Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes - Grits and Gouda (2024)

Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes are a buttery glazed alternative to a Southern sweet potato casserole. Roasting them first caramelizes them like a steakhouse roasted sweet potato. My favorite easy make-ahead side for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or even a summer potluck dinner. If you like, you can gild the lily and add toasted marshmallows.

The "sticky sweet" candied texture that almost melts in your mouth will become your family's new side dish tradition this holiday season. You'll never buy a can of candied yams again! No slicing into rounds or mashing, so very little prep time!

Roasting the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them concentrates the rich flavor of the sweet potato, caramelizing the natural sugar in them. Boiling also tends to make the potatoes hold water which tends to make the syrup or glaze watery.

Plus, clean up is a breeze because the sweet potato "jackets" just roll off!

What's the shortcut?

• Roasting sweet potatoes for easy peeling and added caramelized flavor is a hands-off alternative to boiling potatoes.
• Sweet potatoes can be roasted up to 3 days in advance before candying them. This make ahead step saves time on the day you plan to serve them.

How to Roast Sweet Potatoes

Let's get started by roasting the sweet potatoes- not to be confused with yams. Read the difference between sweet potatoes and yams here from Kitchn.

First place 5 or 6 small sweet potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Do not pierce with a fork or knife! If you do, as the sweet potatoes caramelize inside the skins, the brown sugar-like goodness will ooze out and drip onto the foil.

So, these bake a little differently than baking potatoes where you want to pierce them to release steam.

That's it! It's that simple to roast sweet potatoes. They can be baked several days ahead and left in their "jackets" in a zip-top bag. They are actually delicious eaten just like this or with a little bit of butter and cinnamon sugar.

Can I roast sweet potatoes in my air fryer?

Yes! I do this all the time. For this recipe, you will need a larger air fryer like the toaster oven-style models or one that will fit 5 sweet potatoes at one time.

No need to preheat the air fryer first. Place the sweet potatoes right on the rack in the air fryer. Cook at 375 to 380 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the sweet potatoes.

No need to turn them halfway. DO NOT prick the sweet potatoes. The caramelized sugars will run out and burn in the bottom of the air fryer. They will caramelize nicely inside their jackets.

How to remove the skins or "jackets" from sweet potatoes

The size of the sweet potatoes will determine how many you can fit into the casserole dish. The skins should easily pull off when the potatoes are cooled. Cut them in half lengthwise.

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the detailed, printable recipe. Pictures below will help guide you as you read the recipe.

Yes, 1 1/2 cups of sugar is a lot of sugar to pour over the potatoes but remember these are "candied" sweet potatoes! Next comes the corn syrup which prevents the sugar from crystalizing.

And finally, butter. As a shortcut (since the butter was going to melt anyway) I just melt it first and drizzled it over the potatoes. But you can always cut up the butter in tiny pieces and dot the sweet potatoes with butter.

Can you hear them sizzle? Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered. They are now candied in all their glistening glory!

They are ready to serve just as they are and this is what they looked like at the church potlucks. You can see why I chased down the owner of the recipe, right?

Can I add marshmallows?

About half my family loves toasted marshmallows on the candied sweet potatoes and the other half prefers them "naked" like this.

If you want to "gild the lily" and add mini marshmallows, just broil them for a couple of minutes. Be sure to watch them closely unless you like your marshmallows like campfire burned ones.

After broiling the marshmallows is not a good time to put them back in the fridge for storage unless you reheat the whole thing in the oven before serving-the marshmallows tend to stick to the spoon.

I've eaten my share of cold candied sweet potatoes straight from the fridge the day after Thanksgiving, too! It's almost like dessert!

Can I freeze it ahead of time?

Yes! You can roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and freeze those separately or you can go ahead and bake the whole recipe, cover it with foil and freeze it. Some casserole dishes now come with a lid.

Put it in the fridge 2 days ahead of time and let it completely thaw before heating up in the oven or microwave. Hold off on adding marshmallows until after it thaws for best results.

Bake it covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 10 and it should be hot and bubbly. Add marshmallows and broil 1 minute or until toasty, if you choose to add them.

We all have our favorite recipes for Thanksgiving or Christmas that we absolutely must have on the buffet table or it isn't complete, right?

My family in Arkansas feels the same way but we have a tradition of every family bringing a new recipe to the feast in ADDITION to the well-loved faves. If you like that idea, maybe this will be your new recipe to introduce to your family.

At my recent Holiday Cooking Show that benefited my husband and son's nonprofit Outdoor Ability Foundation I put on a pair of pearls and donned a vintage 1950's apron to prepare this recipe in honor of Mrs. Connie Parker.

Making the recipe my own with a tasty shortcut

Her recipe instructed me to boil the potatoes and did not top them with marshmallows. They were simply wonderful as they were. But, after several years of making them this way, I decided to try roasting the sweet potatoes. When I boiled them, they tended to hold some of the water and I had to keep a watch on them so they wouldn't boil over or run out of water in the pan.

When I roasted them, they peeled easily and the roasting concentrated the rich flavor of the sweet potato, caramelizing the natural sugar in them and clean up was a breeze.

I'd love to hear from you in the comments below or on my social media posts what are your family recipe traditions that you feel are "must haves".

Did you know the sweet potato is Alabama's state vegetable

As of April 2021, the sweet potato is officially Alabama's state vegetable! The idea for the bill was submitted by a Harvest homeschool class. The state fruit is the blackberry and I have the perfect Wild Blackberry Crisp recipe for you to try.

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This recipe was updated in August 2021 with helpful information.