Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes And Ham are an easy cheesy side dish! Perfect for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas or the Sunday roast, this simple slow cooker recipe is one the entire family will enjoy. This slow cooker scalloped potatoes and ham recipe frees up the oven for the main dish and lets you serve melt in your mouth potatoes with an effortless white sauce.
Recipes like the Potato And Cauliflower Bake, Potato And Broccoli Bake and the Potato And Onion Bake are easy potato side dishes. The Potato And Ham Bake is an oven baked version of this scalloped potatoes.
The Bourbon Glazed Ham, Roast Pork With Crackling, Greek Leg Of Lamb and the Roast Pork Shoulder are all meaty mains that pair exceptionally well with a side of tender potatoes.
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about these slow cooker scalloped potatoes with ham in white sauce by the points below:
- Simple ingredients: you can get everything you need to make the slow cooker scalloped potatoes from your local grocery store. They are year round available ingredients that will be easy to get your hands on.
- Set and forget: the best thing about slow cooking! You might like to think of it as set and forget or dump and go. We are talking about recipes that pretty much cook themselves, allow you to be 'hands free' and yet still serve it up.
- Space saver: at those busy times when you have a lot going on in the kitchen, it can be hard to manage a roast in the oven as well as sides that take different times or temperatures to cook. Using the slow cooker for this potato recipe frees your oven up for the main dish and lets you bring together a complete meal without having had to compete for the one cooking space.
- Comfort food: we have potatoes, cream and cheese in the recipe! If that isn't comfort food, I don't know what is 😂.
- Versatile side dish: this hearty side dish with a creamy cheese sauce works alongside a wide range of mains and pairs well with almost anything! They are the perfect dish to serve alongside beef, pork, lamb, chicken or fish and are almost guaranteed to satisfy everyone at the table.
- Budget friendly: this crock pot scalloped potatoes is a recipe that won't break the bank. We only need 8 total ingredients to bring the scalloped potatoes together and the bonus is that you may already have some of what is needed in the pantry to begin with!
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the scalloped potato recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the slow cooker ham and potatoes calls for:
- Salt and pepper: we use a little bit of salt and black pepper for seasoning in the recipe.
- Garlic powder: an excellent pantry staple that is so versatile and works across many recipes.
- Onion powder: as above. Easy to use and handy to have on hand. These 2 get stirred into cream as a means to add flavor to the sauce.
- Dried thyme: an aromatic herb which works well to add flavor but not over power the dish.
- Cheese: I like to use colby cheese for the recipe. It melts well and has a great 'cheese pull to it'. We need about 1 cup and this gets sprinkled over the potatoes right towards the end of the cook time.
- Cream: we want to use heavy cream for the recipe. We use this to make a creamy sauce and add some seasoning to it for extra flavor. To ensure that the cream doesn't split, we add it towards the end of the cook time.
- Ham: chunks of diced ham work very well! Which means you can use leftover glazed ham if you wish too. Or ham steaks that you dice work well also.
- Potatoes: large potatoes are easier to cut into thin slices than small ones. We want to use 6 for the recipe. White washed potatoes are a great choice.
Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by making the white sauce.
- Gather the sauce ingredients (Photo 1)
- Stir to combine (Photo 2)
- Peel the potatoes (Photo 3)
- Slice the potatoes (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Slow Cooker Scalloped Ham And Potatoes
To make the scalloped ham and potatoes, we start by making the cream sauce. To do sauce, gather the heavy cream, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Add these to a jug with the cream and then use a mini whisk to stir and combine. You can then place this into the fridge for a couple of hours and remove it about 10-15 minutes before adding it to the slow cooker.
Next use a cutting board and vegetable peeler to peel the potato skins.
Once done use either a mandolin or sharp knife to thinly slice the potatoes.
- Layer the potatoes (Photo 5)
- Then do a ham layer (Photo 6)
- Repeat with a potato layer (Photo 7)
- Then do another ham layer (Photo 8)
🥔 Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes
Next, you want to start to layer the potatoes and ham in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Start with a layer of the potato slices. Then sprinkle in the diced ham to form their own layer. Next repeat a layer of the potatoes and another layer of the ham.
Keep going with the layers as you see in the photos above and below and finish with a layer of the potatoes. You will get 2-3 layers of each depending on the size of your slow cooker.
- Repeat the layers (Photo 9)
- Finish with a potato layer and cook (Photo 10)
- After 3 hours (high) pour in the cream sauce (Photo 11)
- After 3 ½ hours (high) add the cheese (Photo 12)
Next, we start to cook the dish.
