Easiest Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

Nearly effortless to prepare, slow cooker sweet potatoes are an easy side dish for weeknight dinners, meal prep, or for the holidays. This is my absolute favorite way to cook whole sweet potatoes, with just one ingredient and three hours!

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes are The Easiest!

Yes, you can make perfect baked whole sweet potatoes in the slow cooker! By far the easiest, hands-off way to feed a crowd, meal prep like a pro, or whip up an easy side dish for weeknight dinners, these slow cooker baked sweet potatoes are bound to become your new go-to recipe. Now, I’ll admit I was skeptical when first trying cooking sweet potatoes in my crockpot. But they really come out so surprisingly fluffy, light & delicious that now it’s my favorite hands-off way to cook potatoes of all kinds – I’m looking at you slow cooker herbed potatoes.

This version really couldn’t be easier to make, and is now one of my favorite side dishes for busy weeks or fun get-togethers with family & friends. You can batch cook 6-7 medium sweet potatoes at once, or just 1-2 sweet potatoes for dinner, you choose. And the best part? You can easily add your choice of protein or toppings to them to turn this into an easy, filling & hearty dinner option too, or use the cooked sweet potato for other recipes.

Baking Whole Sweet Potatoes in the Slow Cooker

Yes, this recipe only has one ingredient: sweet potatoes! Note that “yam” and “sweet potato” are often used interchangeably, but they are actually from completely different botanical families (source). For this recipe look for orange-fleshed sweet potatoes with dark orange-brown skin.

Simply clean your sweet potatoes and add them to the slow cooker whole and let the slow-cooker work its magic. After they’re cooked, you can slice them down the middle, add any fun extras that you want, and then you’re ready to dig in! I love that these crockpot sweet potatoes are cooked without foil because they don’t require any prep beyond a quick scrub.

And, in contrast to traditional oven baked sweet potatoes, you don’t poke holes in these sweet potatoes prior to cooking them. They require no added water, so don’t add any to the slow cooker or you’ll end up with mushy sweet potatoes, and no one wants that. If you’re wondering about the final texture, the skins come out moderately crispy, and the insides are fork tender and fluffy. If you prefer very crispy skins, just pop the cooked sweet potatoes under a broiler for a few minutes until they crisp up, keeping careful watch, of course, to avoid burning them.

This is the easiest way to cook whole sweet potatoes you will find on the internet.

Welcome to My Kitchen! Let’s Make Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

Tip: Baked sweet potatoes make the best base for a baked potato bar! Check out this baked potato bar + topping ideas post for how to do it.

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