On the list of things I love, potatoes and cheese are near the top. It goes, in order: husband and kids, some extended family members, cheese and potatoes, and then the rest of the family members. If you are a family member reading this, you are included in the first grouping, of course. Depending on how my kids are acting, sometimes they fall behind cheese. When we had these Potatoes Au Gratin with our Costco spiral ham, I was in love with everyone and everything, because dinner was so good, and because I was secretly pretending it was Easter.
I think I’ll make these again for Easter.
Crock Pot Potatoes Au Gratin
Crock Pot Thursday: Potatoes Au Gratin
Ingredients
- 6 medium potatoes
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 tsp pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Peel and slice the potatoes in even slices, fairly thin. Since I am terrible at cutting uniform slices, I let my food processor do the heavy lifting on this step.
- Grease the slow cooker with either butter or cooking spray. That cheese is going to want to stick to the sides.
- Add one layer of potatoes and salt them. Continue to layer and salt the potatoes until all the spuds are in nice even layers. This is tricky. This dish needs salt, and can be very bland without enough seasoning, but too much salt will ruin it. I think I used about two dashes on each layer.
- Melt the 3 Tbsp butter in a saucepan.
- Stir in the flour, and cooking over medium heat, let the sauce bubble.
- Whisk constantly for about 2 minutes.
- Add the milk slowly, and whisk until thickened.
- Toss in the garlic and pepper.
- Dump in the cheese and stir until melted.
- Pour that cheesy deliciousness over the top of the potatoes. Don't stir it, but give it all a shake to get the sauce down in the cracks and crevasses.
- Place two paper towels over top of Crock Pot insert, and put lid on top so the lid keeps the paper towels securely in place. (The paper towels will stop condensation from forming on top of the potatoes.)
- Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours or low 5-6 hours.
Notes
Sarah
This was good... It was fun mixing it up with a side dish. We paired with pork chops and asparagus. Delicious! When adding salt between every layer make sure not to over salt. I would measure out the salt amount you want at the beginning so you can keep track and also not get carried away. Add pepper into the delicious potato yumminess because it needs it. This was cooked for 8 hours on low. The edges did burn a bit so make sure you use your crock liner.
Linda
We really enjoyed having this yummy dinner side ready in the Crock Pot. It was true comfort food. I agree with measuring the salt. I used too much, making sure it would not be too bland. I would definitely make this again.
Me
We loved this side dish. What's not to like about buttery, cheesy potatoes? We served it with ham, and I wish I would have made a double batch. Next time I'll know. I didn't use a Crock Pot liner, and we fought over the crispy edges. If you like almost burned edges, skip the liner.
I used my 3.5 Quart Crock-Pot Casserole Slow Cooker to make this Crock Pot Potatoes Au Gratin recipe.
I’m with you. What’s not to like! I’ve never made potatoes au gratin before! Can you imagine?! I feel like this might be my chance! YUM! –Lisa
Cheese, potatoes, butter…mmmmm. So good, and I think I just went into a carb coma!
I’m going to try this. My daughter adores au gratin potatoes!
Great basic AuGratin Potatoes recipe. Love that it is a slow cooker recipe & frees up my oven. Definitely needs more milk, 2 1/2 to 3 cups. I make enough white sauces to know this so added it in. Only other thing I changed was adding a few sliced onions to each layer of potatoes.
Can red skin potatoes be used?