You can use low heat (8 hours total) or high heat (4 hours total). For both options, the cream sauce and cheese layer don't get added until towards the end of the cooking period.
Also for both options, remove the cream 10 to 15 minutes before you are going to add it to the potatoes.
For high heat, pour the cream sauce in after the scalloped potatoes and ham have cooked for 3 hours. For low heat, pour the cream sauce in after the potatoes and ham have cooked for 7 hours.
Then in the final 30 minutes (3 ½ hours high heat or 7 ½ hours low heat) remove the lid from the slow cooker and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.
Next pop the lid on and let the cheese melt and the dish finishing cooking.
Once done, you can remove the lid from the slow cooker, turn the appliance off and then get ready to serve your dish!
🍽 Serving Suggestions
When it comes to serving your potatoes, you are practically unlimited in the manner in which you choose to do this! They turn out to be a delicious side dish that the family loves.
Some options are alongside the Greek Lamb Shanks, Greek Ribs, Chicken Ribs, Pulled Lamb or the Pork Leg Roast.
Or whip them up alongside the Roast Chicken for a complete meal on weeknights.
With savory ham and cheesy potatoes this easy recipe is a real crowd pleaser. Don't be suprised to see people heading back for seconds 😉👌.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Allow the scalloped potatoes to fully cool. Once they have transfer leftovers to a sealed, airtight container. These can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days and need to be reheated before being consumed.
How to Freeze
Freezing recipes with cream sauces can lead to mixed results! For that reason, I recommend heating and eating the dish or reheating leftovers, but not freezing leftovers.
How to Reheat
To reheat leftovers of the scalloped potatoes, add them to a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Then heat in the microwave on high for 1 minute increments until warmed through. (You can stir them after the 1st 2 minutes to determine if they need a little bit more heat or are good to go).
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- If you want to use leftover ham you can. Simply dice and layer in as per the recipe steps.
- Or if you want to use bacon in place of the ham you can. If choosing to do so, I recommend using store bought diced bacon. This has the fat near the bacon rind cut off so it won't add excess fat to the potatoes.
- If you want to add some diced or sliced onion to the potatoes you can. In which case, I would omit the onion powder from the sauce.
- Red potatoes, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes or yukon gold potatoes (each peeled) are other potato types to try in place of the washed potatoes.
- You can use dried chives in place of the dried thyme for the sauce and fresh chives in place of the parsley if looking for an alternative herb.
- For alternative cheese types, try sharp cheddar cheese, tasty cheese or a store bought blend of grated cheese (especially if you know you will be super busy in the kitchen and won't have a lot of time to hand grate cheese).
- Or for a more strong cheese flavor if you want to add one of the above and then some freshly grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano cheese you can.
- I don't recommend using additional cream (ie more than 1 cup). As we are using the slow cooker, liquids don't evaporate the same way that they do when we use the oven. More cream makes this dish 'too soupy'. (I tried it along the way).
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- There is no need to cook the potatoes before adding them to the slow cooker.
- For this recipe I do use a small amount of olive oil and folded paper towel and grease the slow cooker insert. Whilst not essential, I find that if the potatoes do stick to the sides, greasing the bowl helps with the clean up.
- Along the way in the recipe development and testing for this dish, I did try adding the cream sauce earlier in the cooking process (at the start). What this does is cause the cream to split. Whilst not making the dish entirely unpalatable, I found that the best results came from adding the cream towards the end of the cook time. This way it doesn't split and still delivers in the taste and texture departments.
- You can cook the potatoes on low for 8 hours instead of the 'high for 4 hours'. However, if choosing to do so, I would then add the cream sauce in the final hour of cooking followed by the cheese. ie choosing low heat won't solve the issue of the cream splitting. What solves that problem is not cooking the cream sauce for 'too long'.
- As with any 'potato bake' type recipe it is a good idea to let it sit/rest for 5-10 minutes after it is cooked. Doing so helps to thicken the sauce.
- If you love slow cooker recipes then you might like to also try the Taco Mince, Steak And Onions, Drumsticks And Potatoes, Bean And Bacon Soup, French Onion Pork Chops, Dahl, Chicken Spaghetti or the Pasta Bake 😉👌.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
Potatoes will still be crunchy or hard when proded with a fork if they have not been cooked for long enough.
Yes, you can cook and reheat scalloped potatoes. Simply add the leftover potatoes to a bowl with cling wrap. Place in the microwave and heat in 1 minute increments until warmed through.
To cut thin slices of potatoes for scalloped potatoes you can use a mandolin or knife. In both cases, you want to aim for the potatoes slices to be the same thickness as each other. Doing so ensures that the potatoes will cook consistently over the specified cook time.
