There’s an undeniable magic to a perfectly prepared side dish, especially when it graces your holiday table. These **Stovetop Candied Sweet Potatoes** are more than just a dish; they’re a celebration of comforting flavors and rich traditions. Imagine tender, sweet potato slices, slow-simmered in a luscious, buttery brown sugar and cinnamon glaze, achieving a beautiful caramelization right on your stovetop. This classic recipe is a staple for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and any special occasion where a touch of warmth and sweetness is desired. Forget the struggle for oven space during busy holiday cooking – this simple, yet incredibly flavorful, method brings you perfectly candied sweet potatoes with minimal fuss but maximum deliciousness. It’s a truly irresistible side that promises to be a crowd-pleaser and a memorable addition to your festive spread, sure to become a cherished family favorite.
Why You’ll Adore These Stovetop Candied Sweet Potatoes
Prepare to fall in love with this stovetop method for candied sweet potatoes, a recipe that truly stands out for several compelling reasons:
- **Effortless Elegance with Simple Ingredients:** Crafted with incredibly simple, wholesome ingredients like fresh sweet potatoes, rich unsalted butter, deep brown sugar, and aromatic ground cinnamon, this dish transforms everyday produce into an extraordinary culinary experience. The harmonious blend of these core components creates a flavor profile that is both deeply satisfying and wonderfully comforting, making it an ideal companion to any main course.
- **Unforgettable Texture and Taste:** Each sweet potato slice is cooked to absolute perfection, becoming incredibly tender and yielding before being lovingly coated in a thick, sweet, and sticky glaze. This luscious buttery cinnamon sauce penetrates every crevice, ensuring a sweet, caramelized exterior and a soft, melt-in-your-mouth interior. The resulting balance of tender potatoes and sticky, glossy coating makes it the perfect holiday side dish that guests will rave about and request year after year.
- **Free Up Your Precious Oven Space:** One of the most significant advantages, especially during bustling festive periods like Thanksgiving and Christmas, is that these savory-sweet potatoes are prepared entirely on the stovetop. This ingenious approach means your oven remains fully available for roasting turkeys, baking casseroles, or warming dinner rolls, significantly reducing holiday kitchen stress and streamlining your entire meal preparation process. It’s a smart solution for busy hosts.
- **A Timeless Southern Classic with Global Appeal:** Candied sweet potatoes hold a special, revered place in Southern cuisine, a testament to their enduring appeal and traditional value. They aren’t just a side dish; they’re a staple, beloved for their unique ability to bridge the gap between sweet and savory flavors. Their rich, comforting essence pairs beautifully with a wide array of holiday meats and other traditional sides, elevating your entire meal and adding a touch of nostalgic warmth.
- **A Delicious Make-Ahead Option:** This dish possesses a wonderful quality – its flavors actually meld and deepen on the second day, often tasting even better than freshly made. This makes candied sweet potatoes an ideal candidate for preparing a day in advance of your gathering. Simply cook them as directed, allow them to cool completely, then transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate. This foresight grants you more precious time to enjoy with your loved ones on the day of your celebration.
The Sweet Potato Story: A Holiday Staple
Sweet potatoes, with their vibrant orange hue, natural sweetness, and earthy undertones, have long been cherished in kitchens worldwide. In many cultures, and particularly in the Southern United States, they are synonymous with celebratory meals, especially during the autumn and winter holiday seasons. Their inherent sweetness provides a wonderful contrast to savory roasted meats like turkey, ham, or pork, while their versatility allows them to be transformed into everything from comforting pies and hearty casseroles to, of course, these irresistible candied versions. This specific stovetop recipe embraces the humble sweet potato and elevates it to a star side dish, showcasing its natural goodness through the magic of slow simmering and a perfectly balanced, buttery glaze. It’s a dish that evokes warmth, family gatherings, cherished traditions, and the pure joy of shared meals, truly embodying the generous spirit of the season.
