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These Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes are a Southern tradition easily made vegan! This recipe uses apple butter cutting the amount of sugar used in half!
Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes is a dish I never had to give up when I went vegan. I simply swap out the dairy butter for vegan butter, or coconut oil and voila! The same taste without the need for any animal products!
Are Candied Yams and Sweet Potatoes the same thing?
Not quit.
Yams are darker and have rougher skin. The flesh inside is typically whiter and dry. Sweet Potatoes are lighter skin, sweeter, and has a light yellow deep orange color.
However, they are often used interchangeably. So either one would work for this baked candied sweet potato recipe. Check out the article Yams vs Sweet Potatoes: What’s the Difference? to learn more.
What’s in the “Candied Sauce” for these Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes?
So traditionally candied sweet potatoes (or candied yams) are made with lots of butter, warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and A LOT of sugar. Typically you would use 1 cup of white sugar and an additional ¼ to ½ cup of brown sugar.
They don’t call it “candied” (candy) for nothing.
This baked candied sweet potato recipe still uses butter (vegan butter) and warming spices. But uses significantly less sugar thanks to adding my Crockpot Apple Butter recipe to it!
I typically use this Crockpot Apple Butter recipe as a sugar substitute (since it’s already sweetened) and to add more flavor to dishes. Also, sweet potatoes are well…SWEET! Let those babies shine through instead of covering it with too much sugar!
What can I eat with Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes?
So many things! I like to eat my Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes with:
- On my Vegan Thanksgiving table served with Vegan Lentil Loaf, vegan cornbread dressing, Almond Green Beans, and Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe!
- I have eaten them at Summer Vegan BBQs, with one of my FAVORITE recipes, Lentil Meatballs alongside some Vegan Baked Beans!
- I like them served on Sunday Dinner with some Fried Oyster Mushrooms and Dairy Free Mac and Cheese. Talk about vegan soul food!
How to Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes?
*Please read detailed and printable recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions
Sweet Potatoes and Candied Mixture
- Wash, peel and slice sweet potatoes. They in a medium pot over medium-high heat begin to melt vegan butter. (Photos 1 & 2)
- Add your sugar and spices to the pot and mix with butter until fully combined. Remove from heat and pour over your chopped sweet potatoes. (Photos 3 & 4)
Bake and Serve
- Toss candied mixture with sweet potatoes fully coating potatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake potatoes until done. (Photos 1 & 2)
- Once done remove foil and allow it to cool. Serve with Vegan Lentil Loaf, Lentil Meatballs, or whatever meatless main dish of your choice! (Photos 3 & 4)
Substitution, Cook, & Storage Tips:
- Using either sweet potatoes are yams will do. They have often marketed the same way anyway.
- Garnet potatoes would be really good with this as they are naturally sweeter than regular sweet potatoes. Plus they have beautiful dark orange flesh making your candied sweet potato look beautiful!
- Hey, you can even go as far as to try these with Japanese White Sweet Potatoes! That probably would be super yummy!
- Feel free to top these baked candied sweet potatoes with vegan marshmallows. I have never been a fan of marshmallows but they are traditionally served with candied sweet potatoes/yams.
- Top this delicious side dish with pecans or walnuts to add more texture to the dish!
- If you don’t want to use apple butter you can always omit it. Depending on how sweet you like your candied yams you can double the sugar amount but they will be sweet enough with just the ½ cup of brown sugar used.
- Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator 4-5 days once baked. DO NOT store at room temperature. This dish does NOT freeze well.
Vegan with Curves Star Ingredient:
Sweet Potatoes are the Vegan With Curves star of this dish! One sweet potato has 23 grams of “curvy” carbohydrates.
To make this more weight loss (waste/weight release friendly) you could:
- Totally omit the sugar and double up on the Crockpot Apple Butter!
- Use a sugar substitute like monkfruit or erythritol.
- DON’T add additional items like pecans, walnuts, or marshmallows to keep calories low.
These Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes is a must-have side dish for your Vegan Thanksgiving table!
Enjoy!
More Sweet Potato Recipes You’ll Love:
Other Potato Recipes to Try:
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Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5-6 medium sweet potatoes see notes
- 8 tablespoon vegan butter see notes
- ½ cup organic brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder
- ¼ cup Crockpot Apple Butter (or store-bought) see notes
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat at 350°F (180°C). Wash the sweet potatoes and begin to peel, then chop and slice sweet potatoes ½ inch thick. Place sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
- Next, begin to make your candied mixture. Over medium-high heat melt your vegan butter in a medium pot. Once melted add organic brown sugar, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, Crockpot Apple Butter, vanilla extract, and sea salt.
- Pour the candied mixture over sweet potatoes, and coat all the slice sweet potatoes with the candied mixture. Add to a 9x13 baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
- Once sweet potatoes are done, remove from the oven, uncover and let them sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Gently toss to glaze over all the potatoes.
- Served with as a Sunday Dinner or Thanksgiving side along with Vegan Lentil Loaf, Almond Green Beans, and Dairy Free Mac and Cheese!
- Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator 4-5 days once baked. DO NOT store at room temperature. This dish does NOT freeze well.
Video
Notes
- SWEET POTATOES: Using either sweet potatoes are yams will do. Garnet potatoes would be really good with this as they are naturally sweeter than regular sweet potatoes. You can even go as far as to try these with Japanese White Sweet Potatoes!
- ADDITIONS & OTHER SUBSTITUTIONS: If you don't have vegan butter use coconut oil instead. You can also topped these with vegan marshmallows or with pecans or walnuts!
- OPTIONAL: If you don’t want to use apple butter you can always omit it. Depending on how sweet you like your candied yams you can double the sugar amount but they should be sweet enough with just the ½ cup of brown sugar used. Taste your candied mixture and adjust accordingly.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published on November 6, 2017 but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions, tips, and a video on November 11, 2019.
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I love sweet potato. Yesterday, I made sweet potato pudding. I wish I had read your post earlier. No worries! I will go to the market and buy some more to try this delicious recipe. 🙂
I added a cup of sugar to make it sweeter and they were delicious!!!
Awesome!!! thank you for the feedback!!!
I had some homemade apple butter I was looking to use and I found this recipe. I served these oven glazed sweet potatoes as a side with our sunday dinner and it was huge hit, no leftovers. What i loved with the natural flavor of the sweet potatoes were enhanced. . I will be making this again for Thanksgiving!
Every year, I make a big batch of Apple Butter. Having just made the yearly batch, I came across this recipe and just had to try it. It’s absolutely delicious and will replace our traditional sweet potato dish for Thanksgiving this year. The apple butter complements the flavor in the sweet potatoes so nicely. Thanks for a great recipe!
These sweet potatoes would be super at our Thanksgiving table. I love the idea that you cut on the sugar with the apple butter. What an excellent way to get in the flavor without all that sweetness. I know this side will be the favorite.
Your sweet potatoes look incredibly good! My family will love this dish when I make it for them.
This looks like fall perfection! Everything about this screams comfort food, and it’s totally going on my short list for new dinner sides.
What a great idea to use Apple Butter. Sounds amazing and perfect for my holiday meal planning. With all the different diets around, I’m happy to find a delicious vegan side dish.
I use apple butter to reduce the amount of sugar, too – it always works! Thank you for the tip on storing the dish – that is really helpful. Can’t wait to make these!
These Baked Candied Sweet Potatoes is heaven! I love that you used apple butter to make it more delicious. Most importantly, this is healthy!
This is definitely my husband would be all over for sure! Candied Sweet Potatoes are a must in my house for every holiday (including his birthday!). I’m always looking for new and delicious ways to make them! Pinning for the next holiday!