Comfort food can be easy with this Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes recipe. You deserve some great taste today.
I have had a bit of post holiday/post retirement recipe block. I have just not been very inspired. I have been recooking my own recipes and combined with a failure or two and a few marginal efforts; you got dog pictures and my usual end of year posts. And I admit to having an empty refrigerator at times. Quite shameful for a food blogger.
So, I feel more like cooking now, and I always like my first recipe of the year to be something I really like and will be doing again. I really like scalloped potatoes, and with this recipe, it will be doing this over and over. As long as my mandolin holds up.
I have a very nice recipe, but it takes me longer to wipe up than I like. I have to pay attention and it seems to eat up my time when I’m working on other components of the meal. So I don’t do it often. That all seems to call for a crock pot to time-shift the work and if possible simplify even more.
My original recipe was based this on Genius Kitcken AKA food.com Scalloped Potatoes recipe. It still looked great, just not a crock pot recipe. I read many crock pot scalloped potatoes recipes, but there was way too many cans of soup just dumped in the pot. Nothing I would want to eat. Some looked ok, but I liked mine better. So it was conversion time.
My Rating
Excellent. My wife is guarding the leftovers.
Notes on Crock Pot Scalloped potatoes.
First I called them scalloped mainly because in my mind that is what they are but other terms apply. So, scalloped is anything baked in a casserole with sauce. Au Gratin means grated and usually refers to cheese. So this recipe could be called Scalloped or Au Gratin or Scalloped Au Gratin.
Next, the edge will turn crusty and dark brown – almost burnt. It is not… think of it as a scallop potato version of “burnt ends” from the BBQ joint. You will be tempted to end the cooking early. Remember a done baked potato is 210 degrees. I was at 195-200 when done. The texture was great, but it took 8 hours.
Lastly, use the cheese of your choice. Other potatoes would work I believe.
2 pounds of russet potatoes is about 5-6 medium potatoes.
Slice potatoes about 1/8 inch. I recommend a mandolin here. Here is my new Oxy mandolin. Highly recommended. Let’s be careful and not end up in ER.
Start the sauce with 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. When melted, add 3 tablespoon flour and whisk for a few minutes. Add 1 1/2 cup milk. Frequently whisk for a couple of minutes and add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 t cayenne pepper. Bring to a light boil, and this will start to thicken in a few more minutes.
Remove from heat and add 1 1/2 cup of cheese. I used sharp cheddar. Whisk until smooth.
Layer half of the potatoes into a large crock pot that has been sprayed with PAM. Put them in individually so they are not stuck together. Do not just dump them in. Pour half the cheese sauce over the first half of the potatoes. Add the second half of the potatoes, then rest of the cheese sauce.
Now give a light sprinkle of paprika.
The edges will appear dark brown but they are just crispy like the best part of many casseroles.
- 2 pounds potatoes I used 6 medium russets. Pealed and cut into 1/8 inch slices.
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 12 ozs milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- sprinkle paprika
- 2 pounds of russet potatoes is about 5-6 medium potatoes.
- Slice potatoes about 1/8 inch. I recommend a mandolin here.
- Start the sauce with 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. When melted, add 3 tablespoon flour and whisk for a few minutes. Add 1 1/2 cup milk. Frequently whisk for a couple of minutes and add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 t cayenne pepper. Bring to a light boil, and this will start to thicken in a few more minutes.
- Remove from heat and add 1 1/2 cup of cheese. I used sharp cheddar. Whisk until smooth.
- Layer half of the potatoes into a large crock pot that has been sprayed with PAM. Put them in individually so they are not stuck together. Do not just dump them in. Pour half the cheese sauce over the first half of the potatoes. Add the second half of the potatoes, then rest of the cheese sauce.
- Now give a light sprinkle of paprika. Cook on low for 8 hours. See note about crock pots below.
- The edges will appear dark brown but they are just crispy like the best part of many casseroles.
This recipe cooks the potatoes to the max to get to an internal temperature of about 200 degrees. If your crock pot runs hot then your edges may burn. So know your pot. But that very dark brown is tasty.
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All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated. Rating is done by clicking on the stars above.
Last Updated
January 9, 2017
Glady
This was fantastic and yummy. So easy. Thanks for the great recipes
DrDan
Hi Glady,
Welcome to the blog.
This is a nice little recipe that I really like but doesn’t get much attention.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Jamie
I see this is cooked on low for 8 hrs. I was thinking of making this for Christmas. Can you cook this recipe on high? And for how long would I do this for?
