Fall Classics: Southern Candied Yams That Aren’t Overly Sweet

Beautiful Soul, every family has that one dish. The one people start asking about before the meal is even on the table: “Did you make the yams?”

Somebody will inevitably volunteer to “taste” them while you’re still cooking! And you already know you’d better make enough because there will be requests for seconds.

For so many Black Southern families, candied yams are that dish. But here’s something I’ve learned after making them again and again:

Great candied yams aren’t about adding more. They’re about knowing when enough is enough. You want to taste the sweet potatoes—not just the sugar. And that’s exactly what I’ve already thought through for you.

Today’s Fall Classic: Southern candied yams

Candied yams may be a holiday staple, but I don’t reserve them just for Thanksgiving.

Serve them with fried chicken for Sunday dinner. Put them beside collard greens and baked mac and cheese. Make them for a family gathering. Or anytime your savory plate could use that little something sweet beside it!

But sweet is the important word. Not sugary. There’s a difference.

💡 I’ve already thought this through…

If you’re wondering whether you need to keep adding sugar because the recipe is called candied yams: You don’t.

More isn’t automatically better. The sweetness, butter, and warm spices should work with the sweet potato rather than bury it. That’s one of those places where knowing when to stop matters just as much as knowing what to add.

I’ve already thought this through so you don’t have to.™

What should you serve with candied yams?

If candied yams are going on my plate, I’m usually balancing their sweetness with savory, deeply seasoned soul food classics.

Southern fried chicken — Crispy, juicy fried chicken gives the plate exactly the salty-savory contrast those buttery yams need.

Collard greens — Tender, seasoned greens bring an earthy, savory counterpoint to the sweetness of candied yams.

Black folks baked mac and cheese — Creamy, cheesy baked mac and cheese plus candied yams? There’s a reason both keep appearing on the same Southern table.

Homemade cornbread — A warm slice of Southern cornbread rounds everything out, and gives you something very useful for anything delicious left on that plate.

Soul food meatloaf — For a cozy fall dinner, meatloaf turns the yams from “holiday side” into an easy comfort-food pairing.

Chicken and dumplings — Tender chicken and comforting dumplings for the kind of fall dinner that makes everybody slow down.

Apple pie — Warm apples, spice, and flaky crust. The classic fall dessert that needs very little introduction.

👩🏾‍🍳 Make-It-Your-Way

What if you want candied yams, but you don’t want to cook them the traditional way?

There’s more than one way to get candied yams on the table, and I’m all for choosing the method that works best for the time and kitchen you have.

Stovetop: Make them the traditional way, simmering the sliced sweet potatoes in that buttery, warmly spiced brown sugar glaze until tender.

Instant Pot: When you want to shorten the cooking time, pressure cooking gets the sweet potatoes tender quickly while still giving you those familiar candied-yam flavors.

Baked: Let the oven do the work. Baking gives the sweet potatoes time to become tender while the butter, brown sugar, and spices turn into a beautiful glaze around them.

Doctored-up canned yams: And yes, Beautiful Soul—the can counts! Drain canned sweet potatoes and dress them up with butter, brown sugar, and warm spices for an easy shortcut when starting from scratch simply isn’t happening.

Whichever method you choose, my rule stays the same: Let the sweet potatoes still taste like sweet potatoes. Sweet, not sugary. Tender, not mushy. Glazed, not swimming. Choose the method, but keep the soul.

Part of the Fall Classics collection

Fall Classics is my collection of timeless Southern and soul food recipes worth knowing, making, and saving. The dishes that don’t need a trend to make them relevant.

Think baked mac and cheese, fried chicken, collard greens, candied yams, cornbread, chicken and dumplings, apple pie, and the other dishes we return to when we’re craving food with all the warm and cozy feels, like home. And candied yams absolutely belong in that rotation.

Explore the Fall Classics

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More soul food, already thought through for you

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