Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes are a wonderful fall side dish. Thick sweet potato slices are covered in a butter and sugar mixture and baked until soft. They are wonderfully sweet and flavored with a little cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla. They are a welcome addition to a holiday meal or a Sunday supper.
Only a few ingredients are needed to make this southern staple and I love to make them in the fall when sweet potatoes are in season and inexpensive.
To make Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes, peel and slice 4 to 5 medium to large sweet potatoes. Go ahead and use as many as you can fit in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Leftovers reheat well. You can even eat them for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Sprinkle some salt on the sweet potato slices and pour a mixture of melted butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and the spices over them. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven. Spoon the butter sauce all over the tops of the sweet potatoes and pop them back in the oven uncovered for another 30 minutes.
At this point they will be soft and the butter will have begun to caramelize around the edges of the sweet potatoes. They are so sweet and delicious. I especially love how well these sweet potatoes pair with pork.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
- Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Cloverleaf Rolls
- Melting Sweet Potatoes
- Spicy-Sweet Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Watch the short video below to see how easy this recipe is to make.
Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 large sweet potatoes,, peeled and cut into 1/3 to 1/2-inch slices
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Melt butter in a saucepan. Add white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir and heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Add the vanilla extract.
- Place sweet potato slices in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt.
- Stir vanilla into the butter mixture and pour over sweet potatoes.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven. Spoon the butter mixture over the potatoes.
- Place back in the oven UNCOVERED for 30 minutes.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you make this the day before and reheat the next day?
Can you make this day before and bake the next day?
Amazing!
Can I top it off with marshmallows?
Add a shot of whiskey when you add the vanilla!
I can already tell this will be a new fav!!! And super for my new restricted kidney diet, so Happy Holidays to y’all!
I’m confused – Step 4 says pour butter mixture over sweet potatoes and Step 6 says spoon the butter mixture over the potatoes. Do we use half in Step 4 and half in Step 6? This does sound really good.
You are just pulling from what’s in the pan to further baste the potatoes.
I’m a little confused. Step 4 says pour butter mixture over potatoes and then Step 6 says spoon the butter mixture over potatoes. So – do you use half for Step 4 and the other half in Step 6. This sounds really, really good.
You are just pulling from what’s in the pan to further baste the potatoes.
Very easy to make. In the oven now. Just removed foil
Used only 3 sweet potatoes that what I bought before seeing this recipe.. added a white potato. Soft already.
Can’t wait to eat with chicken.
Would love to make this but I am curious if it could be done in a slow cooker, any suggestions? Thanks!
Yes I’ve done them several times in the slow cooker. 3-4 hrs on high or 6-8 on low.
Here’s a tip: Stick the potatoes in the oven when the turkey is cooking; that way you do not waste any when you’re peeling them.