Vegetarian Recipes

Candied Yams

It’s no secret how much I love sweet potatoes, but Candied Yams are indeed my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. It’s made with sweet potatoes that are prepared and baked in a sweet and decadent sugar glaze that soaks into every single bite. It’s a special dish that I always make for the holidays and there’s usually never any leftovers. I also love that it’s made with simple ingredients that I almost always have in my pantry. So if you’re looking for a classic, budget-friendly, side dish to make this holiday season, these candied yams are one the entire family will love!

What Are Candied Yams?

Candied yams are sweet potatoes that are baked in a sweet, syrupy, brown sugar glaze. Hence the name “candied” yams. But technically sweet potatoes and yams are not the same thing. Although they are both root vegetables and sometimes shaped similarly, there are still distinct differences. Yams have a dark brown skin, a rough exterior, and oftentimes a white flesh. They also have more of an earthy flavor and are not as sweet as sweet potatoes. It’s pretty common to see sweet potatoes mislabeled as yams in grocery stores these days; and now both names are often used interchangeably.

Here’s what you need to make this easy & delicious candied yams recipe:

Sweet Potatoes: You’ll need roughly 2.5 to 3 lbs. of sweet potatoes. If you want to cut your sweet potatoes in uniform even rounds, try to purchase sweet potatoes that are long and narrow versus large and bulky.
Brown Butter: My secret ingredient for these candied yams is brown butter. Browning the butter adds a rich, nutty, caramel flavor which compliments the rest of the ingredients perfectly!
Sugar: A combination of dark brown sugar and granulated white sugar provides the perfect balance of sweetness.
Spices: Classic warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla provide a powerful flavor punch.
Orange Juice: Just a small amount of fresh squeezed orange juice makes the sugar glaze really pop!

Should You Boil The Sweet Potatoes First?

Luckily you don’t have to boil the sweet potatoes first before making candied yams. Although par-boiling the sweet potatoes would help them cook faster, this recipe tastes much better when the potatoes are slow baked in the oven so they can soak up all of that yummy sweet glaze.

Make sure to keep an eye on your butter when it’s browning. As soon as it starts to turn a golden brown color, add the rest of the ingredients or remove the pot from the heat to prevent the butter from burning.
You don’t have to cut your sweet potatoes into rounds. You can chop them into large chunks instead. Just make sure not to cut them too thin. You want them to be on the thicker side so they hold their shape well while baking.
Reducing the sugar glaze after the sweet potatoes have finished cooking is totally optional, but I love the glossy finish that it gives the candied yams.

Storing Leftovers

Store any leftover candied yams in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. The butter and sugar mixture will thicken as it chills. To reheat, just place the candied yams in a saucepan over medium heat, in the oven at 350°F, or reheat in the microwave until warmed through.

Candied Yams

The sweet sugar glaze on these Candied Yams are simply irresistible. It’s the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving or any holiday gathering.

Course Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Total Cost $7.99 recipe / $1.33 serving

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 25

Servings

Calories 483kcal

Author Marsha – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

2.5 lb. sweet potatoes (about 4 medium sweet potatoes) $3.56
1/2 cup butter $1.12
3/4 cup dark brown sugar $0.75
1/2 cup granulated white sugar $0.20
1 tsp cinnamon $0.10
1/2 tsp nutmeg $0.05
1/4 tsp salt $0.02
2 tsp vanilla extract $1.20
1 orange, juiced $0.99

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash, peel, and cut the sweet potatoes into ½ inch thick rounds. Place the sweet potatoes into a greased 3 quart casserole dish or a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Add the butter to a small light-colored pot. Heat the pot over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter solids turn golden brown and develop a nutty aroma (it will first become foamy, then the solids will sink to the bottom and turn brown).
As soon as the butter turns golden brown add the brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir together until smooth.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the vanilla extract and 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice. Stir until combined.
Pour the sugar glaze over the sweet potatoes in the baking dish. There is no need to stir the potatoes at this point. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes remove the foil and gently stir the sweet potatoes to redistribute the glaze. Move some of the potatoes that are at the bottom to the top. Bake for another 30 minutes uncovered or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.
This step is optional, but recommended. With a slotted spoon, transfer the candied yams to a separate serving dish. Add the remaining sugar glaze to a small pot over medium heat. Bring the pot to a simmer for about 5 minutes or until the glaze has reduced and thickened.
Pour the thick glaze back over the sweet potatoes and serve.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

How to Make Candied Yams – Step by Step Photos

Chopped sweet potatoes on a cutting board.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash, peel, and cut 2.5 lb. sweet potatoes into ½ inch thick rounds. Place the sweet potatoes into a greased 3 quart casserole dish or a 9×13-inch baking dish.

