Slow Cooker Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

 Ya’ll know I’m a Southern gal with a Southern appetite and a deep love for Southern food – which means I love (LOVE) mashed potatoes. I don’t know if that’s a Southern thing or an American thing but it’s definitely my thing! With that being said, I also know how unhealthy regular ole’ mashed potatoes are. They’re delicious, and I will probably never give them up completely, but even the doctor will tell ya they don’t have much nutritional value. I’m really trying to improve our diet and hopefully lose a few (okay, maybe a lot!) of pounds along the way, so I’ve been looking to make some of my favorites a little healthier. These Slow Cooker Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes are just what I dreamed them to be. Sweet Potatoes are such a great source of Vitamin A so I have been trying to incorporate them into my diet more. I created these Slow Cooker Cream Mashed Sweet Potatoes to be a decadent, indulgent side dish, perfect for almost any dinner meal.

I still remember the first time my mom ever gave me a sweet potato as a kid. Mom and Dad must not have liked sweet potatoes very much since I was probably 5 or 6 years old before I remember seeing one on the dinner table. I remember Mom putting a huge, orange, sweet potato steaming and wrapped in foil on my dinner plate, hurriedly removing the foil, and then splitting that sweet potato open and adding in butter and sugar. I still recall my shock and amazement at the bright orange color of that potato! Up until that day I had only seen brown or red potatoes so to see one so bright and vibrant in color was truly astounding. I was hesitant to try that orange colored root vegetable slathered in butter and sugar until my Mom told me “Just try it! It’s sweet!” well, I’ve always had a pretty good sweet tooth so those few words sold me on trying it right there! Boy, was I ever in for a treat. I’ll never forget the taste of my very first sweet potato and how much I loved it! I ate the entire thing all by myself! Truth be told, I probably just loved it so much because it was covered in butter and sugar. haha! 😛

These Slow Cooker Mashed Sweet Potatoes taste just as good as my very first sweet potato did all of those years ago, but I’ve made them healthier with a little less butter and sugar than Mom used. 😛 If you’re trying to convince a picky toddler to eat healthier or you want to start your Little off on a healthy, solid food, you definitely want to give this recipe a try!

 I started out with two, very large orange sweet potatoes. You can use more if you like, just make sure you also double the other ingredients. I only had two sweet potatoes left in my pantry so that’s why I only cooked two!

Rinse your sweet potatoes off under some cool water and place them on a cutting board.

 Use a potato peeler to peel the skin from the sweet potatoes.

 Now just chop each sweet potato up into large chunks.

 Place the large chunks of sweet potato into a two quart or larger slow cooker and just cover the sweet potatoes with water.

 Place the lid on the slow cooker and set to cook on high 4 hours or low 6 hours.

 Once the cooking cycle is complete, remove the lid from the slow cooker and drain all of the water off of the sweet potatoes.

Use a potato masher or an immersion blender to mash/blend the potatoes until they’re completely smooth.

 Once the sweet potatoes are mashed and smooth, add in two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream.

 Ya’ll know you can’t make Slow Cooker Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes without adding in some buttah! Ya also can’t make a Southern dish without butter, so just go ahead and add that measly little half of a tablespoon of salted butter. I promise, it ain’t gonna hurt ya none! Oh, and that’s REAL butter ya’ll! Don’t insult my Southern pride by using that fake, plastic stuff. 😛

 Once you’ve stirred the heavy whipping cream and the butter into your mashed sweet potatoes, add in 1 1/2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice. You could always just use ground cinnamon but I love the flavor this mixture of spices gives these Slow Cooker Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

 Stir the Pumpkin Pie Spice into your mashed sweet potatoes, then add in 1 tablespoon of. If you’re really looking to cut some calories you can always use the Brown Sugar and Splenda blend.

Once you stir in your brown sugar, these Slow Cooker Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes are ready to serve! Spoon these mashed sweet potatoes into a nice serving bowl and pass them around the dinner table. I can guarantee you, these Slow Cooker Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes is a recipe your family will love and request over and over, because after all, who doesn’t love a little something sweet beside all of that savory?! 🙂

As always, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to step into my kitchen and hear me share a story and a recipe with ya. I do so appreciate each and every one of you!

Happy eating my friends!

-Amy

 

Shared at Weekend Potluck

Shared at Meal Plan Monday

Shared at Foodie Friday Link Party

Shared at Whatcha Crockin’

Also shared at Full Plate Thursday