Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes are a buttery glazed alternative to a Southern sweet potato casserole. Roasting them first caramelizes them like a steakhouse roasted sweet potato. My favorite easy make-ahead side for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or even a summer potluck dinner. If you like, you can gild the lily and add toasted marshmallows.
The "sticky sweet" candied texture that almost melts in your mouth will become your family's new side dish tradition this holiday season. You'll never buy a can of candied yams again! No slicing into rounds or mashing, so very little prep time!
Roasting the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them concentrates the rich flavor of the sweet potato, caramelizing the natural sugar in them. Boiling also tends to make the potatoes hold water which tends to make the syrup or glaze watery.
Plus, clean up is a breeze because the sweet potato "jackets" just roll off!
What's the shortcut?
- Roasting sweet potatoes for easy peeling and added caramelized flavor is a hands-off alternative to boiling potatoes.
- Sweet potatoes can be roasted up to 3 days in advance before candying them. This make ahead step saves time on the day you plan to serve them.
How to Roast Sweet Potatoes
Let's get started by roasting the sweet potatoes- not to be confused with yams. Read the difference between sweet potatoes and yams here from Kitchn.
First place 5 or 6 small sweet potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Do not pierce with a fork or knife! If you do, as the sweet potatoes caramelize inside the skins, the brown sugar-like goodness will ooze out and drip onto the foil.
So, these bake a little differently than baking potatoes where you want to pierce them to release steam.
That's it! It's that simple to roast sweet potatoes. They can be baked several days ahead and left in their "jackets" in a zip-top bag. They are actually delicious eaten just like this or with a little bit of butter and cinnamon sugar.
Can I roast sweet potatoes in my air fryer?
Yes! I do this all the time. For this recipe, you will need a larger air fryer like the toaster oven-style models or one that will fit 5 sweet potatoes at one time.
No need to preheat the air fryer first. Place the sweet potatoes right on the rack in the air fryer. Cook at 375 to 380 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the sweet potatoes.
No need to turn them halfway. DO NOT prick the sweet potatoes. The caramelized sugars will run out and burn in the bottom of the air fryer. They will caramelize nicely inside their jackets.
How to remove the skins or "jackets" from sweet potatoes
The size of the sweet potatoes will determine how many you can fit into the casserole dish. The skins should easily pull off when the potatoes are cooled. Cut them in half lengthwise.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the detailed, printable recipe. Pictures below will help guide you as you read the recipe.
Yes, 1 1/2 cups of sugar is a lot of sugar to pour over the potatoes but remember these are "candied" sweet potatoes! Next comes the corn syrup which prevents the sugar from crystalizing.
And finally, butter. As a shortcut (since the butter was going to melt anyway) I just melt it first and drizzled it over the potatoes. But you can always cut up the butter in tiny pieces and dot the sweet potatoes with butter.
Can you hear them sizzle? Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered. They are now candied in all their glistening glory!
They are ready to serve just as they are and this is what they looked like at the church potlucks. You can see why I chased down the owner of the recipe, right?
Can I add marshmallows?
About half my family loves toasted marshmallows on the candied sweet potatoes and the other half prefers them "naked" like this.
Adding marshmallows on top and toasting them is totally optional, but a yummy way to gild the lily!
I typically top half of the candied sweet potatoes with mini marshmallows and broil them because to satisfy the half of the family that likes the "marshmallow pull" they get from the melted marshmallows. It's kinda like a pizza cheese pull!
If you want to "gild the lily" and add mini marshmallows, just broil them for a couple of minutes. Be sure to watch them closely unless you like your marshmallows like campfire burned ones.
After broiling the marshmallows is not a good time to put them back in the fridge for storage unless you reheat the whole thing in the oven before serving-the marshmallows tend to stick to the spoon.
I've eaten my share of cold candied sweet potatoes straight from the fridge the day after Thanksgiving, too! It's almost like dessert!
Can I freeze it ahead of time?
Yes! You can roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and freeze those separately or you can go ahead and bake the whole recipe, cover it with foil and freeze it. Some casserole dishes now come with a lid.
Put it in the fridge 2 days ahead of time and let it completely thaw before heating up in the oven or microwave. Hold off on adding marshmallows until after it thaws for best results.
Bake it covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 10 and it should be hot and bubbly. Add marshmallows and broil 1 minute or until toasty, if you choose to add them.
We all have our favorite recipes for Thanksgiving or Christmas that we absolutely must have on the buffet table or it isn't complete, right?
