Stovetop Candied Yams Recipe with Brown Sugar Glaze

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This candied yams recipe keeps the sweet potatoes in thick chunks and candies them on the stovetop, so the glaze turns glossy instead of watery. I serve them with spatchcock turkey and green bean casserole, where the sweetness cuts through the gravy and the butter.

Thin slices fall apart before the syrup has time to reduce, which is why the chunks here stay about an inch and a half thick. A short parboil sets the outside of each piece, so they hold their shape while the brown sugar, orange juice, and butter cook down around them.

Ingredients

• 3 lb (1.4 kg) orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, often sold as yams, peeled and cut into 1½-inch chunks
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Cut the potatoes evenly: Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into chunks about 1½ inches across, keeping the pieces as close to the same size as you can. Rinse them under cold water to wash off the surface starch, which otherwise thickens the glaze into a paste.
2. Parboil briefly: Drop the chunks into a pot of well-salted boiling water and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until a knife slides in with a little resistance left at the center. Drain them in a colander, then leave them to steam dry for 2 minutes so no water clings to the surface.
3. Build the glaze: Melt the butter in a wide 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add both sugars, the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and orange juice, then stir just until the sugar dissolves and the liquid simmers, about 2 minutes. Stop stirring once it bubbles so the sugar does not crystallize.
4. Simmer the potatoes: Add the drained sweet potatoes and spoon the glaze over them until every piece is coated. Cover the skillet and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, turning the chunks once halfway, until they are tender all the way through.
5. Reduce to a glaze: Uncover the skillet, raise the heat to medium, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes while spooning the syrup over the potatoes. Pull it off the heat when the glaze coats the back of a spoon and the potatoes look shiny, since it thickens further as it cools.
6. Finish and rest: Turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let the skillet sit for 5 minutes so the glaze clings instead of running off. Taste one chunk and add a pinch of salt if the sweetness is flat, then serve warm from the pan.

Variations

• Canned shortcut: use two 29-ounce cans of yams in syrup, drained, and reserve ½ cup of the syrup in place of the orange juice. Skip the parboil and simmer them for 10 minutes before reducing the glaze, since the canned pieces are already tender.
• Marshmallow topping: glaze the potatoes as written, tip them into a baking dish, scatter mini marshmallows over the top, and broil 1 to 2 minutes until the marshmallows blister. Watch the dish the whole time, because sugar scorches fast under a broiler.
• Maple and bourbon: swap 2 tablespoons of the orange juice for maple syrup and stir 1 tablespoon of bourbon in with the vanilla. The alcohol cooks off in seconds and leaves a warmer finish that works well with ham.
• Fresh ginger and orange zest: add a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger with the dry spices and a strip of orange zest to the glaze. Lift the zest out before serving so nobody gets a bitter mouthful.
• Apple cider instead of orange juice gives a rounder glaze with less citrus bite, and it browns a little faster, so start checking the pan at the 4-minute mark.
• A half teaspoon of cayenne with the spices adds a warm edge without making the dish spicy, which is how a lot of soul food versions balance the sugar.
• If you want the baked version with a pecan crumble on top, my sweet potato casserole is the one to make. These yams stay on the stovetop and leave the oven free for the bird.
• Serve them next to creamy mashed potatoes and something sharp, like cranberry sauce, so the plate does not turn into sugar on sugar.
• Doubling the batch for a holiday crowd works better in two skillets than in one deep pot. A deep pot traps steam, and the potatoes end up pale and soft instead of glazed.

Why the glaze turns watery or grainy

• Wet potatoes water down the syrup: drain them well and let the steam escape for a couple of minutes before they go into the pan.
• A crowded skillet steams instead of glazing, so use the widest pan you own and cook in two batches if yours is small.
• Stirring the sugar before it dissolves makes the glaze grainy. Let the liquid come to a simmer first, then leave it alone.
• A hard boil breaks the chunks apart. Keep it at a gentle simmer and turn the pieces with a spatula rather than a spoon.
• If the glaze tastes syrupy sweet, add salt and a squeeze of orange juice. Both pull the sugar back without changing the texture.
• When the chunks are still firm but the glaze is already thick, add ¼ cup of water, cover the pan, and cook 5 more minutes before reducing again.
• A dark, bitter edge means the sugar caught on the side of the pan. Lower the heat and scrape only the pale caramel back into the skillet.
• A spoonful of molasses with the brown sugar gives a deeper color and a faint licorice note, but cut the granulated sugar by a tablespoon to compensate.
• The glaze sets as it cools, so pull the pan off the heat while it still looks slightly loose.

Storage

Keep leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat them gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of orange juice or water, because a microwave turns the chunks rubbery at the edges. I do not recommend freezing candied yams, since the sweet potatoes go soft and release water when they thaw.

FAQ

Are candied yams the same as sweet potatoes?

In an American grocery store, the vegetable labeled yams is almost always an orange-fleshed sweet potato, and that is what this recipe uses. True yams are starchy, white-fleshed roots from another plant entirely, and they will not candy the same way.

Can I make candied yams with canned yams?

You can use canned yams here. Two 29-ounce cans of yams in syrup, drained, replace the fresh potatoes. Skip the parboil, use the reserved syrup instead of orange juice, and shorten the covered simmer to about 10 minutes so the pieces do not fall apart.

Can I make candied yams ahead of time?

You can cook them up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate them covered. Reheat in a covered skillet over low heat with a spoonful of water or orange juice, and add the vanilla fresh at the end so the flavor stays bright.

Can you freeze candied yams?

I would skip the freezer for these. The sweet potatoes absorb the glaze and turn mushy once thawed, and the texture does not come back after reheating. Make them fresh or hold them in the fridge instead.

How do I add marshmallows to candied yams?

Glaze the potatoes on the stovetop first, then move them to a baking dish and cover the top with mini marshmallows. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes until they brown and puff, and stay at the oven door because they go from golden to burnt in under a minute.

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