One of the most ingenius Thanksgiving cooking tips I have ever heard is to use slow cookers to help keep the oven free for big things like…the turkey! Sweet potatoes are easy to bake in your slow cooker. Time them just right so they can be served fresh and warm alongside the rest of your holiday meal.
I get more excited about Thanksgiving side dishes than I do about the turkey! Sweet potatoes have always been one of my favorites. Even though they taste sweet enough to eat all by themselves, at holiday time I like to indulge by adding a little bit of butter and brown sugar. These slow cooker sweet potatoes are ready to eat in about six hours.
Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar
Ingredients:
- 4-5 large sweet potatoes (washed, peeled and cut into approximately 1 inch sized pieces)
- 3 tsp corn starch
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 4 Tablespoons butter (cut into pieces)
Directions:
1. Butter the sides of your crock pot.
2. Add sweet potatoes.
3. Combine sugar, corn starch and sea salt in a bowl and mix well. Sprinkle over the tops of the sweet potatoes. Top with pieces of butter.
4. Cook on Low setting for 6 hours.
5. The brown sugar will caramelize (that’s a good thing!). Sweet potatoes will be very tender and easy to mash with a hand masher or hand mixer as desired. I like mashed sweet potatoes, but of course you can serve this dish without mashing them if you prefer.
Have you ever made crock pot sweet potatoes? What is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?
Anne says
Hi! I was just heading out to the kitchen to make some sweet potato scones, and it reminded me that I never got back to you to thank you after I made this recipe. It was super simple (as so many good slow-cooker recipes are), and the sweet potatoes were fabulous. The leftovers reheated well in the microwave, too. My spouse raved about them every time I served them. Needless to say, Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes will be my go-to recipe from now on!
Nicole says
I’m so happy they turned out for you and that your spouse loves them so much! I baked my sweet potato in the microwave (the lonely leftover one!) as you suggested and ate it with a little butter and brown sugar. Yummy. 🙂 Thanks for your feedback on the recipe, Anne!
Anne says
I am so happy I was browsing your recipes and came across this post! I have several sweet potatoes that I didn’t use at Thanksgiving and have been wondering what to do with them, and this looks absolutely perfect. Thank you! I’m going to give it a try.
Nicole says
Hi Anne! I have one lonely sweet potato left from Thanksgiving that needs to cook, too. 🙂 This is an easy way to bake them, hope you enjoy! –Nicole
Anne says
I’m always happy when I find another creative way to use my slow cooker.
I’ve been seeing some recipes for things like scones and muffins that incorporate a mashed sweet potato, so I may set one aside to use that way. I’ve had success microwaving just one; maybe that would work for you so you could turn your lonely sweet potato into some yummy baked goods, too.
Heather says
I would have never thought of putting my sweet potatoes in the slow cooker! These look delicious!!
Julie Wood says
What an easy way to make Sweet Potatoes. This is the way that I am going to make mine. The slow cooker is so much easier than any other way to make this recipe. Thanks for sharing this! Happy Thanksgiving!
Nicole Dz says
I have never ever tried putting sweet potato’s in a slow cooker like this, this looks like a great dessert option. I have to try this.