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 Seasoned Chicken and Veggies Recipe or Homestyle Pot Roast Dinner.
What is potato au gratin?
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?
Recipe Ingredients
- 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.
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
- Since this is a one-pot meal, you can serve it as-is by scooping a nice serving into a bowl. If anything, garnish the top with fresh parsley.
- You can’t go wrong with sour cream and extra cheese for additional tasty topping suggestions.
- This is a proper comfort food, so garlic bread, garlic sticks, or homemade rolls also complement this casserole perfectly.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! 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 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 stir together a can of mushroom soup with the beef broth before pouring it over the finished layers.
Add any remaining beef and potatoes to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat the leftovers on the stove top over medium heat.
You can leave the skin on the potatoes if desired; it’s a personal preference.
Try more of my ground beef recipes:
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Slow Cooker Beef and Potatoes Au Gratin
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!
How to Video:
Sarah’s Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Need an Instant Pot Version of this? Try this version:
Instant Pot Beef and Potato Au Gratin from The Centsable Shoppin’
Nance says
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.
Kimberly says
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.
Sarah Olson says
Oh no, I’m so sorry!
Heather says
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.
Sarah Olson says
Red potatoes would be great
Andrew Krueger says
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?
Sarah Olson says
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.
Amber says
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?
Anonymous says
looks yummy..will be making this tks Sarah another awesome recipe.
Danielle Hampton says
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.
Sarah Olson says
sounds really good!
Miranda says
Has anyone tried using cream of mushroom in place of the broth? i am considering trying it
Katherine Allmon says
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.
Kim says
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!!!
Amanda Bruner says
https://www.thecentsableshoppin.com/instant-pot-beef-and-potato-au-gratin/
I JUST FOUND THIS CONVERSION OF THIS RECIPE.
Nancy says
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).
Brenda says
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.