DrDan
Hi Jamie,
Welcome to the blog.
I would probably work in 4-5 hours. BUT there are some issues.
Most important is that different crock pots cook different especially on high. Current crock pots should (but not always) have a max temperature of 212 just like low but it is how fast they get there. Some crock pots, especially older ones, run amuck and go into the 250 range and sometimes 300 degrees plus. With most recipes, soups and chilis, for example, it doesn’t matter much but with this recipe, it could be a disaster.
One rule I always follow is never to try a recipe for the first time for an important meal. Here with crock pot variability, it is a must.
So the answer is yes it probably would work and 4-5 hours but please try it this week first. Otherwise, the classic oven recipes are reliable.
Dan
Zen
I am making this today for family dinner (minus the cheese because my MIL can’t eat that). I loved the comments from Mike. Sending love to to you and your wife!
Tracy
We wanted to like this but after draining all the grease off that settled on the top from the butter separating by the time this dish is done, it still was super greasy. Every time after setting for a bit. Ended up adding several other ingredients to make this palatable.
DrDan
Hi Tracy,
Sorry it didn’t work for you. Assuming that was fat you saw, there are only two sources of fat. First is the butter but that fat should be bonded with the flour from the roux so that leaves the cheese that seems to have separated on you. So I suspect the brand of cheese is the issue.
Again, sorry it didn’t work well for you.
Dan
Bobbie Smith
I need to know how to make them the day before. If I can follow the receipt and then re heat in the pot the next day? thank you
DrDan
Hi Bobbie,
That “should work” but I have never done it that way. I have done chili that way and it took about 2 hours to reheat but had more volume. This is thinner and less mass.
Dan
Mike
My wife has always loved cheesy potatoes. She recently got over lung cancer, hip replacement surgery, and suffers from dementia. So at the age of 73, for the first time in my life, I have become chef (I never cooked before), housekeeper, cleaner, butler, and nurse.
I made this recipe. The result was incredible. For my wife it was comfort food, and made her happy. We ate half of it last night with roast beef and sprouts and I plan to use the remaining half for dinner tonight.
Thank you for this recipe that even a dummy like me could execute successfully. For my wife, it was more than a meal. It gave her comfort and happy memories of the past. (And you thought you were just sharing a recipe…).
DrDan
Hi Mike,
It is amazing how something as simple as cheesy potatoes can make the day of dementia patients. It is the comfort of going back to older memories.
I’m so glad it worked well for you and that you let me know. It made our day here.
Let me know it there are other foods that might mean something for her and I will see if we can do them.
DrDan
Vapetress
I don’t know if your wife, in her condition, thinks to say thank you for all you do for her, (karma, I’m sure, for all she used to do for you) but on behalf of your wife..
Thank you 🤗💕
Mike
Thank you, Dr. Dan and Vapetress, for your heartwarming comments.
They feel more like support than mere comments and I am very grateful.
Mike.
Leslie
I cut the recipe in half, decreased the salt and added leftover ham, it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe
DrDan
It does cry to be cut in half with a smaller crock pot. But my wife just loves the leftovers of scalloped potatoes, I would be shot with a smaller recipe. I had ham in the fridge but this was the side dish that day for pulled pork. So ham just didn’t seem right.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Chris
I see you have a nice fingertip remover, ha ha. I love mine but it scares me more than working for hours with my sharp knives.
Great sounding idea, I’ve always just done mine in the oven. This is a good option.
DrDan
I have seen many mandolin injuries in ERs in my 40 yrs of medicine. Please note in the picture I’m using it correctly.
Dan
Nancy Weeks
I never thought about doing scalloped potatoes in the crock pot. It never occurred to me that they would brown at all, let alone brown to almost burnt. Definitely one to try. Possibly tomorrow…I have a 10lb bag of spuds as it happens. I think I’ll try it with guyere.
DrDan
We just finished the leftovers this evening. They heat up well in the microwave. Yep nicely browned.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
kathleen
A fav. I like to combine it with a pot roast of pork. Now, oh dear /sark I am forced to use cream because no milk.
DrDan
Too bad about the milk but I think the cream MAY work…. :)
Dan
Pat Monahan
What do you mean by a large crock pot? 6 qts, 4 qts?
DrDan
4 qt minimum but I would prefer a 6 qt plus for a full recipe. The thicker it is, the harder to get to the final internal temperature.