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.

A spoon lifts cheesy hashbrown potatoes with sausage from a slow cooker.

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 our teen can throw this one together. Who can resist ooey gooey crockpot recipes anyway. Not us!

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

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

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

Let us give you a peek of our pretty thang we bought recently. It goes with our kitchen so we can leave it out on the countertop all the time.

A floral design slow cooker with a white base and lid sits on a kitchen countertop, solid for whipping up a 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe.

If you've been following Pynmi for any length of time you know we're known for our Instant Pot recipes. Yes this fancy pressure cooker does have a crockpot function on it, we wouldn't recommend it. It's best to use your good ol' pot from years past, it will do a much better job.

Ingredient notes

This is a great way of how to cook frozen hashbrowns shredded – previously frozen and defrosted or frozen hash browns

Can you use fresh potatoes instead of hashbrowns?

Yes you could use shredded russet real potatoes but bagged hash brown potatoes comes out well and the prep is next to nothing. We make this often for Christmas morning because it 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……

You want lots of Cheese – sharp cheddar cheese is our favorite, could use a mix of white and American

We decided to add some sliced and pre-smoked sausage link – cut into half moons but could be made meat free.

Add an Onionwe typically dice up a yellow one. Milk 2% or whole makes it creamier than if you only have fat free. And make it creamy with a can of cream of chicken soup or mushroom variety works

Can you add ham?

You can certainly add other things (especially meat) 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

We have made a version of this with sliced russets that are fresh too. That was good but in experimenting thought that it 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.

Egg mixture is poured into a slow cooker over chopped sausage, slow cooker cheesy potatoes, and cheese to make a hearty breakfast casserole.

How to Make Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes with Cream of Chicken Soup

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

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 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 flavorful sausage there aren't a lot of other spices needed for flavor.

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.

How Long to Cook Cheesy Potatoes in Slow Cooker

Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low. We always recommend low, and cooking time varies depending on your crockpot and how tender you like your potatoes. This turns out great like that! Let us show you a few pictures of this in progress so you get the idea.

Chopped sausage, slow cooker cheesy potatoes, and shredded cheese are mixed together in a white slow cooker with a blue spatula.

Can you make this ahead of time?

It 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 we 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. We would not adjust the timing in this case.

Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes Recipe

By Slow cooker cheesy potatoes with frozen hashbrowns are a great breakfast, brunch or dinner too! Cheesy with diced sausage it's a hearty meal your while family will love for sure. Prep: 15 minutes minsCook: 3 hours hrsServings: 10 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

32 oz frozen hashbrownsbagged, chunks are better than shredded
14 oz sausage, kielbasa, thawed, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, diced
2.5 c cheese, cheddar and/or mix of jack
10.5 oz cream of chicken
1 c milk

Instructions

Add hash browns, kielbasa, onion, and 2 c of your cheese into a greased crockpot. Mix together gently.
In a separate bowl whisk together your cream of chicken soup and milk. Then pour this over your hashbrown mix.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top of everything and close lid.
Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for approx 5 hours.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breakfast, Entree, Main Course, Side DishCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

Kitchen questions

Can you use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hashbrowns?

That depends on your recipe but in general you can for sure. The cook time may change because of this change so keep a closer eye on your dish near the end and remove when shreds are tender to your liking.

Can you make cheesy potatoes dairy free?

You could use a dairy free cheese blend and we have found cream of chicken soup without dairy as well online. We will say that this shredded variety doesn't melt quite as well but yes it is possible to do.

Is it better to use shredded or frozen cubed hashbrowns to make cheesy potatoes?

It is far better to use frozen cubed potatoes especially when cooked in a slow cooker so they don't break down as much. The smaller the pieces the faster they will break down and will become more like soup with shredded varieties.

What goes with cheesy potatoes?

Seriously, this is the solid side dish or brunch item! Everyone will love it for sure. Our Instant Pot cheesy 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 Pynmi 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, 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.