4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Palm Sunday Glazed Sweet Potatoes Tender, caramelized sweet potatoes slow-cooked in a rich, buttery brown sugar glaze until they are melt-in-your-mouth soft and deeply sweet — a simple, beautiful, effortless side dish worthy of any holiday table with almost no effort at all.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1-inch rounds
- 0.5 cups unsalted butter, sliced into pats
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 0.5 teaspoons cinnamon
STEPS
- Prep the sweet potatoes: Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into even 1-inch rounds. Uniform thickness is important — evenly sliced pieces cook at the same rate and ensure every slice is perfectly tender all the way through with no hard or mushy spots.
- Layer the slow cooker: Lightly grease the inside of the slow cooker with butter or cooking spray. Add a layer of sweet potato slices across the bottom. Scatter several pats of butter over the top and sprinkle generously with brown sugar and a dusting of cinnamon. Repeat the layers — sweet potatoes, butter pats, brown sugar, cinnamon — until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with the remaining butter and brown sugar on the very top.
- Slow cook: Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or on HIGH for 2.5–3 hours until the sweet potatoes are completely tender and a fork slides through with no resistance. The butter and brown sugar will melt down through all the layers during cooking, creating a rich, glossy caramel glaze that coats every slice beautifully. Do not lift the lid during cooking.
- Baste and finish: Once cooked, use a large spoon to gently baste the sweet potatoes with the rich caramel glaze that has pooled in the bottom of the slow cooker. Be gentle — the slices will be very tender and will break apart easily at this stage.
- Optional caramelized finish: For an extra glossy, caramelized result, carefully transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to an oven-safe dish. Spoon all the caramel glaze from the slow cooker generously over the top and place under the broiler on high for 3–5 minutes until the glaze is bubbling, sticky, and lightly caramelized around the edges. Watch closely — the sugar can burn quickly under the broiler.
- Serve: Spoon the glazed sweet potatoes onto a serving platter and drizzle every last drop of the caramel glaze from the bottom of the slow cooker over the top. Serve hot.
NOTES Tips: Slicing the sweet potatoes to a consistent 1-inch thickness is the most important prep step — uneven slices will cook unevenly, leaving some pieces undercooked while others turn mushy. Layering the butter and brown sugar between every layer rather than just on top ensures the glaze penetrates every slice evenly throughout the long slow cook rather than just coating the surface. The broiler finish is optional but highly recommended — it takes just 5 minutes and transforms the glaze from simply sweet and soft into something deeply caramelized and sticky that looks absolutely stunning on a holiday table. A pinch of nutmeg or allspice added to the cinnamon layer is a wonderful variation that adds warm spice depth perfect for Easter or any spring celebration. These keep refrigerated for up to 4 days and reheat beautifully in a 325°F oven covered with foil for 15 minutes, then uncovered for 5 minutes to re-caramelize the glaze
