Candied Sweet Potatoes are a traditional side for holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas with butter (or margarine), brown sugar, cinnamon and marshmallows.
Candied Yams are the classic holiday side dish on tables across the country every year and these Candied Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows take that recipe up a notch! For more ideas of what to cook for the holidays, check out our Holiday Recipes.
CANDIED SWEET POTATOES WITH MARSHMALLOWS
Thanksgiving is coming up quick, so if you need a side dish that’s really going to wow your extended family, then you need to try this delicious sweet potato recipe. Candied Sweet Potatoes are fork-tender and covered in ground cinnamon and mini marshmallows.
This is the best candied sweet potato recipe ever. Why? It takes ten minutes to peel your sweet potatoes and toss with the ingredients, less time than the oven takes to preheat.
As far as Thanksgiving recipes go, this is one of the easiest you’ll make, and they are the perfect addition to any holiday meal. This recipe is not just good for Thanksgiving either, we love this recipe for Christmas and Easter! Any holiday meal where we enjoy a large gathering with a main course of a turkey, baked ham or prime rib, we enjoy baked potatoes too.
OTHER DELICIOUS HOLIDAY SIDE DISHES
Green Bean Casserole
Baked Mac and Cheese
Easy Apple Sausage Stuffing
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
HOW TO MAKE CANDIED SWEET POTATOES
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Toss all sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar and spices together in a large bowl.
- Add the mixture to a 9×13 baking dish and cover with foil pan.
- Cook for 30 minutes
- Uncover and stir.
- Cook an additional 20 minutes.
- Top with marshmallows and broil for up to30 seconds, 6-8 inches from the top broiler.
Can you make Candied Sweet Potatoes the night before?
You can make Candied Sweet Potatoes the night before, up until the marshmallow topping. While your turkey is resting and your oven is already heated, put your sweet potatoes back in the oven to warm them. Once warmed through, turn the oven to broil and top the sweet potatoes with marshmallows and broil until golden brown.
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VARIATIONS ON CANDIED SWEET POTATOES
- Spices: Sweet potatoes are a root vegetable that goes well with so many spices. Add some cayenne or paprika for some warmth. You can even add Pumpkin Pie Spice to make them burst with holiday flavors.
- Nuts: Take this fall dish to the next level by making your Candied Sweet Potatoes with pecans. Sprinkle chopped pecans over the sweet potatoes before baking for added crunch and flavor.
- Maple: Candied Sweet Potatoes with maple syrup is a great way to further update this classic dish. Swap out the brown sugar for maple syrup and reduce the butter to ¼ cup.
TIPS FOR MAKING CANDIED SWEET POTATOES
- If you choose to add the marshmallows to the top and then place the whole dish under the broiler, keep a very close eye on it to make sure that it doesn’t burn.
- Slicing and dicing make a difference. Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes are traditionally sliced. We dice the potatoes in this recipe, so if you choose to slice your potatoes and line them up like Scalloped Potatoes, they will cook faster so keep an eye on them. They are done when they are fork tender.
- To peel or not to peel is up to you. You can eat the skin of sweet potatoes and many people like that texture. There is a current meal delivery service that we use (and love) that serves it’s meals with sweet potatoes with the skin on. While I would not originally have considered this appealing, I can tell you it has changed how our kids enjoy them in meals and we now enjoy sweet potatoes skin on.
- Eating your sweet potatoes with the skin on contain MANY more nutrients than peeling the skin. This may not be the recipe where you worry about the nutrients in a sweet potato, but it could be food for thought for January. 😉
- If you want to enjoy your sweet potatoes skin on be sure to scrub your sweet potatoes VERY WELL. The skin is thick and dirt can cling well to it.
MORE HOLIDAY SIDE DISH RECIPES
Roast Turkey
Baked Ham (with Brown Sugar Glaze)
HoneyBaked Ham (Copycat)
Perfect Garlic Prime Rib
HOW LONG ARE CANDIED SWEET POTATOES GOOD?
- Serve: Don’t leave the Sweet Potatoes out for longer than about 2 hours at room temperature.
- Store: Candied Sweet Potatoes will last up to about 4 days in the fridge as long as they are properly sealed in plastic wrap or an airtight container.
- Freeze: You can freeze Candied Sweet Potatoes for up to 6 months. Remove the marshmallows before freezing and add a new layer when you’re ready to reheat.
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes , cubed
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Toss the sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together in a large bowl.
- Add the mixture to a 9x13 baking dish and cover with foil pan.
- Cook for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and stir sweet potatoes gently.