My family in Arkansas feels the same way but we have a tradition of every family bringing a new recipe to the feast in ADDITION to the well-loved faves. If you like that idea, maybe this will be your new recipe to introduce to your family.
Where did I get the original recipe?
This recipe started from a recipe I chased down at a church potluck! Many years ago, our church potlucks always had these sticky-sweet (in a good way) sweet potato halves that I always looked forward to adding to my plate.
I finally investigated and found the sweet lady that brought them. Mrs. Connie Parker, who has since passed on to be with Jesus, was happy to share her recipe for Candied Sweet Potatoes with me.
At my recent Holiday Cooking Show that benefited my husband and son's nonprofit Outdoor Ability Foundation I put on a pair of pearls and donned a vintage 1950's apron to prepare this recipe in honor of Mrs. Connie Parker.
Making the recipe my own with a tasty shortcut
Her recipe instructed me to boil the potatoes and did not top them with marshmallows. They were simply wonderful as they were. But, after several years of making them this way, I decided to try roasting the sweet potatoes. When I boiled them, they tended to hold some of the water and I had to keep a watch on them so they wouldn't boil over or run out of water in the pan.
When I roasted them, they peeled easily and the roasting concentrated the rich flavor of the sweet potato, caramelizing the natural sugar in them and clean up was a breeze.
Watch the video
Watch my segment for Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes on ABC 33/40's Talk of Alabama click on the image below.
I'd love to hear from you in the comments below or on my social media posts what are your family recipe traditions that you feel are "must haves".
Did you know the sweet potato is Alabama's state vegetable
As of April 2021, the sweet potato is officially Alabama's state vegetable! The idea for the bill was submitted by a Harvest homeschool class. The state fruit is the blackberry and I have the perfect Wild Blackberry Crisp recipe for you to try.
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Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 or 6 small to medium sweet potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup salted butter melted
- 2 cups mini marshmallows optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Place sweet potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Do not poke holes in potatoes. Roast potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a fork easily pushes to the center of the potatoes when tested. Let cool completely. This step can be done 3 days in advance.
- Remove skins from potatoes and cut in half lengthwise; place them in an ungreased 2-quart or 13x9-inch casserole dish. Pour sugar evenly over sweet potatoes. It’s ok for it to spill over between the potatoes. Drizzle the corn syrup over the sugar. Do not stir. Drizzle everything with butter. Bake for 40 minutes or until sugar is melted and bubbly.
- If adding marshmallows, change oven to broil. Sprinkle marshmallows on sweet potatoes and broil 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly toasted.
Notes
- Roasting sweet potatoes for easy peeling and added caramelized flavor is a hands-off alternative to boiling potatoes.
- Sweet potatoes can be roasted up to 3 days in advance before candying them. This make ahead step saves time on the day you plan to serve them.
Nutrition
This recipe was updated in August 2021 with helpful information.
Hi Kathleen! This is a great recipe and I look forward to trying it! One note from me is that I have great success in baking my sweet potatoes in my crock pot in a standing position. Put as many sweet potatoes in a tall crockpot standing up and supporting each other. Do not add any liquid because they make their own small amount. Bake for 3 hours on high or according to how thick the s. potatoes are. Cool and peel easily.Use anyway you want to. Hope you give this a try. Carolyn
I love that idea!!!
These are amazing! The clean up on the oven roasted part was a breeze! You have GOT to try them. I took them to my church potluck and they cleaned the bowl!!!!
That makes me so happy! I discovered the original recipe at a potluck and you took them to a potluck. Love it! Thanks for sharing!
Just so you know, u can skip the preroasting altogether. My MIL has made this exact recipe for 50 yrs, looks identical. Use potato peeler to easily peel potatoes, slice in half or in 1/4’s for large potatoes. Place in buttered baking dish. Sprinkle sugar only over all(sweet enough with just sugar for us, but that’s a personal preference). Dot with butter (don’t need to melt), sprinkle with kosher salt, put in 400 degree oven for 20 to 30 mins or so stirring halfway thru. Last 5 mins, turn to broil to crisp(blacken) edges just a tad. Amazing. Perfect sticky, firm but not too firm texture. My MIL is the ONLY person that makes them this way and they are just to die for.
Thank you so much for sharing your MIL's version of candied sweet potatoes. Some of the best tasting dishes are the ones with fond memories attached to them made by people we love.
Made these today and they were fantastic-this is my new go-to for sweet potatoes! Thanks for sharing!
So glad you loved them! The leftovers are just as good as same day. I often eat them as dessert with my leftovers!
