My sister clipped this little gem off the internet and brought it to Sunday supper a few months back, and now it shows up on our table almost every week. It reminded me of the kind of no-fuss, church-basement side dishes I grew up with in the Midwest—simple ingredients, big comfort. These slow cooker garlic Parmesan baby potatoes are truly a “dump it and forget it” recipe: just four ingredients, a few hours in the slow cooker, and you get buttery, tender potatoes that taste like you fussed all afternoon. It’s the sort of recipe you can start in the morning, go about your day, and come back to a crock full of golden potatoes glistening with melted butter, garlic, and cheese.
These potatoes cozy up nicely to just about any homestyle main dish—think pot roast, baked chicken, pork chops, or meatloaf. They’re also wonderful alongside grilled bratwurst or sausages, with a crisp green salad or steamed green beans to round things out. For holidays, I like to tuck the slow cooker at the end of the buffet table so guests can spoon up potatoes to go with ham or turkey without tying up oven space. Any leftovers reheat well next to scrambled eggs and bacon for a hearty farmhouse breakfast.
Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Baby PotatoesServings: 6
Ingredients
3 pounds baby yellow potatoes, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
4 large cloves garlic, minced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus a little extra for serving if you like
Directions
Lightly grease the inside of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with a bit of butter or nonstick spray to help keep the potatoes from sticking.
Place the baby yellow potatoes into the slow cooker. If any are much larger than the others, cut them in half so they cook at the same pace.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir the melted butter together with the minced garlic until the garlic is evenly distributed.
Pour the garlic butter over the potatoes in the slow cooker, stirring gently with a wooden spoon to coat all the potatoes well.
Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the coated potatoes. Stir again until the cheese is mixed through and clings to the buttery potatoes. It will look a bit pasty at this point, but it melts and soaks in as they cook.
Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours, or until the potatoes are very tender when pierced with a fork. If you’re in a hurry, cook on HIGH for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, checking for tenderness.
Once the potatoes are tender, give them a gentle stir to re-coat them in the buttery, garlicky cheese that has collected on the bottom and sides of the crock.
Taste a potato and add a small pinch of salt at the table if needed; the Parmesan brings its own saltiness, so many folks find no extra is necessary.
Serve the potatoes straight from the slow cooker on the warm setting so they stay hot and buttery. If you like, sprinkle a little extra grated Parmesan over the top just before serving for a fresh, snowy finish.
Variations & Tips
For a lighter touch, you can cut the butter down to 3/4 cup, though the full amount gives that truly luxurious, ‘Sunday supper’ feel my sister first raved about. If you prefer a sharper flavor, try using half Parmesan and half Romano cheese while keeping the total cheese amount the same. A small squeeze of lemon over the finished potatoes brightens things up nicely without adding more ingredients during cooking. If you need to stretch the recipe for a bigger crowd, you can add up to 1 extra pound of potatoes without changing the butter and garlic; just know they’ll be a bit less saucy and may need a touch more cheese stirred in at the end. For easy cleanup, line your slow cooker with a disposable liner before adding the ingredients. These potatoes also hold well on the WARM setting for an hour or two, making them perfect for potlucks or holiday buffets when oven space is at a premium.
