Our garden produced a ton of sweet potatoes last year, so I had to get creative to find ways to use them. We fried them in tallow, baked them in the oven, and even grilled them on low heat on the grill.
We even used them as the “noodles” in homemade lasagna (it was delicious!) and made dozens of different breakfast hash brown recipes with them.
While these were all a hit, sometimes the simplest recipe is the most delicious! These Crock Pot or Instant Pot sweet potatoes melt in your mouth just topped with butter and salt. They’re also convenient on those days when we don’t have time to throw them in the oven an hour before dinner.
This has been my go-to method of sweet potato cooking lately and it works incredibly well!
How to Make Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot (or Slow Cooker)
I feel bad even calling this a “recipe” because it only has one ingredient and one step, but a simple, healthy side that doesn’t take any chopping or hands-on time is worth sharing!
Oven roasting is delicious, but I was curious to try this method when a friend had mentioned cooking sweet potatoes in her Crock Pot. She might have meant actually peeling, cutting, and putting spices on them, but I decided to try it with the whole sweet potatoes… and it worked… really well!
This is great if you like sweet potatoes for breakfast because you can cook them overnight. I’ll often slow-cook sweet potatoes overnight and top with leftover chicken or sausage in the morning for a super fast and nourishing breakfast.
If you love sweet potatoes as much as we do, give this simple version a try!
Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Servings
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potatoes well, but don't dry.
- Place the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add 1 cup of water.
- Place the potatoes on the trivet.
- Put on the lid, set the vent to "Seal," and cook at high pressure for 16-18 minutes, followed by a 10-12 minute natural pressure release.
- Release the remaining pressure, serve, and enjoy.
Nutrition
Notes
Slow Cooker Method
Place the sweet potatoes in the Crock Pot, put the lid on, and turn on low. Cook for 6-7 hours or until tender.
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More Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Recipes
If you’re a Crock-Pot-aholic like me, check out my soups and stews recipes for some other great slow cooker ideas!
Also check out my full Instant Pot review here and this super simple Instant Pot pot roast recipe that you can prepare in an hour.
If you get hooked, here are some other favorite:
- How to Make Steel-Cut Oats in the Instant Pot
- Simple Tomato Soup Recipe (Stovetop or Instant Pot)
- Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
- Coconut Curry Chicken (Quick Instant Pot Recipe)
- Mexican Beef and Rice Bowls (Instant Pot)
p.s. Worried about nutrient loss with a pressure cooker? This post explains how a pressure cooker may actually concentrate the nutrients in food, but there is one trick you need to know to preserve the nutrients in your food.
What is the easiest healthy side dish you’ve ever made in the Crock Pot or Instant Pot? Do you use them to cook sweet potatoes?
Like your comments online.
Sweet potatoes are not yams, right?
You ended your post with this comment: but there is one trick you need to know to preserve the nutrients in your food.
Did I miss where you gave the trick??
Sorry if that was confusing… the tip is in the post that was linked in that sentence and it is just that if using a pressure cooker that yields a liquid (like a soup, etc) it is important to add the liquid back into the recipe in the form of gravy or something to return the nutrients as many of them will transfer to the liquid.
My favorite way to eat sweet potatoes is to peel, slice thin and eat raw dipped in spicy hummus. 🙂
Really good!
sweet potato fanatic—Thanks!
This has been my go-to method of sweet potato cooking lately and it works incredibly well!
I had perpetual bone broth in my slow cooker and decided to put a sweet potato in it. I ate the whole large sweet potato all by myself. Skin and all. It was so good and probably even added some flavor to my broth. Great blog, always so many ideas.
I have a low setting and a high setting. Would you suggest 6 hours on high or low?
Low.
Have you found a slow cooker that has either a stainless steel or glass inside? I don’t want to use the ceramic since I’m not sure what it is leaching into the food.
Thanks for sharing this easy recipe! I’m trying this for Easter this year!
OMG! I just did white sweet potato’s in the slow cooker. I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. So rich and creamy. They don’t need a thing on them.
This is the only way I cook sweet potatoes (since finding the information on this site). If you can get hold of some Asian Sweet Potatoes, you will have yet another treat!
I make sweet potatoes, yams, like this ever since I saw this on your blog. It works out great every time with just water on the potatoes. I then take them out of the skin, cut them in half, put them at the bottom of a buttered large casserole, put one large can (partially drained) black beans with a little brown sugar, ketchup mixed together stirred in. I put some butter on top. And then put it in the oven at 350F for about 45 min (covered). You can also add some spices if you have favorites with black beans. Then I serve a salad with this.
Genius!! No microwave in our house and I hate turning on the oven unless I’m using it for multiple things. Will have to do this instead for the potatoes!
Will this help in a small crock pot? If I only do one at a time and then take it to work and reheat in the microwave for lunch?