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READY IN ABOUT 1½ hrs

Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes

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"Traditional sweet potato recipe. It is usually served as a side dish." — Pam Reed

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Original recipe makes 12 servings Change Servings

6 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
salt to taste

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Directions

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into slices.
Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and add the sliced sweet potatoes.
Mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cover the sweet potatoes with sugar mixture and stir. Cover skillet, reduce heat to low and cook for about 1 hour or until potatoes are "candied". They should be tender but a little hard around the edges. Also the sauce will turn dark. You will need to stir occasionally during the cooking. Stir in the vanilla just before serving. Serve hot.

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PREP 20 mins
COOK 1 hr
READY IN 1 hr 20 mins

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This is how I have been making my sweet potatoes since I can remember, and how my mother and grandmother did before me. The only difference is that I use brown sugar instead of white. I think it gives it a more "carmelized" flavor and texture. I also omit the spices all together. I don't care for spicy sweet potatoes, just SWEET sweet potatoes :0) Be sure to use "real" butter for this as that is part of the fabulous end result!!!! Thanks!

—pretty_in_pink_pa

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Jan 05, 2012

too sweet

—Christine

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266 Ratings

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Dec 30, 2005

Slow cooking without stirring made all the difference - thank you I finally made the perfect sweet potatoes! I only baked the potatoes for a bit so they would not fall apart while slow cooking and stay firm. Also, I only used about 2 TBS brown sugar. About 5 minutes before serving, I transfered them to a casserole dish and added chopped pecans then topped with marshmallows and browned it in the oven. So yummy!

—Suzy

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Dec 14, 2003

I found this recipe looking for a new sweet potato recipe for Thanksgiving. Now my family expects me to make this for every holiday!

—H2579380

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Apr 13, 2007

I love this recipe, but my son is diabetic so I use Splenda in place of the sugar and double the spices. Some times I also add a little sugar free maple flavored syrup for a more traditional taste I also bake it. I served it at our family Thanksgiving and everyone loved it. They also liked the fact it was much lower in calories.

—BONHA

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Nov 20, 2005

Excellent recipe! Much easier than the way I made them in the past. I needed a large dutch oven sized pot to cook six sweet potatoes though. I left them in large chunks so they wouldn't disintigrate while cooking. The addition of vanilla is awesome but my family doesn't care for cinnamon and nutmeg in their candied sweet potatoes, so I added the zest of one small orange which added a nice flavor.

—chellebelle

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Nov 19, 2005

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Finally! After years of the frustration of having watery sweet potatoes and not being sweet enough...I come across this recipe! Now I can serve my candied yams with pride. I never thought I'd be able to make them "candied". And I never thought to cook them in an iron skillet. DUH! This is definately a keeper for me!

—HONEYROSE

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Apr 04, 2007

Yummy. My husband raved about them so much I ended up cooking another batch the day after. Smelled so good while cooking. Took longer to cook than expected-I think I cut the potatoes too thick. Added half white-half brown sugar because I like the flavor the brown sugar adds.

—BARBARA A.

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Nutrition

Calories
397 kcal
20%

Carbohydrates
79.4 g
26%

Cholesterol
20 mg
7%

Fat
7.9 g
12%

Fiber
7 g
28%

Protein
3.7 g
7%

Sodium
179 mg
7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes

Serving Size: 1/12 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 397
Calories from Fat: 71

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 7.9g 12 %
Saturated Fat 5g 25 %
Cholesterol 20mg 7 %
Sodium 179mg 7 %
Potassium 771mg 22 %
Total Carbohydrates 79.4g 26 %
Dietary Fiber 7g 28 %
Protein 3.7g 7 %
Sugars 43g
Vitamin A 649 %
Vitamin C 9 %
Calcium 9 %
Iron 14 %
Thiamin 15 %
Niacin 19 %
Vitamin B6 30 %
Magnesium 21 %
Folate 14 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.