These melt-in-your-mouth Candied Sweet Potatoes are a delicious side dish. Made with brown sugar, butter, and balsamic vinegar, it's a very easy dish to make right alongside your main meal.
Sweet potato recipes are a classic side dish and are super popular during the holiday season. And for good reason.
No matter if you like your sweet potatoes best.
Why We Love This Sweet Potato Recipe
This recipe is delicious and one of my favorite way to enjoy sweet potatoes.
FLAVOR & TEXTURE - This recipe is all about flavor and texture. The sweet potatoes are sweet and soft, with crunchy candy bits. Once properly caramelized, it's not just sweet but almost reminds you of eating licorice.
FAMILY FAVORITE - An easy side dish that's a perfect side dish on any holiday table. It takes less than 20 minutes to prep.
If you're making this recipe as a Thanksgiving side dish, you can peel and chop the potatoes a day in advance. Then, store them in an airtight container overnight and follow the rest of the recipe the next day.
When planning your holiday meal, you can serve candied sweet potatoes as a side dish or creative salad topping!
LIMITED INGREDIENTS - You most likely already have these simple ingredients in your fridge and pantry. But it won't take more than one quick trip to the grocery store to find everything.
Expert Tip: Check out this delicious Roasted Butternut Squash Salad. Guess what? You can also use this recipe to replace the butternut squash in that salad.
Ingredients
For a detailed ingredients list, please check the printable recipe card.
SWEET POTATOES - You'll want to look for medium-sized sweet potatoes free of bruises. The size is important here. You want to avoid large sweet potatoes. Large potatoes are more starchy than small and medium ones, and it's a bit harder to get that perfect candy crunch.
BUTTER - You've heard me say this before. But I strongly recommend using unsalted butter for all of your cooking and baking. Different brands of salted butter have different amounts of salt. And it's always best if you control how much butter you'll add to any given recipe.
BALSAMIC VINEGAR - I'm a fan of recipes with a big flavor but require just a few simple ingredients. However, I recommend buying quality ingredients for staples like olive oil.
This is especially true for balsamic vinegar. It would be best if you were looking for a high-quality one. It makes ALL the difference.
A good quality balsamic vinegar is sugary, sweet, and thick like molasses.
If you live near Trader Joe's, they have a very good and reasonably priced one.
Roland Diamond Balsamic Vinegar is a splurge, but if you're looking for a top vinegar, it's the one to get. But you don't need to spend that kind of money. And remember you don't need a lot of it.
SUGAR - The brown sugar will caramelize during the roasting process and give the candied sweet potatoes their distinct flavor.
Additions and Variations
MAPLE SYRUP - If you're not a fan of brown sugar, try substituting the brown sugar with ¼ cup of maple syrup.
ORANGE - For a bit of extra holiday flavor, add a little bit of orange juice and/or orange zest.
YAMS - This recipe would also work great with yams instead of sweet potatoes. True yams are not as sweet. So if you're looking to cut back on the sweetness a bit, using yams is a great way to do it. Also, yams have dark, rough skin and a white-ish flesh, whereas sweet potatoes have reddish skin and a pink interior.
More Simple Side Recipes
How To Make Candied Sweet Potatoes
- GLAZE - Heat butter, vinegar, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Whisk frequently until the glaze has thickened. Pour the butter and sugar glaze over the sweet potatoes. Toss until well coated.
- ROAST - Spread sweet potato onto a rimmed baking sheet or casserole dish. Roast at 425º Fahrenheit until the potatoes are tender, golden brown, gooey, and deliciously caramelized. About 25 minutes.
Recipe Success Tips
Let's talk about oven types and temperatures for a moment. You might have to adjust times depending on what kind of oven you'll use. I have a gas powdered range that works well for roasting yummy foods. And one of the reasons why I make roasted vegetables, especially Roasted Salmon (my husband's favorite), is all year long.
If you're using an electric range, you'll find that it generally bakes better than it roasts. That's because the heat in an electric range is dryer than in a gas-powered range.
So, I suggest using the recommended roasting time as a starting point. Check in 2-3 minute intervals.
Serve And Store
SEASON - Southern candied sweet potatoes are commonly served in November and December but can be enjoyed all year.
SERVE - This recipe is such a huge hit. And one of the reasons is because it goes well with so many different dishes. You can serve them with fish, chicken, steak, or most delicious over a simple salad.
STORE - After baking, allow the potatoes to cool slightly and serve them warm. You can keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Then heat them in the microwave when ready to eat the leftovers.
More Recipes Like
- Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes - reader's favorite side dish.
- Chopped Tomato Salad - refreshing side salad.
- Roasted Salmon - this no-oil roasted salmon recipe takes less than 15 minutes to make.
- Stuffed Zucchini Boats - Super easy recipe with just 5 ingredients!
- Creamy Cucumber Salad - Delicious German side salad.
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 large sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter unsalted
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425º Fahrenheit.
- Peel and dice sweet potatoes and add to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Combine butter, vinegar, and brown sugar in a small saucepan.
- Simmer on medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is thick and syrupy. Add salt.
- Pour the mixture over the sweet potatoes and toss well.
- Transfer well coated sweet potatoes onto a rimmed baking sheet. Spread into a single layer and bake for 25 minutes.