Essential Ingredients for Your Candied Sweet Potatoes
Crafting the perfect batch of stovetop candied sweet potatoes requires a selection of readily available ingredients, each playing a vital role in achieving that rich, caramelized perfection. Here’s a closer look at what you’ll need and why each component is crucial for the ultimate flavor and texture:
- **Sweet Potatoes (3 pounds, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds):** The undeniable star of our dish! For the best results, choose firm, unblemished sweet potatoes with smooth skin. Peeling is absolutely essential for achieving the smooth, tender texture we’re aiming for, ensuring no tough bits interfere with the soft interior. Cutting them into uniform 1-inch rounds is crucial for even cooking, allowing all pieces to become tender without turning mushy, and providing ample surface area for the rich glaze to adhere beautifully.
- **Unsalted Butter (½ cup):** Butter is the cornerstone of creating the rich, decadent, and luxurious foundation of our glaze. It provides unparalleled richness and flavor, contributing significantly to that silky, smooth, and glossy texture. Using unsalted butter is always recommended as it gives you precise control over the overall saltiness and seasoning of the finished dish.
- **Brown Sugar (1 cup, dark is preferred):** Brown sugar is key for bringing a deep, molasses-rich sweetness and a beautiful, inviting caramel color to the glaze. Dark brown sugar is specifically recommended for its more pronounced and complex flavor profile, which beautifully complements and enhances the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. If dark brown sugar isn’t available, light brown sugar will still work well, or you can enhance it with a touch of molasses, as detailed in our expert tips.
- **Karo Light Corn Syrup (1 ½ cup):** Corn syrup is a culinary secret weapon in candied dishes. Its primary role is to help prevent sugar crystallization, which ensures your glaze remains consistently smooth, wonderfully glossy, and perfectly sticky without ever becoming grainy. It also contributes significantly to the beautiful, glistening, caramelized sheen of the finished dish, making it look as appealing as it tastes.
- **Ground Cinnamon (1 teaspoon):** The warm, aromatic, and comforting spice of ground cinnamon is the perfect traditional complement to sweet potatoes. It adds an essential depth of flavor and a classic holiday aroma that truly brings the dish to life, evoking feelings of cozy seasonal gatherings.
- **A Pinch of Salt:** Do not underestimate the transformative power of just a pinch of salt, even in sweet recipes! Salt plays a critical role by balancing the intense sweetness, enhancing all the other flavors, and preventing the dish from tasting overly saccharine or one-dimensional. It truly makes all the other ingredients sing.
Always gather and prepare all your ingredients before you begin the cooking process (often referred to as “mise en place”). This organized approach ensures a smooth, efficient, and much more enjoyable cooking experience, minimizing last-minute rushes and maximizing your success in the kitchen.
Mastering the Stovetop Candied Sweet Potato Technique
Achieving perfectly tender and beautifully caramelized sweet potatoes on the stovetop is a straightforward process when you follow these carefully outlined steps. The key to success lies in patience and gentle care, allowing the rich flavors to meld and the glaze to gradually thicken into that irresistible, sticky, sweet coating. This detailed overview will guide you through each crucial stage, ensuring a spectacular outcome for your **Stovetop Candied Sweet Potatoes**:
- **Pre-Cook the Sweet Potatoes to Tender:** Begin by bringing a large pot of water to a vigorous, rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is enthusiastically boiling, carefully add your peeled and uniformly sliced sweet potato rounds. Reduce the heat to medium-high and allow the sweet potatoes to cook until they are just tender when gently pierced with a fork. This usually takes approximately 10 minutes. It’s vitally important not to overcook them at this initial stage, as they will continue to soften and cook further within the rich glaze. Once tender, drain the sweet potatoes thoroughly in a colander to remove any excess water, which could potentially dilute your luscious glaze.
- **Prepare the Rich, Aromatic Glaze:** While your sweet potatoes are draining, transition to a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven. Melt the unsalted butter over medium heat. Once the butter has completely melted and is shimmering invitingly, add the brown sugar, Karo light corn syrup, fragrant ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Stir these ingredients continuously with a whisk or wooden spoon, ensuring they are well combined. Continue stirring until the mixture begins to bubble gently around the edges and the sugar has fully dissolved. This bubbling concoction forms the sweet, aromatic, and glistening foundation of your coating.