- Cook an additional 20 minutes uncovered.
- Top with marshmallows and broil for up to 30 seconds, 6-8 inches from the top broiler.
Nutrition
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This was a very recipe. The spices make all the difference when it comes to flavor and taste. This will definitely be my choice from now on.
My mom made this recipe many years ago and was always a hit! I still make mine the same way and still loved by all.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone ?
Do you peel the sweet potatoes?
Thanks for asking Brenda. I do. If you enjoy sweet potatoes, we have several options for you to try on the site! https://dinnerthendessert.com/?s=sweet+potatoes. With Thanksgiving around the corner you might enjoy some of these sweet potato recipes!
Can this be made in an 8×8 dish? Or is it too much liquid?
How deep is your 8×8 dish? I’m guessing you’re going to have to use the Yield bar to create the recipe for fewer people to fit the 8×8 pan but having never tested the recipe with that size I’m not sure how to advise you. Did you try the recipe in an 8×8 and how did it turn out?
I usually will skip the Marshmallows and throw in 2 cups of Pecans instead on on the top.
Thank you so much it tasted really delicious
Can I add bourbon to this recipe? Thoughts?
You could definitely add 1-2 tablespoons of bourbon to get some of that flavor infused in the recipe!
are you boiling the sweet potato cubes before you mix them in a bowl with spices & putting it in the 9×13 dish? or are you tossing raw sweet potato cubes in the spices and baking it like that?? i feel like that’s such a dumb question but i’ve looked at too many recipes to know which to follow?
They are added in raw. Sorry for the delay in replying, I know this recipe is long done now.
Ive never made sweet potatoes before so I didn’t know if canned were cooked or not and most recipes call for canned so I used fresh and parboiled! I tried using maple syrup instead of brown sugar and reduced butter to 1/4 cup and used a 9×9 pan so we will see how that tastes. just made today for turkey day, so lets hope I did ok. I’ll let you know. I also used 5 smaller potatoes.
I had no problem
Just pour liquid out.
Not a big deal!
The best sweet potatoes I’ve ever made! I doubled the recipe and they were perfect! Everyone loved them! Thank you!
The absolute best sweet potato recipe I’ve ever tried. So easy and my family loved them!
Like soup. Way too watery
I made this following all measurements EXCEPT the potatoes. I saw so many comments saying it was 2x as much liquid after cooking that I actually used FIVE potatoes but the same amount of everything else… and it was still super syrupy. Lots of complaints that it was too sweet, too.
The liquid comes out of the potatoes. So more potatoes = more liquid.
Good morning and happy happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
We had these yesterday for our Thanksgiving dinner and they were very good. I’m giving a 4 star rating only bc there was still quite a bit of liquid and I followed the recipe just as instructed. I used fresh sweet potatoes, not canned, like I have before and thought that would make a difference, but did not. Now I will say, it wasn’t as much, but still too runny. So I’m assuming the potatoes have a lot of water in them? I like mine more thick. Also I used the store brand marshmallows and omg, they wouldn’t melt and became huge! It was kinda funny. Then they shrunk lol! Should’ve taken a before and after. But for the most part the taste was good and the potatoes had a great texture compared to the canned.
Sorry for the rant, just wanted to share. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving 2021.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’ve used both sweet potatoes also and the same thing happened with mine. And I also used the store brand marshmallows and the same thing happened with them! So, we both learned something. As far as the liquid, I assume sweet potatoes have a lot of water in them especially the canned ones.
Happy Thanksgiving ??
Can you double the recipe for a crowd?
You don’t want to make it in multiple layers, it’ll take longer to cook through. If you double make it in two pans.
Hi Sabrina, I’ll tell you the truth, the past few years I used canned yams and they always came out watery. I don’t know why I did that bc years ago I always used real sweet potatoes ?. They’re so much better. Question: I’m only having 4-5 people at home so how many sweet potatoes do I need? I have 9 medium size ones. So will that be enough?
Thank you and have a blessed thanksgiving!
Hello! How far ahead can I make this before dinner?
These yams were my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal. The most difficult part was cutting up the large potatoes, I will bake them a little next time 1st before cutting into cubes. I only used 1/4 cup butter. Also after putting it in the dish sprinkled on 1 tablespoon white sugar and squeezed the juice of 1 lemon on top. Absolutely delicious
I made this and liked it a lot. I was looking for a recipe like this, where it was baked in the oven the whole time and made with fresh sweet potatoes. I thought it seemed like too much butter when I was making it and after I ate it. Not that it affects the taste (that’s great), but there’s a lot of the sauce left in the dish after the potatoes have been eaten (and yes, I used 2 very large potatoes). Just seems like a bit of a waste. For me, I would probably make about 30% less of the sauce.
