Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
Try this Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes with Ham recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes with Ham recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 pounds russet potatoes (peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk (low-fat or fat-free ok)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (i like reduced-sodium)
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (grated or in small cubes)
- 4 ounces white cheddar cheese (grated or in small cubes)
- 1 pound cooked ham (diced)
- Carbohydrate 22.6737425093973 g
- Cholesterol 30.503125013081 mg
- Fat 11.56299875494 g
- Fiber 0.540499994370584 g
- Protein 0.309356250078475 g
- Saturated Fat 7.30369750312625 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (2441g)
- Sodium 84.4107500359712 mg
- Sugar 22.1332425150268 g
- Trans Fat 0.81083625034546 g
- Calories 196 calories
Step-by-step
- Line slow cooker with a foil collar against the back half of the cooker, and spray slow cooker insert with nonstick cooking spray.
- Microwave potatoes and 2 tablespoons milk in a covered bowl, stirring twice, for 6-8 minutes, or until almost tender. Uncover, and set aside to cool slightly.
- White the potatoes are in the microwave, melt butter in a large saucepan.
- Add garlic and thyme; cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in remaining milk, broth, cornstarch, and pepper.
- Bring milk mixture to simmer, whisking constantly, until just thickened.
- Whisk in cheese, and stir until cheese has melted. Remove from heat. The sauce should be nice and pourable. If it's too thick, stir in additional chicken broth.
- Pour about 1/3 cheese mixture over the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Layer the potatoes in, overlapping as you go.
- Top potatoes with diced ham.
- Pour cheese sauce over the top, spreading as necessary.
- Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 4-6 hours on low.
- Remove foil collar, and let potatoes cool for 20 minutes before serving.
Home cooks often load raw potatoes directly into a slow cooker and cross their fingers, ignoring the chemical reality that dense tubers require precise heat management to soften evenly without turning the surrounding liquid chalky. Russet potatoes contain high levels of free amylose starch, which rapidly leaches out when boiled in plain liquid, but pre-cooking them briefly in the microwave initiates gelatinization before the slow cooker ever gets involved. Slicing those potatoes uniformly to one-quarter inch ensures that heat penetrates each disc at the exact same rate. When raw garlic meets melted butter in a hot saucepan for precisely thirty seconds, the gentle heat releases trapped allicin compounds without burning the delicate sugars that easily turn bitter. Combining evaporated milk with chicken broth creates a liquid base with balanced proteins that resist curdling under prolonged, low heat. Whisking cornstarch directly into this cold liquid before simmering prevents lumps from forming, relying on thermal expansion to build viscosity rather than blind luck. Cheddar cheese contains emulsifiers and dairy solids that can break into greasy oil slicks if subjected to boiling temperatures, which is why incorporating it off the heat ensures a smooth, glossy sauce. Layering the overlapping potato slices and diced cured ham systematically guarantees that the savory pockets of meat distribute evenly throughout every single portion. Allowing the finished dish to rest undisturbed for twenty minutes off the heat lets the internal starches cool just enough to set the sauce into clean, manageable wedges rather than a collapsing avalanche.
