Make these one pot Slow Cooker Mashed Sweet Potatoes for the holiday, also keep them warm right in the same pot!
Almost the entire holiday dinner can be prepared in the slow cooker, the ham, green beans, mashed potatoes and also these mashed sweet potatoes! My grandma makes a great sweet potato casserole for the holiday dinners that she can make it to, but some dinners I have to entertain without her being there. What I love most about this recipe is that it’s a one pot side dish. No boiling in a pot on the stove-top, these sweet potatoes steam in the slow cooker with butter and a touch of water. Then I add spices, maple syrup and small amount of heavy cream.

Here is the YouTube video of this recipe! SO easy to make. You can follow me on YouTube, here.
What are you cooking in your slow cooker for the holiday dinners? I would love to hear. Have a great week.
- 6 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (this was about 7 cups, measured)
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick)
- ¼ cup water or apple juice
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp. heavy cream
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 5-quart or larger
- Add the peeled and diced sweet potatoes to the slow cooker. Slice the butter and place on top. Pour over the water.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- When the cooking time is done, add the maple syrup, heavy cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth OR use a potato masher and mash by hand.
- Serve with additional butter if desired.
- Enjoy!
I used my 6-quart Crock-Pot® for this recipe, though any slow cooker 5-quart or larger will work fine.
You may also like: Horseradish Cheese Spread
A few years ago I tried coconut yogurt in my sweet potato casserole. It was so good, I use it every year now. I also use a little pineapple juice, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and sometimes marshmallows if my grandchildren will be with us.
I have loved my West Bend slow cooker for at least 40 years. I love your blog. Thank you for being so generous with your recipes.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Claire
The recipe sounds great. However I am not a big fan of maple; any other suggestions? Or is not too maple-y? 🙂
I’m new to being dairy free – do you think I could use coconut cream rather than heavy cream?
I need this dish for a school thanksgiving dinner at 11am so I need it to be done at 10. Could I cook overnight on low instead of cooking in high for four hours? Or do I have to get up early and put it on by 6am?
I actually have a timer plugged into my strip outlet. I plug the slow cooker into it and set the time I want it to start & stop. It’s awesome for when I’m at work but need it to start later then 8:00 am
what can I use to substitute heavy cream?
Half and half or whole milk should work fine too.
can you freeze? is so how long and best way
how could I put a brown-sugar pecan topping on that?
I would just sprinkle on after mixing, would be great!
Would you adjust the cooking time if you halved the recipe?
You will probably only need to cook for 3.5 hours if this was cut in half.
If you want to cook on low, double the high time. So 4 hours on high is 8 hours on low.
I’m making this now and was having trouble dicing the sweet potatoes. So I wrapped one in a wet paper towel and nuked it for 2-3 minutes depending on size. MUCH easier to peel nooks and crannies and to dice. Don’t know if I’m the last person on the face of the Earth to figure this out, so I thought I’d share.
Happy cooking.
Laura
I made this recipe last Thanksgiving and it was a HUGE hit! Making it again this year. the hardest thing for me was to not open that lid until the potatoes were done. So delicious and so easy to make.
The sweet potatoes turn brown with this recipe. The key is covering them with water while cooking THEN add the sauce.
Just tried this to test ahead for Christmas. THIS IS THE BEST!! THANK YOU! SOOOOO delicious! I need to make a double batch though for our guests. Can I double everything and could I use a 7 quart crock in that case? Same amount of cooking time? Can’t wait to serve this with our baked ham. Thanks!
I think a half hour more would be perfect. I’m glad you liked it!