Candied Yams with Marshmallows

Candied yams with marshmallows are the dish that empties first every holiday. Fresh sweet potatoes go into a buttery syrup with brown sugar, cinnamon and a hint of vanilla, then get topped with mini marshmallows and baked until the top is golden and gooey at the edges. There is a stovetop version without marshmallows further down, built on the same syrup, for anyone who would rather skip them.

Why this recipe works

The syrup is what separates this from every other pan of candied yams. Most recipes reach for water, and water gets you sweet. Orange juice gets you sweet with a little brightness behind it, and that brightness is what stops a very rich dish from tasting flat by the third bite. It is three tablespoons and it changes the whole thing.

There are two ways to finish this dish, and in my house only one of them has ever been up for debate. My daughter decided as a small child that the marshmallow topping was the entire point of the recipe, and she was not particularly interested in hearing otherwise. Over 30 years old now, and she still checks before dinner that I have not left them off.

Ingredients you will need

Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.

Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions

SWEET POTATOES – Buy sweet potatoes, whatever the sign in the produce aisle happens to say. Look for firm ones without soft spots or cracks, and try to pick them close to the same size so they finish boiling at the same time. Two pounds is about right for a square baking dish.

MINI MARSHMALLOWS – Use the miniature size rather than the large ones. They melt evenly and brown all the way across the top, where the big ones tend to scorch in patches while the middle stays pale. Three cups covers the pan generously. They are optional, and if you would rather skip them entirely, use the stovetop method below.

ORANGE JUICE – This is the one that makes the difference, and it is what I reach for every time. Only three tablespoons goes into the syrup, so you do not need much, and whatever is in the refrigerator is fine. Water works if you have none, and the recipe is still good, just a little flatter.

BROWN SUGAR – White or brown both work and I have made it both ways. I prefer brown for the deeper, faintly molasses note that sits well with the cinnamon. White gives you a cleaner, more straightforward sweetness if that is what you are after.

BUTTER – Salted or unsalted. If you use salted, pull back a little on the added salt.

VANILLA EXTRACT – Pure rather than imitation if you have it. There is only half a teaspoon in the syrup, but it rounds out the sugar and keeps the whole thing from tasting one-note.

CINNAMON – A quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon, enough to warm the syrup without taking it over.

You will need a stockpot big enough to hold the sweet potatoes with room for the water, a cutting board and a sharp knife for slicing them once they have cooled, a medium saucepan for the syrup, and a set of measuring cups and spoons.

How to Make Candied Yams with Marshmallows

The whole thing comes down to three stages: cooking the sweet potatoes, building the syrup, and finishing them under the marshmallows. The one part that surprises people is that you do not peel the sweet potatoes before cooking them. You score a single line around the middle and boil them whole, and the skins come away in two halves afterward with almost no effort.

The syrup comes together in a medium saucepan while the sweet potatoes cool, so everything moves quickly once the boiling is done. With marshmallows, they finish in the oven. Without, the whole dish happens on the stovetop and the sweet potatoes simmer directly in the syrup until it thickens around them.

These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.

1. To start, scrub the sweet potatoes and carefully score a line around the entire circumference of the potato and place in a large pot of boiling water.
2. Cover the pot and boil over medium-high heat until they are easily pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes.
3. Plunge the hot potatoes into a bowl of ice water. Once they are cool enough to handle, slip the skins off the sweet potatoes and cut them into slices or cubes.

Baked with marshmallows

1. Place cut sweet potatoes into a square baking dish if you will be topping with marshmallows.
2. For the syrup, simply bring all the ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan.
3. Pour over the sweet potatoes, top with marshmallows and bake until golden brown.

Stovetop without marshmallows

1. If you do not want to use marshmallows, combine the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.
2. Carefully add the sweet potatoes and then simmer until thickened.

Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips

Because peeling raw sweet potatoes is harder than sliding the skins off after boiling. Scrub them, score a line all the way around the circumference with a knife, then boil them whole. Once they come out and go into ice water, the skins slip right off in two halves. It takes seconds, and once you have done it this way you will never peel a raw sweet potato again.

