Put the finishing touches on Thanksgiving dinner by making cranberry-orange glazed sweet potatoes. These are super flavorful and will go with everything on your plate.
I was going through our huge box of recipes the other day and came across this old, forgotten recipe for glazed sweet potatoes. This one came from Mary Jo’s sister Elsi, and I can’t remember the last time we made it. Probably in the ’70’s. It is a good one to resurrect, especially this time of year.
There’s a couple more steps in making this as compared to the ordinary mashed sweet potatoes, but the effort is definitely worth it. Make these and you’ll probably never have your sweet potatoes any other way.
Start out by cutting your sweet potatoes into 3/4″ to 1″ pieces, then boil them for about 5 minutes, just until they start getting soft. Drain the water off them and put them into a greased 9 by 13 baking dish.
In the meantime, heat up 4 tablespoons of butter and one can of jellied cranberries. Stir to dissolve the jelly. Once the cranberries have liquified, stir in 1/3 cup of orange juice and a teaspoon of salt. Just pour the dissolved cranberry mixture onto the sweet potatoes, cover with foil and stick the casserole in the oven. You’ll probably have the turkey going at the same time, so whatever temperature you are baking the turkey will be fine for the glazed sweet potatoes, (300 to 350 degrees).
After about 20 minutes, take them out of the oven and give them a stir. Put the foil back on and bake another 20 minutes. Give them a good stir again and place back in the oven without the foil. In an additional 20 minutes they will be done. Take them out of the oven and give them a taste. If it seems like the orange flavor has lessened a bit, stir in up to 1/4 cup of orange juice to amp up the flavor profile.
This is pretty easy and your glazed sweet potatoes will have a tangy sweetness that is mouth-wateringly good.
Enjoy, and have a great holiday season!
Cranberry-Orange Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 can 14 oz. Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce
- 1/3 cup orange juice up to 1/4 cup more if deemed necessary
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cook the sweet potatoes until they are just barely tender, 5 mins.
- Drain and place the potatoes into a greased 9 by 13 baking dish.
- Place the cranberry sauce and butter into a sauce pan, break up the jellied cranberries and cook until dissolved. Then add the orange juice and salt.
- Pour the sauce over the potatoes and give them a stir to coat.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 300 to 350 degrees for 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. Leave uncovered for the last 20 minutes.
- Taste and add up to 1/4 cup more orange juice if necessary to increase the orange flavor. Serve hot.
Taz
I made this with 3 pounds of sweet potatoes and yams, because that is what I had.
Also, I used orange juice concentrate that was diluted per can instructions.
This was sweet, orangey and the jellied cranberry sauce gave it a little zing.
We liked this a lot.
Joe
Hi Taz,
Thanks for the nice comment and glad that you liked the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving.
Joe
MaryJo
This is a terrific side dish option for Thanksgiving or Wednesday.
Eileen Herbert
Sounds good. Can’t wait to try it.