These Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes are made with sweet potatoes baked in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves until soft and coated with a buttery brown sugar sauce. Add pecans for a nutty crunch and an optional toasted marshmallow for a traditional Thanksgiving side that I grew up eating.
There's no boiling or making a separate sauce as the brown sugar, butter and sweet potato juices create their own sauce in the same baking dish. The key is having uniform slices of sweet potatoes that are gently stirred during baking so each piece is coated, avoiding any dry or mushy pieces.
I always make these during the holiday season because they're easy to prep ahead and disappear quickly from the Thanksgiving table. Serve them alongside spicy mac and cheese or sourdough stuffing for a Thanksgiving dinner that's loaded with great side dishes!
Why This Recipe Works
- No Boiling - The raw sweet potatoes will become tender in the same pot, requiring one less dish to wash.
- The Sauce Makes Itself - Butter, brown sugar, and natural juices from the sweet potatoes combine in the same pan, naturally creating a sauce that does not require a separate pan on the stove top.
- It's Make Ahead Friendly - Bake the sweet potatoes ahead of time without adding the marshmallows then simply reheat the old fashioned candied sweet potatoes in the oven at 350°F until warm, top with marshmallows and bake until toasty. Make ahead recipes are the best at Thanksgiving; try French Onion Dip with Truffle Oil for another make-ahead Thanksgiving recipe.
A Glance At Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes
- ✅Done in: 55 minutes
- 🛒Ingredients: 7 + optional marshmallows
- 🍽️Serves: 8 servings
- 💪Difficulty: Easy
- 👩🍳Cook Method: Bake
- ⏰Make Ahead Friendly: Yes! Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes can be made ahead without marshmallows, then reheated until warm, adding marshmallows for the last few minutes
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Ingredient Notes
You only need a handful of simple ingredients, mostly pantry staples, to make Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes.
- Sweet Potatoes - Use orange fleshed sweet potatoes that are mostly the same size so you end up with the same size pieces when slicing ¼ inch thick slices.
- Unsalted Butter - Melts with the brown sugar and natural sweet potato juices to get that classic candied flavor. Unsalted butter allows you to control the seasoning.
- Brown Sugar - Brown sugar deepens the candied flavor with a hint of molasses in the buttery sauce.
- Kosher Salt - Don't skip the salt. It brings out the natural flavor of the ingredients while balancing the sweet flavor.
- Cinnamon + Cloves - A little of each gives holiday flavor without overpowering the candied sweet potatoes.
- Pecans - Optional but encouraged. Pecans go beautifully with brown sugar, butter and warm spices, and they also add a crunchy textural contrast.
- Marshmallows - Marshmallows are optional but highly recommended. This is how I grew up eating my Thanksgiving candied sweet potatoes. Add them for the last few minutes and allow them to get puffy and lightly golden brown rather than dark.
How To Make Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes
Step 1: Layer peeled and sliced sweet potatoes into a greased 13x9 baking dish.
Step 2: Top sweet potatoes with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, pecans, salt and butter then bake. Stir every 10-15 minutes to coat sweet potatoes in the buttery brown sugar sauce. They're ready when a paring knife will easily slide through the center of the sweet potato and the potato holds its shape.
Step 3: Top candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows and bake an additional 3-5 minutes until marshmallows have begun to melt and get gooey. Pale to very light golden brown is what you're looking for.
Step 4: Serve Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes while warm.
Make Ahead Tips
Old fashioned candied sweet potatoes can be prepared ahead in two different ways. Fully cooked or just prepped.
- Prepped - Peel and slice the sweet potatoes up to 24 hours ahead of time then store them in an airtight container in the fridge. If you'd like to store them in cold water in an airtight container in the fridge you can, but drain and dry them thoroughly before using.
- Fully Cooked - Prepare candied sweet potato recipe completely through the step of baking. Allow to cool, then cover and store in the fridge for up to 48 hours. When ready to use, bake old fashioned candied sweet potatoes covered with aluminum foil for 30-40 minutes at 350°F or until warm through the center. Add marshmallows then bake an additional 3-5 minutes.
Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes to plan around? I have plenty of Thanksgiving sides to choose from.
Chef's Tips
- Cut the sweet potatoes as evenly as possible. Even size = equal cooking time. If the sizes are all different some will be soft and ready to pull out while some pieces will remain hard and uncooked.
