This Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Au Gratin is an easy from-scratch hearty meal!
I love a hearty one-pot meal in the slow cooker like this one and my Seasoned Chicken and Veggies Recipe or Homestyle Pot Roast Dinner.
I can eat au gratin potatoes by the plate full! I decided to add ground beef to homemade potatoes au gratin and came up with this fabulous hearty meal.
I really enjoyed creating this recipe. I knew that the potatoes would need some heavy seasoning, so I went heavy with the salt and pepper, but also added garlic powder, paprika and parsley.
The potatoes go in the slow cooker peeled, though I don’t mind skin on for most recipes this one tastes great without.
How to make Beef and Potato Au Gratin in the crockpot:
- Brown ground beef on the stovetop, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Peel russet potatoes and lay them on the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- 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.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. (see full recipe below)
Can I use bacon instead of ground beef?
Yes! Brown one package (12-16 ounces) of bacon, crumble and use in place of the beef in this recipe.
Can I use a different type of potato?
Use any type of potato in this recipe just be sure to thinly slice them.
- Red Potatoes
- Gold Potatoes
- White Potatoes
How to serve Beef and Potato Au Gratin:
- Serve as a main dish.
- If desired add a green salad or steamed green veggies.
- Enjoy!
Does your family enjoy ground beef? Try more of my ground beef recipes:
- Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole
- Slow Cooker Land Your Man Baked Beans
- Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak
- Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Chuck Wagon Chili
- Slow Cooker Hamburger Hash
Slow Cooker Beef and Potatoes Au Gratin
Equipment Needed:
- Slow Cooker- 6 quart or larger
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
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 3 cups shredded sharp cheese
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or beef 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!
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition:
Need an Instant Pot Version of this? Try this version:
Instant Pot Beef and Potato Au Gratin from The Centsable Shoppin’
Going off personal preference, I doubled the spices and halved the cheese, used a crockpot liner, and substituted broth made from beef bouillon since it usually has more flavor. Cooked on low for 6 hours since my Hamilton Beach model tends to run hot. Was a success! Served with green beans.
Hi Sarah – by chance can you slice up canned potatoes for this recipe? With arthritis it’s difficult to peel potatoes. Thank you.
Hi Kim! You probably could, and cut the cook time way down. You could leave the skins on too!
This looks delicious!
What do you normally serve this with?
On it’s own or with a salad.
I cheated. Used frozen hash browns, because I needed to use theme but all else as normal and I just loved it. So tasty and warming in this snowy day! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for the tip! How easy that will be when I make this again.
Looked at at least a dozen similar recipes before I camen back this one and it had been the first one I saw. My non picky family eats everything I make, esp comfort food like this. I made it exactly as written and it smelled awesome cooking all day. Come time to eat? They ate it, but just looked at me like “what is this?” I’m sorry to say, it was a fail. Can’t put my finger on it, but something wasn’t right. I’m just disappointed that there is so much left over and No one will eat it.
Perhaps it would be better if I had remembered to put the broth in. the baby woke and I rushed to start it but it’s Edible with some ranch. Sigh. ☺️ I’ll make it another time with all the ingredients.
Oh no, I’m so sorry!
I know the recipe calls for russet potatoes but can you use red potatoes? I have made this recipe before and we loved it. All I have in my pantry is red potatoes and I’m trying to avoid a trip to the store.
Red potatoes would be great
I made this and it was great but some of the ground beef that was against the wall of the crockpot got burnt. Any tips to fix this?
Maybe try a half hour less of cooking time and spray the slow cooker with cooking spray extra well. The burning can happen with thicker slow cooker recipes.
We both have the same vintage Corelle plates! I was delighted to see them in your photos! Do you know where the timing would be for an instapot?
looks yummy..will be making this tks Sarah another awesome recipe.
I’m making this tonight and I’m going to make a cheese sauce using a roux instead of just shredded cheese. It goes a lot further coating over all the food and it will make the entire meal very creamy.
sounds really good!
Has anyone tried using cream of mushroom in place of the broth? i am considering trying it
I have it going in my crockpot. A friend of mine told me about it and her family gave it rave reviews. I love the variety of meals you have listed and will be trying them very soon.
Any instant pot conversion?? I have absolutely no idea how to use this thing and thought converting my favorite recipes would be a good start, I cook dinner daily so I don’t want to have an epic fail night where no one can eat, but I got a new toy and I want to use it!!!
https://www.thecentsableshoppin.com/instant-pot-beef-and-potato-au-gratin/
I JUST FOUND THIS CONVERSION OF THIS RECIPE.
Just put this in the crock pot for this evenings supper. Sure hope it turns out good. Don’t see how it couldn’t because we love all the ingredients. Always trying different crock pot recipes because my husband sleeps days and works nights and it is great to have something in the crock pot so he has a hot meal before he goes off to work. Hopefully there will be left overs for me for a couple of days while he is gone on his run (truck driver).
I have this in the crock pot for tonight’s supper. Do you have any nutritional info, such as amount of protein per serving, calories per serving, and amount of fat. Thanks in advance.
Do you drain the hamburger?
Yes, I just added that info to the recipe. Thank you.
I’ve been searching out some fast no fuss recipes lately – my mother had a stroke a month ago and by the time I get home from going to see her my ambition level is below zero. Since I got not one but two crock pots for Christmas (one 3 qt and one 6 qt) I decided to break one in and give this a try. I did cut the recipe in half mind you, 7 cups of potatoes and I’d have been eating it for days lol. I tossed it all in my smaller crockpot, put it on low and let it do its work for 6 hours. I find that cooking on the low setting gives much better, tender results. The potatoes were perfectly cooked, the meat was tender and not dried out and the flavor was awesome. I will definitely be making this again
Make thithis yesterday and it was delicious! I made it the night before and put it in the crock pot in the morning. I put on low 8 hours. I also added a full cup of chicken broth instead of half.
So great to hear! Good to know it can be set up the night before.
Uncooked potatoes…? What if I cook then a little first? I never have a good time with potatoes and the crockpot
I’ve heard of people cooking potatoes in the microwave before adding to the crock pot. For me, if I keep the lid on the entire time, the potatoes get tender.