Candied sweet potatoes are a southern food classic! Easy to make, and sure to be gobbled up by everyone.
This recipe is part of our Buddy Unchained menu for Family Dinner Book Club.
It took me a while to develop a taste for sweet potatoes. As a very picky child, although I loved sweets, there was just something wrong about vegetables being sweet. It was some sort of trickery, obviously. I still get thrown off when I’m not expecting a dish to be sweet… it still feels like a trick.
I have fully embraced sweet potatoes as an adult, especially when extra sweetness is added to them. I do like a good sweet potato fry, too. Why am I okay with a typically salty dish gaining a bit of sweetness but not the other way around? Someone diagnose me.
This dish is simple to toss together, and then it bakes until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Add this as a side to any Southern menu, or just as an attempt to get extra veggies into the bellies of your family.
Where are you on the sweet potato train? How do you like to prepare them? Tell me in the comments below!
Candied Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Naturally sweetened and spiced sweet potatoes.
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Place in a casserole or baking dish, toss with the spices and salt.
- Chop the butter, scatter on top of the sweet potatoes, and drizzle with the maple syrup.
- Cover the dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir in the vanilla, and toss to coat everything evenly.
- Return to the oven, uncovered, and continue to bake until the sweet potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.
Wow never thought sweet potatoes can be so delicious, with simple ingredients available at home. Yum they are