Crockpot ground beef and potatoes
Layers of tender potato, smoky beef and melted cheddar that cook themselves while you’re out.
- 460 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $2.19 a serving
- 420 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 russet potatoes
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar, divided
- 1 cup beef broth
- ½ cup sour cream (optional)
- 2 stalks green onions, sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 420 calories, 25 g protein, 32 g carbs and 21 g fat, and costs about $2.19 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
- No beef broth? Bone broth works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Heat a large over medium-high, add the beef and onion, and press the beef flat. Leave it 3 minutes, until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min
Break the beef into and cook 5 minutes more, until no pink is left. Spoon off the fat.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the garlic, paprika and 1 teaspoon salt for 30 seconds, then take the pan off the heat.
Medium-high heat
Scrub the potatoes and them into ¼-inch rounds.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Layer half the potatoes in the slow cooker, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and half the pepper, then add half the beef and ½ cup cheddar. Repeat the layers.
Pour the broth over the top, cover, and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3½ to 4, until a knife slides through the potatoes easily.
Timer: 360 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep the lid on. Every peek lets out heat and adds about 20 minutes.Scatter the remaining ½ cup cheddar over the top, cover, and let it for 10 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Timer: 10 min
Scoop onto plates and top with sour cream and green onions if you like.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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