The most viewed post in this blog’s history is one from way back in the day when I made a full soul food meal with all our Southern favorites. I decided that since it brings so many people to this site, it’s about time that it got a little update! And the recipe I want to feature most of all is also the most popular recipe on the site to date (from that same post).
Three cheers for Southern food!
These yams differ from my Candied Yams Without the Candy in that they’re more traditional, made with brown sugar and butter (or coconut oil, which is what I use as a substitute) and delicious fall spices. This is a simple, old fashioned recipe!
Southern Candied Yams
by
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Keywords: side sweet potato Thanksgiving American Southern fall
Ingredients (serves 8)
- 6 c. cubed sweet potatoes
- 1/4 c. coconut oil or butter
- 1/3 c. brown sugar, packed
- 1 T. molasses (optional)
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1/4 t. ginger
- 1/4 t. nutmeg
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring 1/2 c. water to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Once the water is boiling, add in the sweet potato cubes and put the lid on. Allow the potatoes to steam for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes turn bright orange in color.
While the potatoes are steaming, bring the oil, sugar, and spices to a simmer in a skillet over medium-low heat. Whisk together over the heat just until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture thickens.
Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the molasses (if using). Set aside.
Drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl.
Pour the hot sauce over the drained potatoes. Gently mix with a spatula to coat the potatoes in sauce.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and brown.
Cool and serve.
These yams never fail to please!
Of course this meal would not have been complete without fried chicken!
Fried Chicken
by
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Keywords: entree Southern
Ingredients (serves 6)
- 6 chicken pieces (we do thighs and drumsticks)
- 1 T. baking soda
- salt and pepper
- Adobo seasoning
- 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
- peanut or vegetable oil
Instructions
Dissolve the baking soda in a large bowl of ice water.
Place your clean chicken pieces in the ice water to soak.
Let the chicken soak while you heat a large pot/skillet (the widest one you’ve got!) full of about an inch of oil.
After the chicken has been soaking for about 10 minutes, remove the pieces from the ice water.
Pat the pieces dry and season with salt, pepper, and Adobo seasoning (Adobo is my secret weapon! Don’t leave it out if you have it at home!).
Put the flour into a large ziploc or paper bag. Place the chicken pieces in the bag with the flour.
Close the bag and thoroughly shake the pieces around until they are fully coated in flour.
One by one, shake any excess flour off each chicken piece and carefully place into the hot oil. The oil should bubble right away when you put the chicken in.
Cook the chicken for 30 minutes total, flipping the pieces over once around the 20 minute mark.
Drain on a paper towel lined plate and serve.
I was wavering between cornbread and mac and cheese…and I landed on cornbread this time!
Normally I would make it myself using this recipe, but this time I decided to try the Trader Joe’s mix.
It was good stuff! Definitely on the sweet side. When it came out of the oven it smelled like cake!
Last but not least, I made a huge pot of collard greens. They take a long time to cook, but they literally make themselves. Just throw them in a pot and walk away!
Collard Greens
by
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Keywords: side Southern
Ingredients (serves 6)
- 3 quarts water
- 3 T. salt
- 1 smoked turkey wing or smoked hamhock
- 2 lb. collard greens, washed and cut
- 2 t. hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
Heat the water, salt, and hamhock to a boil over medium heat. Cover and boil for an hour.
Add in the greens, stir, and cover the pot again. Let the greens cook for another 3-4 hours.
Taste the broth, add more salt and pepper if needed to taste. Add in the hot sauce.
Serve hot with a little (or a lot!) of the broth along with it.
It was a GREAT meal and I’m so happy to share it with you guys!
Thanks for reading!
-Lauren
17 Responses
A Soul Food Sunday: Fried Chicken, Candied Yams, Smoky Mac n Cheese, and Collard Greens | Lawfully Wedded Wife
[…] There’s a new and improved version of this post! Please CLICK HERE to check it […]
Emily
Seriously. This looks/ sounds so good. Can’t wait to see y’all in the A this weekend! You better have some food cooked for me 🙂
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
This all looks wonderful. You have me craving yams now!
daphne
Hi Lauren, I want to thank you for posting the candied yam (and fried chicken) recipes. I lived in the US for four years and always loved these yams. I have given up trying to find an american restaurant that serves anything other than burgers and burgers around Europe. So I am so happy that I found your blog. It is so nice! I hope you keep posting more delicious food.
Best,
Daphne
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[…] folks! I’m pretty pumped over here because my post from yesterday is breaking my record of views in one day! There are over 2,000 views and counting, and that makes […]
So Yam-my (Yummy) « Bringing Home the Bakin'
[…] Southern Candied Yams – Lawfully Wedded Wife […]
Lynn D. Kimbell
The candied yams sound awesome! I’m definitely going to try them for Christmas dinner. For some reason, my syrup never thickens up enough—and I DO like it very thick. I love greens also—-any kind, but especially turnip, mustard, and collard—mix and match—I’ll eat ’em all!!! Thanks for sharing.
Helen Miller
I just made the candied sweet potatoes, girl these things are to die for. I steamed them put the sauce over them (with molasses) and you know I just had to taste a bit….and a bit more………
Colleen
Hi Lauren! Well…we made the sauce for the candied yams and I’m not sure what happened but the sauce looked like sludge…what I mean is the cocoanut oil and all the spices and sugar seperated and hardened up when I mixed it up with the yams! Not a very pleasant appearance! What went wrong?
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
Hi Colleen! I can’t say for sure but my guess would be that maybe you cooked the glaze too long? It doesn’t emulsify completely (as you can see in the recipe photos) but it should caramelize and come together nicely while baking on the potatoes. Hope that helps!
Ellie in the Kitchen: Thankful for Thanksgiving | Ellie Clothing
[…] form of sweet potatoes…is it even really Thanksgiving? Not in the south, it’s not! This recipe for southern candied yams from A Dash of Soul look absolutely incredible. It’s like having […]
david f. pharms
Love good south soul repices
Janna
Hi! I want to make the sweet potatoes because looks sooo amazing. I wanted to know how many they will serve? I may need to double it because Im cooking for 8!
Lena
Loved the candied yams!
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
So glad to hear it, thanks!
Damali
Best, most delicious, candied yams, ever! Added a little orange juice and zest to it! Entire family loved it!
Alicia
Can I cut the yam recipe in half if I’m
Cooking for 4?