Next up on the menu for our Thanksgiving feast is my Candied Sweet Potatoes. These are a family favorite in our house. They bake up to the perfect tenderness, with a deliciously sweet, candied sauce. They are the perfect compliment to any of your traditional Thanksgiving meats, such as turkey, roast beef, or ham and mesh well with other starches such as whipped potatoes, stuffing, and corn. You are definitely going to want to save this recipe!
To make these potatoes, you are going to need sweet potatoes (of course), Himalayan pink salt, salted butter, water, brown sugar (I prefer to use dark brown sugar, but you can use light as well), and vanilla extract. If you want to make these extra festive, you can also add in some cinnamon and nutmeg.
Begin by preheating your oven to 375°F and preparing a 9×13-inch casserole dish by greasing it with butter; set aside.
Sweet Potatoes: Prepare your sweet potatoes by peeling and slicing them ½-inch thick slices. Place them in your prepared casserole dish, sprinkle some salt on top of them and toss to coat.
Sauce: To make the sauce, combine your butter, water, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (if using) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until your butter has melted. Stop stirring and bring your mixture to a gentle boil. Boil for about 2 minutes without stirring. Remove your sauce from the heat and stir in your vanilla extract.
Pour your sauce over your prepared sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Bake for 1 hour, stirring them every 20 minutes. I like to cover my casserole dish with aluminum foil after the first 20 minutes of baking to make sure my potatoes bake up evenly.
After baking for 1 hour, check to make sure your Candied Sweet Potatoes are fork-tender (meaning you can insert a fork into them with ease) before removing from the oven. When done, remove your casserole dish from the oven and sprinkle with your desired amount of Himalayan pink salt. Cool uncovered for 10 minutes before serving. Your sauce will be very thin when you take your potatoes our of the oven, but it will thicken up beautifully as it cools. Garnish with some fresh parsley or rosemary. Store your leftovers covered in your refrigerator for up to 1 week.
For more of my Thanksgiving recipes, please make sure you check out my Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake.
Candied Sweet Potatoes
10
servings15
minutes1
hour327
kcalThese Candied Sweet Potatoes bake up perfectly in a bath of butter and brown sugar! They are the absolute perfect side dish to beef, pork, chicken, and turkey, and absolutely must be on your Thanksgiving and Christmas menus!
Ingredients
SWEET POTATOES
5–6 medium sweet potatoes (3–4 pounds)
½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
SAUCE
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
2 Tablespoons water
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Himalayan pink salt, to taste
GARNISH
Fresh parsley, optional
Fresh rosemary, optional
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a 9×13-inch casserole dish by greasing it with butter; set aside.
- Sweet Potatoes: Peel and slice sweet potatoes into ½-inch thick slices. Place in prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle salt on top and toss to coat.
- Sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, water, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (if using). Cook, stirring continuously, until butter has melted. Stop stirring and bring to a gentle boil. Boil for 2 minutes without stirring. Remove sauce from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
- Pour sauce over potatoes and toss to coat. Bake for 1 hour, stirring sweet potatoes every 20 minutes. After the first 20 minutes, cover casserole dish with aluminum foil so potatoes bake evenly.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt. Cool uncovered for 10 minutes before serving. Sauce is thin right out of the oven but thickens as it cools. Garnish with fresh parsley or rosemary.
- Store leftovers covered in refrigerator for up to 1 week.
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