Creamy, Slow Cooked Scalloped Potatoes – first time and not last.
Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
This is my first time, this curious obsession, of cooking with a slow cooker. For as long as I could remember, I’ve been stalking slow cooker recipes, often wondering how/why/what could possibly be the advantage having a slow cooker. Quite frankly, I’m more fearful of actually pressing a button on an appliance, leaving it on all day and coming home to a burned down house.
My gut feeling has always been to leave the house with everything turned off and I’ve been known to circle back on the freeway to make sure my curling iron was on off. That’s how much of a wimp I am about leaving anything with heat on all day.
Then there’s this talk, I hear, about how a slow cooker can cook things down to a wonderful, flavorful texture. Oh great, so will everything taste like a stew? Gloppy soup?
Then there’s the photographs I see on Pinterest with incredible cheesy, gooooeeey, decant mac and cheese recipes. Obviously their house didn’t burn down during the making of the dishes.
And the photographs of roasts cooked down to the perfect fork-tender texture slay me to eye-popping interest. Well, if they were able to pin this photo, then their house still must be standing up, untouched by fire.
Ok, so I’m comforted to know that people are still alive, standing and cooking food that makes my stomach growl at midnight when I’m browsing Pinterest.
So here I go, and I tell Todd that I want a slow cooker and I want it now. Like, right– now — so I can experiment with a scalloped potatoes recipe for Christmas.
Todd, the most awesome guy in the world, the same guy that will nurture dishes through hours of laborious steps just to get the perfect texture, and who doesn’t judge me nor my secret obsession. We bought a slow cooker that very day.
The first thing I made upon bringing home my first slow cooker (now 3 weeks ago) was a pork rillette dish. My traditional recipe calls for about 4-5 hours of braising the pork over the stove, but it also requires stirring the pot every 30 minutes. I successfully made the dish to tender perfection with only stirring twice. Wow! And the cleanup was super easy.
Now I’m hooked and more curious to find out what type of dish can benefit from this all-day-cooking process with a push of ONE button.
Granted, there are some dishes that I would never cook in the slow cooker because I’m looking for a different flavor and texture. But for anything cheesy or stewy, I’m all for experimenting.
This time, I’ve been intrigued by scalloped potatoes in the slow cooker so that for Christmas, it can stay warm during the feasting without drying out. This is one of those potluck dishes that often dries out and gets cold so fast, that the warm-tender texture of the potatoes has dissipated.
My second slow cooking experiment were these potatoes and it was a super success, resulting in a cheesy, creamy and quickly eaten batch of scalloped potatoes. Best of all, the dish can remain warm, and still gooey, meltingly cheesy throughout the evening.
I’m hooked and look forward to cooking more from the slow cooker. Best of all, my house hasn’t burned down!
Any favorite slow cooker recipes that you have? I’ve love to see. Please leave your link.
Hail to the slow cooker!
-diane
Our Favorite Cookers:
Whether you prefer a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or a multi-cooker, these kitchen counter appliances help make dinner a little easier for the busy household:
Slow Cooker Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 pounds (1.36 kg) Potatoes (1360 g), washed and sliced to about 1/8"-1/4" I kept the skin on but you can peel your potatoes if you please.
- 3.5 cups (830 ml) Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1.5 teaspoons (8 ml) Kosher Salt (based on how salty your cheese is)
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) freshly grated Nutmeg (or 1/4 teaspoon of dry nutmeg)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly grated Black Pepper
- 2 cups (226 g) grated extra sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1 cup (100 g) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- In large bowl, combine heavy cream, salt, nutmeg, black pepper. Stir well. Add potato slices and gently stir to coat potatoes with cream mixture.In another bowl, combine grated cheeses.
- Spray or add thin layer of oil on inside of crock pot. In three parts, layer potatoes and cheese. **refer to step-by-step photographs.After layering of potatoes and cheese is finished, pour left over cream mixture evenly over potatoes.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours, gently stirring 3 times every 2 hours. When stirring, with wooden spoon, gently scrape the edges inside the slow cooker free of the cheese. When finished stirring, press potato slices down evenly into the cheese sauce.
I plan to try this recipe for a family event. But I was surprised to read the cooking time is 6-8 hours on High. Usually, crock pot recipes (including ones for Scalloped Potatoes) are 6-8 hours on Low or 3-4 hours on High. Was this a typo or ?? Also, I won’t be around during the day, so I won’t be able to stir the ingredients. How critical is this? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth,
it was a typo, thanks for bringing it to our attention. The edit has been made. As far as stirring, we found that it was very helpful because it allowed the potatoes to cook evenly. When we tested it without stirring much, some of the potato slices on top weren’t as soft and tender as the potato slices that were immersed under the cheese sauce.
