Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes are thin slices of sweet potato slow cooked with butter, white and brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until they turn fork tender, velvety and glossy with a sweet, spiced syrup. They belong on the Thanksgiving or Christmas table, and they sit just as well beside a Sunday ham. The recipe serves 8.
How to make crockpot candied sweet potatoes: Layer peeled 1/4-inch slices in the crockpot with sugar, butter and spices, pour a cornstarch slurry over them, and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours, until tender and the syrup starts to thicken.
Why You’ll Love It
- Your oven stays free: the crockpot handles the sweet potatoes while the oven and stovetop take care of the turkey and the rest of the holiday sides.
- Ten minutes of hands-on work: peel, slice, sprinkle and pour, then give the pot one good stir about halfway through.
- It travels warm: the covered crock keeps the sweet potatoes warm on a short drive to a potluck or a family dinner; plug it in on Keep Warm as soon as you arrive.
- A syrup that clings: a little cornstarch in the water helps the syrup stick to every slice.
Ingredient Notes
Sweet potatoes: Three pounds of fresh sweet potatoes. Choose medium ones with smooth, firm skin; Beauregard, Garnet and Jewel are good orange varieties for candying. Purple sweet potatoes are less sweet and drier than orange ones.
Sugar: Half a cup of granulated sugar and 1/3 cup of light brown sugar. Pack the brown sugar firmly into the cup when you measure it.
Butter: Four tablespoons of salted butter, cut into thin pats and spread across the top. Unsalted butter works too; add salt to taste. For a dairy-free pot, use a vegan butter substitute.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into slices about 1/4-inch thick
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, cut into thin pats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
How to Make Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes
1. Slice the sweet potatoes. Wash the sweet potatoes, peel them and cut them into slices about 1/4-inch thick.
2. Add the sugars. Put the sweet potatoes in the crockpot and sprinkle them with the granulated sugar and the brown sugar.
3. Add the butter. Cut the butter into thin pats and arrange them over the sweet potatoes.
4. Add the spices. Dust the cinnamon and nutmeg over the top.
5. Pour in the slurry. Stir the cornstarch into the water to make a slurry and pour it over everything.
6. Slow cook. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours, stirring about halfway through. The sweet potatoes are done when they are tender and the liquid is bubbling and starting to thicken.
How to Get a Thick Glaze, Not a Thin Syrup
The syrup starts out thin: the water, melted butter and sugar collect in the bottom of the crock and need cooking time to thicken into a coating.
Baste when you stir. Each time you stir, scoop the syrup from the bottom of the crock and spoon it over the slices on top so they all candy evenly. One stir about halfway is enough, or you can turn them about every 30 minutes for a more even glaze.
Give it more time. If the sweet potatoes are tender but the syrup is still thin, the fix is usually to keep cooking; the slow cooker gives it the time.
Thicken it on the stove. For a faster fix, ladle 1/2 cup of the hot liquid into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil, which takes a minute or two. Mix 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water, whisk it into the boiling liquid and keep whisking until it thickens, about 1 minute. Drizzle this glaze over the sweet potatoes.
Plan for less syrup. If you like the slices lightly coated rather than swimming, use less water next time. Cut back the cornstarch and a little of the sugar with it, since there is less syrup for them to thicken and sweeten.
Slice Size and Cook Time
The times in this recipe are for slices about 1/4 inch thick: high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. You don’t have to slice them thin. Round slices and chunks both candy well, as long as every piece is about the same size so they cook at the same rate. Keep chunks no larger than about 2 1/2 inches thick so they cook through.
Whatever the cut, test a piece with a fork from the earliest time, 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low, and keep cooking until every piece is tender.
Tips for Success
Why are the sweet potatoes still firm after 3 hours?
On high, check them with a fork at 3 hours. If they are not soft yet, give them another hour and test again. Keep the lid on in between: USDA FSIS says to lift it only to stir the food or check for doneness.
Why did the candied sweet potatoes turn mushy?
They cooked past tender. Check on them now and then toward the end so they come out tender, not overcooked. On low, start checking at 6 hours instead of waiting for 8.
Variations
- Marshmallow topping: scatter marshmallows over the sweet potatoes at the end, cover and cook just until they melt. For a browned top, spoon everything into a baking dish and put it under the broiler for a minute or two, or use a kitchen torch.
- Maple and orange: swap half of the brown sugar for real maple syrup, and add 1/4 cup of orange juice or the zest of 1 orange.
- Pecans, vanilla and cloves: stir 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract into the slurry and sprinkle 1/3 cup of chopped toasted pecans over the top just before serving. For more spice, add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves, or use pumpkin pie spice in place of the cinnamon and nutmeg.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. Store the slices with their syrup. Thaw frozen sweet potatoes in the refrigerator overnight and expect them to be softer than before. Reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop until they reach 165°F, and don’t reheat them in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Candied sweet potatoes sit right next to the main dish on a holiday plate. Serve them with slow cooker turkey breast or slow cooker ham steaks, plus a pan of old-fashioned mac and cheese and creamy corn casserole. For something green, add smothered green beans, and let dinner rolls and cranberry sauce fill out the table. If your crowd wants a mashed sweet potato dish under a marshmallow top, make sweet potatoes with marshmallows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put raw sweet potatoes in a slow cooker?
Yes. Peel and slice them raw and they go straight into the crockpot with the sugar, butter and spices. There is no need to boil them first.
Which sugar should you use for candied sweet potatoes?
Light or dark brown sugar both work. Dark brown gives the syrup a richer molasses flavor, while mixing brown sugar with granulated sugar, as this recipe does, tones the molasses down. If you are out of brown sugar, all granulated works.
Are candied yams the same as candied sweet potatoes?
Yes. In Southern cooking, orange sweet potatoes are often called yams, so the two names mean the same dish. A true yam is a starchy tuber with bark-like skin and white flesh used in savory cooking, so don’t swap it in, and skip canned yams here too.
Can you double the recipe?
Yes. A doubled batch fits in a 6-quart slow cooker. Keep the slices the same 1/4-inch thickness so the whole pot cooks at the same rate.
Final Notes
On a holiday, the crock can go straight to the buffet on the Keep Warm setting, which holds the sweet potatoes for up to 6 hours; USDA FSIS says hot food on a buffet should stay at 140°F or warmer, so check with a food thermometer that they do. If you have a question or make these, tell me how they turned out in the comments.
Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes
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Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes washed, peeled and cut into slices about 1/4-inch thick
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 4 tablespoons salted butter cut into thin pats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potatoes, peel them and cut them into slices about 1/4-inch thick.
- Put the sweet potatoes in the crockpot and sprinkle them with the granulated sugar and the brown sugar.
- Cut the butter into thin pats and arrange them over the sweet potatoes.
- Dust the cinnamon and nutmeg over the top.
- Stir the cornstarch into the water to make a slurry and pour it over everything.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours, stirring about halfway through. The sweet potatoes are done when they are tender and the liquid is bubbling and starting to thicken.
