Crispy and crunchy on the outside, yet soft and fluffy on the inside, these Slow Cooker Roast Potatoes are a great alternative way to cook your favourite Sunday roast dinner side dish!
Roast potatoes in the slow cooker?? No, I promise you I haven’t gone crazy!
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I know a slow cooker isn’t the first kitchen gadget that would come to mind when cooking roast potatoes, but I promise you these slow cooker roast potatoes are as good, if not better than the ones you will cook in the oven!
Made with only 5 ingredients, you will par-boil them in the same way you normally would, then let them roast away in the slow cooker, leaving you to concentrate on the rest of the dinner or entertaining your guests!
Picture this: Christmas dinner prep in full swing, pigs in blankets sizzling, stuffing bubbling away, and your oven bursting at the seams. Sounds festive, right?
But where do the roast potatoes, the heart and soul of any Christmas feast, fit in?
In the slow cooker! Free up precious oven space by roasting your spuds in your crockpot instead.
If you don’t have a slow cooker, why not try my garlic & rosemary mini hasselback potatoes instead? If you have an air fryer you can also try these roast potatoes in the Ninja air fryer, crispy smashed potatoes or air fryer loaded potato skins.
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🍅 Ingredients You Will Need
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need to make these Air Fryer Stuffing Balls. They are free from the top 14 UK allergens so make a great allergy-friendly side dish.
✋ Double check all packaging for allergens ✋
- Potatoes - Maris Piper potatoes are a great potato to use for roasting as you get the crispy outside and the soft fluffy inside. King Edwards would be my second choice, however you can use any white potato you have at home.
- Onion Salt - This is used as a seasoning for the potatoes alongside the garlic granules.
- Garlic Granules - I prefer to use garlic granules instead of fresh garlic cloves, as I find fresh garlic can burn quite easily when cooked in the slow cooker without liquid.
- Dried Rosemary - Partnering seamlessly with roast potatoes, rosemary is a classic flavour companion to garlic. If you've got fresh rosemary on hand, go for it! A good rule of thumb is to use three times the amount of fresh herbs.
- Olive Oil -Use a good quality olive oil.
Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.
⚡ Variations
- ✔️ Mix up the spices! - For a spicer version, leave out the rosemary and swap the onion and garlic for a teaspoon each of ground cumin and turmeric.
- ✔️ Swap the herbs! - Swap the rosemary for some fresh or dried thyme and add in a squirt of lemon juice.
- ✔️ Go posh! - Swap the olive oil for the same amount of goose fat for a festive twist.
✏️ How To Make Roast Potatoes In The Slow Cooker
⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️
Step 1: Start by pouring the olive oil into the slow cooker and turn it on to the “high” setting. Leave this to heat up while you prepare and parboil the potatoes.
You want the oil to be hot by the time you put the potatoes into the slow cooker. This should take about 20 minutes.
Step 2: Peel the potatoes with a potato peeler and chop them into thirds/quarters depending on how big the potatoes are. Try and make the potatoes all roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
Step 3: Par-boil the chopped potatoes in a saucepan for around 8-10 minutes. You don’t want to cook them until they are completely cooked, just enough to soften them.
Step 4: Drain the potatoes into a colander, then put the potatoes back in the saucepan, put the lid on and give the saucepan a little shake.
This helps to fluff up the outside of the potatoes which gives you the crunchy, golden crust.
Step 5: Leave the potatoes to cool slightly. It’s important to do this as if you put the potatoes in the slow cooker when they are still streaming, the potatoes will be soggy and they won’t crisp up,
Step 6: Place the cooled potatoes into the slow cooker with the onion salt, garlic granules and dried rosemary, then give it a good stir until the seasoning is evenly distributed onto the potatoes.
Step 7: Place a clean, dry tea towel over the top of the slow cooker, then place the lid on top of the tea towel.
Wrap the sides of the tea towel that are hanging out, up onto the lid. (This soaks up any moisture from the slow cooker, so you don’t get soggy potatoes!)
Step 8: Cook on high for around three hours, turning the potatoes halfway through.
This will result in perfect, crispy, fluffy roast potatoes.
💡 Tips & Tricks!
- ✔️ Don’t Forget The Tea Towel! Putting the tea towel in between the potatoes and the lid collects all the steam produced and holds it in the tea towel. If you don’t do this, the steam that rises to the lid will fall back down onto the potatoes making them soft and soggy. Whilst I have done this many times without any problems, I wouldn’t recommend leaving the house whilst the potatoes are cooking. Use a clean tea towel that has been washed without scented detergent.
- ✔️ Kitchen Roll Can Be Used Instead: If you don’t want to use a tea towel, a few layers of kitchen towel roll can be used instead.
- ✔️ Go Carefully When Shaking The Potatoes! Gentle is best as they can sometimes break down into smaller pieces if you are shaking too hard.
- ✔️ Let The Potatoes Steam Dry: Once the potatoes have been shaken up, leave them in the saucepan for around 5 minutes to cool down. This allows the steam time to evaporate, otherwise, it results in soggy potatoes.
- ✔️ Place The Potatoes In A Single Layer: If you overcrowd the slow cooker by piling them on top of each other, they will sweat instead of roast and you won’t get that crispy finish. A 6.5 litre slow cooker should hold around 8-9 full-sized potatoes.