Got it. Thanks!
Hi! Trying to make these potatoes, and I’d like to double check the amount of cream – the recipe says both 3.5 cups and 590 mls which are quite different- which do I use? Thanks!
Hi Sara,
Sorry about that. It is for 3/12 cups or 830ml of cream. I mistyped in converting and accidentally converted for 2.5 cups. Thanks for catching that. Hope you enjoy!
This looks like a fabulous recipe which I am anxious to try. However, I need the recipe for a weeknight potluck, and I am at work during the day. Will it hurt the dish not to be stirred every two hours?
Elaine – did you try the recipe? I was also wondering if it would be ok without stirring, since no one would be home to do that during the day. Hope it was successful if you did!
I found your recipe through a Google search and love that they don’t use condensed soup. Made these for Easter dinner for our big family gathering today. Added some garlic and other spices. They were a huge hit – even my potato-hating kids ate them with minimal fuss. Thanks!
I ridiculed the very idea of slow cookers for years. Then talk of slow and low braising got my attention and I bought one. And I’ll never look back! Check out America’s Test Kitchen’s SLOW COOKER REVOLUTION. I use it all the time. I’m particularly fond of the recipes in that book for brisket and for smothered pork chops, both things I have trouble with because they can be so tough and unappealing unless you cook them gently forever. The slow cooker is perfect for that.
I was the same as you–afraid to leave the slow cooker on and the whole thing was a bit of an enigma. But I got one recently for Thanksgiving and love it! I must try this recipe, and you must try beef stew and chili. Both are winners and heat up so well for lunches. Glad we’re both fans of the slow cooker now!
These are in my crock pot as I type. I wanted to add Asiago Cheese to the mix, but my local store never has it. It’s maddening. Ha! Looks like I’ll be having a midnight snack. =D
Christi- happy that you’re making it. Let me know how it turns out. It takes so long to cook in my 6 qt. crock pot, but really curious how it turns out in other slow cookers. I’m going to test it again in a smaller batch (maybe 2 pounds of potatoes) and see if the cooking time is quicker so that others don’t have to wait till midnight to eat. 🙂
Well I have a burned mouth, but they were yummy! haha
I’m home alone this year for Christmas, so I have leftovers all to myself. I used 4 russets, which gave me about 3.5 pounds. 8 hours was perfect. I have a really old Crockpot brand 6qt.
I did want to mention that everyone should use a scale (if they have one) for the cheese since some people don’t pack the cheese when measuring (like me). I thought it looked like it wasn’t enough cheese, so I got the scale out. Sure enough, I was about 50 grams short. You’ll be so sad if you wait 8 hours and they’re not cheesy enough! 🙂
Christi- thanks for the input. Glad they turned out yummy. We’re always hoping that cooks use a scale too, that’s why we have weight measurements on our recipes. Don’t want to miss out on all the great cheese!
These look perfect to take to a family dinner an hour away! I don’t cook with my crock pot that often – do you know if the cooking time will remain the same if I double the recipe?
Amy- I’m not sure if six pounds of potatoes will even cook because it seems like an awful lot of potatoes. I’m not even sure if I could fit 6 pounds of potatoes in my crock pot! So, you might be able to add one more pound of potatoes and increase the amount of cream & cheese. But be prepared if it doesn’t cook fully and bring a huge baking dish to finish it in the oven. Good luck!
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Hmm….well, I happen to have two crock pots (long story) so maybe I’ll do it that way. LOL!
Had to laugh at the burning down the house fear, I think it’s universal. I just made my third and finally successful crock dish this week. I’ll be posting it this weekend. Made cross-cut beef shanks which were a steal at $2.48 a pound. OM, the meat was fall apart delicious. Definitely making it again. Your recipe looks wonderful! Two questions, did you use russet potatoes and what size is your crock pot? Mine’s a 4 qt. red Rival.
I’ve used a crockpot for 30 years and like you, when I leave the house, a burned down home is somewhere in the back of my mind. I’d like to know if there’s actually been a fire caused by a crock pot. I think I even Googled it once. 🙂 I really appreciate this this recipe for scalloped potatoes, I’ll be making it Christmas Day. I was worried about oven space. My favorite CP recipe is a pork taco that I posted. I hope you’ll give it a try. http://highlandsranchfoodie.com/2012/07/orange-spiced-pork-tacos/