Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Au Gratin
346 Comments Jan 08, 2023
Updated Jun 27, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.”
– Dawn
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!
Sarah’s Notes
- 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.
- 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
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
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.
Looking to make this into a freezer meal casserole dish. Any suggestions or thoughts? (My concern lies int the potatoes getting freezer burned or dried out)
Potatoes in freezer meals don’t work. It bums me out 🙁
I’m telling u people do not make this recipe my family was so disgusted with with this meal I had to take them to McDonald’s. Just an awful meal u never put that cheese in that long for 4 hours yet the the dummy I am I followed the recipe it just amazes me u can actually post this recipe oh and by the way in a chef
I just made this exactly per the recipe and it’s perfectly fine and tasty. Not sure what you did wrong. Also, I happen to be an experienced cook as well and in my opinion, this is a perfectly acceptable, hearty slow cooker meal. Hope you enjoyed your McDonald’s.
Thanks Steven! 🙂
Lol No chef would be caught dead eating the garbage that is rolled out from McDonald’s. So let’s not lie. This recipe certainly doesn’t look fancy to me, but rather a simple and hearty meal. And this is coming from an extremely experienced home cook who runs a food blog.
Hello. I would like to make this on low while I am at work. Please tell me how much extra liquid you would add. Thank you.
Looks very tasty and now that it’s starting to warm up, it’s time to break out the slow cooker again. Thanks for sharing!
Brad
Thank you! I made this tonight for the grandkids and their dad. They all ate it! This one is going on the list of things I like to make that people will eat. I served it with applesauce and a green salad. If it were just us, I’d have make some other kind of veggie side, but we like veggies!. It was fantastic!
That’s great Wendy. I love when other enjoy a meal as much as I did. Nice to meet you!
Made as directed but we’re at 4.5 hours on high and the potatoes still aren’t done. Now I’m dealing with a starving husband. Hope it’s done soon. It does smell good which is half the problem lol
What is another cheese you would recommend? My husband isn’t a huge sharp cheddar fan.
any cheddar would be fine! Mild, medium or even Colby-Jack 🙂
My husband is allergic to onions, all kinds, is there anything you could suggest to add to this instead of onions?
Hi Lauren, that’s a hard question, so is garlic not an option either? I would add maybe bell pepper or even more seasonings such as thyme or even celery salt. Sorry I am not much help!
I made this a few weeks ago for dinner, since my hubby is always requesting a meat and potatoes dish. It was all gone by mid day, the next day. He requested it again today. I just finished print everything in the crockpot, so we’ll be having it for lunch. An easy task for the 1st day of my 3 day mini-staycation! Thanks for the recipe!
Hello everyone! I have the beef/au gratin cooking now. I have quite a bit of potatoes left. First layer I put about 3 layers of potatoes and about the same on the 2nd layer. Did I cut too many taters or do you use that much in 1 layer? My pot was almost totally full when I stopped. Help!!!
Hi Larry it should be fine! Add a bit more cheese and a touch more broth if you have it. Also leave the lid on the entire time.
Thanks Sarah!! I just loaded my plate and it is very good indeed!! Right now, my wife is Chinese and went back to visit for a couple months, so I will be eating this for several days!! Again, thanks a bunch!! Have a great weekend!!
That’s great Larry! This meal does heat up well for leftovers. Thanks for your nice comments.
Great meal! I was needing a way to use up 1 lb of ground beef and this was perfect.