- **Combine, Simmer, and Caramelize:** Gently and carefully add the drained, pre-cooked sweet potatoes to the simmering glaze in the skillet. Using a spoon or spatula, delicately mix them, ensuring that each and every sweet potato slice is thoroughly and evenly coated in the warm, buttery cinnamon sauce. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting, allowing the potatoes to simmer very gently. This low and slow cooking process is absolutely vital for the magic of caramelization to occur. Continue to simmer for a significant period of 1 to 1 ½ hours. During this time, make sure to gently baste the sweet potatoes every 15 minutes. Basting ensures that the potatoes are continuously coated, absorb the rich flavors evenly, and prevents them from sticking, allowing them to develop that beautiful, deep, sticky, and perfectly caramelized texture.
- **Serve Hot or At Room Temperature:** Once the sweet potatoes are perfectly tender, deeply caramelized, and the sauce has thickened to a luscious, syrupy consistency, they are ready for serving. You can enjoy them piping hot, directly off the stovetop, for immediate comfort, or allow them to cool slightly and serve them at room temperature. The flavors often deepen and improve as they cool, making them incredibly versatile.
Remember, patience truly is a virtue with this recipe. The extended, gentle simmer allows the sweet potatoes to fully absorb the incredible flavors of the glaze and for the sugars to transform into that irresistible, deeply caramelized, sticky coating. The careful effort and dedicated time are undeniably worth the reward, yielding a side dish that is a true culinary triumph!
Pro Tips for Perfectly Candied Sweet Potatoes
Achieving candied sweet potato perfection is wonderfully easy with a few insider tricks and mindful techniques. Keep these helpful hints and expert advice in mind to ensure your dish is consistently delicious, beautifully presented, and truly unforgettable:
- **Uniform Slicing for Even Cooking:** To ensure all your sweet potato pieces cook at precisely the same rate and reach that ideal tender texture simultaneously, it’s absolutely crucial to slice or dice them into uniform sizes. Whether you prefer elegant rounds, rustic cubes, or slender wedges, consistency in size is your best friend in preventing some pieces from being undercooked and others from becoming undesirably mushy.
- **Adequate Water Coverage for Boiling:** When you’re performing the initial pre-boiling of your sweet potatoes, make certain the water generously covers them by at least one inch. This generous coverage ensures even and thorough cooking throughout all the pieces and helps prevent any part of the sweet potatoes from drying out or cooking unevenly, which can lead to tough spots.
- **Smart Sugar Substitutions (with a Flavor Twist):** If you find yourself without dark brown sugar, you can certainly substitute it with white granulated sugar. However, to truly mimic the rich, deep, and complex molasses-like flavor profile that dark brown sugar uniquely provides, be sure to add 1 tablespoon of molasses (such as regular cooking molasses) to your glaze mixture. Other fantastic and intriguing alternatives for molasses include grape, carob, or even date molasses, each offering its own unique depth and regional flavor notes. We generally do not recommend using maple syrup as a direct 1:1 substitute in the primary glaze itself, as it has a distinctly different flavor and a thinner consistency that may not caramelize in the same desirable way.
- **Embrace the Low Simmer: Patience Pays Off Generously:** The true magic of perfectly caramelized sweet potatoes genuinely happens during the slow, unhurried simmer. It takes a significant amount of time for the sweet potatoes to fully absorb the rich, sugary glaze and for the sugars within the sauce to caramelize into that thick, sticky, and glossy coating. Do not be tempted to rush this transformative process by unduly increasing the heat; patience is an absolute virtue and the key to success here. The gentle, prolonged cooking ensures the deepest, most complex flavor and the most desirable, melt-in-your-mouth texture, making the entire effort and time invested incredibly worthwhile.
- **Understanding Glaze Thickening as it Cools:** Don’t be alarmed or concerned if your buttery cinnamon sauce appears a bit thin or liquidy when you first remove the skillet from the heat. This is completely normal! As the stovetop candied sweet potatoes cool, the delicious glaze will naturally thicken significantly to that perfect sticky, syrupy consistency you desire. It will then cling beautifully and generously to each sweet potato slice, creating an irresistible sheen and a delightful coating.
