Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This is a healthy version of slow cooker sweet potato casserole with crunchy pecan topping. Refined sugar-free, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free.
You can make a healthy sweet potato casserole and still make it taste good. Just follow the instructions and tips for the best sweet potato casserole.
If you are looking for Thanksgiving recipes that cater for special diets, then this slow cooker sweet potato casserole is one of them.
How to make slow cooker sweet potato casserole with pecans
Wash, peel and dice sweet potatoes. When ready, you just add them to your slow cooker and pour the water over. Cover with lid and cook on high until they are ready, for about 3 hours.
Stir them from time to time for even cooking.
Meanwhile, prepare the topping for this crock pot sweet potato casserole: In a food processor, combine oats and pecans and process until coarse-like texture. To this mixture, add maple syrup, cinnamon and coconut oil. Mix until well combined and set aside.
When the sweet potatoes are ready, mash them and top them with the pecan mixture. Cook for 30-60 minutes.
Useful tips when making slow cooker sweet potato casserole
Sweet potatoes – make sure to remove any dark brown spots when peeling them. The dark areas tend to turn black when cooked and while they seem to be OK to eat, they don’t look good. So one or two is fine, but more might even affect the overall taste.
Cooking time – there are no raw eggs, flour or any other ingredients used in this sweet potato casserole recipe that need to be cooked after you add the topping. This means that you can reduce the cooking time to your liking. I like to leave them to cook for 30-60 minutes because I feel like the topping tastes better. You can experiment with times though.
Oats – you can use either rolled oats or quick oats to make this sweet potato casserole.
If you don’t have vanilla on hand, feel free to omit it.
Sweetness
This slow cooker sweet potato casserole is not overly sweet. I did not add any sweetener to sweet potatoes because the topping is sweet enough.
If you feel that it’s not sweet enough for you, here is what you can do:
Follow the recipe instructions and serve this sweet potato casserole with honey or maple syrup either drizzled over the topping or served aside so that every person can decide whether they want it sweeter or not.
You can also decrease the amount of maple syrup I used to make the topping, if you like.
Variations
If you can eat butter, stir about 2 tablespoons of real butter into the sweet potato mixture for extra creaminess.
Vegans, dairy-intolerant – you can use plant-based milk instead of water.
Thanksgiving side dish ideas:
- Instant Pot Broccoli
- Pan Roasted Vegetables
- Herbed Mushrooms
- Instant Pot Braised Red Cabbage
- Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (1 kilogram), see note 1
- ¾ cups water
- 1 cup pecans
- ½ cup quick oats , see note 3
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potatoes and peel them. Remove any dark spots as these will turn black when cooked. Dice them.
- Throw them into the slow cooker and pour ¾ cup of water over. Close the lid and cook them on HIGH for 3 hours or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through. I recommend mixing them 1 or 2 times while cooking.
- Meanwhile: In a food processor, combine the oats and pecans. Process until coarse-like texture. Transfer this mixture into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Set aside for later.
- When the sweet potatoes are ready, drain some of the excess water (if you feel there is too much) and puree them using a potato masher or electric mixer/blender. Smoothen them and top with pecan mixture.
- Cover with lid and cook on HIGH for 30-60 minutes (the time can be adjusted to your needs. Taste it after 30 minutes to see, if the topping is hot enough. If not, leave for a further 30 minutes).
- Serve warm.
Notes
- I got about 6 cups of peeled and diced sweet potatoes out of 2 pounds. You can use slightly less if you want but I don’t recommend using more.
- The larger the sweet potato cubes, the longer they take to cook.
- For the gluten-free version, you will have to buy gluten-free oats.
- This sweet potato casserole is a healthier version of the classic dish. It’s sweet but not overly sweet. I like to serve it with extra maple syrup or honey either drizzled on top or served aside so each person can decide if they want to add the extra sweetness to the dish.
- This recipe was developed for a 4-quart (3.5-liter) slow cooker. You should get 6 portions out of it.
Thank you for taking the time to respond! This is perfect and Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! :)
Hello! Interested in making this lovely looking casserole as I have a dairy intolerant guest coming for Thanksgiving. I’d like to do as much as I can the day before. What could I do ahead of time? Thanks! :)
Hi Kristy. You can cook and mash the sweet potatoes in advance and store them in the fridge. The topping can also be prepped ahead of time. Then simply on the day of serving, assemble the casserole together and cook following step 5. Note that because the mashed sweet potatoes were in the fridge, they might need longer to heat through. Hope this helps. Happy Thanksgiving!
Does the coconut oil have to be used ?
You can omit it, Rita. If you find it too dry, add more maple syrup or honey or any sweetener you are using.
Can’t wait to try. A local grocery store here has pre peeled and chopped organic sweet potatoes. May try it that way!
My FAVORITE part of any Thanksgiving meal ~ and I love that you adapted it for the slow cooker, genius :)
Thanks, Sue!
Sweet potato casserole is possibly my favorite part of Thanksgiving. Love that you can make it the slow cooker now!
You surely can, Michelle! :)
Oh this looks so delicious! I would love to have this for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I don’t have an instant pot so I will just follow the recipe but adjust for “regular” cooking. I love that you didn’t make it too sweet – that’s totally my style!
Made this for the family and it was hit! We all loved it!
What a great idea for Thanksgiving when everything else needs the oven! Thanks for sharing!