Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Casserole is the ultimate comfort food and the best side dish for holiday parties and potlucks. Topped with French fried onions for more flavor!
Who can resist a good old potluck? It’s so much fun to fill up a plate with little bits and bites of the most delicious foods. Cheesy potato casserole is a potluck and holiday party staple.
One of the difficulties of large family gatherings, holiday parties, and potlucks is keeping the food hot, especially if the celebrations are being held at work in the break room or in a rented party room.
I’ve found that using crockpots is the easiest way to keep food hot. So I decided to turn this traditional recipe into a slow cooker recipe.
How To Make Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Casserole
Put cream of chicken, sour cream, softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded Parmesan cheese, melted butter, onion flakes, powdered ranch dressing mix, and black pepper in a large slow cooker. Stir until combined.
Add the shredded hash browns and mix until coated with the cheese mixture. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 hours.
Remove the lid and stir the cheesy potatoes. Top with French fried onions.
Drape paper towels over the top of the slow cooker and replace the cover. Cook on high for an additional 30 minutes.
This Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Casserole is the ultimate comfort food and is mandatory at every potluck and holiday celebration!
Crockpot Cheesy Potato Casserole Tips
- Try using different kinds of shredded cheese, such as pepper jack or taco blend, for different flavors.
- Also try substituting flavored cream cheeses, such as garden vegetable or onion & chive, for the plain cream cheese.
- Stir in crumbled bacon bits, chives, or diced ham to add something a little extra to the potatoes.
- If you can’t find refrigerated shredded hash browns, buy the frozen ones and thaw them out.
- Another option would be to use diced, cubed or sliced potatoes. Even mashed potatoes would work.
- Other toppings could include crushed chips, crushed corn flakes or crushed crackers.
- Or do as my sister does and keep them plain without a topping.
- To keep the French fried onions (or other toppings of choice) crispy don’t add them to the crockpot until the end.
- Draping a long sheet of thick paper towels over the slow cooker will help to keep the topping crispy. The paper towel soaks up the condensation and keeps up from dripping onto the potatoes.
- To keep the cleanup to a minimum, use a slow cooker liner that can be thrown away after the party.
Mores Slow Cooker Recipes
Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Casserole Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Glass Bowls for Kitchen Prep
Ingredients
- 21 oz cream of chicken condensed soup two 10 1/2 oz cans
- 16 oz sour cream
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 3 tablespoon onion flakes
- 2 tablespoon powdered ranch dressing mix
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 7 cups shredded hash browns
- 2 cups French fried onions
Instructions
- Put cream of chicken, sour cream, softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded Parmesan cheese, melted butter, onion flakes, powdered ranch dressing mix, and black pepper in a large slow cooker (I used the 6-quart size). Stir until combined.
- Add the shredded hash browns and mix until coated with the cheese mixture. Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 hours.
- Remove the lid and stir the cheesy potatoes. Top with French fried onions. Drape paper towels over the top of the slow cooker and replace the cover. Cook on high for an additional 30 minutes.
Sue K says
Can I substitute a different 1 cup cheese such as Colby Jack instead of using 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese? If I use the Ore Ida potato chunks instead of hash browns how many bags will I use for 7 cups, 2?
Tonia Larson says
Hi Sue,
Yes, you can use a different kind of shredded cheese in place of the Parmesan for a different flavor. If you plan to use Ore-Ida Diced Hash Browns, a 32-ounce bag has about 7.33 cups according to the label. So in that case, one 32-ounce bag would be enough.
Warmly,
Tonia
Dawn M Reasoner says
Didn’t have time to slow cook it – but made it in the oven and it was a hit – the entire casserole was gone in 30 minutes. I did add an egg to help hold it all together which worked well.
Marvin says
About how much hash browns is 7 cups? Want to make sure I buy the right size frozen bag…
Tonia says
Hi Marvin,
I used Simply Potatoes Shredded Hashbrowns from the refrigerated section and used two 20 oz bags. The nutrition label shows “Serving Size 1/2 cup Servings Per Container About 7” so that would be 8 cups in two 20 bags.
As far as frozen hashbrowns go, Walmart’s Great Value brand shredded is in a 26 oz bag. The nutrition label shows “Serving Size 1 cup
Servings Per Container about 9” so that would be 9 cups in a 26 oz bag.
So, I would suggest checking the labels of the packages available at your local grocery store so see how many cups are in the bag.
Happy Thanksgiving!
~Tonia
Midwest Cook says
Can I mix these a day ahead and cook in the crockpot the next day?
Tonia says
Yes, you can prep everything ahead of time and store it in the fridge. Enjoy!
Krystyn says
What size crockpot did you use and how full was it?
Tonia says
Hi Krystyn,
I used a 6-quart size crock pot and it was almost full to the top.
Enjoy!
~Tonia
Shanna says
These were delicious! I would make two changes next time (and there WILL be a next time): halve the butter and add more potatoes. There was a pool of butter around the top and sides so it was way too much, and it was kind of soupy so could have stood more hash browns. Everyone at Christmas raved about this, plus it’s incredibly easy, so it’s a keeper.
Emma says
Can I use diced hash browns and if they are frozen do I need to thaw them first?
Tonia says
Hi Emma,
Yes, I would suggest thawing them first. If you want to leave them frozen you can cook them that way as well but they will take longer to cook. Enjoy!
~Tonia
Gary says
what are the paper towels for,and I put the p towels over the crock opening and then put the lid on,is this correct,and why happens if I do not use the ptowels
Tonia says
Hi Gary,
The paper towels are to keep the French fried onions from getting soggy. The paper towel collects the condensation. If you want to skip the paper towels step, just add the French fried onions before serving.
Enjoy!
~Tonia
Jen says
Delicious and easy!!! Made these for the first time for a family dinner. I was short on time so, mix spent 2 hrs in crockpot then, I transferred to glass casserole baking dish. I sprayed dish with cooking spray then, added half of potato mixture. Next, I topped with crumbled fried onion mixture. I put it in the oven at 400 for 30 mins to finish (and speed up) the cooking time. These were a big hit! I’m going to freeze and save the other half of the mixture for a future dinner gathering. I highly recommend this recipe! : )
Nancy says
Made this for a church dinner. It was a huge hit. Someone was even watching the crock pot to see who brought it so they could get the recipe. Yummmmy
Tonia says
Wonderful! I can’t wait to bring it to our holiday celebrations!
Joann says
This looks delicious and can not wait to try it. I do have a question, I was wandering if you could cook this on low and if so how long would you cook it for? Thanks for any help you can give me.
Rhonda Bunn says
Yummmmm! I love cheese potatoes! For sure going to try this!