- **Choosing the Right Sweet Potato Variety:** For this recipe, firm, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are ideally suited. Varieties often labeled as “Garnet” or “Jewel” are excellent choices. Their natural sweetness, moist texture, and robust structure hold up exceptionally well to the boiling and simmering process, ensuring they absorb the glaze beautifully without falling apart.
Storage and Make-Ahead Strategies
Planning ahead for your holiday meals or special gatherings can significantly reduce stress and allow you more time to enjoy with guests. These **Stovetop Candied Sweet Potatoes** are wonderfully accommodating in this regard, making them a perfect addition to your culinary arsenal:
- **Storing Leftovers Properly:** Any leftover candied sweet potatoes can be easily stored for future enjoyment. Simply transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh, moist, and delicious for up to 3 days. This makes them perfect for enjoying as a quick and comforting side dish, a sweet snack, or even a delightful addition to a post-holiday brunch.
- **The Magic of Making Ahead:** One of the most fantastic and convenient aspects of this particular recipe is that the flavors actually meld, deepen, and become even more pronounced and complex on the second day. This wonderful characteristic makes candied sweet potatoes an ideal candidate for preparing a full day in advance of your gathering. Simply cook them as directed, allow them to cool completely to room temperature, then transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate until needed.
- **Effective Reheating Instructions:** To reheat your delicious candied sweet potatoes, you have a couple of excellent options depending on your preference and the quantity. For the best results and to maintain some of that lovely caramelization and prevent sogginess, gently warm them in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are thoroughly heated through and the glaze is warm and glossy again. Alternatively, for a quicker method when reheating individual servings, you can microwave them for 1-2 minutes, making sure to stir halfway through to ensure even heating. If the sauce seems a bit too thick or has congealed during reheating, you can always add a tablespoon of water or a small pat of butter to loosen it up.
Perfect Pairings: What to Serve with Candied Sweet Potatoes
These delicious stovetop candied sweet potatoes are incredibly versatile and pair beautifully with a wide array of dishes, making them a standout addition to any meal, especially during the festive holiday seasons. Their unique blend of sweet and savory notes allows them to complement both traditional and contemporary fare. Here are some inspired serving suggestions to help you create a truly memorable meal:
- **The Quintessential Holiday Feast:** Nothing quite complements the sweet and savory harmony of candied sweet potatoes like a succulent, perfectly roasted center-of-the-table protein. Consider serving them alongside a beautifully Roasted Turkey, a glazed holiday ham, or a tender pork loin. Add some creamy, homemade Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and you’ve instantly got a hearty, traditional meal that’s guaranteed to impress and deeply satisfy every guest at your table.
- **Bright and Festive Accompaniments:** For an even more vibrant and balanced holiday table, consider serving these sweet potatoes alongside a bright, tangy, and zesty Honey Cranberry Sauce. The delightful tartness of the cranberries provides a wonderful, refreshing counterpoint to the rich sweetness of the potatoes, creating a truly dynamic flavor experience.
- **Beyond the Classic Marshmallow Topping:** If you’re exploring alternative sweet potato side dishes that offer a different textural experience, move beyond the typical marshmallow topping and try this wonderfully crunchy Sweet Potato Crunch Casserole. It features a delightful pecan streusel topping that adds an irresistible textural contrast and nutty depth. Another comforting and incredibly popular choice is this spot-on copycat Cracker Barrel Sweet Potato recipe, renowned for its rich, creamy texture and a subtle, fragrant hint of orange.
- **Elevating Everyday Dinners:** While often associated with holidays, don’t reserve these delightful candied sweet potatoes solely for special occasions! They are absolutely fantastic with simple roasted chicken, juicy pork tenderloin, or even alongside a perfectly seared steak dinner for an elevated and comforting weeknight meal that feels a bit special.
- **Unique Breakfast or Brunch Addition:** Believe it or not, chilled or gently warmed candied sweet potatoes can be a unique, unexpectedly delightful, and visually appealing addition to a generous brunch spread, perhaps served alongside crispy bacon or savory sausages for an intriguing sweet and savory contrast.