For this recipe, yes. Boiling whole and slipping the skins gives you tender slices that hold their shape in the syrup instead of breaking apart. It also means the oven stage is only about 20 minutes, which matters a great deal when the oven is busy.

No, though almost nobody uses the words that way. A true yam is a different vegetable entirely: starchier, drier, paler inside, and rarely sold in ordinary American supermarkets. What sits under the yam sign in the produce aisle is nearly always a sweet potato. This recipe wants sweet potatoes, and that is what you will come home with whichever label you followed.

Not at all. The recipe is written to work both ways. Leave them off and use the stovetop method above (or below in the recipe card), which gives you a glossier, more syrup-coated result rather than a baked one with a browned top.

Yes, and it is the method to use when you are skipping the marshmallows. Combine the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan, add the cooked sweet potatoes, stir to coat, and simmer until the syrup is thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. It is faster than baking and it frees up the oven, which on a holiday is worth something.

Yes. The recipe calls for three tablespoons of water or orange juice and either works. I prefer the orange juice for the brightness it adds against all that butter and sugar, but if you do not have any, water is genuinely fine and nobody at the table will notice.

Yes. Drain them well first, since they come packed in their own syrup and you want the syrup you made rather than the one from the can. Skip the boiling stage and go straight to arranging them in the dish. Fresh sweet potatoes are what make this recipe what it is, though. They hold their shape and their texture in a way canned yams cannot.

Yes, up to the point of adding the marshmallows. Full instructions are in the Storage and Freezing section below.

I have not tested pecans in this particular recipe, so I cannot tell you how they hold up under the marshmallows. What I can tell you is that if pecans are what you are after, we already have the recipe for it. ’s Kentucky bourbon sweet potatoes are cubed rather than sliced, spiked with bourbon, and finished with sauced pecans on top. You can top those with pecans, streusel, marshmallows, or all three. If you want the crunch, start there rather than improvising here.

Storage and Freezing Information

Leftover candied yams keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container. The syrup will thicken and set as it chills, and the marshmallow topping softens overnight, so leftovers never look quite as good as they did coming out of the oven. They taste just as good.

To reheat, microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring gently between each one. Go in short intervals rather than one long stretch. The syrup carries a lot of sugar and it will scorch at the edges if you push it, and the sweet potatoes break apart easily once they are this tender.

You can absolutely assemble these all the way up to the step before adding the marshmallows. Store covered in the refrigerator, removing them from the fridge 30 to 40 minutes before putting them in the oven. One caution though: the marshmallows brown faster than the casserole will heat through from the chill. I recommend bringing the casserole to room temperature first, or you can cook it in the oven as directed and pull it out to add the marshmallows for the last 5 to 10 minutes.

I would not freeze these. It is not something I have tested, and between the marshmallow topping and the texture of the sweet potatoes once they have been boiled and candied, I would not expect them to come back the way you want them to. This is a dish worth making fresh.

Serving Suggestions

These belong on a plate with everything else that turns up on the fourth Thursday in November. Set them beside brown butter mashed potatoes and a spoonful of whole berry cranberry sauce, whose tartness cuts straight through all that syrup, and you have the classic holiday plate. A pan of homemade green bean casserole gives you something savory to break up the sweetness, and garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes work well if you want a second potato on the table that is not sweet at all. For something green and quick that needs almost no attention while the oven is busy, roasted broccoli does the job.

They are also good well past the holidays. A pan of these next to roast chicken or ham on an ordinary Sunday is no stretch at all, and the sweetness works beautifully against the salt of either. If you love sweet potatoes as much as we do, there is also our sweet potato casserole, which goes mashed and smooth under a pecan streusel instead of sliced in syrup, and baked sweet potato fries for a weeknight.

More Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Kentucky Bourbon Sweet Potatoes
• Homemade Green Bean Casserole
• Perfect Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
• Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
• Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
• Roasted Broccoli
• Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
• Rice Dressing – Kitchen Gidget

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This post was originally published on this blog on Nov 3, 2017.