That sweet lady Connie Parker is my sister. We lost her in July of this year. How did you meet her. Thank you🙏
I am so sorry to hear about your sister. The Connie Parker that gave me a version of this recipe lived here in Gardendale, Alabama and passed on many years ago.
I'm a Canadian so no marshmallows thank you but did sprinkle with chopped candied pecans.
I love they idea of adding pecans! Thanks for sharing and so glad you tried them!
Do you think it would work with brown sugar in place of the white sugar?
Yes, it should work! I would be interested to hear back from you after you've tried it. Brown sugar is just regular cane sugar with molasses added and brown sugar and sweet potatoes pair well together. Dark brown sugar has a lot more molasses added. I can't wait to hear from you on the results!
These remind me of my grandmother's sweet potatoes, and that's a good thing! Thank you for dropping by my blog.
Those Grandmas really knew how to cook! I have fond memories of my Grandma's cooking. So glad you liked the candied sweet potatoes!
Usually I make a sweet potato casserole - with the pecan crumble topping - and this year I wanted to try something different. I've been baking sweet potato's for years now since its so much easier and when I found this recipe I just had to try it for our Thanksgiving. People who usually just took a spoonful of sweet potatos in the past went back for seconds (and one person went back for thirds lol) This recipe is so easy to prepare in advance and then pop in the oven before dinner. I've had requests to make it this way for Christmas this year too! Thanks!
That is soooo exciting and wonderful to hear! It's crazy how people love this recipe because it's so crazy-good! Thank you for sharing your experience with my Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes with me. When you make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, be sure to post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag me in it @gritsandgouda or use the hashtag #gritsandgouda so I can see your creation!
Well it's a bit late for Thanksgiving, up here in Canada it was a week ago lol. If I still have my wits about me when preparing for Christmas, I'll try to remember to do the picture!
Have your ever tried this with sugarfree or sugar substitute in this recipe?
I have not tried that. I'm wondering if this recipe is a good candidate for the substitution since it still has 1/2 cup corn syrup. One lady told me she uses coconut sugar and butter and just bakes them in chunks. That might be worth a try although it won't have the candied texture, it sounds yummy.
Can you make these ahead and freeze?
Yes! You can roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and freeze those separately or you can go ahead and bake the whole recipe, cover it with foil and freeze it. Some casserole dishes now come with a lid. Put it in the fridge 2 days ahead of time and let it completely thaw before heating up in the oven or microwave.
I have not tried it but a small amount should work. I would stir in no more than 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon into the sugar before sprinkling it on the sweet potatoes to make sure it gets evenly distributed. Cloves and nutmeg are very strong so maybe 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon. If you have pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice, those blends might work, too. Let me know here if you try it!
I will try without the spices first and follow your recipe. Thank you very much.
You are so welcome!
My mother made these on Saturday morning for breakfast in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove! Ummmm!! So good....I love sweet potatoes.
I'm all about a cast iron skillet! I'm curious, did she just cover it with a lid and cook low and slow? I'd love to know how long she cooked them on the stove to candy them. Thanks for sharing.
My mother made a version of candied sweet potatoes that were my favorite since 1950's. She peeled and cut sections of sweet potatoes in half so flat side was 'up' in baking pan. pan. She'd put cut potatoes in large pot with water and boil pieces till almost done but not terribly soft. Drain and lay in 9 x13 pan flat side up. Then sprinkle with cinnamon enough to cover each piece lightly. Now take brown sugar and sprinkle onto of potato and some in between. Melt butter and drizzle over brown sugar and potatoes till wet but not soaked. . Cinnamon adds such a wonderful addition for flavor. Cook in oven 375 degrees for about half hour or until you see sauce bubbling and starting to thicken. Remove from oven then allow to set a bit before serving. Sauce will be goofy-syrup. I still make them to this day for holidays. Never measured... Eyeball to your liking. ☺️
Going to try your version too!!!
This sounds like a delicious version I will have to try! Thank you for sharing your mother's recipe with me.
Question: What do you think about adding spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves? Have you ever tried?
These are, by far the best glazed sweet potatoes I have made. My husband commented several times how delicious they were. He usually won’t eat the traditional sweet potato casserole but now I have a recipe we all like! I was concerned about prebaking and getting potatoes peeled without them falling apart. No issue whatsoever. In fact, they peeled and sliced perfectly. You’re photo shows exactly how pretty this side dish
Is and it tastes as yummy as it looks. Thank you.
Oh wow! Thank you so very much! Doing a happy dance over here! So glad you and your husband loved the candied sweet potatoes. Baking them instead of boiling them is my favorite shortcut because the skins just slip off without the messy, soggy sweet potatoes!