Delicious Variations to Customize Your Candied Sweet Potatoes
While the classic stovetop candied sweet potato recipe is perfect as is and a joy to prepare, it also serves as a fantastic culinary canvas for your creativity. The foundational flavors blend beautifully with additional elements, allowing you to tailor the dish to your personal taste preferences or to match a specific meal theme. Here are some delightful variations to experiment with, ensuring your candied sweet potatoes are always a unique and cherished treat:
- **A Subtle Hint of Vanilla Elegance:** For an extra layer of sophisticated sweetness and aroma, consider stirring in a dash of pure vanilla extract (about 1 teaspoon) just as you remove the candied sweet potatoes from the heat. The gentle warmth of the vanilla will beautifully enhance and deepen the existing cinnamon and brown sugar flavors, adding a comforting, familiar touch.
- **Embrace More Warm, Earthy Spices:** Elevate the aromatic profile of your glaze by incorporating additional warm spices. A delicate pinch of freshly ground nutmeg, a tiny hint of fragrant ground cloves, a whisper of allspice, or even a full teaspoon of a pre-made pumpkin pie spice blend can add wonderful complexity and a distinctly autumnal or wintry feel to the dish, making it even more festive.
- **A Bright Citrus Zest:** For a refreshing and vibrant twist, introducing a hint of zesty flavor can be transformative. Add a splash of fresh orange juice (2-3 tablespoons) to the sauce while it gently simmers. The bright citrus notes beautifully cut through the richness and sweetness of the glaze, creating a more dynamic, palate-cleansing flavor experience. A bit of finely grated orange zest can also add a wonderfully fragrant aroma.
- **Crunchy Texture Contrast with Nuts:** Introduce a delightful textural contrast and nutty depth by stirring in some chopped nuts just before serving or during the last 15 minutes of simmering. Toasted pecans or walnuts are classic choices that add a buttery crunch and an earthy richness, complementing the tender sweet potatoes and sticky glaze perfectly. For an extra touch, lightly toast the nuts beforehand to bring out their full flavor.
- **Classic Marshmallow Topping (Oven Finish):** If you adore the traditional marshmallow topping, you can absolutely still achieve it with this stovetop recipe! Once your candied sweet potatoes are finished cooking on the stove, carefully transfer them to an oven-safe casserole dish. Top with a generous, even layer of mini marshmallows, then place the dish under a preheated broiler for just a few minutes. Watch them very carefully, as marshmallows brown quickly, until they are beautifully golden brown and perfectly gooey.
- **Rich Spiced Rum or Bourbon Glaze:** For a more sophisticated, adult-friendly twist, consider adding a tablespoon or two of good quality spiced rum or bourbon to the glaze. This addition introduces an extra layer of warmth, depth, and complex notes to the dish. Add the alcohol during the last 10-15 minutes of simmering to allow the alcohol to cook off while leaving behind its rich, aromatic flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions About Candied Sweet Potatoes
Here are answers to some common questions you might have about making, storing, and enjoying these delicious stovetop candied sweet potatoes:
While the terms “sweet potato” and “yam” are often used interchangeably in American supermarkets, they are botanically distinct. Sweet potatoes, which are typically used for this recipe, have a naturally sweet flavor and moist, often orange-fleshed interior (though varieties can also be white or purple). True yams, on the other hand, are starchier, drier, and have a rough, bark-like skin, with white or purple flesh. Most “yams” sold in U.S. grocery stores are actually a type of sweet potato, usually the moister, orange-fleshed variety. For this recipe, look for sweet potatoes.
To reheat candied sweet potatoes, you have a couple of convenient options. For the best results, especially to maintain some caramelization and prevent them from becoming watery, place them in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until thoroughly heated through and the glaze is warm and re-liquefied. Alternatively, for smaller portions or a quicker method, you can microwave them for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure even heating. If the sauce seems a bit too thick or has congealed during reheating, you can add a tablespoon of water or a small pat of butter to help loosen it.