Yes, you can put cream in the slow cooker. However, it is important to add the cream towards the final stages of the cooking process. Otherwise the cream can split making it look curdled and grainy.
😍 More Easy Side Dishes
If thinking about the what's on the side is more your thing than the main event, then I have some more recipes to inspire you! These have a variety of cook times, methods and ingredients:
- Potato And Sweet Potato Bake
- Quick Caramelised Onions
- Brown Rice Fried Rice
- Duck Fat Roast Potatoes
- Tortilla Garlic Bread
- Basmati Fried Rice
- Breaded Mushrooms
- Crumbed Mushrooms
You can also find all of my side dishes or roast potato recipes in the one spot!
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes And Ham
Ingredients
- 1 cup/250 ml heavy cream Note 1
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder Note 2
- 1 teaspoon onion powder Note 3
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme Note 4
- ½ teaspoon salt Note 5
- ½ teaspoon black pepper also Note 5
- 6 large potatoes Note 6
- 4 cups diced ham Note 7
- 1 cup cheese Note 8
To serve
- parsley stems removed, leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- White sauce: add the heavy cream, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper to a medium size jug and use a mini whisk to stir and combine. Then place in the fridge until 10 - 15 minutes before adding to the recipe.
- Potatoes: use a vegetable peeler to peel the potato skins and discard. Then use a mandolin or knife to thinly slice the potatoes into slices.
- Grease: use a little bit of olive oil and a folded piece of paper towel and grease the base and sides of the slow cooker insert.
- Layer: make a layer of the potato slices on the base of the slow cooker. Then top this layer with a layer of the diced ham. Repeat the layers till you have used up all of the potatoes and ham, finishing with a layer of potatoes on top.
- Cook: now place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook the scalloped potatoes and ham for 3 hours on high heat or 7 hours on low heat to start with. 10-15 minutes before this time is reached, removed the cream sauce from the fridge. At the 3 hour mark (high) or 7 hour mark (low) remove the lid from the slow cooker and pour in the creamy sauce. Then put the lid back on for 30 minutes. Next at the 3 ½ hour (high) or 7 ½ hour (low) heat, remove the lid and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the potatoes. Put the lid back on and let the cheese melt and cook for a final 15 - 30 minutes.
- To serve: once the scalloped potatoes have finished cooking, remove the lid and let them sit for 10 - 15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Then sprinkle finely chopped parsley over the top of the cheese. Use a wooden spoon to portion onto plates.
Notes
- Note 1- Cream: we want to use heavy cream for the recipe. We use this to make a sauce and add some seasoning to it for extra flavor. To ensure that the cream doesn't split, we add it towards the end of the cook time.
- Note 2 - Garlic powder: an excellent pantry staple that is so versatile and works across many recipes.
- Note 3 - Onion powder: as above. Easy to use and handy to have in the cupboard. These 2 get stirred into cream as a means to add flavor to the sauce. If you want to add some diced onion to the potatoes, you can. In which case, I would omit the onion powder from the cream sauce.
- Note 4 - Dried thyme: an aromatic herb which works well to add flavor but not over power the dish.
- Note 5 - Salt and pepper: we use a little bit of salt and black pepper for seasoning in the recipe.
- Note 6 - Potatoes: large potatoes are easier to cut into thin slices than small ones. We want to use 6 for the recipe. White washed potatoes are a great choice. Peeled red potatoes, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes or yukon gold potatoes will also work.
- Note 7 - Ham: chunks of diced ham work very well! Which means you can use leftover glazed ham if you wish too. Or ham steaks that you dice or diced bacon (equivalent amount).
- Note 8 - Cheese: I like to use colby cheese for the recipe. It melts well and has a great 'cheese pull to it'. We need about 1 cup and this gets sprinkled over the potatoes right towards the end of the cook time. You can also use cheddar cheese, tasty cheese or a store bought blend of shredded cheese. Or you can also sprinkle some freshly grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano cheese over the 1st layer of cheese for an extra bold flavor.
- Note 9 - Parsley: optional, but a great way to garnish the dish for serving. You can also use chopped chives if you wish too.
Rebecca says
Oh yes please. We are always looking for new sides to try and these will work well for our family roast.
Adrianne says
Thanks Rebecca, enjoy 😄.
Martha Benson says
Great recipe. We made these to go with our roast dinner. Love that the cream sauce didn't curdle!! Thanks. We will make it again soon.
Adrianne says
You are welcome Martha 😄.