This is the sweet potato side my aunt brings to every single holiday, and I swear the slow cooker is scraped clean before we even sit down for pie. It’s that good, and it’s only 4 ingredients. Thick rounds of sweet potatoes get slow-cooked in maple syrup and butter until they’re tender and glossy, then finished with crunchy pecans on top. It tastes like a cross between candied yams and dessert, but it’s hands-off and perfect when your oven is already packed with turkey and casseroles.
Serve these maple pecan sweet potatoes straight from the slow cooker on the warm setting so the glaze stays sticky and the butter stays melty. They’re perfect next to roasted turkey, ham, or a simple rotisserie chicken when you’re doing a lower-key holiday at home. I like to spoon some of the buttery maple sauce from the bottom of the crock over each serving and make sure everyone gets a few pecan halves for crunch. They pair well with green beans, a crisp salad, or anything savory that needs a little sweet balance on the plate.
Slow Cooker 4-Ingredient Maple Pecan Sweet PotatoesServings: 8
Ingredients
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
Directions
Lightly grease a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with butter or nonstick spray to keep the sweet potatoes from sticking.
Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them into 1/2-inch thick rounds so they cook evenly and keep their shape.
Layer the sweet potato rounds in the slow cooker, overlapping them slightly like shingles so they’re snug but not packed too tightly.
Pour the maple syrup evenly over the sweet potatoes, making sure it drizzles down between the layers so everything gets coated.
Scatter the butter pieces over the top of the sweet potatoes, spacing them out so they melt down and create a glossy maple-butter sauce.
Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, or until the sweet potatoes are very tender when pierced with a fork but not falling apart. Avoid lifting the lid too often so the heat and moisture stay trapped.
Once the sweet potatoes are tender, sprinkle the pecan halves evenly over the top. Gently spoon some of the hot maple-butter sauce from the bottom over the pecans to help them soak up flavor.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 15 to 20 minutes, just until the pecans are fragrant and lightly toasted and the glaze looks thick and sticky around the edges.
Turn the slow cooker to WARM. Just before serving, gently spoon the sweet potatoes into a serving dish or serve directly from the crock, making sure to ladle plenty of the maple-butter sauce from the bottom over each portion and top with extra pecans for crunch.
Variations & Tips
If you want to make this ahead for a busy holiday, you can peel and slice the sweet potatoes the night before and store them in a container of cold water in the fridge; drain and pat dry before layering in the slow cooker. For a slightly less sweet version, reduce the maple syrup to 3/4 cup and add an extra 2 tablespoons of butter to keep the sauce rich. If you like your pecans extra toasty, you can toast them in a dry skillet on the stove over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes before adding them to the slow cooker at the end. To stretch this for a bigger crowd, you can add up to 1 additional pound of sweet potatoes without changing the other ingredient amounts too much; just know the slices will be a bit less saucy. Leftovers reheat well in the microwave with a splash of water or extra maple syrup, and they’re amazing mashed slightly and served with leftover turkey or spooned over oatmeal for a sweet breakfast treat.
