Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Au Gratin


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If you’re looking for a hearty meal, this Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Au Gratin is the perfect recipe to try. Packed with hearty Russet potatoes, ground beef, and simple flavors, your family will love this dinner choice.

I love a hearty one-pot meal in the slow cooker like this one and my Crockpot Chicken, Potatoes and Green Beans Recipe or Crcokpot Pot Roast Dinner.

cooked beef and potatoes in a crockpot.

Au gratin potatoes are often confused with scalloped potatoes because they look similar. While scalloped potatoes typically call for a mix of milk and heavy cream, potato au gratin ingredients include lots of shredded cheese between its layers.

For this particular recipe, a combination of ground beef, white onion, and shredded sharp cheese are layered before slowly being cooked to perfection. Who knew you could make potatoes au gratin with ground beef?

Key Ingredients for Beef Au Gratin

You may already have many of these ingredients at home. For full recipe amounts, see the recipe card below the photos.

ingredients for potato gratin on table.
  • Potatoes: The potatoes go in the slow cooker peeled; though I don’t mind skin on for most recipes, this one tastes great without. Be sure the potatoes are thinly sliced.
  • Ground Beef: Adding beef to the recipe makes this au gratin potato dish a complete meal.
  • Seasonings: These potatoes need heavy seasoning, so I went heavy with salt and pepper and added garlic powder, paprika, and parsley.
  • Onion: White onion adds flavor and heartiness to this delicious casserole recipe.
  • Beef broth: Evenly poured over all the layers to help everything cook evenly. Chicken broth works in a pinch!
  • Cheese: It’s best to use a block of sharp cheddar cheese for shredding as it melts the best in meals like this.

Beef and Potato Au Grain Video

Variations

You can change this recipe up! Here are my approved adaptions.

  • Use any potatoes (red, gold, or white potatoes). Just be sure they are thinly sliced. You can even use sweet potatoes for an entirely different meal.
  • You can leave the skin on the potatoes if desired; it’s a personal preference.
  • Brown one package (12-16 ounces) of bacon, crumble and use it in place of the beef in this recipe. You can also use ground turkey.
  • Use swiss cheese for a totally different flavored meal.

How to Make Potatoes Au Gratin with Beef

Here is how to make this dish in a crockpot:

Step One – Brown ground beef on the stovetop in a large skillet; add salt and pepper to taste.

Step Two – Mix the paprika, garlic powder, parsley, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Step Three Peel and slice russet potatoes thinly and lay them on the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Add half of the potatoes to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over half of the onions and half of the seasonings.

Step Four – Add half of the meat.

Step Five – Sprinkle over half of the cheese.

Step Six – Add the remaining potato slices, seasoning, and onion.

Step Seven – Add the remaining beef.

Step Eight – Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and drizzle over the beef broth.

close up of beef and potatoes on a spatula.

How to Serve Beef and Potato Au Gratin

Here is how I serve this easy ground beef dinner:

  • Since this is a one-pot meal, you can serve it as-is by scooping a nice serving into a bowl.
  • You can’t go wrong with sour cream and extra cheese for additional tasty topping suggestions. Hot sauce and green onion are great additions as well.
  • This is a proper comfort food, so garlic bread, garlic sticks, or homemade rolls also complement this casserole perfectly.
overhead shot of beef gratin in slow cooker and on plates.
close up of beef and potatoes on a spatula.

Slow Cooker Beef and Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe

4.44 from 66 votes
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Crockpot Beef and Potato Au Gratin features layers of seasoned ground beef, sliced potatoes, and sharp cheddar cheese for a hearty, all-in-one slow cooker meal.
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How to Video

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 lb. ground beef, plus a touch of salt and pepper to season
  • 3 lbs. peeled russet potatoes, sliced a ¼ inch thick (about 7 cups total after being sliced)
  • 1 cup thinly sliced white onion
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • ½ tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. parsley
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • 3 cups shredded sharp cheese
  • ½ cup beef broth, or chicken broth

Instructions 

  • Brown the ground beef on the stove top, drain fat. Add a touch of salt and pepper to season.
  • In a small bowl combine the paprika, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper.
  • Add half of the potatoes in the slow cooker. Sprinkle over half of the onions, half of the seasonings, half of the meat, and half of the cheese. Repeat the layers again.
  • Drizzle over the broth evenly over the layers.
  • Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Do not open the lid during the cooking time or the potatoes will not get soft.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Sarah’s Notes

Variations:
  • Use any potatoes (red, gold, or white potatoes). Just be sure they are thinly sliced. You can even use sweet potatoes for an entirely different meal.
  • You can leave the skin on the potatoes if desired; it’s a personal preference.
  • Brown one package (12-16 ounces) of bacon, crumble and use it in place of the beef in this recipe. You can also use ground turkey.
  • Use swiss cheese for a totally different flavored meal.
Serving Suggestions:
  • Since this is a one-pot meal, you can serve it as-is by scooping a nice serving into a bowl.
  • You can’t go wrong with sour cream and extra cheese for additional tasty topping suggestions. Hot sauce and green onion are great additions as well.
  • This is a proper comfort food, so garlic bread, garlic sticks, or homemade rolls also complement this casserole perfectly.

