Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes

Everyone’s favorite crockpot cheesy potatoes aka funeral potatoes are a classic dish for potlucks and holidays. They’re so easy to make in a slow cooker!

Crockpot cheesy potatoes. Where do I even begin? I swear these have a piece of my heart. Am I the only one that grew up eating these at practically every holiday gathering? Maybe it’s a Michigan thing, but cheesy potatoes are a must at holidays, especially Easter and Christmas.

Because of their prevalence at family gatherings, they instantly bring back memories for me.

Throw in ham, green beans or crockpot baked beans, soft dinner rolls, and a family-favorite dessert (we love apple crisp or chocolate delight dessert!), and all that’s left to add is laughter and love.

Okay, that sounded really cheesy.

About These Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes

• Comfort Food: After all that discussion about love and laughter, I found out that these are very commonly known as “funeral potatoes.” And why not? Comfort food that’s easy to make, ready to serve whenever you need it, perfect for crowds – yup, totally makes sense for funeral gatherings.
• Easy Recipe: This is such an easy recipe, with only four ingredients, if you don’t count black pepper.
• Hands-Off: These wonderful potatoes are made in the slow cooker! That’s right – throw it together in five minutes before church and guess what? They’re ready when you get home. (Just like this awesome slow cooker stuffing recipe!) Frees up that valuable oven space AND keeps them warm for serving. Pretty much an ideal situation if you ask me.
• Holiday Perfection: On Thanksgiving you have good ol’ stuffing (or maybe you call it dressing in your neck of the woods) or homemade baked mac and cheese, but every other holiday necessitates CHEESY POTATOES.
• Brunch: Plus they totally work for brunch just as well as for dinner. I always eat the leftovers for breakfast the next day. Who doesn’t like them? Creamy, cheesy, gooey potatoes. Ultimate comfort food!

I’ll run through the recipe here with extra tips and information.

What You’ll Need

• Frozen Potatoes: The Southern-style cubed potatoes work best for slow cooker cheesy potatoes. I usually use hash browns shredded potatoes for oven-baked potatoes but they tend to get too mushy in the slow cooker. They sort of turn into cheesy mashed potatoes.
• Sour Cream: You can use reduced fat or just regular sour cream.
• Cream of Chicken Soup: If you want, choose Healthy Request soup which has reduced amounts of fat and cholesterol, or no-salt-added cream of chicken soup if it’s available.
• Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese: For loads of cheesy flavor!
• Ground Black Pepper: Use as much or as little as you like!

How to make Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes

Spray your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray for easy cleanup.

Mix all ingredients together in slow cooker until combined (reserve a bit of the cheese for topping, if desired). No need to even get a bowl dirty!

Cook, covered, on high for 4 hours or on low 6 to 8 hours.

If desired, reserve a half cup of the cheese. Fifteen minutes before serving,  sprinkle the reserved cheese on top, cover the crockpot, and let the cheese melt. This makes a nice cheesy topping for the potatoes. It looks and tastes good!

Make It Your Own

• Add meat: Want to jazz up crockpot cheesy potatoes? Add cooked, crumbled bacon, diced ham, sausage, finely diced onions or green onions, finely diced jalapeño peppers, whatever you love!
• Cornflake topping: Like them with cornflakes? Make a cornflake topping (½ cup melted butter mixed with 1 ½ cups cornflakes). Sprinkle the topping on for the last half hour of cooking time. I like to drape paper towels over the top of the crockpot, then put the lid back on so the condensation on the lid doesn’t drip down and make the topping soggy.
• Make with raw potatoes: Rather use raw potatoes, not frozen? Just make sure to put them in a lint-free towel first and wring out all the liquid.
• Try crockpot mashed potatoes instead: If you are more of a mashed potato fan, try my crockpot mashed potatoes. They are super easy and turn out so well.
• Stovetop Potatoes: Don’t have time for slow cooking? Try stovetop cheesy scalloped potatoes or oven roasted parmesan potatoes.

Funeral Potatoes

You might sometimes hear these called “funeral potatoes.”

• Why? Cheesy potatoes are often brought to funeral gatherings as an expression of sympathy. They travel well, are easy to make, and because they are so rich, starchy, and full of melted cheese, they are considered comfort food.
• The difference between funeral potatoes and au gratin potatoes: Funeral potatoes (aka cheesy potatoes) are usually made with frozen potatoes and canned soup, sort of a shortcut version of potatoes au gratin. To make au gratin potatoes, sliced raw potatoes are layered in a baking dish with cheese and a creamy white sauce and baked until tender.

Make-Ahead Ideas

You can prep the cheesy potatoes the night before if you know you’re going to be really short on time the next day. Simply mix all the ingredients in a big bowl, cover and refrigerate. Scrape everything into your crockpot when you’re ready to cook the potatoes, cover, and cook as directed.

Storage & Reheating Tips

• Storage: If you have leftover potatoes, promptly store them in the refrigerator in a covered container. They’ll keep for up to five days, assuming they weren’t sitting out for 3 hours before you refrigerated them. You can also freeze them for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
• Reheating: To reheat potatoes, simply microwave them in 30-second intervals until heated through. If you have a lot leftover, you may want to spread them in a baking dish, cover, and reheat in the oven at 325°F for a half hour or so, or until warm.

Lots More Potato Recipes

There are so, so many yummy ways to prepare potatoes! I’ll share some of my favorites:

• Mashed: Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (perfect every time!) or Mashed Red Potatoes
• Baked: Air Fryer Baked Potatoes or Oven Baked Potatoes
• Roasted: Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Dill Roasted Potatoes with Lemon, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Smashed Potatoes with Garlic Butter and Parmesan
• Grilled: Seasoned Grilled Potatoes Recipe
• Fries: Air Fryer French Fries – so crispy!