This post may contain affiliate links. Read disclosure policy
Crockpot cheesy potatoes and smoked sausage is one of those slow cooker casseroles that gets gobbled up every time. It’s extra cheesy comfort food at it’s finest!
My daughter and I were walking the dog the other day, because it has finally warmed up enough to leave our house every now and then.
We had turned into hermits over the winter, not going to lie.
Anyway, we were walking the dog and my daughter mentioned that she hadn’t seen one of the neighbors at church for awhile. When I asked where the neighbor had been, she said that she was just having some ‘old people problems.’
I asked exactly what that meant and she replied with, “you know, her back and neck and knees are hurting.”
Ahhhh. Old people problems. I can relate.
The very next day my daughter and I were walking the dog again and I don’t know what happened but all of a sudden I couldn’t turn my head to the left without serious pain.
My daughter looked at me sadly, nodded to herself, and confirmed my worst fears.
“Old people problems.”
Later in the day she had this little gem of a realization: “Wow. So, middle aged means that you’re actually in the middle of your life. You’re halfway done living.”
Needless to say, I was in the mood for some comfort food yesterday.
Enter these crockpot cheese potatoes.
I wanted this slow cooker casserole recipe to be super easy and I didn’t really want to fuss with making a bunch of different things, so I turned cheesy potatoes into a main course by adding smoked sausage.
I love make smoked sausage recipes for dinner, because smoked sausage is just about the easiest thing in the world. It’s already cooked for you, so just take a few minutes to brown it up and you’re good to go.
Anyone else like their smoked sausage extra crispy on the edges? It’s my favorite part.
Anyway, let’s do this.
How to make cheesy potatoes in a crockpot:
We’ve all probably made cheesy potatoes in the oven (try my cheesy hashbrown casserole!), but can you just take that same recipe and pop it in a slow cooker?
Yeah, pretty much. There’s not a whole lot of conversion going on here. It’s simple.
You’ll start with a bag of frozen cubed potatoes and add them right to your slow cooker. These diced potatoes will hold up better than shredded, so be sure you’re using diced.
The cheese mixture is made up of sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese, and a few spices.
Combine everything together in your crockpot, cover, and cook on low for 4 hours.
Give everything a big stir to combine it all and then brown up that smoked sausage.
I just add a little drizzle of olive oil to a skillet and then heat the sausage over high heat. I like the outside to get a little crispy, but you can cook the sausage until it’s the texture you prefer.
Stir the sausage into your potatoes and serve it up!
What to serve with crockpot cheesy potatoes and smoked sausage?
I would keep the side dishes simple and light for this one. Something like a nice green salad or my Tuscan roasted vegetables would be perfect. Roasted green beans or glazed carrots would also be delicious.
Tools needed for these slow cooker cheesy potatoes:
Crockpot: I use my Ninja crockpot pretty regularly. It heats evenly, I prefer the rectangle shape, and it has amazing reviews on Amazon. Buy it here with my affiliate link.
Cast Iron Skillet: This isn’t strictly necessary as you can use any skillet to brown your sausage, but I do prefer cast iron. It gets super hot, nothing sticks to it, and it allows you to really get a good sear on your food. Buy one here with my affiliate link.
More recipes you might like:
If you love smoked sausage, this Instant Pot mac and cheese is full of it, too!
This slow cooker breakfast casserole is always a hit in my house and I love that it cooks while you’re in bed!
Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes and Smoked Sausage
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen diced potatoes
- 2 cups sour cream
- 10 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound smoked sausage
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except for the olive oil, sausage, and parsley to the slow cooker. Stir well to combine.
- Set slow cooker to low and cook for 4 hours or until potatoes are tender.
- When the potatoes are finished cooking, heat a large skillet over high heat and add the olive oil.
- Slice the smoked sausage into thin rounds and add to the hot skillet. Sear on each side.
- Stir the sausage into the potatoes and sprinkle with fresh parsley just before serving.
Shannon says
Is it possible to just throw the sausage in the crockpot with all the other ingredients and cook?
Karly Campbell says
You probably could, but things might get a little greasy as the sausage cooks and releases some of the fat. We really like the crispy browned edges of the sausage and things it adds a lot of flavor – you’d be missing out on that as well.
Christina says
I was wondering if this could be doubled?
Karly Campbell says
It should double fine, so long as it fits in your crockpot.
Vanessa Wilson says
Hi! I cannot find frozen diced potatoes anywhere for this recipe. Not sure if it’s a regional thing as I live in Arizona? Are you using diced frozen hash brown potatoes? Any insight would be helpful, thank you!
Karly Campbell says
Yes, they’re frozen hashbrowns, but the diced/chunk kind, not the shredded kind. You could use the potatoes o’brien too, if you like the peppers and onions added.
Vanessa Wilson says
Thank you! I am excited to make this next week.
Shelly says
This sounds crazy, but is there a substitute for the sour cream? I hate the taste of hasbrown casserole with sour cream.
Karly says
You could try doubling the cream of chicken soup or swapping the sour cream for plain unsweetened yogurt.
Christina Hill says
I can’t remember if I have already left a review for this recipe or not, but if I have, I don’t care, the recipe is so good it deserves to have 100000 good reviews! My husband said this is his favorite thing I have made. I love it because it’s easy and filling. My recommendation is that if possible, getting your sausage from a local butcher will make it taste even better. I use 1 lb of apple sausage and it’s AMAZING! This dinner is in our regular rotation now.
Karly says
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for the review, Christina!
Jess says
How long would you cook it in an instapot?
Karly says
I would use the slow cook setting on the Instant Pot. This likely wouldn’t do well under pressure (too much dairy) and wouldn’t have enough liquid to come to pressure as is.
Reb says
This is my go-to recipe for potlucks! Everyone loves it and it’s super easy to make and very easy to modify to use things I already have on hand.
Karly says
Love to hear that!
Barbara L Cornette says
This was NOT very good! Dry, potatoes didn’t cook well, were still pretty hard after 5 hours of cooking. Bland very little flavor
Karly says
Hi Barbara! Sorry to hear this one didn’t turn out for you. I’m not sure how the potatoes wouldn’t have been done after 5 hours unless your crockpot just cooks a bit slower than others. They all cook differently, so you really have to cook until the food is finished and the times are just guides, but I’m still surprised to hear 5 hours wouldn’t have been enough. As for the flavor, we find this seasoned nicely, but you can always add extra seasonings to taste.
Spencermom says
You must have made it wrong if it was too dry! I have made this plenty of times and came out perfect every time!
Sandy says
How would you make this in the oven instead of crock pot??
Karly says
Add to a 9×13 and bake for an hour. 🙂
Tammy says
At what temperature would you bake in oven for an hour?
Karly says
350 Fahrenheit.
Robin C. says
Made this recipe last night for dinner. Used frozen hash browns as that is what I had on hand. I also sauteed some onions in with the sausage. It was so delicious!
Cheri says
I’m going to make this with real potatoes, peel on. I’ll just brown the sausage in my crockpot that browns and everything. Everything in one pot. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Christina says
How did it turn out with just real potatoes diced up with the peel on? All stores are out of frozen cubed potatoes.. Thank you!
Sandy says
I love this stuff this recipe is different than the one I have from pinterest it calls for diced onions either way it’s so good I make it alot
Liz says
Would this work with shredded hash browns? All my stores are out of the diced 🙁
Karly says
Hmm, I think they’d probably take less time. I’d worry that they’d turn a bit mushy, but it might work fine.