I bake sweet potato’s in oven. Cool then I cut them in half fry them just until brown in a little oil. For sauce I use butter, karo syrup, cinnamon and what ever flavors you like. Bake until bubbling. 30 to 40 minutes then marshmallows until brown.
That sounds delicious! Happy Thanksgiving!
If I don’t have Ginger will that mess up the taste
No you’ll be fine, it just helps to temper the sweetness a little and add depth. It’ll still be delicious.
This recipe was a delicious hit! I added a teaspoon of vanilla because it just seemed right (LOL) and it was excellent! We’ve saved the leftover juices and will serve over vanilla ice cream tonight!
Thank you!!!
Wonderful, thank you so much for the review! That sounds like such an awesome dessert too. I cooked a sweet potato crisp recipe (like apple crisp) for us for dessert last night that we had with ice cream. Looking forward to posting that one too, but the sweet potatoes and ice cream were amazing. Happy Holidays!
Is this recipe for 2 lbs = less than 1 kg? Thank you.
1 kg is 2.2 pounds, so yes just under 1kg. Happy Thanksgiving!
My recipe turned out really great but it’s super watery did I do something wrong?
The key is to do 30 minutes covered then 20 minutes (or until tender) uncovered. Did you cook it this way? If so in the 20 minutes a lot of the liquid should have cooked off before you got the marshmallows onto it.
Mine turned out the exact same. Sweet potatoes in a pool of liquid.
Hi Christine, can I ask how many sweet potatoes you used? If the pan is really crowded with potatoes it won’t allow the sauce the cook off.
Only 2 large ones (a bit under a pound per)
And what size pan? Was it really crowded? There’s a picture in the post that shows the amount of liquid I had leftover, you had more liquid than this?
So you don’t boil the sweet potatoes and they are soft after a half hour in the oven? ???
Hi Sakara, not quite. They’re cooked, covered, for 30 minutes. Then you stir and cook for an additional 20 minutes before the marshmallows go on. So 50 minutes to make sure they’re tender. Happy Thanksgiving!
You mention 2 large sweet potatoes. What is the weight? 2 pounds?
yes, about 2 pounds. Happy Thanksgiving!
Is it alright to use 2 ll can of sweet potatoes instead of the real one, and if so what do I need to do differently?
I’ve not tested them but usually they are packed with in a syrup so you may need to adjust the brown sugar for sweetness. I’d love to know how they turn out if you decide to try. Enjoy!
My turkey has to cook at 325 so is there anyway to determine the extra time if I cook this at 325 while the turkey cooks?
So not only would it be at 325 but you’re sharing oven space too. This will be fine but the timing will be longer. I would expect an additional 20-30 minutes. I would check it at the correct time, take a second to baste the turkey and if it’s almost done give it like 15 minutes more. If it is nowhere near fork tender give it another 25-30…which would be a good time to baste again anyway! Happy thanksgiving!
Can you prepare it the night before and bake the next day?
Yes! Give it a bit of extra time to compensate for the refrigerated potatoes, but yes! Happy Thanksgiving!
Do you think this recipe would work in a crockpot?
Follow this recipe, but stop before mashing it. Then either add the marshmallows to the slow cooker and cover for 10 minutes to melt them or pour mixture into baking dish and broil for 1 minute topped with marshmallows. Hope you love it! https://dinnerthendessert.com/slow-cooker-sweet-potato-casserole/ Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi. I was wondering if I need to boil the sweet potatoes first?
No, just cube them and they’ll cook while in the oven. Enjoy!
Can you also add bourbon cherries to them and walnuts or macadamia nuts
Sounds amazing!
If I had a choice between 1 and ten stars, this is an 11!
That’s so sweet of you, Tony! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Do you use sweet potatoes or yams ?
I used sweet potatoes for this recipe. Enjoy!
True yams have a barky skin and can grow up to 100lbs. Unless you’re shopping at a specialty food import store, I can guarantee literally everything you have used are sweet potatoes. The grocery stores erroneously market them as yams and it got to the point where they are used interchangeably much like kleenex is used to reference all facial tissue. But alas, they are NOT yams.
Do I need to boil the potatoes first? Before baking them?
Nope, just cube them and they’ll cook in the oven. Enjoy!
My family loved it. I’m going to make it for Thanksgiving, however I’m going to cut the sugar to 1/2 cup and and I’ll add a little more cinnamon. I also may add more sweet potatoes. The bottom of the pan was very syrupy.
