Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole

Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole is the PERFECT Thanksgiving side dish, made with canned sweet potatoes mixed with sugar, vanilla, and warm spices, topped with a crunchy cinnamon sugar pecan crumble.  

For more holiday recipe ideas, check out these classic side dish options! Cauliflower Au Gratin, Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts, and my all-time favorite appetizer Pecan Cranberry Baked Brie.

Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole is the perfect holiday side dish, and a great way to save valuable oven space while only using a few basic ingredients! It’s sweet and creamy, with an amazing brown sugar pecan topping that adds a really nice crunchy texture. It’s the perfect addition to any holiday meal.

I’m using a 6 quart slow cooker, but this recipe will also work with other sizes. If your slow cooker is larger, check the casserole at the 3 hour mark. 

You can also make this recipe in a casserole dish, find the instructions in my Easy Sweet Potato Casserole post. This will be your family’s new favorite sweet potato dish!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Sweet Potatoes. For this recipe, I’m using canned sweet potatoes. Typically, these are stored in a sugar syrup, so they’ll start out with a sweeter flavor. We’re draining all of the liquid off, though. 

If you don’t want to use canned sweet potatoes, you can use fresh. I would bake them and allow to cool, then remove the skins and puree in the food processor before using. 

Eggs. Eggs are a binding agent, which helps hold the casserole together. 

Butter. Butter adds fat to the recipe which gives you a really creamy, indulgent mouthfeel. It also adds moisture, which keeps the dish creamy instead of drying out. 

I always use unsalted butter, so I can add as much or as little salt as I want later. 

Milk. Milk helps add a small amount of fat, and adds some moisture for more of a creamy texture. 

Sugar. We’re using a combination of white sugar for sweetness, and brown sugar for some deeper slightly molasses notes. 

If you don’t have one type of sugar, you can use all white sugar or all brown sugar. If you don’t want to use sugar, you can add a splash of orange juice or some maple syrup instead. 

Vanilla. Vanilla helps add a smooth flavor that goes really well with the sweetness of the dish. 

If you like more vanilla flavor, you can increase from 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to 2. 

Spices. We’re going with traditional fall spices, cinnamon and nutmeg. You can also use pumpkin pie spice if that’s what you have. 

Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour. I use a regular 1 to 1 gluten free all-purpose flour. If you’re not gluten free, you can use regular flour. 

This just helps hold everything in the topping together. 

Pecans. Pecans are a traditional Thanksgiving ingredient and add a really nice crunch to contrast the soft sweet potatoes. 

If you don’t like pecans you can leave them out and just add some oats instead. 

Kosher Salt. Salt helps balance out the sweetness, so you don’t get that overly-sweet feeling. You don’t need a lot, 1/2 teaspoon salt does the trick!

How to Make Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole

1. In a large bowl, add sweet potatoes, eggs, butter, milk, sugar, vanilla, and spices. Use a potato masher or an electric hand mixer to mash everything together until completely combined. 
2. Lightly grease the slow cooker, then add sweet potato mixture, using a spatula to spread evenly. 
3. In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix together the brown sugar, gluten free flour, salt, pecans and cinnamon until well combined. Add the butter and stir everything together until the topping has a wet appearance. 
4. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top of the sweet potato mixture in the crockpot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until the topping looks golden brown. 

Storage

Refrigerate sweet potato casserole in an airtight container for 3-4 days. 

Freeze in an airtight container for 2-3 months. 

Frequently Asked Questions

More Sweet Potato Recipes

• Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Soup
• Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
• Baked Sweet Potato Rounds with Goat Cheese
• Honey Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Cooking Tips

• For an easy cleanup on Thanksgiving, use a crock pot liner! You can throw the slow cooker insert away at the end of the night instead of having to wash out the crockpot, saving a lot of time. 
• Add a little bit of heat to this dish with 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. 
• If you want a gooey marshmallow topping, add some miniature marshmallows on top. Just check to make sure the brand you choose is gluten free. Add the mini marshmallows at the very end, and close the lid for an additional 5 minutes to melt them. 
• You can replace the pecans in the pecan topping with other nuts, like chopped almonds or walnuts. The nuts are what makes it a crunchy topping, so don’t leave them out!
• If your crockpot has the function, you can leave it on the warm setting while you’re serving dinner. Just don’t leave it on for too long for food safety. 
• If you use home cooked sweet potatoes instead of canned, I like to made sweet potato puree in the food processor. This gets rid of any of the natural string-like pieces from the sweet potato. 

If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!

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