Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Au Gratin
360 CommentsUpdated Mar 10, 2026
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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 Russet potatoes, ground beef, and simple flavors, your family will love this dinner choice.
Featured Comment
“I tried this and it was amazing. Definitely cooking it again and again. The taste was so good. Wish I could show you photo of mine.”
This is a stick-to-your-ribs, meat-and-potatoes recipe! Who knew you could make potatoes au gratin with ground beef? Potatoes au gratin are similar to scalloped potatoes but have cheese added. The potatoes get ultra tender, and the flavors meld together perfectly during the slow cooking time. We love making crockpot recipes with ground beef.
I love a comforting one-pot meal in the slow cooker like this one and my Crockpot Chicken, Potatoes and Green Beans Recipe or Crockpot Pot Roast.
Key Ingredients
Potatoes: Just need cheap russet potatoes for this.
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.
How to Make Potatoes Au Gratin with Beef
- Layer sliced potatoes with seasoned beef, onions, spices, and cheese in the crockpot.
- Pour broth over the layers, then cover and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Let it rest briefly, then scoop and serve while hot and cheesy.
Tips & Variations
Potato Type: Use any potato (red, gold, or white). Just be sure they are thinly sliced. You can even use sweet potatoes for an entirely different meal.
Skins: You can leave the skin on the potatoes if desired; it’s a personal preference.
Meat Swap: Brown one pound of bacon, crumble and use it in place of the beef in this recipe. You can also use ground turkey.
Change up the Cheese: Use Swiss cheese or pepper Jack for a totally different flavored meal.
Serving Suggestions
Here is how I serve this easy ground beef dinner:
Toppings: Though this slow cooker beef and potatoes is great as-is, you can top it with freshly ground pepper, hot sauce, green onions and sour cream.
Sides: Add a vegetable such as buttered corn, green beans or a salad. Of course, don’t forget the bread!
Do I have to brown the meat?
Yes. For this meal, it is very important to brown the beef first. If you don’t, the meat will release too much liquid and end up with a meatloaf-like consistency.
Slow Cooker Beef and Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe
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!
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Storing and Reheating:
Store the leftover beef and potatoes in the fridge for up to four days. I personally don’t think this freezes well, so eat leftovers up promptly.
More Slow Cooker Recipes with Ground Beef
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 Slow Cooker Chili is hearty and bold, and Slow Cooker Hamburger Hash is a one-pot mix of beef, potatoes, and veggies.
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
What could I use instead of broth? I don’t have that on hand right now
Milk may work, unsure if it would curdle though.
I dotted mine with butter and it turned out great.
Can you add milk so it is creamier?
You could instead of broth, though I am unsure if it would curdle in that amount of time.
I made a “gravy” with milk, butter and flour and mixed it in about 5 minutes before serving it.
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. 🙁
What slow cooker do you recommend?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Here is a somewhat similar recipes. It says to cook covered for 1 hours and 45 minutes at 325°. I hope that helps. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/228122/herbed-scalloped-potatoes-and-onions/
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.
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.
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.
Could I do this on low for 8 hours??
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.
How long on low?
I haven’t tried, but I would think about 6-7 hours.
I will have to try this your way! Such great additions.
This looks so good it made my mouth water!! Can’t wait to try it!