Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes

I first posted this recipe several months back, and it has been one of my more popular recipes.  It’s for good reason – this is a dish that is really easy to throw together and is mouth-wateringly delicious.  With the holidays coming up, I thought I’d repost it because it would be perfect if you need to take a side to a holiday dinner.  I am actually going to be bringing it to one of my family’s Christmas gatherings.

Every time I take this somewhere, people ask for the recipe.  I mean, who doesn’t love cheesy potatoes?  This recipe has an added bonus in that you put everything in the crock pot and then leave it alone for 8 hours.  If you can leave it alone for that long.  The smell is so enticing, it’s impossible to let the potatoes go without sampling. Whenever I make these, I only use name brand cheese.  I used some off brand one time, and it just didn’t turn out the same.  The cheese separated and got too dark.  They still tasted fine, but I’d just recommend sticking with the good stuff here. Usually, I try to cook (and therefore, post) healthy recipes, but sometimes I just go for it.  This is just one of those that isn’t healthy.  I do use lite or fat free sour cream and low fat soup, but there’s no denying that this isn’t on anyone’s diet.  It is what it is.  Anything in moderation, right?  That’s why you make them for a get together, so you don’t end up eating the whole vat of them yourself!

FYI, I made a double batch when I was taking these pictures, so if it looks like a lot, it’s because it is.  If you do make a double batch, you do not need to adjust the cooking time.  I just don’t recommend opening the lid, if you can resist.  I know they smell intoxicating, but I once heard that for every time you open the lid on a slow cooker, you add 30 minutes to the cooking time.  As for the hash browns, I put them in frozen, because there is no need to go through the extra step of thawing them out.  If you did thaw them though, you would want to cut the cooking time back a bit.

Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes

• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 stick of butter or margarine (I usually cut this down to about 2/3 of a stick and it’s just fine)
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 bag of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (usually 26 to 30 oz.)
• 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in microwave along with onion to soften onion.  Once butter is melted, stir in sour cream and soup.  In a very large bowl, mix together hash browns, cheese, and butter/sour cream/soup mix.  (I do recommend doing this in a large bowl rather than right in the crock pot so you have more room to move it around, but if you want to do it right in the slow cooker, go ahead.)  Pour into crock pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

I’d say one batch is enough for about 8-10 people.  If you have more than that, you’re probably going to want to make a double batch because people, in my experience, love them.

Enjoy!