I make these every year for the holidays. My recipe is just like yours except I also add some chopped pecans in mine and I do a rough mash on them when I take it out of the oven to before I top it with the marshmallows. Oh and I also put like a half cup of marshmallows in and mix it in after I mash then I top it off. Thanks for sharing this recipe and I’m looking forward to trying some of your recipes.
Love all of your suggestions. Happy holidays!
Try adding some cranberries in them as well, my mother did this when I was younger and she hosted for everyone. There’s be a dish that was plain, one with cranberries and one with cranberries and marshmallows. The cranberries add a nice pop and distract from the sometimes overly sweet flavor of the potatoes and sugars.
If we put the sweet potatoes in the oven just to peel the skin off, do we still do the 30 min in the oven and then 20 min? Or just do the 20 minutes uncovered?
You want to cook for 30 minutes unpeeled first? I have not tested this, but 30 minutes will likely only partially cook the outside leaving the inside raw. The problem is going to come when you try to chop that and also that the chunks will be cooked at different rates. I don’t think this is the best option. If you don’t have a peeler I would just carefully cut off the peels, minimizing the waste as best as you can. Happy Thanksgiving!
Do you add the chopped pecans before you put it in the oven the first time or at the second time when you take it outt after 30 mins? Thanks so much for your help.
You could add at either time, if you add earlier they will be softer. If you add after the 30 minutes they’ll stay crunchier. Or you could add as a sprinkling on top of the servings. If you do this you’d get a lot more flavor if you toast them either on a small sheet pan in the last five minutes of baking with the sweet potatoes or in a dry pan on your stovetop on medium low, shaking the pan occasionally, for 6-8 minutes. Happy Thanksgiving!
Do you cook the sweet potatoes before cubing them?
No.
Easy and delicious. Will be my only recipe for candied sweet potatoes from now on.
Reading this makes me so happy! Thanks for coming back to let me know, Kathy.
Can this recipe made the day before? Like bake first 30 minutes and then refrigerate and finish baking and adding marshmallows next day.
Yes 🙂
What would be your recommendation for cooking if we make it today through the 30 minute cooking, and then refridgerate until tomorrow afternoon — how long should we then cook it tomorrow, in addition to the 20 minutes listed plus the quick marshmallow cook? Thank you!
Probably 30, 10 to take the chill off, 20 to finish. Be sure to cool naturally before refrigerating for food safety. Happy Thanksgiving!
This recipe calls for only 2 sweet potatoes, yet it says it is 10 servings?
I want to make this, but it seems like something isn’t correct in this recipe.
Can you explain ?
Thanks!
Whoops! It looks like my servings were not updated correctly – definitely not enough coffee that day. The correct serving amount is 5-6. I will update now. Sorry about that!
hi-I just made this and used 3 sweet potatoes and a bag plus maybe 1/4 of another of marshmallows and mine is in a POOL of sauce-PLEASE update the recipe to the correct number of sweet potatoes for others! It does taste great just have to use a fork and a spoon oh and a straw!
I am so sorry, I am just seeing this tonight. I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.
The recipe is designed for large sweet potatoes. How big were the potatoes you ended up using?
I can’t wait to make this recipe! I have a question: I have been asked to bring the candied sweet potatoes to a large event. I would need to triple or possibly quadruple the recipe. How will that work?
So sorry for the late reply. You can absolutely double or triple. If you use the large disposable trays, I think that would work best. If you go to the top of the recipe card and hover over servings amount, use the slider to double the amount and it will adjust the quantities on the ingredients. Hope this helps!
FYI the slider, at least on my computer, changes the quantities in the recipe but doesn’t tell you how many servings it is for that recipe. For example, you can push the slider up and it’ll say 5 potatoes, etc., but it still says 6 servings (doesn’t tell you anywhere what number of servings you’ve moved the slider to).
Oh no, thank you for letting me know. I will look into it!
Oh how I can not wait for Thanksgiving!!! This is one of my favorite side dishes ever!!
These are a holiday staple! We love the marshmallows on top!
They are good either way but the marshmallows are a favorite!
Such a classic recipe! I can’t remember a single Thanksgiving growing up where we didn’t have these.
Agreed! How can you not have them on Turkey Day?? 🙂
Seriously the only way I will eat sweet potatoes. So rich and delicious!
They are very rich and yummy!
I add a few pineapple chunks to mine.
these are the best! So yummy
Thanks!
Could I make this the night before? Then on thanksgiving reheat and add marshmallows last?
Sure 🙂