Brown Sugar and Maple Sweet Potatoes is one sweet and savory side dish that is a must-have at Thanksgiving and all your favorite holidays!
No holiday table is complete without a large dish of easy-to-make Brown Sugar and Maple Sweet Potatoes! Perk up that turkey or ham and your friends and family with a holiday helping of tender sweet potatoes mixed with butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup.
Classic Comfort
As the holidays roll around, there might be requests and suggestions about what to bring or make. But no one even has to question if I’ll be making Brown Sugar and Maple Sweet Potatoes since it’s everyone’s favorite dish! Sweet potatoes baked in a magical combination of butter, sugar, and maple syrup is something no one wants to miss. The holidays and get-togethers just aren’t the same without this warm, comforting dish, and it helps make the day a little sweeter for us all.
Tempt everyone’s taste buds with a fantastic appetizer of Sweet Potato Rounds with Goat Cheese or with deliciously fun Sweet Potato Tots for both kids and adults!
Other Recipes to Serve with Brown Sugar and Maple Sweet Potatoes
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Monkey Bread is the perfect way to start a holiday and celebrate a day of great food and great company!
- Spiced Pumpkin Punch is the perfect holiday drink to serve the whole family, or keep the alcohol in it for a drink just for the grown-ups!
Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes: Keep this recipe extra simple by purchasing a few large cans of sweet potatoes in light syrup. When you drain the sweet potatoes, keep one cup of the syrup from the cans.
Butter: For this dish, you can use whatever butter you have on hand.
Sugar: You will need a few boxes of brown sugar.
Maple Syrup: Choose between a large bottle of maple-flavored syrup, such as Log Cabin, or real maple syrup. Both types will work well with these sweet potatoes.
How to Make Brown Sugar and Maple Sweet Potatoes
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and set out an 8 1/2 by 11-inch baking pan. Drain the cans of sweet potatoes, being sure to reserve about one cup of the liquid. Add the sweet potatoes to the baking dish and top them with butter slices.
STEP TWO: Sprinkle 3/4 of a pound of brown sugar over the sweet potatoes and stir. Pour in enough of the sweet potato liquid to fill the bottom 1/4 inch of the baking pan. Then, add half of the bottle of maple syrup. Top the dish with the rest of the brown sugar.
STEP THREE: Bake the sweet potatoes for 1 1/2 hours. The sweet potatoes will release extra liquid into the baking dish. Be sure to check them every 30 minutes and remove some of the liquid using a baster to ensure the dish does not boil over. Add more maple syrup and stir when checking the potatoes.
STEP FOUR: Once out of the oven, allow the sweet potatoes to cool slightly before serving them warm.
Tips for Success
- Choose your favorite canned sweet potatoes for this recipe. There are regular, organic, no-sugar-added, or reduced-sodium varieties, so pick whichever brand works best for you.
- Make this dish the night before so things are less hectic! Bake the sweet potatoes and then cover and refrigerate them. The next day, let the dish warm up on the counter for a bit and then reheat them in the oven at 325 degrees F until warmed through. This is one of my favorite holiday hacks.
- Real maple syrup can be a little pricey, so don’t sweat using maple-flavored syrup. Your sweet potatoes will taste fantastic either way!
- There is a chance the dish could bubble over while cooking. To be safe, remember to remove some of the liquid from the dish periodically. I also recommend placing a sheet pan under the baking pan to catch anything that might bubble over.
What’s the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?
When it comes time to make your much-loved sweet potato dishes, you definitely don’t want to mistakenly use a yam instead! Sweet potatoes have a reddish-brown skin that is easily peeled, and the inside is usually orange but can also be white or even purple. Sweet potatoes also taste sweet, unlike yams, which are more like white, starchy russet potatoes with a neutral flavor. The outside of yam is also very rough, with thick, tree bark-like skin.
What should I serve with sweet potatoes?
Brown Sugar and Maple Sweet Potatoes are a wonderful holiday dish, making them a perfect side to serve along with any main dish your family traditionally enjoys. Turkey, ham, and vegetarian roasts are almost incomplete without a huge helping of sweet potatoes on the side! Other dishes to serve with sweet potatoes are mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and everyone’s favorite cranberry fluff. Sweet potatoes were made for holiday meals, so serve it up with all of your other must-have sides!
More Unforgettable Sides to Share!
- Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Dates, and Apples
- Pear Pomegranate Stuffing
- Cranberry Sage Carrots
- Crock Pot Ranch Mashed Potatoes
- Scalloped Potatoes
*This post originally posted on 11/13/2012.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 116 ounces canned Princella Cut Sweet Potatoes in Light Syrup (4 cans)
- ½ cup butter cut into small pieces
- 1 pound light brown sugar packed
- 12 ounces maple syrup (see note)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
- Open the sweet potato cans. Reserve 1 cup of liquid and then drain the rest of the syrup from the sweet potatoes. Put sweet potatoes into a 2-quart glass casserole dish. Don't cut up the potatoes unless they're really big. (I like to use an 8.5×11 dish, but a 9×9 dish will work fine if that's what you have on hand.)
- Dot the top of the sweet potatoes with pats of butter.
- Sprinkle 3/4 cup of brown sugar on top of the sweet potatoes and butter. Pour enough of the reserved sweet potato syrup to fill the bottom 1/4-inch of the casserole dish. Then add the maple syrup and stir gently to coat.
- Top with the remaining 1/4 pound of brown sugar.
- Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The sweet potatoes will release juices as they cook. Be sure to extract excess liquid from the dish with a baster so that the casserole doesn't boil over. (see note)
- Remove from the oven and gently stir the sweet potatoes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Then sprinkle a little extra brown sugar on top, if desired, and serve warm.
Notes
- You can use real maple syrup if you like. That can be a bit pricey, so just know that maple-flavored syrup works just fine for this recipe, too.
- I recommend putting a baking sheet under the casserole dish in case anything does happen to boil over.
- To Make Ahead: Bake the sweet potatoes, cool them to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate them. The next day, let the dish warm up on the counter for a bit, and then reheat the sweet potatoes in the oven at 325 degrees F until warmed through.
Audra says
Hello, I’m going to try and make this dish for Thanksgiving, and I was wondering if you could tell me how many cups of brown sugar and maple syrup you used. Because both things are sold in many different sized packages/bottles, and I don’t want to get it wrong! 🙂
admin says
Audra, I buy the 1 pound brown sugar boxes and the 24 oz maple syrup! Enjoy them on Thanksgiving! They are so good!!!