Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes are pure comfort food and these are the BEST! Thinly sliced potatoes in an ultra-cheesy cream sauce are slow-cooked to tender perfection. Save that precious oven space during the holidays or prepare these in the summer while keeping the oven off and the heat out of the kitchen — the slow cooker is a lifesaver for either scenario!
Or if you’ve got extra room in the oven, give our original Au Gratin Potatoes a try!
Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe
Potatoes au gratin have always been a favorite in my home, but now they can be made in the slow cooker! Not only is this great news for summertime (tasty potatoes without heating up the kitchen with the oven), but it’s also a great option for the holidays.
When you’re preparing a few dishes for a big holiday meal, oven space is a precious commodity. Save that space for Roasted Vegetables, Sweet Potato Casserole, or Cornbread Dressing, and let the slow cooker work its magic on the potatoes!
Quick Tip
Au gratin is a French phrase meaning sprinkled with breadcrumbs, grated cheese, or both, and browned. Most often, vegetables are prepared au gratin.
A quick overview of preparing these potatoes:
How To Make Au Gratin Potatoes In The Crockpot
- Prep potatoes. See “quick tip” box below.
- Prep cream sauce. We start with a roux (butter plus flour) and gradually add in some milk. Once the sauce is nice and thick, we mix in some sour cream and Cheddar cheese, and voila–the perfect sauce! Toss the potatoes in the cream sauce until well coated.
- Slow cook. Spread the saucy potatoes in the slow cooker and let ’em cook! These Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes cook best on high heat — unfortunately, they don’t work out so well being cooked on low.
Quick Tip
The potatoes require a bit of time to prepare, but if you’ve got willing kiddos to help (or a great music playlist to listen to), the prep will fly by.
- Good, sharp peeler
- Mandoline slicer
Set the Mandoline slicer at 1/8th-inch thickness and be impressed how quickly you’ll have the potatoes needed for this recipe.
Our Favorite Potatoes To Use
Yukon gold (also called gold, Yukon, or yellow potatoes) is our potato of choice in this Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe.
Yukon gold potatoes are small to medium-sized potatoes with light yellow flesh, delicate skin, an irresistible creamy texture, and are ever so slightly sweet. They’re the perfect contrast to the deeply savory sauce.
Quick Tip
This Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes recipe is best with gold potatoes, but the next best option is to use Russet potatoes.
Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes Need Sharp Cheddar!
Sharp cheddar — or even extra-sharp– is a must for the cheese sauce. Sharp (and extra-sharp) indicates a more aged cheese that delivers a much more robust flavor.
Grate your own cheese! Already-grated packaged cheese will give the sauce a powdery texture and won’t melt as nicely. (Pre-grated cheeses have a coating to keep shreds from clumping in the bag. This means it also keeps the cheese from melting nicely in recipes like this.)
Also, while we’re talking about dairy, whole milk and full-fat sour cream are our two favorite options. Not only will these two options deliver the richest and most flavorful potatoes, but they also ensure the sauce won’t break (separate and curdle) in the slow cooker. (Lower-fat dairy products are more prone to breaking the sauce.)
The Secret To Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes
So here’s our secret to get these potatoes tender in the middle and crisp at the edges:
Top the crockpot with a few layers of paper towels!
The paper towels absorb loads of liquid (steam) which allows the potatoes to crisp up nicely. If you’re around and think about it, change out the paper towels halfway through the cooking time. If you forget about it, don’t sweat it.
After the potatoes are cooked through, leave the lid off for a bit while keeping the heat on. This helps get the tops of the potatoes slightly crisper. These potatoes won’t be as crisp as oven-baked au gratin potatoes, but they still turn out pretty great–especially considering they’re made in a slow cooker!
Quick Tip
Crock-Pot® is the registered trademark for a slow cooker made by Newell Brands. We refer to it generically, though, and any slow cooker that meets the basic size requirements will work just fine in our recipes. We respect the Crock-Pot brand and the accompanying trademark.
What To Serve With Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes:
- Enjoy with an everyday sort of dinner alongside Grilled Chicken or Grilled Steak with a big Garden Salad.
- Add to your Thanksgiving or Christmas table along with Crockpot Turkey Breast, Thanksgiving Salad or Winter Salad, Thanksgiving Dressing, and the best, no-knead Dinner Rolls.
- Add to your Easter spread along with this Deviled Egg Recipe, Asparagus Salad, Roasted Broccoli, Cobb Salad, and these easy Drop Biscuits.
More potato recipes:
Crockpot Au Gratin Potatoes
Equipment
- 6 quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 5 cups gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (Note 1)
- Seasoned salt and pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon each: garlic powder and onion powder
- ¼ cup white, all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups milk (we recommend whole--Note 2)
- ½ cup sour cream (we recommend full-fat--Note 3)
- 1½ cups Cheddar cheese sharp or extra-sharp (Note 4)
- Optional: Fresh parsley or chives, for topping
Instructions
- PREP SLOW COOKER: Use a crockpot liner or VERY generously spray your slow cooker with nonstick spray. I used a 6-quart slow cooker for the recipe. Smaller cookers may not be able to cook the potatoes evenly. If you use a smaller pan, you will have to halve this recipe.
