Candied Sweet Potatoes (2024)

Here is a recipe for a tasty vegetable side dish. It’s simple enough to pull together on a weeknight, or serve as a part of a special dinner. These sweet potatoes are tender and packed full of flavour!

Sweet potatoes are a versatile root vegetable to have on hand. They can easily be roasted, mashed, or fried, and can be paired with a variety of spices to take it to a new level. What’s great about sweet potatoes too is that they keep well if stored properly.

We often have sweet potatoes in the house as both fresh and frozen. Frozen diced sweet potatoes are very convenient to add into soups or stews. We often use sweet potatoes in a Thai-inspired coconut shrimp soup as well in a beef stew. Check back again for those recipes!

These candied sweet potatoes are surprisingly simple to make, but certainly pack in the flavour. When boiling the sweet potatoes, you will want to cook them until just cooked or even just slightly under. Keep in mind that they will continue to cook in the sauce, so you don’t want the sweet potatoes to turn to mush.

Feel free to serve these candied sweet potatoes alongside many of your favourite mains: perhaps a lemon-roasted chicken, a stuffed pork loin roast, or a piece of grilled steak or salmon. Our family enjoys a side of pan-fried Brussel sprouts and a kale salad served with an easy balsamic dressing. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does!

I also recommend adding a few left over pieces to your morning smoothie. The smoothie that I typically make in the mornings combines frozen berries, almond milk, and chia seeds. As I completely despise the flavour of bananas, I am often looking for ways to add a creamy element to my smoothies. Don’t judge it until you’ve tried it!

So let’s get to it!

Candied Sweet Potatoes Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes – sweet potatoes are a root vegetable that packs in health benefits. They are high in fibre, antioxidants and beta-carotene. They are quite versatile, being that they can be prepared in a variety of cooking methods from steamed, roasted, boiled to baked. They can be used in both savoury and sweet dishes too! When stored properly, in a cool dry place, they can last up to weeks, making them very convenient to have on hand. Sweet potatoes can also be purchased from the frozen section of the grocery store, already diced, which is great when making soups or stew.

Butter – Whether you have unsalted or salted butter in the house, either is fine in this recipe. If you are using salted butter, then you can reduce or omit the salt later in the recipe.

Pineapple juice – Pineapple juice here pairs nice with the sweetness of the brown sugar and compliments the spices. It leads to a nice glaze over the sweet potatoes.

Brown Sugar – Brown sugar is different from white sugar due to the addition of molasses, giving it a richer overall flavour. Here is it used to balance the different spices and give the sweet potatoes the candied element, which is the point of this dish. Be sure to keep an eye on the sauce as the addition of sugar and application of heat could result in a burning sauce. Not the flavour you want!

Cinnamon – Cinnamon is a common spice that can be used on both sweet and savoury dishes. It is rich in antioxidants, leading to many health benefits. Like all spices, it should be stored in a cool, dry place.

Chili Powder – Chili Powder is a blend of ground dried chiles and other spices that typically include cumin, onion, and garlic powder. You can also find varieties that are on the spicier side as they also include cayenne pepper. There are lots of great ones found in your local grocery market. Use one that you like, as it brings out a great pop of flavor in the dish.

Nutmeg – Nutmeg is a unique spice, as it is both pungent and slightly sweet. A little bit goes a long way! It is rich in antioxidants, leading to many health benefits. It should be stored in a cook, dry place. It has a shelf life of about 1-2 years, so if you have no recollection of the last time that it you purchased it, it may be worth replacing it.

Salt – I stick to standard Kosher salt for this recipe. Salt is used to enhance the flavors of a dish, and should not be eliminated.

Candied Sweet Potatoes Tools

Below are some kitchen tools that although they may not be required, are certainly great to have in the kitchen.

Peeler – just a standard peeler. You’ll want to peel the sweet potatoes before dicing.

Heavy-bottomed sauce pan – You will want to use a large sauce pan for this recipe, as you’ll want the sweet potatoes to be completely covered in cold water before turning on the heat.

Strainer – you’ll need a large strainer for this recipe. If you don’t have one, there’s always the classic strategy of straining the pot by using its lid. This is typically my strategy with this recipe, as it saves on additional dishes. However, it is a gamble every time – will I burn myself or will the lid slip, resulting in all of my time and effort going down the drain (both figuratively and literally).

Frying Pan/ Skillet – you’ll want to use a large skillet to start to brown the sauce for these candied sweet potatoes. You will add the cooked sweet potatoes to the pan, and will need enough space so that the pieces can be tossed and coated fully in the sauce.

Measuring cups and spoons – this recipe uses standard measuring tools. Be sure to level each of the measured ingredients (I typically use a butter knife).

In addition you will also need a spatula, a whisk, a chef’s knife and a chopping board.