Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes Recipe

This Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes Recipe is the perfect side dish for a dinner party or any family dinner. Hash browns are cooked to tender perfection in your Slow Cooker with Cream of Potato Soup, Milk, Sour Cream and Cheddar Cheese.  Only 5 ingredients! This is a super easy recipe and they taste delicious!

I absolutely love going to dinner parties and pitch-ins.  I think it is so cool when everyone brings their own dish to share.  Food is important in our lives.  Every family has their own traditions and favorite recipes that show up on their dinner table.  It is great when we have the opportunity to share this special food with friends or coworkers.

And these gatherings are the perfect places for a perfect side dish to shine! Sometimes, I’ll load my plate up with ONLY side dishes, because they are often the best recipes at the party. We’ve made some great side dishes on this website. From a great cookout and picnic side dish like this Potato Salad with Egg,  to this rich and savory Copycat Cheesecake Factory Macaroni and Cheese! We have a TON of side dishes to check out!

Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes

I love these Cheesy Potatoes because you can make them in your Slow Cooker. They are sort of a Crock Pot Version of Funeral Potatoes. This means they are SO easy to prepare and will always come out cooked perfectly. And another awesome thing about Crockpots is that they will travel well to wherever you need to bring them! This Cheesy Potato Casserole could be a perfect side dish for the Holidays, including Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Not only are they great to bring to social gatherings, they can also make an easy side dish for family weeknight dinners! And you’ll probably have leftovers for lunch tomorrow! For step-by-step instructions, read the printable recipe card below. But here are the ingredients you’ll need to get started:

• FROZEN POTATOES – You can use frozen hash browns or frozen diced potatoes. If you use hash browns, they will cook a little softer, while the diced potatoes will be a little firmer. Either are fine, it’s all about preference.
• SOUR CREAM – You can use light or reduced fat sour cream or regular sour cream.
• CREAM OF POTATO SOUP – You can probably substitute and “Cream of..” Soup that you want. Cream of Chicken Soup or Cream of Mushroom Soup would work.
• CHEDDAR CHEESE – We recommend shredding your own cheese rather than buying the pre-shredded cheese at the store. Shredding your own cheese melts much better after your sprinkle it into the recipe.
• MILK – 2% milk is what we used. But you can use Skim or Whole Milk.
• SALT AND BLACK PEPPER – Optional. To taste.

I am also always on the lookout for a side dish that I can make for dinner on weekday nights.  These slow cooker cheesy potatoes are perfect for that as well.  I love to make a lot of my dinners in my Crockpot.  It is just so easy to set it and forget it!

While you can certainly make your main course in your slow cooker, I often like to make my side dishes in there as well.  The great advantage to a lot of these side dishes is that they often make great leftovers too. My husband and I work from home and often eat last night’s leftover for dinner.  These Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes would work perfectly for a light lunch as well.  They are one of those things that taste just a wonderful (if not better!) reheated in the microwave the next day.

Can I Use Homemade Hash Browns Instead of Frozen?

You probably could do this. Frozen Hash Browns are often dryer than fresh homemade raw potatoes. So, I’d be a little concerned about this. I’d get my homemade hash browns patted down as much as possible before adding them. You could use a cheese cloth if you have one. If your recipe is looking a little dry during the cooking process, you can always add a little water or more milk!

You can also just dice up a fresh potato if you would like to. But, obviously, depending on how small you dice them, it may take a bit longer to cook.

Storage, leftovers and freezing

Store leftovers in your refrigerator in an airtight container. Leftovers should be good in your fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave.

I would not freeze these Cheesy Potatoes.

What Are Some Other Good Hash Brown Recipes?

I never realized that hashbrowns not only taste delicious by themselves, they  actually make a really awesome ingredient in other dishes.

• CRISPY CHICKEN HASHBROWN CASSEROLE
• CROCKPOT BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Other Notes and Variations

When you have cheese and potatoes together as the base of your dish, there are so many things you can do to give it a little extra flair if you want to:

• SUBSTITUTE CHEESE – Try another cheese? Maybe mix in a little shredded swiss cheese or some pepper jack?
• ADD PROTEIN! –  Some nice bits of crispy bacon folded in would be unbelievable. Just add them after they are finished cooking. Or, you could throw in some cubed ham!
• HOW CAN YOU MAKE THIS DISH LIGHTER? – You can use low fat milk and cheese if you need to shave off some calories.
• ADD ONION – Do you like onion? Dice up 1/2 cup of onion and add this to your Crock Pot.
• TOPPINGS – Before serving, top with Green Onions, Crushed Potato Chips, Crushed buttery crackers or more cheese!

This recipe is also perfect as a Thanksgiving side dish, you can use your slow cooker and not take up much needed space on the stove or in the oven!

I hope you enjoy this Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes Recipe. Let me know how it turns out in the comments!