November 21, 2019

Lightened Up Brown Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes (with a slow cooker option!)

Name: Lightened Up Brown Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5 medium sweet potatoes); 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice), plus more if necessary; 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon allspice; ¼ teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons butter

Creamy mashed sweet potatoes cooked with pure maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice, vanilla and a hint of brown butter. These healthy mashed sweet potatoes can easily be made in the slow cooker, are perfect for Thanksgiving and guaranteed to impress guests!

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

1 hour

Total Time

1 hours 30 mins

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We’re officially one week away from Thanksgiving! Do you have your menu finalized or are you still putting on the final touches?

I’m almost ready, I just haven’t decided which pies I’m going to bake yet!

And if you’re not hosting Thanksgiving, don’t worry, I have plenty of sides, desserts and appetizers that you can offer to bring. Speaking of, these incredible mashed sweet potatoes should 100% be on your menu. They’re made right in your slow cooker for ease, and are infused with rich brown butter for the most amazing flavor.

You down? Good.

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Ingredients in mashed sweet potatoes

These mashed sweet potatoes have a hint of brown butter, pure maple syrup, cinnamon and allspice to make them absolutely irresistible. They’re an easy recipe to whip up and can even be made ahead of time in the slow cooker if that’s what you prefer. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

Roasted sweet potatoes: this recipe starts with roasted sweet potatoes, which is critical to keeping the sweet, creamy and delicious without having to use a ton of excess sweeteners. The good news is that you can roast them ahead of time. They take an hour, so I like to bake them a few days before, then wrap them in foil and place in the fridge until ready to bake. Making them ahead is optional.
Brown butter: you’ll only need 3 tablespoons of butter in these mashed sweet potatoes, which helps to keep them lightened up and still delicious.
Pure maple syrup: I love adding pure maple syrup to the sweet potatoes. It’s only 2 tablespoons so you can feel free to use honey if you’d like, but I ALWAYS vote maple.
Almond milk: a little almond milk helps smooth things out and make the sweet potato filling uber creamy. Feel free to use whatever milk you’d like. I think coconut or cashew milk would also be delicious.
Spices: add a little cinnamon and a touch of allspice for just the right amount of spice.

What makes these mashed sweet potatoes healthier?

Sweet potatoes are incredibly nourishing, sweet on their own and deliciously creamy so you don’t need to add much when mashing them to keep them healthy.

This recipe adds just a touch of pure maple syrup plus spices like cinnamon and allspice to infuse them with cozy flavors. To give them a little bit of additional flavor and creaminess, there are also a few tablespoons of brown butter added. Instead of heavy cream, I like to use unsweetened almond milk, but coconut milk, cashew milk or regular milk can also be used.

How to brown butter

The brown butter adds such an incredible flavor to these sweet potatoes and is easier to make than you think! Get all of my tips and tricks for browning butter in this post and get ready to add it to literally everything.

How to make mashed sweet potatoes in the slow cooker

If you prefer, you can make these easy mashed sweet potatoes in your slow cooker, which is a great way to save time and space on Thanksgiving. Here’s how to make mashed sweet potatoes in your slow cooker:

Prep your potatoes. Start by peeling and cubing your sweet potatoes.
Mix then in your slow cooker. Add peeled and cubed sweet potatoes, milk, pure maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and salt to your slow cooker and stir everything together. Cover and cook on high for 2-4 or low 5-6 hours until sweet potatoes are very fork-tender.
Keep them warm. Once sweet potatoes are done cooking, place slow cooker on warm setting.
Add brown butter. Brown butter as directed in the recipe. Add the browned butter to the slow cooker, but reserve a half tablespoon for drizzling on top of potatoes when they are done.
Mash ’em up. Use an electric mixer or potato masher to mash potatoes until they reach your desired consistency. If you’d like, you can add a splash or two more milk! I happen to like my potatoes super creamy, so I mash them until they’re completely smooth and add a splash more milk until they’re perfect. You can also make chunky mashed sweet potatoes by mashing them a bit less and leaving bigger chunks.
Serve & enjoy. Transfer to a large warm casserole dish for serving, drizzle with reserved brown butter, sprinkle with a little bit of cinnamon on top and serve.

Jazz up your mashed sweet potatoes

This recipe is absolutely delicious on its own, but you can also jazz up your sweet potato mash by adding maple glazed pecans or chopped crispy bacon on top. YUM.

Make them ahead of time

This easy mashed sweet potato recipe can be made ahead of time! You can either:

Bake the sweet potatoes a few days before, then wrap them in foil and place in the fridge until ready to make the dish.
Or you can fully cook the mashed sweet potatoes 1-2 days ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, add them to your slow cooker to reheat — adding more milk and maybe a little more browned butter as needed.

Storing tips

Store any leftover mashed sweet potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or in your slow cooker, adding more milk and/or brown butter as needed.

More Thanksgiving recipes you’ll love

Check out all of our other delicious Thanksgiving recipes here, and more tips for hosting here!

I hope you love these delicious brown butter mashed sweet potatoes! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!

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Lightened Up Brown Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 30

10 servings

Ingredients

3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5 medium sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice), plus more if necessary
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Wash sweet potatoes and use a fork to poke holes in sweet potatoes; about 4-5 pokes per potato used. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil and roast for 45 minutes-1 hour or until very fork tender. Allow potatoes to cool for 10-15 minutes. This step can also be done ahead of time.
Brown two tablespoons of butter: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk constantly during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma.
Cut open sweet potatoes and discard the skin, place sweet potato flesh in a large bowl and add in maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Add the browned butter, but reserve a half tablespoon for drizzling on top of potatoes when they are done. Use an electric mixer or potato masher to mash potatoes until they reach your desired consistency. Add a splash more milk if you want them to be super creamy and mix again.
Transfer to a large warm casserole dish for serving, drizzle with reserved brown butter, sprinkle with a little bit of cinnamon on top and serve! Serves 10.