Skip the Sweet Potato Casserole this Thanksgiving and make these scrumptious back-for-seconds made from scratch delicious Southern Candied Yams recipe instead.

Made from scratch the old fashioned way with a made from scratch syrupy glaze to bathe the yams in before baking.

Southern Candied Yams Recipe

Southern Candied Yams begin with fresh yams so you know there will be some work involved. This recipe is not for you if you are not willing to peel, cut boil then bake. Don’t go yet though. At least read the recipe and think about all the Ooooo’s and Ahhhh’s and brownie points you will earn for sitting a dish of these on the table.

Skip the Sweet Potato Casserole this Thanksgiving and make these scrumptious back-for-seconds made from scratch delicious Southern Candied Yams recipe instead.

Ingredients for Southern Candied Yams

• Yams
• Brown Sugar
• Salted Butter
• Cinnamon
• Water

Let’s discuss the butter and salt

Normally most of my recipes call for unsalted butter as we make an effort to cut back on salt in our diet. However, we need a little salt and also some butter in this recipe. The solution is to add salted butter to our boiling water which dilutes both a bit but leaves great flavor behind.

Directions for making Candied Yams from scratch

Peel and cut them yams into manageable pieces. Depending on how large the yams are, I like to cut them into thirds before I chop into smaller bite size pieces.

Boiling The Yams

Add the cut yams into the bottom of a large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil on medium high heat. Then add about 3 Tablespoons of butter to the boiling water and reduce heat to medium.

Gently stir occasionally. Boil for about 10-15 minutes and test for tenderness using a fork. Once the potatoes just begin to get tender, use a slotted serving spatula to remove them from the juice leaving the juice in the pot.

NOTE: You don’t want to boil the yams until they are completely tender. Take them out when they are just beginning to get tender which should be about 10-15 minutes depending on how thick you cut them.

Place the drained yams into a prepared casserole dish and set aside.

Making the Syrup

Pour off all but about 1 1/2 Cups of the liquid. Bring it back to a boil and stir in 1 Cup packed brown sugar. Turn down on medium heat and stir until the mixture becomes thick and syrupy which takes a few minutes. I like to use a wooden spoon to stir while making this recipe.

It’s time to preheat the oven to 350°.

Baking The Yams

Sprinkle the yams with Cinnamon before adding the syrup. The cinnamon is optional. If you are not a fan, skip it. You could also use Allspice if you like but know it may overpower the natural flavor of the yams.

Drizzle the syrup over the yams. Yes, I know that does look like a lot of cinnamon but we are going to stir the yams to blend the cinnamon and syrup throughout so hang on.

Your almost Candied Yams are ready to go in the oven for the final step now.

Bake at 350° for about 30-40 minutes covered with foil. Check to see if they are fork tender about half way through the baking time.

Scroll down to Download or Print the recipe

More Southern Made From Scratch Side Dish Recipes

There was always yellow squash in my Daddy’s garden. One of our favorite summer side dishes was Mom’s Squash Casserole and I use her recipe to make it now.

Not even going to lie, I cheat on this one but trust me when I say, it’s so stinking good. We make this often in the summer. Homemade Creamy Cole Slaw.

Another one of my Mom’s recipes that I am in charge of making now is her Southern Potato Salad. It’s from scratch and a bit labor intensive but totally worth the effort. This one is a good side dish with a Ham.

Is Deviled Eggs a Thanksgiving Menu item in your family? Sweet or Dill relish is the question. We use sweet and never have leftovers when I make these Deviled Eggs.

Thank you for sharing!