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! And you can 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 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, and I’m always a fan of savory sweet potato recipes.
These sweet potatoes cooked in the crockpot 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 the slow cooker casserole crockpot 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 for CrockPot Sweet Potatoes 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 potatoes in the slow cooker for the big day. And this is a perfect fall side dish recipe any time you’re cooking for a crowd, so don’t make it just for Thanksgiving. 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.
Do you need the Casserole Crock 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!
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.)
- Peel about 4 pounds of orange sweet potatoes and cut them into pieces 1-2 inches square.
- Mix ground coriander, ground fennel, dried oregano, Aleppo Pepper (or a smaller amount of cayenne pepper) and kosher salt to make the seasoning mix.
- Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil and the spice mixture.
- Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray and spread the sweet potatoes out, dotting with a little butter if desired.
- Cook on high until the sweet potatoes are soft (about 3 hours) then mash slightly.
- 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.)
- Serve the CrockPot Sweet Potatoes hot, dotted with a more butter as desired.
More Holiday-Worthy Recipes for Sweet Potatoes:
CrockPot Sweet Potatoes
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
- Grind the herbs together with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, then mix in the salt.
- Peel sweet potatoes and cut into pieces about 1-2 inch square.
- Mix ground coriander, ground fennel, dried oregano, Aleppo Pepper (or a smaller amount of cayenne pepper) and kosher salt to make the seasoning mix.
- 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.
- 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.
- Spray inside of slow cooker with non-stick spray or olive oil.
- 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.
- Cook on high, stirring a couple of times and pouring off any water that accumulates under the lid.
- Sweet potatoes are done when they're completely softened and fragrant, about 3 hours.
- Mash slightly if desired, and season to taste with fresh ground black pepper and sea salt.
- 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.)
- Serve hot, dotted with a little more butter if desired.
- 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
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount 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.
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 for CrockPot Sweet Potatoes was first posted in 2008. It was updated in 2015 to use the Casserole Crock-Pot and was last updated with more information in 2024.
42 Comments on “CrockPot Sweet Potatoes”
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Such a fun idea! Love it!
Thanks Lisa; glad you like it!
Love the idea of using this new casserole crock pot to save oven time over the holidays!
Lydia, these sweet potatoes were so, so good! It's giving me all kinds of new ideas for the CrockPot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker.
Thanks Kalyn, you are so great about replying to people on your blog. thank you!
Marcia, I can't really say for sure because I haven't cooked butternut squash in a CrockPot like this and this particular spice mix was made specifically for sweet potatoes. But I would guess that it would work. There are also a lot of great recipes for Roasted Butternut squash in the Thanksgiving Recipes if you want a tested recipe for Butternut Squash that I can guarantee will be easy and tasty.
Hey Kalyn, love-love-loving your website, thank you so much for sharing these great recipes. Question: Do you think you could use butternut squash with this recipe? I can buy that pre-cut at my grocery store (shhhh cheaters Thanksgiving). 🙂
It sounds like a good idea to me!
Anyone try chopped Vidalia or another type of sweet onion in these?
Debra, thanks for featuring the recipe. So glad you liked it.
A great recipe. Hope you don't mind that I added it to my list on my blog post for Thanksgiving side dishes.
Hee, that wasn't bad as all 🙂
http://i30.tinypic.com/2w4fj0x.jpg
considering this was the first time ever I cooked sweet potatoes… so I didn't use a crockpot, but blanched stuff before a quick stir-fry with my chicken
Aleppo pepper does have some heat, but I think it’s MUCH milder than cayenne. I’d probably use only about 1/2 the amount if you’re substituting Cayenne, or even 1/3 as much.
sounds wonderful. I have an old crockpot that I never use; guess I will have to dig it out to try this on T-day. One question…since I have no aleppo pepper, how much cayenne do you recommend… half? more? unsure about this, and it could make a big difference. Thanks.