Yes, it is highly recommended that you peel sweet potatoes before boiling them for this specific recipe. The skin can become quite tough and fibrous after cooking, which would detract significantly from the desired smooth, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth texture of the candied sweet potatoes. Peeling also allows the rich, buttery glaze to fully adhere to the potato slices, ensuring maximum flavor absorption and a beautiful finish.
While technically possible, using fresh sweet potatoes is very strongly recommended for the absolute best flavor and texture in this recipe. Canned sweet potatoes are often very soft and may turn mushy or fall apart during the extended simmering process, and their pre-cooked state means you won’t achieve the same deep, rich caramelization from scratch. If you absolutely must use canned sweet potatoes, choose those packed in water (not syrup), drain them exceptionally well, and significantly reduce the initial boiling time—or skip it altogether—adding them directly to the glaze to warm through and absorb flavor with a much shorter simmer.
This phenomenon usually occurs when sugar crystals form during the cooking process. Using corn syrup (like Karo), as specified in the ingredients, is a key step that helps prevent this by inhibiting crystallization. To avoid a grainy glaze, ensure your sugar mixture comes to a gentle simmer rather than a rapid, aggressive boil. Also, try to avoid stirring the glaze too vigorously once the sugar has completely dissolved, as excessive agitation can encourage the formation of new sugar crystals. If it does happen, sometimes adding a tablespoon of hot water and stirring very gently over very low heat can help the crystals re-dissolve.
For candied sweet potatoes, the best varieties are usually the orange-fleshed, moister types, often labeled as “Jewel,” “Garnet,” or “Beauregard” sweet potatoes in North American supermarkets. These varieties are naturally sweet, creamy when cooked, and hold their shape well during simmering, allowing them to absorb the rich glaze without turning mushy. Avoid drier, white-fleshed varieties for this specific preparation.
More Sweet Potato Delights and Related Recipes
If you’ve truly fallen in love with the versatility and deliciousness of sweet potatoes, there’s an entire world of delightful culinary possibilities waiting to be explored! From savory side dishes to comforting desserts, these recipes will inspire your cooking and expand your sweet potato repertoire:
- **Sweet Potato Casserole Classics:** For a more traditional, oven-baked casserole experience that’s a staple at many holiday tables, this Sweet Potato Crunch Casserole recipe offers a delightful and satisfying pecan streusel topping that’s a true crowd-pleaser. If you’re a devoted fan of a specific beloved classic, be sure to try this creamy and rich copycat Cracker Barrel Sweet Potato, which is pleasantly perfumed with a hint of orange and topped with a buttery, nutty, candy-like layer—a truly delightful and indulgent addition to any holiday party or family gathering.
- **Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Sides:** Need a speedy, no-fuss side dish for any night of the week, or a last-minute addition to your meal? Whip up these incredibly convenient Frozen Sweet Potato Fries in the Air Fryer for a remarkably quick, crispy, and family-friendly meal that everyone will enjoy.
- **Delightful Sweet Potato Desserts:** Transform sweet potatoes into an unexpectedly delightful and comforting treat with these soft, fluffy, and subtly spiced Sweet Potato Cookies, perfect for your dessert table, a cozy afternoon snack, or even a unique homemade gift.
- **Elegant Sweet Potato Preparations:** For a refined and sophisticated twist on a classic holiday side, this luxuriously smooth Whipped Sweet Potatoes side dish brings warmth, comfort, and an elegant texture to your Thanksgiving table in a wonderfully new and inviting way.
- **Mastering All Sweet Potato Cooking Methods:** To truly perfect all your sweet potato creations this season and beyond, and to become a true sweet potato expert, check out this comprehensive guide on how to cook sweet potatoes to absolute perfection, covering various cooking methods, essential tips, and common pitfalls to avoid.
Other Hearty Side Dishes
To perfectly round out your main course, explore these other fantastic and incredibly easy-to-prepare side dishes that are sure to complement any meal:
- **Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes:** This Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe is hands down the quickest and easiest way to get creamy, incredibly flavorful mashed potatoes on the table without any fuss. Ready in less than 30 minutes, it’s a truly brilliant no-drain and no-peel recipe that couldn’t be simpler or more delicious!
