Pour maple syrup over sweet potatoes, along with 3 ingredients, into slow cooker for a sweet side dish that’s I crave this week after week

This is one of those set-it-and-forget-it slow cooker sides that I crave week after week. It’s inspired by simple Amish-style cooking: a few pantry ingredients, cozy flavors, and zero fuss. You literally pour maple syrup over raw cubed sweet potatoes, add just three more ingredients, and let the slow cooker do the work. The result is a sweet, buttery side dish with warm cinnamon that tastes like it took all afternoon, but really only took you about 10 minutes of hands-on time.

These maple sweet potatoes are perfect alongside roast chicken, pork chops, ham, or a simple skillet sausage dinner. I love serving them with something savory and salty to balance the sweetness, plus a green veggie like steamed green beans, a big salad, or roasted Brussels sprouts. They also slide right onto a holiday table next to turkey and stuffing, and any leftovers make an amazing base for grain bowls with quinoa or brown rice the next day.

Servings: 6

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

Lightly coat the inside of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray or a thin swipe of butter to help prevent sticking.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into roughly 1-inch cubes so they cook evenly. Add all of the cubed sweet potatoes to the slow cooker crock and spread them into an even layer.

Sprinkle the ground cinnamon and salt evenly over the sweet potatoes.

Scatter the butter pieces over the top of the seasoned sweet potatoes so they melt down into the mixture as it cooks.

Slowly pour the maple syrup evenly over the raw cubed sweet potatoes in the slow cooker, making sure most of the pieces get a little syrup on them.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, until the sweet potatoes are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Once cooked, gently stir the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker to coat them in the buttery maple sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning with a pinch more salt if needed.

Serve the maple sweet potatoes warm straight from the slow cooker, spooning some of the sauce over each serving. If the dish sits on the warm setting, give it a quick stir before serving to keep everything coated and glossy.

For extra warmth, add 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or a pinch of ground cloves along with the cinnamon. If you like a little texture, sprinkle 1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts over the top during the last 30 minutes of cooking so they warm through without getting soggy. To make this dairy-free, swap the butter for coconut oil or a vegan butter; the coconut oil adds a subtle tropical note that still works well with the maple. You can also reduce the maple syrup to 1/3 cup if you prefer a less sweet side, or drizzle an extra tablespoon over the finished dish right before serving for more gloss and sweetness. For meal prep, peel and cube the sweet potatoes the night before and store them in a zip-top bag in the fridge; in the morning, just dump them into the slow cooker, sprinkle on the cinnamon and salt, add the butter, and pour over the maple syrup before heading out the door.