- PREP POTATOES: Wash and peel the potatoes. Thinly slice potatoes about ⅛-inch thick. (I like to use a mandolin slicer for speed and accuracy.) Measure the potatoes -- you should have 5 packed cups.
- CHEESE SAUCE: In a large nonstick pot, melt butter over low heat. Once melted, add garlic powder, onion powder plus salt and pepper to taste (I add 1¼ tsp salt + ¼ tsp pepper). Sauté 1 minute or until fragrant. Sprinkle in flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute until smooth (don't let it brown). Very gradually pour in 1 cup milk while whisking constantly. Once completely smooth, increase heat to medium-high and gradually add in the remaining ½ of milk. Stir occasionally until mixture comes to a boil.
- SAUCE, CONT.: Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes or until mixture is nicely thickened (See Note 5). Remove pot from heat and let cool for 2 minutes. Stir in sour cream until smooth. Stir in Cheddar cheese, mixing gently until melted and smooth. Add in the sliced potatoes and stir to coat.
- SLOW COOK: Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker and press in an even layer with the back of a spoon. Place 3 paper towels on top of the crockpot (this will absorb lots of moisture and keep the potatoes crispier) and then place on the lid. Cook on high (low heat doesn't work for this recipe) for 2½ to 4½ hours, depending on the heat of your slow cooker. Slow cookers cook at different temperatures; mine takes just under 3 hours -- check occasionally to avoid burning the edges or over-cooking the potatoes so they are mushy. (If you think of it, halfway through the cooking time, change out the paper towels for fresh ones. If not, don't stress it.)
- ENJOY: Once the potatoes are tender and cooked through, remove the lid and gently stir the potatoes. Garnish with fresh parsley or chives and any additional salt/pepper as needed. Continue to cook without the lid for 15-20 minutes to get a bit crisper on top if desired. Enjoy promptly.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Making this tomorrow for Sunday School Christmas luncheon. When you say “seasoned salt” do you mean like a Lowery’s? Not just regular Morton salt?
Yep!
Could I make the cheese sauce ahead of time. I’m thinking of making these on a camping trip and assembling the ingredients in the crockpot 2 days into the trip.
I’m not entirely sure without testing it personally, but I think that would work fine; you’ll likely need to thin the sauce a little bit!
Please offer email format for sharing recipes. I don’t do much on social media and don’t want to print out everything as I am trying to cut back on paper use. Thanks!
Thanks Karen, working on getting it fixed! 🙂
These potatoes are SO yummy! They are easy to put together and make an excellent side to a grilled steak or any other grilled meat. Since they are cooked in the slow cooker instead of the oven, that means you don’t have to heat up your kitchen during the summer. These cooked evenly, and perfectly in my slow cooker. LOVE THEM!
My guests RAVED about these potatoes!!! Truly wonderful, the best that I’ve ever made, Thank You SO much Carolyn
Awe yay!! That makes me so happy to hear that! Thank you Carolyn!
I’ve made this recipe several times, and we love it. I use gruyère instead of cheddar, but otherwise leave it as is. It’s great comfort food. The sour cream adds a great touch of deliciousness.
Just a note: instead of spraying my slow cooker, I use the plastic liners that Reynolds makes. They work really well, and there’s almost no cleanup necessary afterwards.
I’m so glad you love this recipe! Thanks so much for the tip! 🙂
When I put it together, which took me about 40 minutes, I thought “There’s not enough cheese sauce.” When it was done it was perfect and amazing! I’m so glad it worked out for our Christmas dinner to go with prime rib.
Ahh I’m so happy to hear! Thanks so much Andrea! 🙂
I made this for Thanksgiving dinner and my family raved about it. It was the first dish finished and they’ve been begging for more ever since.
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
It’s been nearly 2 years since I found this recipe and it’s a regular “special” in my home. I’m making it again tonight but in the oven, your sauce is the only one we use for cheese anymore.
Yay! That’s so fun to hear! Thank you for the comment and review 🙂
great recipe
Thanks Jose! 🙂
I made this yesterday. It is good, but I gave it a 4 instead of 5 because the sauce is too thick to go down into the potatoes fully. Most of the potatoes come out tasting buttery, but not cheesy. I had to chop it up and stir it to spread the cheese throughout. Once I did that, I would compare it to what you get from a box mix by saying that this recipe gives a lot more potato flavor, but not as much soft/liquid cheesy sauce all over. I used mild cheddar blocks (Kraft) and the cheese flavor was not as strong as I expected. If I make it again, I will use less flour, more milk, and sharp cheddar instead of mild. That said, it is good, and the recipe yields a lot of food. I’m glad I made it, and I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure it’s something I’ll start making regularly. Thanks for posting the recipe!
Two suggestions: Layer in about half the potatoes and pour in about half the sauce, then repeat. Or even break it into thirds. Also, shake the crockpot from side to side to encourage the sauce to filter down through the layers. Try my first suggestion before decreasing the amount of flour because I think the sauce may become too watery.
Thanks so much Betsy! 🙂