Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole (EASY + Real Ingredients)

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole is a creamy, delicious, EASY Thanksgiving side dish made with real ingredients and topped with toasty pecans that also frees up valuable oven space when cooking a big holiday meal!

If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you'll also love Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole, Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes, or Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes!

'Tis the season to get serious about Thanksgiving menu planning! Do you already have a set-in-stone menu that you adhere to each year, or do you like trying new recipes? Orrrr do you make mostly "family tradition" recipes while throwing in a few new options every holiday? Either way, hopefully today's Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole is just what you need!

I always prepare the same turkey and green bean and corn recipes. There are a few go-to options for dinner rolls in my arsenal, depending on how much time I've got. I typically bake a pecan pie that starts with my Fool-Proof Flaky Butter Pie Crust, although sometimes I opt for Mini Pecan Pies or even Pecan Pie Bars instead. And I always make mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes!

But the truth is that, over the years, I've learned a thing or two about assembling a big holiday meal. 😉 And one of the biggest lessons has been that when oven space is at a prime, I can always turn to my crockpot!

This Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole is one of my earliest efforts to that end, and it immediately became a family tradition. This recipe is truly easy and truly delicious!

Mind you, this Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole is technically not a casserole, seeing as how it never bakes in the oven.

But it mimics a casserole in that tasty ingredients are stirred into mashed sweet potatoes in order to add flavor and a tad of richness. And then the whole shebang is topped off with crunchy toasted pecans, all casserole-like.

The resulting side dish is effortless to make, relatively healthy, and yum, yum, YUM!

Ingredients

I didn't frou-frou up my Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole too much because I wanted the flavor of the star ingredient to shine through. So what's required to make this side dish?

• Sweet potatoes. Washed, peeled, and cut into 2-inch chunks. I prefer using Jewel sweet potatoes if they're available. But if not, to guarantee the sweetest flesh, I look for sweet potatoes with orange or red skin (not tan or purple).
• Water. For cooking the sweet potatoes.
• Milk. Warmed. I always make this recipe with whole milk, but you could substitute low-fat or skim milk to lighten it up...or use half-and-half or cream to make it more decadent.
• Butter. At room temperature, for easy melting. Salted or unsalted will work.
• Pure maple syrup. Sweet potatoes are obviously already sweet, but adding some natural, unrefined maple syrup boosts the overall sweetness of this recipe to the perfect level. Feel free to tweak the amount to taste.
• Freshly-squeezed lemon juice. You can use bottled lemon juice, but I do recommend looking for a brand where "lemon juice" is the only ingredient. You won't actually taste any lemon flavor from the splash of lemon juice, but it will add brightness and balance to your Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole.
• Pure vanilla extract. Because vanilla makes everything better!
• Salt. I prefer fine sea salt. It may seem counterintuitive to add salt to sweet potatoes, but don't leave it out! This recipe doesn't end up tasting salty, but salt is necessary to make all of the other flavors POP.
• Warm spices. Specifically, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. These spices really bring out the warm fall flavor of this side dish.
• Pecans. Chopped and toasted, for an easy topping that nicely contrasts with the creamy sweet potatoes. Just don't skip the toasting step! Doing so keeps the pecans crunchy and really boosts their nuttiness.

Gluten-Free and/or Dairy-Free

In case you have any dietary restrictions to consider at Thanksgiving, this recipe is already gluten-free.

I've successfully made it with unsweetened almond milk and plant-based butter to make it dairy-free as well.

How to Make Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole

The steps are super easy and the overall recipe is pretty hands-off.

1. Wash and peel your sweet potatoes, cut them into big chunks, and toss 'em in the crockpot.
2. Add water.

3. Cover and cook until tender, which can take a variable amount of time depending on whether you choose to slow cook on LOW or HIGH. Drain off the liquid.

4. Use a potato masher to mash the cooked sweet potatoes directly in the crockpot.

5. Add the milk, butter, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and spices and keep on mashing until smooth and well-combined.

