This recipe is an adaptation from Betty Crocker’s Crockpot Sweet Potatoes….

I was introduced to this recipe several years ago on Christmas Day at our family friend, Hope’s house. She served these sweet potatoes at our Christmas dinner and I seriously could not get enough. I think I went by for seconds. A couple of times!  I immediately asked her how she made them, and she mentioned it was Betty Crocker’s Crockpot Sweet Potato recipe. Within a few weeks,  I  what made them myself, and we were immediately hooked. The original recipe calls for 2/3 cup brown sugar, but I decided to try it sans the sugar. It also called for nuts, but I skipped those as well. The secret ingredient is the unsweetened applesauce. And between the applesauce and the sweet potatoes, it is plenty sweet enough!

This dish has become a staple at our house. It shows up at most family dinners and has been added permanently to our Thanksgiving menu. The best part is that it takes about 20 minutes to prepare, and you let the slow cooker do the rest! It’s the first thing I make Thanksgiving morning, and they’re ready by the time we eat! And one more great perk about these potatoes… I serve them straight from the crockpot, so you never have to worry about them getting cold!

What you need:

• 6 medium (2 pounds) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups applesauce
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*Option to add brown sugar for sweetness and/or garnish with chopped walnuts!

What you do:

Place sweet potatoes in slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients over potatoes. Cover and cook on low heat setting 6 to 8 hours or until potatoes are very tender. Mix with hand mixer or immersion blender to make it more of a mash.

It’s seriously that simple, y’all, and SO good. And I love that they’re not loaded with a crazy amount of sugar. Makes me feel better about eating pecan pie later in the day!