- ✔️ Chop The Potatoes The Same Size:Dice the potatoes into even chunks, this helps them all to cook evenly.
🔪 What Slow Cooker Do You Recommend?
This 3.5 L Slow Cooker will hold around 3-4 full sized potatoes, whereas a 6.5 L slow cooker will hold around 8-9 potatoes. Both of these Morphy Richards slow cookers are highly recommended.
🍱 Storage
Roast potatoes always taste best when eaten fresh, however, it is perfectly safe to store the cooked potatoes in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container and then reheat them in the oven at 200˚C/400˚F for 10-15 minutes until piping hot through.
To freeze, place flat on a baking tray for an hour until frozen through, then transfer to a freezer bag where they can be kept frozen for up to 3 months. You can cook them from frozen in the oven at 200˚C/400˚F for 20 minutes.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
Serve these crispy potatoes with your roast alongside this slow cooker lamb breast, slow cooker red cabbage, roasted carrots with green beans and gluten free cauliflower cheese for a warm and hearty dinner.
They also taste great with these air fried pork belly strips.
Serve with some sausages, roasted green beans and lashings of gravy, or with a nice steak instead of chips.
I also have lots more ideas on what to serve with roast potatoes here.
💬 Recipe FAQ's
Par boiling them before putting in the slow cooker or oven helps form that crispy crust. If you roast them without par-boiling, the outside of the potato stays tough and hard as the fat won’t get into all of the crevices.
Yes! You can par boil the potatoes, drain and leave them to air dry, then coat them in a little oil and store in the fridge until you are ready to put them in the slow cooker or oven.
Can I add veggies to the slow cooker with the potatoes?
Absolutely! Onions, carrots, parsnips, and Brussels sprouts are great companions for roast potatoes. Just chop them similarly to the potatoes and toss them with the same seasoning blend.
Can I use frozen potatoes for slow cooker roast potatoes?
It's best to use fresh potatoes for optimal texture. Frozen potatoes may release excess moisture and affect the crispiness.
📖 More Potato Recipes
Check out these other delicious recipes for more ideas on how to cook with potato!
If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Roast Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 maris piper potatoes Use enough potatoes to cover the bottom of the slow cooker.
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Start by pouring the olive oil in the slow cooker and turn onto the “high” setting. Leave this to heat up while you prepare and par boil the potatoes. You want the oil to be hot by the time you put the potatoes into the slow cooker. This should take about 20 minutes.
- Peel the potatoes and chop into thirds/quarters depending on how big the potatoes are.
- Par-boil the chopped potatoes in a saucepan for around 10 minutes. You don’t want to cook them until they are completely cooked, just enough to soften them slightly.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander, then put the potatoes back in the saucepan, put the lid on and give the saucepan a little shake, this helps to fluff up the outside of the potatoes which gives you the crunchy and crispy crust.
- Leave the potatoes to cool slightly, then place them into the slow cooker with the onion salt, garlic granules and dried rosemary and give it a good stir.
- Place a clean, dry tea towel over the top of the slow cooker, then place the lid on top of the tea towel. Wrap the sides of the tea towel that are hanging out, up onto the lid.
- Cook on high for around three hours, turning the potatoes every hour.
Notes
- Don’t Forget The Tea Towel! Putting the tea towel in between the potatoes and the lid collects all the steam produced and holds it in the tea towel. If you don’t do this, the steam that rises to the lid will fall back down onto the potatoes making them soft and soggy. Whilst I have done this many times without any problems, I wouldn’t recommend leaving the house whilst the potatoes are cooking. Use a clean tea towel that has been washed without scented detergent.
- Kitchen Roll Can Be Used Instead: If you don’t want to use a tea towel, a few layers of kitchen towel roll can be used instead.
- Go Carefully When Shaking The Potatoes! Gentle is best as they can sometimes break down into smaller pieces if you are shaking too hard.
- Let The Potatoes Steam Dry: Once the potatoes have been shaken up, leave them in the saucepan for around 5 minutes to cool down. This allows the steam time to evaporate, otherwise, it results in soggy potatoes.
- Place The Potatoes In A Single Layer: If you overcrowd the slow cooker by piling them on top of each other, they will sweat instead of roast and you won’t get that crispy finish. A 6.5 litre slow cooker should hold around 8-9 full-sized potatoes.
- Chop The Potatoes The Same Size: Dice the potatoes into even chunks, this helps them all to cook evenly.
- These potatoes take 3 hours on high in my slow cooker. Please be aware that different makes of slow cookers may cook at different rates.
Proxy says
Great post, you have pointed out some excellent points, I also believe this s a very superb website.
Lauren Woodger says
Thank you, its a great way to cook them isn't it!
Maureen Bennett says
One converted sceptic! Absolutely amazing.... who'd have thought a slow cooker would make such gorgeous roasties. Genius idea 👍
Lauren Woodger says
So glad you liked the recipe - I always cook them like this now when Im short on space in the oven. 🙂
Tony smith says
I haven't tried it yet but I will let you know when I have
Lauren Woodger says
I hope you like them! 🙂