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These Southern candied yams are cooked in a flavorful spiced syrup that will provide you with an amazing mouth experience and make your guests love it.
Add this one to the Thanksgiving Holiday Menu right now.
These Southern candied yams come out the oven shining like vinyl under a turntable light—tender sweet potatoes slow-baked in a piloncillo syrup that smells like holidays, front-porch laughter, and soul food history.
This recipe leans on unrefined sugar, warm whole spices, and a splash of bourbon to build flavor fast, giving you deeply candied yams in about an hour without that tooth-aching sweetness problem. Classic Southern comfort, remixed with intention.
If you like this dish, try these 5 soul food dessert recipes.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
- Deep, caramelized sweetness from piloncillo, not flat white sugar
- Fork-tender sweet potatoes coated in a glossy, spiced syrup
- Old-school Southern candied yams with a modern flavor backbone
- Perfect for holidays, Sunday supper, or anytime your plate needs soul
Key Ingredients for Candied Yams
- Sweet Potatoes – Earthy, naturally sweet, and sturdy enough to hold their shape while soaking up syrup
- Piloncillo – Unrefined cane sugar with molasses and smoke notes that give candied yams depth
- Cinnamon Sticks – Warm, woody spice that perfumes the syrup without overpowering
- Star Anise – Subtle licorice undertone that adds complexity and a Southern-meets-global vibe
- Bourbon – Vanilla, oak, and gentle heat that round out the sweetness and keep it grown
How to Make Southern Candied Yams (step by step)
Step 1: Make the Syrup
In a medium saucepan add water and piloncillo, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Dissolve the piloncillo fully.
Heat a large skillet over low heat. Add the whole spices and heat for about 30 seconds. Add the butter melting fully. Increase the heat to medium heat and add the dissolved piloncillo (sugar mixture), whiskey, and orange juice to the melted butter mixture. Mix well, bring to a simmer, and let cook until the liquid is reduced and thickened.
Step 2: Bake the sweet potatoes
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Layer the sweet potato rounds in a baking dish or casserole dish. Add ¾ of the syrup, reserving the rest for later use. Mix the sweet potatoes in the syrup using a large slotted spoon making sure all the sweet potatoes are coated with the syrup.
Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake covered 45 minutes. Remove the foil, add some of the reserve syrup, and bake uncovered another 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Ingredient Substitutions and Recipe Variations
- Substitute dark brown sugar or jaggery if piloncillo isn’t available
- Swap bourbon for dark rum for deeper molasses notes
- Add orange zest or juice for brightness and balance
Test Kitchen Tips for Flavorful Candied Yams
- Cut sweet potatoes evenly so they cook at the same tempo. Don’t slice the sweet potatoes too thinly. Strive for ½ inch thickness. Finished sweet potatoes should be fork tender
- Use whole spices instead of ground for cleaner flavor. Heat the cinnamon, cloves, and anise first to release their flavor and aroma.
- Do not use canned sweet potatoes in this recipe
- If you don't have access to piloncillo (it's worth the time if you can find it) use brown sugar vs. white as the brown version has some bitterness and more complex flavor with the molasses presence.
- Be sure to use adequate amounts of water to completely dissolve the sugar which ensures the syrup won't break down
- Make the syrup ahead of time for all the different flavors to come together. This delicious sauce is everything. Save some and use in other dishes. It's great in oatmeal and on pancakes.
What to Serve with Soul Food Candied Yams
Black folks candied yams pair beautifully with pork infused green beans and slow-simmered Southern collard greens, especially when there’s pot liquor involved.
They shine next to smothered chicken thighs with onion gravy, soaking up savory drippings like a good hook in a classic song. Try 'em with crispy fried chicken too. If you prefer them alongside beef then go with smothered steak with Thai red curry gravy.
If it's holiday time, serve 'em up with classic blackeyed peas and Southern green beans.
Beats and Eats (Music to Pair with Collard Greens)
Cue up Sade’s “Sweetest Taboo.” Low, smooth, and grown—just like these Southern candied yams slowly glazing in the oven. Let the groove ride while the syrup tightens.
FAQ — Southern Candied Yams
Are candied yams made with yams or sweet potatoes?
In Southern cooking, candied yams are traditionally made with sweet potatoes, not true yams.
Why use piloncillo for candied yams?
Piloncillo brings deeper caramel and molasses flavor than refined sugar, making candied yams richer and more complex.
Do candied yams need marshmallows?
Not here. This recipe lets sweet potatoes and piloncillo do the singing, no fluff required.
Southern Candied Yams Recipe Notes
Cooking some of the sweet potatoes simultaneously with the syrup you help break down some of the starches into simple sugars which adds more of an intense sweet potato flavor to the syrup and makes it a more unified dish.
Make Candied Yams Recipe
This sweet potatoes recipe is the perfect addition to any holiday meal especially if you are looking for a soul food Thanksgiving menu. It's a delicious recipe - Sweet, sticky, and full of flavor, these yams will have your guests asking for seconds. So what are you waiting for? Get in the kitchen and give this soul food dish a try!
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Southern Candied Yams
Ingredients
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes sliced ½ inch thick
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 3 whole Cloves
- 2 whole Star Anise
- 1 medium cone Piloncillo or ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 stick stick Butter
- ½ oz Bourbon Whiskey
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon salt
Method
- In a medium saucepan add water and piloncillo, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Dissolve the piloncillo fully.
- Heat a large skillet over low heat. Add the whole spices and heat for about 30 seconds. Add the butter melting fully. Increase the heat to medium heat and add the dissolved piloncillo, whiskey, and orange juice. to the butter mixture. Mix well, bring to a simmer, and let cook until the liquid is reduced and thickened.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Layer the sweet potato rounds in a baking dish or casserole dish. Add ¾ of the syrup, reserving the rest for later use. Mix the sweet potatoes in the syrup using a large slotted spoon making sure all the sweet potatoes are coated with the syrup.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake covered 45 minutes. Remove the foil, add some of the reserve syrup, and bake uncovered another 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Nutrition
Notes
- Occasionally I like to double up on sweet potato flavor, so I infuse the syrup with sweet potato flavor and then top the sweet potatoes with the syrup.
- Add a little orange zest to the sweet potatoes before baking to add more flavor.
- Heat the cinnamon, cloves, and anise first to release their flavor and aroma.
- Feel free to use ground cinnamon if you don't have cinnamon sticks around
- Don’t slice the sweet potatoes too thinly. Strive for ½ inch thickness. Finished sweet potatoes should be fork tender
- Do not use canned sweet potatoes in this recipe
- If you don't have access to piloncillo (it's worth the time if you can find it) use brown sugar vs. white as the brown version has some bitterness and more complex flavor with the molasses presence.
- Be sure to use adequate amounts of water to completely dissolve the sugar which ensures the syrup won't break down
- Make the syrup ahead of time for all the different flavors to come together. This delicious sauce is everything. Save some and use in other dishes. It's great in oatmeal and on pancakes.
- Don't wait to make these as part of your traditional holiday meal, this is great for Sunday dinner also.
Sweet potatoes are the staple in my veg box delivery this season, and this looks like a perfect recipe for them. So sweet and flavourful, my family are bound to love them. Thank you!