- **Butternut Squash Ravioli Sauce:** For a fragrant, comforting, and beautifully autumnal option, this simple yet elegant Sauce for Butternut Squash Ravioli is buttery, rich, and comes together in less than 20 minutes. It’s perfect for a delicious meatless dinner or as a sophisticated and flavorful side dish that truly stands out.
Kitchen Equipment You’ll Need
Preparing these incredibly delicious **Stovetop Candied Sweet Potatoes** is surprisingly simple and requires just a couple of standard, readily available kitchen items. No fancy gadgets or specialized equipment are necessary, making this recipe accessible for every home cook:
- **Large Pot:** This essential item will be used for the initial step of boiling the sweet potato slices. A spacious pot ensures that all the sweet potato pieces have enough room to cook evenly and thoroughly, allowing them to become perfectly tender before they are introduced to the rich glaze.
- **Large Skillet:** This is truly where the magic of caramelization happens! A spacious, heavy-bottomed skillet or a Dutch oven is ideal. It allows you ample room to not only prepare the luscious glaze but also to gently simmer and baste the sweet potatoes, ensuring they are evenly coated, absorb all the wonderful flavors, and achieve that beautiful, sticky caramelization. A cast-iron skillet works beautifully for its exceptional heat distribution and ability to hold a consistent temperature, but any large, sturdy, heavy-bottomed skillet you have will certainly do the job effectively.
Recipe Card: Stovetop Candied Sweet Potatoes

Candied Sweet Potatoes (Stovetop)
This is a very simple and incredibly delicious candied sweet potato recipe, prepared entirely on the stovetop. Buttery, sweet, richly flavorful, and perfectly suited for your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any special holiday dinner. For an extra touch of elegance and crunch, add some chopped walnuts or pecans. Truly one of the easiest and most satisfying sweet potato recipes you can ever make, yielding perfectly caramelized sweet potatoes every time.
Course: Side Dish |
Cuisine: American |
Diet: Halal |
Prep Time: 5 minutes |
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes – 1 hour 30 minutes |
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories: Approximately 540 kcal per serving
Author: Amira
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar (dark is preferred for richer flavor)
- 1 ½ cup Karo light corn syrup
- A pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat.
- Carefully add the sweet potato slices to the boiling water, then reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until the sweet potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork, approximately 10 minutes. Drain them thoroughly.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the unsalted butter. Once melted, add the brown sugar, Karo light corn syrup, ground cinnamon, and the pinch of salt. Stir these ingredients continuously until they are well combined and the mixture begins to bubble gently.
- Add the drained, pre-cooked sweet potatoes to the simmering glaze in the skillet and mix well, ensuring each slice is evenly coated. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours. During this simmering time, gently baste the sweet potatoes every 15 minutes to promote even caramelization and prevent sticking. The potatoes should become very tender and beautifully caramelized, and the sauce should thicken to a syrupy consistency.
Notes
- When boiling the sweet potatoes, ensure they are fully submerged in water, covered by at least 1 inch, for even cooking.
- Do not be concerned if the glaze appears thin when hot; it will thicken significantly and become beautifully syrupy as it cools.
- Patience is key for achieving perfectly caramelized sweet potatoes. The low and slow simmering process allows the flavors to develop and the texture to transform beautifully, so do not rush it.
- For detailed information regarding nutritional values, please refer to our nutrition disclaimer policy.
Nutrition Information (per serving, approximate)
Calories: 540kcal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 616mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 84g | Vitamin A: 24492IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 1mg
We sincerely hope you thoroughly enjoy preparing and savoring these incredibly delicious **Stovetop Candied Sweet Potatoes**! Their rich, buttery, sweet, and perfectly caramelized flavor profile makes them an unforgettable and cherished addition to any meal, whether it’s a grand holiday feast or a special, comforting family dinner. We’d absolutely love to hear about your experience! Have you tried this recipe at home? What are your thoughts on its ease and deliciousness? Please feel free to leave a comment below and share your personal experience and any creative variations you tried. Your valuable feedback is greatly appreciated and helps our community of home cooks!
