Free up some oven space at Thanksgiving with Lightened Up Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole!
Welcome to g&c’s unofficial (but official? idk.) Thanksgiving recipe week!
My main goal for developing these recipes is to clear up some space in your oven. I’ve made plenty of Friendsgivings and hosted a couple of Thanksgivings in our tiny kitchens and never have I ever wanted a double oven more than those times.
For one, a turkey takes up so much room. It pretty much leaves you space for maybe two more dishes but you KNOW there are more than two side dishes at Thanksgiving.
Today slow cooker is coming to the rescue. Lightened Up Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole needs a spot on your Thanksgiving table!
I was never a huge fan of sweet potato casserole growing up and I think it was because the whole marshmallow thing. It just didn’t seem right to me.
While I’m not anti-marshmallow topping now (I’ll take a scoop with just a teeny tiny bit of the mallow please) I do think I have found a way more delicious alternative. A lightly sweetened pecan mixture made of coconut sugar, butter, and pecans. Mmmmhmmm. It’s goooood stuff.
Gotta love it
Since sweet potatoes are fairly sweet on their own, I cut down on a lot of the sugar that is in the sweet potato mixture. Instead of using brown sugar I used a combination of coconut sugar and maple syrup. I loved the maple-y flavor that the maple syrup added!
Another integral part of the sweet potato casserole? Vanilla. Only the real stuff, people. Today I used Frontier Co-op’s Organic Vanilla Extract.
I love using products that are not only delicious, but also good for the environment, which is definitely what Frontier Co-op is all about. And it’s non-GMO. Gotta love it.
Lightened Up Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole
The great thing about this dish is that so much of it can be done ahead of time. You can peel and chop the sweet potatoes a day or two in advance, storing them in an airtight container in the fridge. Then on the morning of the big day, just plop them into your slow cooker with the spices, sugar, and chicken broth, and let it cook.
After they are nice and soft you can use your immersion blender or regular blender to puree the mixture, and then add the topping and cook for another 30 minutes or so. That’s it! All while the green bean casserole, stuffing, rolls, and turkey are crammed in the oven.
Be sure to stop back the rest of the week for more delicious Thanksgiving recipes. Including my absolute favorite turkey recipe!
Ingredients
For the sweet potato casserole:
- 10 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes about 5 large sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup whole milk
For the topping:
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Place sweet potatoes, coconut sugar, maple syrup, ground cinnamon, orange juice, salt and chicken broth in a slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 4 hours.
- Either blend mixture with an immersion blender, adding milk to the slow cooker, or transfer to a stand blender with the milk and blend until smooth. Return to slow cooker if you use a stand blender.
- In a small bowl combine melted butter, pecans, coconut sugar, and cinnamon.
- Sprinkle mixture over sweet potato puree in the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 30 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
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Welcome to greens & chocolate! I'm Taylor and am so excited that you stopped by! I'm a Minnesota girl in my 20's who's loving life with my husband Marc, our son Lars, and our Golden Retriever Maddie. I love cooking healthy meals, but it's essential that I have my dessert. All after a hot yoga class or a run, though! It's all about moderation here at greens & chocolate. 
I am totally making this tonight.
I am making this tonight for sure.