Make Ahead Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar (2024)

These Make Ahead Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar are a delicious addition to any weeknight meal, but special enough for the holidays, too! In fact, this is one of my go to Make Ahead Thanksgiving Side Dishes and you'll soon see why.

This simple recipe is super easy, but if you're looking for the more traditional sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, we have that, too!

My youngest sister is back in New England visiting for Thanksgiving. She's sweet, fashionable, and super chill about what we do while she's in town - even when that means taking an hour drive (in circles) to get Olivia to nap! Saturday, we made these brown sugar sweet potatoes together. We did it in between catching up, and coloring with the kids. The best part about this recipe is that it is so simple and easy.

Little did I know that this would become a new favorite for my family!

It occurred to me afterward that these are the perfect make-ahead side dish for Thanksgiving (or once a week cooking). You don't need anything special from the grocery store to whip them up either. The hint of brown sugar brings out the sweetness of the potato for a dish everyone will love.

💭 Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some questions (and answers!) readers sometimes ask about our sweet potatoes with brown sugar recipe.

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⭐ Tips

• The key to having light fluffy mashed sweet potatoes is not to mess with them too much.Just like white potatoes, sweet potatoes are a starchy vegetable. The more you mix and mash, the more your potatoes are going to become the consistency of glue.
• Never ever use an electric mixer or food processor to mash your potatoes.A potato masher is all you need to get the right texture.Then use a spatula to fold in the butter, milk, and seasonings until just combined.

📖 Variations

This is one of those simple recipes that's pretty hard to mess up, and while I think it is pretty perfect the way there are, here are some different ways to make our brown sugar mashed sweet potatoes recipe.

• For a different flavor, replace the milk with apple or orange juice.
• If you're short on sweet potatoes, use Yukon Gold potatoes to help make up the difference.
• Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the potatoes while mashing - perfect for Thanksgiving especially.
• Make them extra special by toasting 2 cups of chopped pecans in a skillet for a couple of minutes and then sprinkle them over the top.
• You can use either light brown or dark brown sugar, or try using an equal amount of maple syrup, which is especially yummy during the holiday season.
• A couple of readers have told me that they like to add a little bit of vanilla extract to their mashed sweet potatoes.

Crockpot Sweet Potatoes

This is the best way to make our brown sugar sweet potatoes when oven space is at a premium, like on Thanksgiving!

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 2-inch slices.
2. In the slow cooker, add 4 tablespoons butter (melted), ¼ cup of brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. Whisk to combine.
3. Then, add the sweet potatoes to the crock pot and toss to coat them in the brown sugar mixture.
4. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours, or HIGH for 2-3 hours, until the sweet potatoes are tender.
5. Add the milk to the slow cooker and mash the potatoes to your desired consistency.
6. After that, season with salt and pepper to taste.

🍴 Serving Suggestions

While they don't really need anything extra, the mashed sweet potatoes are always good with a little pat of Brown Sugar Butter for extra goodness, too! You could also serve it with our Cinnamon Honey Butter.

This is always on our Thanksgiving table because it's one of our most favorite and delicious side dish recipes. However, you don't have to wait for a holiday meal! This sweet potatoes recipe is really good on weeknights with Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin or even Air Fryer Chicken Tenders! It would also be pretty terrific with our Grilled Ribeye Steak.

Storage

If you have leftovers of this sweet potato side dish, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Reheat in the microwave.

😋 Similar Recipes

Our readers LOVE this dish and it is one of our top Thanksgiving recipes! You can find more Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Side Dishes here. Our Garlic and Herb Feta Mashed Potatoes are a unique spin on a classic side dish. Here are a few other easy recipes you might enjoy next time:

• Make Ahead Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows - classic sweet potato dishes like this are always a hit!
• Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes - perfect family recipe great for any night of the week.
• Loaded Cauliflower Mash - with bacon and white cheddar - so good!
• Cranberry Walnut Stuffing - a delicious and easy skillet stuffing recipe.
• Stove Top Candied Sweet Potatoes - just like grandma made!
• Baked Acorn Squash - with maple syrup and pecans.

More Sweet Potato Recipes

If you love sweet potatoes, you might also like to check out our Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Bread or Sweet Potato Spinach Quiche.

📋 How to Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Not ready to make these sweet potatoes with brown sugar yet? Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later! When you do make it, please be sure to tag me on Instagram@jugglingactmamaor #jugglingactmama – I’d love to see your pictures! And finally, if you get a chance, please comment and leave me a⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below!

Ideas for Thanksgiving

• Best Juicy Turkey Recipe
• Cranberry Walnut Stuffing
• Garlic Green Beans Recipe