Recipe

Virginia Willis’s Bourbon Sweet Potatoes

Name: Bourbon Sweet Potatoes (Yield: 4–6 Servings)
Ingredients: 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish; 4–6 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about ½ inch thick; Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper; ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar; ½ cup bourbon; 2 tbsp. sorghum, cane, or maple syrup

Simple, classic, and perfectly indulgent

Recipe by Virginia Willis

October 8, 2024

Photo: Ellen Silverman

Only a Southerner, inheritor of the infamous Southern sweet tooth, would add massive quantities of butter and sugar to a dish and still regard it as a vegetable. Add a shot of bourbon? No problem. —Virginia Willis, from her recently revised cookbook, Bon Appétit, Y’All.

Read our interview with Willis here.

Ingredients

Bourbon Sweet Potatoes (Yield: 4–6 Servings)
- 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
- 4–6 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about ½ inch thick
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup bourbon
- 2 tbsp. sorghum, cane, or maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an ovenproof gratin or casserole dish. Arrange the sweet potato slices in the prepared dish and season with salt and pepper.
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, 4 tablespoons butter, bourbon, and syrup and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the sauce is boiling, pour it over the sweet potatoes.
Bake the casserole, basting and turning the potatoes occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are soft and tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.