Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes with Frozen Hashbrowns

Slow cooker cheesy potatoes are a great breakfast, brunch or dinner too! Using bagged shredded potatoes it is simple to throw together in the morning and be ready for brunch. Like our Crockpot potato soup with frozen hashbrowns this one is thicker, cheesy with diced sausage and a hearty meal your while family will love.

Looking for some comfort food? Our slow cooker cheesy potatoes with sausage is going to hit the spot! Using bagged frozen potatoes makes it so easy even my teen can throw this one together. Who can resist ooey gooey crockpot recipes anyway. Not us! (affiliate links present)

Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes Shredded

You can use shredded or diced hashbrowns, onions and kielbasa for this one. It is sure to put your brunch menu over the top this year. Kinda’ similar to our Crockpot funeral potatoes (without the chips), you’ll likely get “what is the recipe” when you serve this one.

If you have been following my blog and recipes from quite some time now you know I love dump meals made in one pot. We are a busy family so if I can prep something we can love eating later in the morning it is a win in my book, this is one of those.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

If you’ve been following The Typical Mom for any length of time you know I’m known for my Instant Pot recipes. Yes this fancy pressure cooker does have a crockpot function on it, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s best to just use your good ol’ pot from years past, it will do a much better job.

Crockpot Potato Casserole Ingredients

1. This is a great way of how to cook frozen hashbrowns shredded – previously frozen and defrosted or frozen hash browns
2. Cheese – sharp cheddar cheese is our favorite, could use a mix of white and American
3. Smoked sausage link – cut into half moons
4. Onion, I typically dice up a yellow one
5. Milk 2% or whole makes it creamier than if you only have fat free
6. Can of cream of chicken soup or mushroom variety works

Variations

You can just pop all the ingredients in your slow cooker and add other things in there for more flavor like diced bacon or this makes an easy leftover ham recipe after the holidays. Or leave out the meat entirely, totally up to you of course

Substitutions

I have made a version of this with sliced russets that are fresh too. That was incredible but in experimenting thought that it really did come out better baked in the oven. You can try our ground beef casserole with potatoes instructions. You can add any sort of cooked meat into that one too.

You could use canned or homemade cream of mushroom soup if you preferred those flavors. If you make from scratch you can create a dairy free version too if that is a necessity in your household.

Can you use fresh potatoes instead of hashbrowns? 

Yes you could use shredded russet real potatoes but bagged hash brown potatoes comes out really well and the prep is next to nothing. We make this often for Christmas morning because it really is a dump and go one pot meal with all the things you need off of the food pyramid right. 😉 It doesn’t matter what brand you use, store brand is the same as more expensive ones. It’s potatoes y’all……

How to Make Crockpot Hashbrown Casserole with Cream of Chicken Soup

Have all of your ingredients prepped and ready beforehand. If you use the items I suggest all you need to do is slice your sausage and maybe grate your cheese. Typically I buy that bagged and already shredded too for a super easy family dinner.

1. Spray the inside of your crockpot with non stick spray for easier clean up. You can also put melted butter on a paper towel and rub on the inside so the contents don’t stick as much
2. Put sliced kielbasa pieces, onions, 2 cups of your cheese, hash browns, and salt and pepper to taste. If you’re using a spicy or really flavorful sausage there aren’t a lot of other spices needed for flavor.
3. Stir together gently. In a bowl or large measuring cup whisk together your milk and condensed soup until smooth. Pour that in. Sprinkle remaining cheese on the top of everything.
4. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low. cooking time varies depending on your crockpot and how tender you like your potatoes.

This turns out great just like that! Let me show you a few pictures of this in progress so you get the idea.

Can you make this ahead of time?

It really can be thrown in the night before and have your timer set to start around 4 am, to be ready by 7. Alternatively you could cook on low for 5 hours for brunch time and then set to low to keep warm for a bit longer.

Timing shared ensures defrosted hashbrown potatoes are tender. If dicing your own real potatoes it will probably take a bit longer. If you go this route I would highly suggest stirring the contents halfway through to make sure all the pieces are cooking evenly. You could alternatively prep hamburger hashbrown casserole with sour cream and bake in oven when ready.

If you’d prefer to make slow cooker cheesy potatoes without meat that is fine too. I would not adjust the timing in this case.

What goes with cheesy potatoes?

Seriously, this is the perfect side dish or brunch item! Everyone will love it for sure.

• Our cheesy Instant Pot cauliflower has been a real hit
• Steamed broccoli in oven is always easy and a super cheap duo too
• If roasted carrots are more your style, that’s a good vegetable side dish too.
• You can make this version in your oven too following our cheesy potato casserole recipe here.

We hope you love this crockpot recipe of ours and can find other family meals here on The Typical Mom blog too that you enjoy.

Or make this crockpot breakfast casserole recipe too. It is a hearty brunch item for large get togethers too. Use what you have on hand but bacon works great for this one. Using frozen bagged hash browns it has a bit less prep time, but then again turns out a bit softer. Have you added something else to your slow cooker cheesy potatoes that you love? Let us know so we can try that!

If you’d rather use sausage like you see here, just swap one for the other. Nutritional facts including calories and saturated fat are listed below. Keep in mind it is calculated with exact ingredients below.