Nutrition

Calories: 556kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 874mg | Potassium: 1317mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1040IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 454mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.

Made this recipe? Leave a comment below!

More Ground Beef Crockpot Recipes

John Wayne Casserole and Hamburger Potato Casserole are layered, cheesy dishes made with ground beef, potatoes, and plenty of flavor—perfect for feeding a hungry crowd.

For something more versatile, Slow Cooker Ground Beef is great for prepping meals ahead, while Crockpot Salisbury Steak simmers in rich gravy with onions and mushrooms.

If you’re in the mood for cozy and satisfying, the Best Crockpot Chili is hearty and bold, and Slow Cooker Hamburger Hash is a one-pot mix of beef, potatoes, and veggies.

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346 Comments

  1. thetravellingbat says:

    This meal looks so yummy I’m gonna try it! It’s on my meal plan for this week and I have linked it to my blog post, I’ll let you know how it goes down 🙂 Thanks

  2. Phoebe says:

    What could I use instead of broth? I don’t have that on hand right now

    1. Sarah Olson says:

      Milk may work, unsure if it would curdle though.

    2. Thia says:

      I dotted mine with butter and it turned out great.

  3. Stacy says:

    Can you add milk so it is creamier?

    1. Sarah Olson says:

      You could instead of broth, though I am unsure if it would curdle in that amount of time.

    2. Alison says:

      I made a “gravy” with milk, butter and flour and mixed it in about 5 minutes before serving it.

  4. Kathleen says:

    My son and I saw the video for this on facebook and thought it looked delicious! I made it as written (because I hate those people that change half of the ingredients and then complain) and I’m sorry but this was SO bland and dry. 🙁

  5. Steve Gwilliam says:

    What slow cooker do you recommend?

    1. Sarah Olson says:

      I love any Crock-Pot® oval 6-quart slow cooker. They range in price depending on if they have a timer or how fancy the timer is.

    2. Laura says:

      I just bought the Crock Pot 6qt, 5-in-1 multi cooker. It is a slow cooker (with high and low settings), a steamer, brown/saute, bake and roast. I used it for the first time yesterday and made a meatloaf with veggies. I have a different multi cooker (Ninja) but it cooks way too hot on all modes.

      1. Sarah Olson says:

        Hi Laura! I have that slow cooker. I really like it, it doesn’t cook near as hot as others, I either cook things longer or crank up the heat if needed to the brown/saute or oven if I need a meal faster.

  6. LeAnne says:

    How would you cook this in the oven? I want to make it tonight, but won’t have time to put it in the crockpot.

      1. Kenn says:

        Most comments here seem insane, as does the original directions. 4 hours? 8 hours? Hat are you making? Mush? When I make pot roast, my potatoes are WHOLE, but I do not add them until the sizable chunk of beef has cooked for 2 hours. I cook the potatoes and other vegetables for a hour, and they are very soft. Thin sliced, they will become mashed potatoes without mashing.

      2. Sarah Olson says:

        Hi Kenn. I could and video tape exactly as I write the recipe. Maybe your slow cooker cooks hot. The slow cooker takes about 2 hours to heat up, so the veggies aren’t cooking much the first 2 hours anyway.

      3. Geo says:

        5 stars
        I made this for dinner tonight. The only change I made was after reading the review suggesting making a cheese sauce. So I used shredded cheese for the first layer, then the cheese sauce instead of shredded cheese for the top.

        I cooked it in my Ninja multi-cooker on the slow cooker setting for 4 hours. The potatoes were perfectly cooked and not at all mushy. The meat was tender and the flavors were great. Couldn’t have been easier, and it was definitely flavorful.

  7. Lynda says:

    Could I do this on low for 8 hours??

    1. Sarah Olson says:

      A person commented that they did this for 8 hours and it worked fine. I haven’t tried this myself yet, sorry! I would add a touch more broth if I was going to attempt that.

  8. Stacy says:

    How long on low?

    1. Sarah Olson says:

      I haven’t tried, but I would think about 6-7 hours.

  9. Sarah Olson says:

    I will have to try this your way! Such great additions.

  10. Ang says:

    This looks so good it made my mouth water!! Can’t wait to try it!