Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes are the perfect melt-in-your-mouth roasted potato rounds prepped in brown sugar, butter, and spices.
These amazing candied melting sweet potatoes are the ultimate Side Dish to serve along with a holiday meal. Not only are they mouthwateringly delicious, but they are super easy to make! Try our Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato Biscuits, or Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes for more favorite sweet potato recipes.
Table of contents
- About our Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes Recipe
- Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes Ingredients
- Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- How to Make Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
- Nutritional Facts
- Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes Tips & Tricks
- What to Pair With Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
- How to Store Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
- Ideas to Serve Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
- FAQ for Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
- Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes Variations
About our Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Melting Potatoes are made by roasting potato slices at a high temperature. The sweet potato rounds will start to crisp up on the outside during the oven time. But, adding liquid to the dish for the last few minutes of baking makes the potatoes absorb the moisture and turns them perfectly moist inside. That soft, melty texture gives the classic side dish its name because the potatoes genuinely melt in your mouth.
In this candied version, you get the same crisp outside and melty outside, but with the addition of brown sugar and spice coating. Toss the potatoes in brown sugar and butter sauce before baking. The dark, sweet flavor of the brown sugar is the perfect complement to the sweet potatoes’ natural flavor. Plus, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon add some more festive flavor to the coating.
Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes: You only need a few simple ingredients for Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes, the first of which is the sweet potatoes. Get thin tube-shaped sweet potatoes, and make sure that you check them for any soft spots or apparent blemishes when you’re picking them out.
- Brown sugar: By whisking the brown sugar into melted unsalted butter, it’s easy to coat the sweet potato slices evenly in sugar. As the potatoes bake, the brown sugar will caramelize to give the dish a rich, sweet, caramelized flavor.
- Spices: Balance out the sweet brown sugar with some seasonal spices. ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, and ⅛ teaspoon ginger are all you need to give the sweet potatoes the most comforting flavor ever.
- Water: The last step is adding a cup of water to the pan. This may seem strange, but as the potatoes finish baking, they’ll soak up the water, which gives them their soft, melty texture on the inside.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
Baking Sheet: It is important to use a metal baking pan and not a glass dish because the glass will get too hot and burn the potatoes. The metal distributes the heat better so they will caramelize without burning.
Oven Mitts: You are pulling your hot pans in and out a few times and you will be holding onto the pans while flipping all the potatoes. So you definitely want a good pair of oven mitts that don’t retain too much heat and are thick enough to hold the pans for long periods without burning you.
How to Make Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
Time needed: 1 hour.
- Prep Work
Preheat your oven. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into even rounds, 1 inch thick. Set out your baking sheet.
- Season the Potatoes
Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk the brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger into the butter until combined. Toss the sweet potatoes in the butter and seasonings to coat.
- Bake the Potatoes
Lay the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on your baking sheet. Then bake for 20 minutes. Use a spatula to flip the potatoes and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- “Melt” the Potatoes
Flip the cooked potatoes once more. Add the water and bake for 15 more minutes. Take the potatoes from the oven and serve them hot.
Nutritional Facts
Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes Tips & Tricks
- Don’t Panic!
- So when you flip your potatoes the first time, and definitely the second time, you might panic and think your potatoes are burning. But don’t worry! The water will turn that char into an amazing caramelized crust.
- Cut your Potatoes Evenly
- Most roasted sweet potato dishes, it’s okay if the potatoes are a little uneven but for this recipe to work you want evenly cut rounds. If they are too thin, they will definitely burn and if they are too thick, they won’t soften all the way through.
What to Pair With Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
Thanksgiving: Tender, buttery sweet potatoes are the perfect side dish for your Roasted Turkey dinner. Serve them along with other with other Thanksgiving sides like Green Bean Casserole and Dinner Rolls. The would taste amazing with some tart Cranberry Sauce to balance the sweetness.
Cheese: These wonderfully decadent potatoes would taste amazing with a little creamy cheese crumble on top. Soft, creamy cheese like goat cheese, blue cheese, or feta cheese would all go perfectly with the caramely, buttery flavors and natural earthiness of the potatoes.
How to Store Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
Store: Don’t leave Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes at room temperature for more than 2 hours. To keep leftovers, you can cover the dish in plastic wrap or transfer the potatoes to an airtight container. Then store them in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Reheat: These are best reheated in the oven. Place the potatoes in a baking dish and add a splash of water to keep them from drying out. Cover with foil and bake at about 300-350 degrees until heated through.
Freeze: Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes freeze wonderfully! Just pop them in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 5 months. To reheat, thaw them overnight in the fridge then use the instructions above.
Ideas to Serve Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
Marshmallows: For a throwback to the casserole version, add delicious marshmallows to your Melting Sweet Potatoes. Prep the sweet potatoes and bake according to the recipe. Add mini marshmallows to the top, and broil for 30 seconds to toast them until golden brown and gooey.
Nuts: These incredibly soft and tender potatoes would go great with some crunchy nuts for texture. Toast nuts like pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios in a dry skillet until fragrant. Roughly chop the nuts and serve as a garnish. Toasted seeds like pepitas or sunflower seeds would taste delicious too!
FAQ for Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes
You can absolutely prep Candied Sweet Potatoes the night before you’re serving them. Just assemble and bake the dish as usual. Then let the Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes cool down, cover them, and store them in the fridge overnight. The next day, you can pop them in the oven for a few minutes to reheat them right before serving.
The reason these are called Melting Sweet Potatoes is because they get so incredibly tender they melt in your mouth! It’s almost like they turn into mashed potatoes inside with buttery brown sugar goodness as a crispy coating outside.
Yes, you definitely want to peel the sweet potatoes before slicing them and roasting them. Not only do they taste better without the skin, but the skin will keep the potatoes from absorbing all the water at the end. They will be soft but they won’t have that amazing melting texture.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes , thin tube ones, peeled and sliced 1 inch thick
- 4 tablespoons butter , melted
- 1/4 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Toss the potatoes in the mixture of the butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
- Put the sweet potatoes in a single layer on a metal baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.
- Flip the potatoes and bake an additional 20 minutes.
- Flip the potatoes again, add the water, and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Nutrition
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Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes Variations
Maple Pecan: Instead of using brown sugar, swap in maple syrup for the butter sauce. Add chopped pecans to the sauce as well for some crunch. After the potatoes are done baking, serve them with more crushed, toasted pecan pieces. You could also use walnuts or pistachios!
Spicy: Another way to add extra flavor is with some spice. Whisk a dash of cayenne pepper into the brown sugar and butter mixture, then coat the sweet potatoes. It will create a delicious blend of spicy and sweet in your Melting Candied Sweet Potatoes.