- Test the potatoes, not the clock. All ovens cook differently and all cooks cut things in varying sizes. The best way to check if your candied sweet potatoes are done is with a fork or paring knife. It will easily insert into the sweet potato with the least bit of resistance while the sweet potato holds its shape.
- Don't judge the sauce like a caramel sauce. The sauce in this old fashioned candied sweet potato recipe is not meant to be a thick syrupy caramel-like sauce. Rather, it is light, buttery, sweet and spiced, allowing it to soak into the potatoes as they cook.
Storage & Reheating
- Store Leftovers - Keep Candied Sweet Potatoes wrapped tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheating - Cover pan with aluminum foil and reheat in the oven at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, just until candied sweet potatoes are warm all the way through. Give the sweet potatoes a good stir after 10 minutes to coat them in melted butter. Individual portions can be placed in a bowl or on a plate then reheated in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, until warm.
Candied Sweet Potatoes Recipe FAQs
No, you do not. This recipe is a simple, one-dish recipe, which keeps you from washing another pot. Cutting the sweet potatoes evenly is important so they all become tender at the same time.
Yes, absolutely! The marshmallow is optional in this candied sweet potato recipe. I love it because it reminds me of Thanksgiving as a child and I'm a marshmallow lover. It also gives a nice gooey texture to contrast the crunchy nuts and firm potatoes but is not a necessary ingredient. Feel free to omit the marshmallow.
Yes, this candied sweet potato recipe can be doubled. Use two baking dishes to divide the old fashioned candied sweet potatoes into two thinner layers rather than one deep layer all in the same pot. Check for doneness at the time suggested in the recipe and use the knife test to see if they're tender.
Sweet potatoes and yams are entirely different things. A sweet potato has a smooth thinner skin while yams have a rough skin that can be difficult to peel. The inside of a sweet potato is soft and moist with a sweet flavor while a yam is starchier and has a mild taste. That being said, many Americans use the terms interchangeably. This is particularly true around Thanksgiving however, most candied yam recipes are actually candied sweet potatoes.
More Thanksgiving Recipes You'll Love
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📖Recipe
Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
- oven
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Mix
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp cloves ground
- ½ cup pecans rough chop
- 7 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small cubes
Topping
- 1 cup marshmallows optional
Instructions
Prep Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into ¼ inch slices then layer them into a greased 13x9 baking dish
- Add brown sugar, kosher salt, cinnamon, cloves and pecan. Toss to coat then dot evenly with cubes of butter
- Bake 35-45 minutes, gently stirring every 10-15 minutes to coat the sweet potatoes in the buttery brown sugar sauce. The sweet potatoes are done when a knife or fork easily slides through but they still hold their shape
Top with Marshmallows
- If using, top sweet potatoes with marshmallows then bake another 3-5 minutes until marshmallows are puffed and slightly brown
- Gently stir to cover sweet potatoes in sauce then serve hot
Connie
I made these tonight for Thanksgiving and they are fantastic. I definitely will be making these again.
Krista Stechman
Glad you liked them! Thank you 🙂
Grace
I just cut and layered all my potatoes and the next step says to toss them….
Krista Stechman
Sorry for the confusion! They do not need to be layered perfectly. They do however, need to be coated with the additional ingredients. Hope you were still able to enjoy them!
Christine
These are delicious!
admin
Thanks!!
Lauren
Made these for Thanksgiving and they were SO GOOD!! I made them vegan by using vegan butter (earth balance) and vegan mini marshmallows (dandies)! They were so easy to make and will definitely be added to the annual side dish menu!
admin
So happy to hear that! Thank you!
Amber
Made these today for thanksgiving but after 45 mins the sweet potatoes are still rock solid. Had to add an additional 40 mins before they got soft enough to add the marshmellow
Krista Stechman
Oh, sorry to hear that! You can try cutting them a little thinner next time to speed up the cooking process. Hope you still enjoyed them!
Amy
My Mom always makes hers with marshmallows on top as well and I’d never try them growing up. Now I love sweet potatoes and I’m sad for all the years I passed them up!!
admin
I've been trying to get my girls to try them too and they won't! That's what I always tell them, You don't know what you're missing!