6. While the sweet potatoes cook, toast the pecans by baking on a sheet pan until fragrant and just starting to darken.
7. After mixing up the sweet potato casserole, allow everything to heat back up for a few more minutes and then sprinkle with chopped, toasted pecans just before serving.

Topping Options

You can toast your pecans well in advance so that there's no conflict when the oven is over-booked on Turkey Day.

You can alternatively top this Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with candied pecans if you care to add a little extra pizzazz.

Or you can sprinkle your mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows and use a kitchen torch to carefully toast them. I ask you, who wouldn't love to be assigned that job on Thanksgiving?

Serving and Storing Leftovers

Once your Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole is ready, you can either set your crockpot to WARM and serve straight out of it...or transfer all of that goodness to a pretty serving dish.

In the latter case, you'll probably want to sprinkle on the toasted pecans after the transfer. 😉

Leftovers may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

And that's it...a delicious side dish effortlessly prepared in the crockpot! I'm telling you, friends...Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole may be a new addition to your holiday menu this year...

...but in coming years, it's guaranteed to shift over to the "family tradition" side of things!

Enjoy. 🙂

More Thanksgiving Recipes

• Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
• Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy
• Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
• Cream Cheese Corn Casserole
• Slow Cooker Creamy Cheesy Corn
• Thanksgiving Salad
• Holiday Honeycrisp Salad
• Classic Green Bean Casserole from Scratch
• Bacon Green Bean Casserole
• Roasted Butternut Squash with Cinnamon + Maple

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole (EASY + Real Ingredients)

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole is a creamy, delicious, easy Thanksgiving side dish made with real ingredients and topped with toasty pecans that also frees up valuable oven space when cooking a big holiday meal!

By Samantha Skaggs

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 to 12 servings

Calories: 309kcal

Print Pin Rate

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Video

Ingredients

• 4 pounds sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, & cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 cup whole milk, warm
• 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 ½ cups chopped pecans, toasted

Instructions

• Place sweet potato chunks in the bottom of a large (5 ½- to 7-quart) slow cooker; pour in water. Cover and cook for 6 to 7 hours on LOW (or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH) or until tender. Drain water from slow cooker.
• Using a potato masher, mash the sweet potatoes right in the slow cooker. Mash in the milk, butter, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger until smooth and well-combined. Cover and cook for 15 to 30 more minutes until heated through.
• Just before serving, stir the sweet potatoes and smooth the surface. Evenly sprinkle with toasted pecans.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

Equipment Needed

• 6-quart or larger Slow Cooker
• Handheld Potato Masher

Notes

• SERVING: This Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole may be served straight out of the crockpot (set to WARM) or transferred to a serving dish. If using a serving dish, sprinkle the pecans on top after transferring the mashed sweet potatoes.
• TO TOAST PECANS: Preheat oven to 350°. Spread chopped pecans on sheet pan and bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until fragrant and lightly toasted, watching carefully to prevent burning.
• MAKE-AHEAD: Pecans may be toasted up to two weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature
• This recipe may be finished earlier in the day and kept on WARM for up to 3 hours before serving. In that case, don't add the pecans on top until just before serving!
• ALTERNATIVE TOPPINGS: Chopped candied pecans may be used in lieu of toasted pecans. Or you can sprinkle the sweet potato casserole with mini marshmallows and then carefully toast them using a kitchen torch right before serving.
• ALLERGY-FREE OPTIONS: This recipe naturally does not contain gluten. To make it DAIRY-FREE as well, use unsweetened almond milk in place of the whole milk and a dairy-free "buttery spread" (such as Earth's Balance Olive Oil) in place of the butter.

Nutrition

Calories: 309kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 322mg | Potassium: 622mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 21608IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 1mg

Made this recipe? I'd love to see on IG!Mention @FiveHeartHome or tag #FiveHeartHome!

Post originally published on November 10, 2015, and updated on October 21, 2019, November 27, 2020, and November 12, 2024.