This cheesy crockpot potatoes au gratin recipe is so delicious and easy to make! It’s made with a creamy gruyere cheese sauce with garlic and onions, fresh thyme and thinly sliced potatoes.
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What is Crockpot Potatoes Au Gratin
Crockpot Potatoes Au Gratin is a mouth-watering comfort dish that effortlessly combines the ease of slow cooking with the sophisticated flavors of classic French cuisine.
Imagine layers of thinly sliced, tender potatoes, each piece gently nestling in a velvety, rich sauce made from the nutty and slightly sweet gruyere cheese.
If you've never had this delicious cheese, it is renowned for its creamy texture and ability to melt into a smooth, enveloping blanket of flavor.
This dish is further elevated with a hint of fresh thyme, sweet caramelized onions, and fragrant garlic adding an aromatic earthiness that perfectly complements the creamy cheese.
As it slowly cooks in the crockpot, the flavors meld together, creating a symphony of taste and texture.
The result is a delectably creamy, cheesy, and comforting dish that makes for an indulgent side or a satisfying main course, capturing the essence of home-cooked luxury with every spoonful.
This recipe is all about celebrating the joy of simple ingredients coming together to create something truly magical and soul-satisfying.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Salted Butter - If you're using unsalted butter, just add an extra pinch of salt or two.
- Onion - I'm using a sweet onion but you could also use white or yellow onion or even shallots.
- Garlic - Fresh, straight from the bulb garlic works best for this recipe. I do not recommend using the preminced garlic. If you wanna be lazy like me, i recommend buying the bagged peeled garlic cloves. They sell them at Aldi for like 3$ and I swear by them!
- All Purpose Flour - You could also use self rising.
- Whole Milk - If you don't have whole milk, you could use half and half or canned evaporated milk but I haven't tried it. I do not recomend using anything less than 2% milk fat.
- Thyme - You could use fresh or dried thyme -- whatever you have. The recipe card below will have measurements for both.
- Salt - Kosher salt is best for cooking. I do not recommend using table salt as it's too salty. Kosher salt just brings out the taste of the food rather than making it taste over salty.
- Gruyere - If you want to use something more affordable, try white cheddar, asiago or fontina.
- Potatoes - I'm using Russet (aka baking potatoes) Potatoes here but you could use yellow potatoes if you wish.
- Crispy Bread Crumbs- Im using salted butter, seasoned bread crumbs and rosemary but you could use panko or even ritz crackers.
How to make it
Making potatoes au gratin in the crockpot is a total breeze with my easy recipe.
Honestly the hardest part is probably not cutting yourself on the mandolin! And just an FYI, do not prep your potatoes ahead of time because they will oxidize and turn weird colors. It's best to prep your potatoes right before they go into the crockpot.
To begin, add butter to a sauce pan over medium heat.
Once melted add finely diced onion and a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes until starting to tenderize and become translucsent. A
Now add the garlic and the thyme and cook for one to two more minutes or until fragrant but not browned.
Slowly in the flour and cook down for a few minutes to create a roux.Once the flour taste has cooked out, whisk in the milk and let the sauce simmer and thicken for about 2 minutes.
Slowly stir half of the cheese (little by little) until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
Now it's time to prep the crockpot and you'll do so by greasing the inside with either butter or nonstick spray.
Then you'll add ½ cup of the cheese sauce to the bottom followed by half of the potatoes.
Add a gererous sprinkle of salt on the potatoes then cover with half of the cheese sauce and half of the remaining cheese.
Then add the rest of the potatoes, another generous sprinkle of salt and the remaining cheese sauce.
Add the rest of the grated cheese on top.
Place the lid on and cook for 3-4 hours on high or until the potatoes are tender to the touch.
When the potatoes are ready, take the lid off of the crockpot (to let the excess liquid burn off) and start the crispy bread crumbs.
Melt butter and rosemary in a small pan over medium heat then add bread crumbs and continuously stir until crispy and golden brown.
What goes with Crockpot Potatoes Au Gratin
These cheesy crockpot potatoes au gratin go perfectly with a big spread of southern goodness.
Try them with my:
- Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits
- Crockpot Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham
- Honey Bourbon Chicken
- Green Bean Casserole with Cheese
- Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes
Frequently asked questions
Why is my au gratin watery?
Oh no, your au gratin turned out a bit watery? This could be because the potatoes released too much moisture during cooking, or maybe the sauce was a tad too thin to begin with. To remedy this, leave the lid off of the crockpot for the last 30 minutes or so to evaporate the excess liquid.
Why did my au gratin potatoes separate?
Yikes, it sounds like your au gratin potatoes went a bit rogue and separated! This can happen if the heat was too high or if there wasn't enough of a starchy binder to keep that dreamy cheese and cream combo together – remember, it's all about that low and slow cooking and a good balance of ingredients to keep everything snug and united.
What is difference between scalloped potatoes and au gratin?
Scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin are like deliciously close cousins in the potato family: scalloped potatoes are all about those thinly sliced spuds baked in a creamy sauce, while au gratin steps it up with a generous sprinkle of cheese (and sometimes breadcrumbs) for that irresistible golden crust. So, it's a creamy dream vs. a cheesy delight – both totally tuber-tastic!
Save this recipe for later
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- You can print the recipe card below!
- Tap that little heart icon over to the right...
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And if pinterest isn't really your thing, remember you can always scroll down to the bottom of this post and print the printable recipe card.
Recipe
Crockpot Potatoes Au Gratin
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon Salted Butter
- 1 small Onion finely diced
- 4 cloves Garlic finely diced
- 5 tablespoon All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups Whole Milk
- ½ teaspoon Dried Thyme (OR 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves)
- 2 6 oz blocks Gruyere shredded and divided
- 3 lbs Russet Potatoes thinly sliced on a mandolin right before adding to the crockpot to avoid oxidation!
- Kosher Salt
For the Topping
- 1 tablespoon Salty Butter
- ½ tsp Dried Rosemary
- ⅓ cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Instructions
- Add butter to a sauce pan over medium heat. Once melted add onion and a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes until starting to tenderize and become transluscent. Add garlic and thyme cook for one more minute or until fragrant but not browned.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes to create a roux.
- Once the flour taste has cooked out, whisk in the milk and let the sauce simmer and thicken. Slowly stir in half the cheese (little by little) until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Grease your crockpot and add ½ cup of the cheese sauce to the bottom followed by half of the potatoes, a generous sprinkle of salt, and half of the shredded cheese.
- Now add the rest of the potatoes, another generous sprinkle of salt, the rest of the cheese sauce and the other pile of cheese.
- Place the lid on and cook for 3-4 hours on high.
For the Topping
- Once the potatoes are tender to the touch, take the lid off the crockpot (while it's still cooking on high heat) and make the crispy toppings.
- Heat a small fry pan over medium and melt butter and dried rosemary together until bubbling and fragrant.
- Add bread crumbs and continuously move them around until they're golden brown and toasty. Remove from heat and sprinkle over potatoes before serving.
