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Candied Yams made with sweet potatoes, brown sugar, cinnamon, and mini marshmallows are the PERFECT side dish and ready in under 60 minutes!

Our kitchen is heating up over the holiday season, and today we’re perfecting Thanksgiving Side Dishes like Easy Mashed Potatoes, Baked Mac and Cheese, and Green Bean Casserole.

Candied Yams are an almost mandatory part of Thanksgiving dinner. This dish has been a family favorite for generations and is a total hit with the kids yearly.

Yams are naturally sweet-flavored potatoes, but the deep flavor of brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon makes this a syrupy side dish that dreams are made of. I know my Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without it, which is why I make a point of making it every year.

Can you add marshmallows on top?

Yes, you can absolutely top the dish with marshmallows just before serving.

If you add marshmallows, cook the yams in a baking pan instead of on a baking sheet. When the yams are done cooking top the pan with a bag of mini marshmallows.

One of the best tips I can give you is to stick with the mini marshmallows and wait to add them until the end. They will melt evenly without burning on top of the baked yams. You can also turn the broiler on for a few seconds to get that toasty marshmallow look.

Don’t worry about burning it. Put the marshmallows 6-8 inches away from the broiler, keep the door open by about 6-8 inches, and watch the yams from about a foot away from the oven. In about 30 seconds, you should start to see them brown. Wear a set of oven mitts while watching, and open the oven and pull the pan out! You’re done!

Should you cover when baking?

Do not cover this candied yams recipe while it’s baking unless you see the dish starting to burn along the sides. If it starts to burn, it may be too close to the heating element on the bottom of the oven. You can also check to see if your oven is cooking at the right temperature with an oven thermometer.

If you cover the yams while they’re baking you will end up with a lot of liquid in the baking pan. Let them bake without the foil, trust me.

Can I make them from a can?

If you’re in a rush, you can skip peeling and cutting the yams using canned yams. Just drain the water or syrup from the can, and follow the recipe as written, checking to see if yams are done around 35-40 minutes. They are done when a fork goes through quickly and marshmallows are melted on top.

Why are my yams runny?

The combination of brown sugar and butter should create a syrup when the yams are baking in the oven. If your syrup is consistently runny, there are a few tips you can try to thicken it up before it gets to the baking dish.

• Replace the butter in the recipe with clarified butter (ghee), which naturally has less water than regular butter.
• Combine the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until melted and slightly thickened, then pour over yams before baking. This should help cook some of the water out and thicken the syrup.

More Sweet Potato Recipes

Tips for Making

• Add more spices to get different variations of this candied yams recipe, like nutmeg or allspice.
• You can vary the recipe even more by adding cranberry, orange juice, clove, or even a splash of vanilla!
• If you have some picky eaters, you can leave the marshmallows off and sprinkle them with a little extra sugar and cinnamon.
• If you don’t have brown sugar, you can use granulated sugar in its place. It will change the flavor, but not drastically. You can also use honey, but the flavor will be significantly different.
• If you don’t want to make this in a baking dish, you can also slice grilled yams and drizzle them with the sugar butter syrup. Then, top with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and mini marshmallows and serve. You can cook the yams in a skillet if you don’t want to grill.