THANK YOU about sweet potatoes vs yams. i too have gotten into “arguments” regarding this. i even recall reading something that said it’s against USDA (or maybe FDA?) regulations to call sweet potatoes yams.
this recipe looks AMAZING. i love sweet potatoes, especially a sweet-spicy mix. thanks for sharing!
kristen
Try this recipe with NapaStyle’s Toasted Spice Rub: Toasted Spice Rub (4.2 oz.) – Fennel, coriander, peppercorns, cinnamon, pepper flakes, and chili powder.
You’ll find you’ll use this pre-made rub on so much more. Especially roasted chicken!
They sound so yummy! I love sweet potatoes. I normally make them with a pecan-brown sugar topping. This looks like something I should try this year for the holidays!
Cora, thanks so much for letting me know you liked them!
I made these today for my cooking class to sample. I didn’t think I would care for them that much, but I like the idea of a “sweet” potato alternative. WOW! They are delicious! I wanted to sit down and eat the whole bowl, but I’ll save them for the tasting tonight. Outstanding!
I never would have thought of cooking sweet potatoes in a crockpot but after reading this recipe I sold! What a great way to free up the Thanksgiving day oven. Thanks Kalyn.
Lauren, definitely this could be doubled, but it might take a bit longer to cook. Also be sure to stir a few times.
Do you think this could be doubled? I’m cooking for a lot of people and have a large slow cooker.
Dana, you could definitely cook sweet potatoes in the crockpot with any spices you like the flavor of combined with the sweet potatoes, but this combination is really great. If you have some of these, I’d use the ones you have (especially fennel and coriander.) Spike isn’t similar to the flavor of this at all and I haven’t tried it on sweet potatoes.
You might try googling “sweet potato fries” and see what other kinds of seasonings people use on them that you have.
Those look great ! I’ll have to give that spice combination a try I love coriander so I bet I would like those.
if you don’t have that exact spice mixture on hand, anything you suggest in a pinch? spike? a mixture of more common dried herbs?
happy thanksgiving all!
sounds like a great combo of spices, and i have been trying to bust out my crockpot more!!
A friend called today to tell me that she’s been commanded to bring sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping to a Thanksgiving dinner, because the host’s son requested it. When I found out that the son is 25 years old, I laughed — but honestly, I’d rather have my sweet potatoes done like yours, savory and not so sweet.
Where are my manners? This is what happens when I’m at school all day and not feeling that hot. Thanks for the nice comments everyone!
Heather, I promise I didn’t add any liquid at all. I do think the crockpot should be quite full. I stirred them a few times, or they might have stuck on the bottom.
Ooooh I love sweet potatoes & I love my crockpot! This recipe sounds perfect. And thanks for the advice on not adding too much spice…it was like you were talking directly to me!
So I use my crockpot occasionaly to cook meat. I’m skeptical about the fact that you don’t add liquid. You have me wanting to plug the crock pot in but I only have one sweet potato. I’ll do it tomorrow! They look great and the spice mix sounds great.
Marsha, just make the Spicy Sweet Potato Fries (recipe linked in this post) in your oven. I wouldn’t do it on the stovetop.
Kalyn, could these be done on the stove or in the oven? I’d like to try this tasty sounding recipe, but I no longer have a crockpot.
Kalyn this sounds soo good! I’m hosting a Thanksgiving party for my coworkers this Sunday and one of my charges is sweet potatoes. I’m now debating between making these and a sweet potato mash with sage and caramelized onions that I picked up from Food Blogga.
So many choices! 🙂
I love sweet potatoes!! Never tried them in the crock pot!
Wow! I am impressed, by both the use of the slow cooker, and your spice mix.
xoxo
I’m a big fan of using the crockpot on Thanksgiving – one year I bought two bright red crockpots to heat and serve and give me more oven space for an overly large turkey. Great idea to prep sweet potatoes in the crock pot.
Oh that sounds great! I wish I had known about it before our Thanksgiving… but I’ll save it for next year!j
I should start considering a crockpot: it sounds so useful. Interesting spic mix: thanks for the pointer.
There is something special about slow-cooked sweet potatoes… I’ve only ever had them done like this with sweet seasonings. Intrigued by the spicy flavours – thanks for the inspiration!
Very clever! Now I have to buy myself a crock pot!!
And yet there are somethings that more is more but I’ll trust you on this one Kalyn!
Feeling better I hope!