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread– This cheesy garlic bread using biscuit dough to make an amazing loaf of garlic pull apart bread that is always a hit!

Mini Pecan Chocolate Pies– Everything you love about a gooey, buttery pecan pie in a the perfect two bite dessert that’s perfect for the holidays. You can even make them ahead!

Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes– This fast and delicious mashed sweet potato recipe is creamy and delicious, and always a hit for a crowd.

Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Potatoes– Creamy and delicious, these broccoli cheese twice baked stuffed potatoes make a delicious side dish to any dinner.