Add 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) to a small light-colored pot. Heat the pot over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter solids turn golden brown and develop a nutty aroma (it will first become foamy, then the solids will sink to the bottom and turn brown).

As soon as the butter turns golden brown add 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir together until smooth.

Remove the pot from the heat and add 2 tsp vanilla extract and 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice. Stir until combined.

Pour the sugar glaze over the sweet potatoes in the baking dish. There is no need to stir the potatoes at this point. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove the foil and gently stir the sweet potatoes to redistribute the glaze. Move some of the potatoes that are at the bottom to the top. Bake for another 30 minutes uncovered or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.

This step is optional, but recommended. With a slotted spoon, transfer the candied yams to a separate serving dish. Add the remaining sugar glaze to a small pot over medium heat. Bring the pot to a simmer for about 5 minutes or until the glaze has reduced and thickened.

Pour the thick glaze back over the sweet potatoes and serve. Now just sit back and get ready to impress all of your family and friends with these decadent and delicious candied yams.😋

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The post Candied Yams appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

If you’re not familiar with homity pie, let me introduce you:

Homity pie is a traditional British recipe, which is essentially a cheesy potato and leek pie. It’s just the sort of thing we Brits do perfectly – simple ingredients, combined to make incredible comfort food. Say what you like about British food, but it’s hard to argue with buttery sautéed leeks, cheesy crushed potatoes, and a flaky shortcrust pastry case.

A slice of homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie).

I’m not going to lie, this homity pie is a bit of a labour of love. It’s not a quick weeknight meal like most of my recipes – this cheesy pie is definitely one to save for a special occasion (it would be perfect for a vegetarian Christmas dinner!).

Since cooking this pie takes a bit of time and patience, don’t try to cook it against the clock. Give yourself plenty of leeway – perhaps an afternoon where you’ve not got much else on. That way, it doesn’t matter if the potatoes have to sit for a little while so you can finish cooking the leeks, or if the pastry case is ready to fill before the filling is actually cooked – you can just potter away at your own pace, and it can all be assembled when you’re ready.

Overhead shot of a cheesy pie with a slice pulled away.

What’s in Homity Pie?

There are three parts to this recipe:

garlicky sautéed leeks and onion
buttery crushed potatoes (with a cheesy topping)
a crispy pastry case

These 3 elements can all be prepared simultaneously, or one at a time, depending on how good you are at multitasking. I’ve written the recipe in 3 separate parts, but if the timings work out (or if you have someone else helping you in the kitchen), you can prepare them all at the same time.

Once all three parts of the recipe are ready, they can be assembled, and baked one last time to complete your cheesy homity pie.

And by the way, I am 100% not a pastry expert. You may think my homity pie looks decidedly… rustic. But I like it that way If I wanted it to look perfect, I’d have saved myself a couple of hours, and bought one in a shop.

Becca’s Top Tip

Any extra scraps of pastry can be baked on their own, and eaten spread with strawberry jam – my kids love it when I cook with pastry as they always get little jam tarts!

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

leek – It’s hard to get the scale from the picture, but the leek I used was absolutely enormous – a proper monster (probably as big as my forearm!). If your leeks are a more normal size, you’ll probably need at least two.
potatoes
shortcrust pastry – I used a ready-rolled sheet of shop-bought pastry, as making pastry is not my forte. Feel free to use homemade pastry if you prefer!
cheddar cheese – If possible, use freshly grated mature cheddar cheese rather than the pre-grated stuff, as it melts more nicely.
onion – I used red onion, but regular onions would also be good.
fresh parsley
egg
garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar because I hate chopping large amounts of fresh garlic.
curry powder (optional, but it does add a lovely hint of warmth)

Becca’s Top Tip

If you’re using shop-bought pastry, take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you need to use it. This helps it to soften a little, and means it’s less likely to crack as you unroll it.

Recipe Video

Equipment

I like to use a loose bottomed springform cake tin for homemade pies. It works really well because:

The clip on the side and the loose bottom make it so easy to remove the pie from the tin once it’s finished baking.
It gives a nice tall pie, which looks great, and also gives a wonderfully thick layer of filling.
The metal heats up nicely and helps to crisp up the pastry.

You can use a shallower pie tin to make homity pie if that’s what you have, but I would always recommend a cake tin if you have one.

Here’s a similar one on Amazon, with great reviews:

8-Inch Springform Cake Tin

I love using a loose-bottomed springform cake tin to make homemade pie. If you’re in the UK or Australia, click ‘Buy on Amazon’ to view a local product.

A slice of homity pie with sautéed leeks, potatoes and cheese.

Printable Instructions

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

How to make the classic British recipe homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie!) – a tasty vegetarian pie made with shortcrust pastry.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British, English

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 30

Servings people

Calories 427kcal

Author Becca Heyes