CrockPot Sweet Potatoes

Make these delicious and perfectly seasoned CrockPot Sweet Potatoes for a holiday meal, and you’ll have room in the oven for other dishes! Use any large oval slow cooker for this recipe if you don’t have the Casserole Crock-Pot!

PIN CrockPot Sweet Potatoes to try them later!

I’m always a fan of savory sweet potato recipes, and I loved these delicious CrockPot Sweet Potatoes that I made with my niece Kara. We used the large slow cooker that’s shaped like a casserole dish, which was perfect for making a sweet potato side dish for a crowd.

These crockpot sweet potatoes have the same amazing seasoning as my Spicy Baked Sweet Potato Fries and Air Fryer Spicy Sweet Potato Fries, and sweet potato fries are one of the recipes that turned me into a savory sweet potato fan.

This shape of slow cooker worked beautifully for this sweet potato side dish recipe (and the casserole crock can go in the oven, so we browned the sweet potatoes a little bit when they were done)! I used plenty of butter since it’s a Thanksgiving recipe, and Kara and I both devoured it when we tasted the results.

Give this a test run before Thanksgiving and see if you can save oven space by making slow cooker sweet potatoes for the big day. And this is also a perfect fall side dish recipe any time you’re cooking for a crowd, so don’t make it just for Thanksgiving. And if your family loves savory sweet potatoes, I bet they’ll love it!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, often called yams or sweet yams in U.S. stores)
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• non-stick spray for crockpot
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• sea salt to taste (I used a sea salt grinder)
• butter
• ground coriander (affiliate link)
• ground fennel (affiliate link)
• Dried Oregano (affiliate link)
• Aleppo Pepper (affiliate link). or use a smaller amount of cayenne pepper
• Kosher Salt (affiliate link)

What’s the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?

These orange sweet potatoes are not yams, even though that might be what your grocery store is calling them! Many people in the U.S. are confused about the differences between sweet potatoes and yams. Unless you’ve lived in the tropics, the orange-fleshed “yams” you’ve eaten are really sweet potatoes, but the confusion started when they were purposely labeled yams to distinguish them from the white fleshed type. True yams are grown in Africa and Asia, and are drier and starchier than sweet potatoes.

What Slow Cooker can you use for CrockPot Sweet Potatoes?

This is a perfect recipe to make for a crowd in the large Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker (affiliate link). But if you don’t have that type of slow cooker you can definitely make it in a large oval slow cooker.

More Tasty Sweet Potatoes:

Check out Favorite Healthy Sweet Potato Recipes to see all my favorite recipes that use sweet potatoes! And if you’re really a sweet potato fan, there’s a whole collection of Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Recipes  and Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes Recipes on my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker site.

How to make CrockPot Sweet Potatoes:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Peel about 4 pounds of orange sweet potatoes and cut them into pieces 1-2 inches square.
2. Mix ground coriander, ground fennel, dried oregano, Aleppo Pepper (or a smaller amount of cayenne pepper) and kosher salt to make the seasoning mix.
3. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil and the spice mixture.
4. Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray and spread the sweet potatoes out, dotting with a little butter if desired.
5. Cook on high until the sweet potatoes are soft (about 3 hours) then mash slightly.
6. You can brown them for 15-20 minutes in a 450F/220C oven if desired, but that’s optional. (Be sure your slow cooker insert can go in the oven.)
7. Serve the CrockPot Sweet Potatoes hot, dotted with a more butter as desired.

More Holiday-Worthy Recipes for Sweet Potatoes:

• Sweet Potato Gratin
• Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms
• Sweet Potato Appetizers with Feta
• Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Continue to Content

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Yield: 8 servings

CrockPot Sweet Potatoes

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours 15 minutes

Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Make these delicious and perfectly-seasoned CrockPot Sweet Potatoes for a holiday meal, and you'll have more room in the oven!

Ingredients

• 4 lb. orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (4 large or 5 medium sweet potatoes, often called yams or sweet yams in U.S. stores)
• 2-3 T olive oil, divided
• non-stick spray for crockpot
• 1 T sweet potato spice mix, divided (see below)
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• sea salt to taste (I used a sea salt grinder)
• 2-3 T butter to add to the top of the sweet potatoes (optional, use more or less to taste)

Sweet Potato Spice Mix:

• 2 T ground coriander
• 1 T ground fennel
• 1 T dried oregano
• 1 T Aleppo Pepper (or use a smaller amount of cayenne pepper)
• 2 T kosher salt

Instructions

1. Grind the herbs together with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, then mix in the salt.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into pieces about 1-2 inch square.
3. Mix ground coriander, ground fennel, dried oregano, Aleppo Pepper (or a smaller amount of cayenne pepper) and kosher salt to make the seasoning mix.
4. Put sweet potatoes into a large bowl and toss with 1 T olive oil and 1 tsp. spice mix. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and another teaspoon of spice mix and toss again.
5. Then one more time, add a tablespoon (or less) of olive oil and another teaspoon of spice mix and toss again. (Please don't get lazy and add the olive oil and spice mix all at once or the sweet potatoes won't get evenly coated with the mixture.
6. Spray inside of slow cooker with non-stick spray or olive oil.
7. Put sweet potatoes in crockpot, spreading them out in a single layer as much as you can, and dotting with a little butter if desired.  
8. Cook on high, stirring a couple of times and pouring off any water that accumulates under the lid.
9. Sweet potatoes are done when they're completely softened and fragrant, about 3 hours.
10. Mash slightly if desired, and season to taste with fresh ground black pepper and sea salt.
11. At this point you can brown the sweet potatoes a little in a pre-heated 450F/220C oven for 15-20 minutes. We did think that gave good results, but it's totally optional. (Make sure your slow cooker insert can go in the oven.) 
12. Serve hot, dotted with a little more butter if desired.
13. Make Ahead Tips: Sweet potatoes can be cut and mixed with olive oil and seasoning earlier in the day. Cooked sweet potatoes could be kept in the crockpot on low or warm for a few hours if needed.

Notes

We made this in the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker (affiliate link) which was really perfect for this recipe, but any oval-shaped large slow cooker will work.

Recipe created by Kalyn using this spice mix for sweet potatoes from Epicurious.com.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 310Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 1900mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 7gSugar: 21gProtein: 3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Crockpot Sweet Potatoes like this are not super low in carbs, so this recipe would be a holiday splurge for low-carb dieters. Sweet Potatoes would be a great option for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet (with approved butter substitute if you’re following the letter of the law), and sweet potatoes are considered to be a good-carb for many types of carb-conscious eating plans. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Sweet Potato Recipes to find more recipes like this one.Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2008. It was updated in 2015 to use the Casserole Crock-Pot and was last updated with more information in 2023.

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