Because all yams aren’t created equal, you need to know about Million Dollar Yams!

Once upon a time, Thanksgiving yams were glazed with brown sugar and covered in toasted marshmallows.

Yams were one of the dishes you felt bad not getting ANY of, so you took 1 small scoop, but rarely ate them.

Then came Million Dollar Yams, the far superior yam!  Now instead of awkwardly taking one small spoonful, you take as many as you can without anyone judging that you took more than your “fair share”. They really are THAT good!

Yams or Sweet Potatoes?

To get started pick out some medium size yams (yams are a deep orange in the center and have a orange colored peel – sweet potatoes are a yellow in the center and more of a brown, peel).

To Bake, Boil, or put under Pressure?

You’ll need to cook these so they can be mashed smooth. I tried 4 different ways of cooking/peeling yams and this is what I learned.

With all 4 ways, I took a knife and “scored” the peel all the way around the yam in the middle, this helps the peel remove easily – I highly recommend this, but at least prick with a fork 4-5 times to allow steam to release from cooking potato

My findings

Instant Pot– On rack place 4-5 yams. Add 1 cup water. Lock lid, on high pressure cook for 20 minutes. Natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release. Be careful as you remove them!

Oven– Bake in 375° oven for 60-80 minutes depending on width of yam.

Boiled– In large pot add yams and fill to cover with water + 2-3″. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium so it doesn’t boil over. Boil for 50-60 minutes depending on thickness of yam

Microwave– After scoring, wrap each yam in paper towel. Microwave 5ish minutes for each yam.

I used to always boil my yams, and after doing this I will never boil again, (boiling makes the biggest mess and you have to constantly be watching them).

My first choice will be instant pot because I can put them in and walk away, and they peeled like a dream.

2nd choice is microwave. The thing I had the hardest part was making sure it was cooked all the way. If it’s cooked enough the skins should fall off and there’s very little clean up. Oven took longest and wasn’t any easier to peel than microwave. However if you have 90 minutes to kill, throw them in, just remember to score, or prick with a fork or you’ll have an explosion in the oven!

THESE YAMS FREEZE AWESOME!

DO IT SMARTER NOT HARDER!

Don’t just make a single batch! After you have all of your ingredients mixed in with the yams, throw some into freezer bag/s for later. You’ll just need to add the topping and bake!

They also make great baby food! My granddaughter LOVED them! I made a batch of just the yams, blended, and then spooned into greases muffin tins. After they had frozen for 24 hours I was able to pop them out, throw them in a freezer bag, and can pull out as many as I need.

Topping…don’t be tempted to skip this part!

Mix your brown sugar and flour then add the butter. Using cold butter and a pastry knife is easiest for the crumb top. I’ve also just used a fork. The point is you want it to be crumbly on top. It should bit tiny pieces of butter covered in the brown sugar mixture.

Sprinkle it all over the top (I won’t judge if you double the topping recipe, my kids always request this!) and bake uncovered allowing it to crisp up.

Another of our favorite Thanksgiving/Fall sides is our Pioneer recipe for Pomegranate Salad aka “Dixie Salad”.

To reheat you can throw it back in the oven, or in the microwave.

Million Dollar Yams (sweet potatoes)

Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

The BEST Yams You’ll EVER Eat!

• Author: Lisa

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

5 medium Yams

¼ cup butter

½ cup Sugar

2 beaten Eggs

¼ tsp Salt

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Cinnamon

¼–½ cup evaporated milk, or cream to thin

TOPPING

¾ cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp Flour

½ cup chopped nuts

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Score Yams all the way around the middle (see picture in post). This allows steam to release, and for peels to slip off easily. Cook yams (see post for optional ways).

While Yams are cooking, make topping by mixing brown sugar and flour. Cut in cold butter with pastry cutter or fork til crumbly, mix in nuts and set to side

Mix Sugar, Eggs, Salt, Vanilla, Cinnamon, and milk/cream

When yams are cooked, remove skins and masher or hand mixer to mash. Add Sugar mixture slowly while mixing well (you don’t want to end up with scrambled eggs in your yams).

Pour into greased 9×13 pan and sprinkle topping over yams.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes uncovered

Recipe Card powered by