Chef John's Candied Yams recipe

All Recipes Best Recipe Side Dish Vegetables Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 quarts cold water
3 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
Chopped pistachios, pecans, or walnuts for garnish

Nutrition Info

337.6 calories
carbohydrate: 69.6 g
cholesterol: 15.3 mg
fat: 6.3 g
fiber: 5.3 g
protein: 3.1 g
saturatedFat: 3.7 g
servingSize: -
sodium: 2293.9 mg
sugar: 40.1 g
transFat: : -
unsaturatedFat: : -

Directions

  1. Stir salt into 2 quarts cold water in a large pot. Transfer sweet potato pieces to pot and place over high heat, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are not quite tender but still cooked, 5 to 7 minutes. Use the tip of a knife to test for doneness. Drain.

  2. Place brown sugar, butter, lemon juice, maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, and pinch of salt in a skillet. Place over medium-high heat, stirring until glaze ingredients melt and start bubbling. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to thicken up, 4 to 6 minutes.

  3. Transfer drained sweet potatoes to skillet. Raise heat to high and cook and stir until potatoes are coated with glaze and very tender, and glaze has thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to serving dish, garnish with chopped nuts.

Recipe Yield

8 servings

Recipe Note

Sure, everyone knows orange-fleshed sweet potatoes aren't really yams, but it makes for a shorter name. I'm not a huge sweet side dish person, but I make an exception for these candied yams that use lemon instead of orange juice as a sweetener.

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