If you are looking for the absolute ultimate comfort food dinner that requires zero effort, this Slow Cooker Loaded Cream Cheese Casserole is a total crowd-pleaser. It combines the velvety, rich melting texture of a whole block of cream cheese with savory, smoky bacon bits and sharp cheddar cheese.
By slow-cooking everything together in a savory chicken broth bath, the ingredients breakdown into an incredibly thick, glossy, and luxurious loaded sauce. It’s the perfect warm, cheesy dish for chilly nights, busy weeknights, or a holiday potluck!
Prep time, Cook time, & Servings
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours (on Low) or 2 hours (on High)
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Servings: 6-8 hearty servings
Ingredients
The Main Starches (Choose One):
- Potatoes: 1 bag (32 oz) frozen diced southern-style hash brown potato cubes OR
- Pasta: 16 oz uncooked short pasta (like penne or cavatappi noodles)
The Loaded Cream Cheese Core:
- Cream Cheese: 1 full block (8 oz) regular cream cheese (left completely solid and whole)
- Chicken Broth: 1 cup Great Value Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese: 2 cups, shredded from a block (divided)
The Crispy Savory Mix-ins & Toppings:
- Bacon Bits: 1.5 cups real bacon strips, cooked until extra-crispy and finely chopped
- Green Onions: 1/2 cup fresh green onions, chopped into fine rings
- Garlic Powder & Onion Powder: 1/2 tsp each
- Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper: To taste
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prepare the Slow Cooker Base
- Grease: Spray the bottom and inside walls of your 6-quart slow cooker liner heavily with non-stick cooking spray to keep the melting dairy sugars from scorching.
- Layer 1: Pour your chosen frozen diced potatoes (or dry raw pasta) flat across the bottom of the pot. Dust them evenly with the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Layer 2: Sprinkle 1.5 cups of the shredded sharp cheddar cheese and half of your crispy bacon bits and chopped green onions evenly over the base.
2. Position the Cream Cheese Block
- Center: Open your wrapper and nestle the full, solid rectangular brick of white cream cheese right in the very center on top of the bacon and cheese bed. Leaving it entirely whole in the center allows it to slowly diffuse outward under the heat, self-basting the starches uniformly as it breaks down.
3. Pour the Golden Chicken Broth
- Stream: Open your orange carton of Great Value Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth. Holding it firmly, smoothly pour 1 cup of the clear golden broth in a steady stream directly over the top of the solid cream cheese brick, letting it run down into the ingredients below. Do not stir!
4. Slow Cook to Melted Perfection
- Cover tightly with the lid.
- Cook: Cook on LOW for 4 hours (or on HIGH for 2 hours). The dish is ready when the cream cheese has completely melted into a liquid glaze and the underlying potatoes or pasta are perfectly soft and tender.
5. Whisk and Melt the Final Crown
- Whisk: Open the lid. Take a heavy flat serving spoon and vigorously fold and stir the ingredients together inside the pot for 1 minute until the melted cream cheese, broth, and bacon fat fully merge into one cohesive, velvety cream sauce floor.
- The Cheesy Crown: Smooth out the top layer evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, the rest of the crispy bacon bits, and the fresh green onions uniformly across the hot surface.
- Finish: Cover with the lid for 5 final minutes until the top cheese layer collapses into a completely melted, glossy pool. Serve hot!
Chef’s Tips for Success
- Do Not Use Low-Fat Cream Cheese: Always use standard, full-fat block cream cheese for this casserole. Low-fat or whipped cream cheeses contain a higher water-to-fat ratio that will cause the sauce to separate or curdle into thin water pockets under prolonged heat, instead of turning into a silky, cohesive glaze.
- The No-Boil Pasta Trick: If you choose to use pasta instead of potatoes, throwing the noodles into the pot completely raw and dry is a total game-changer. The starch sheets cook directly inside the rendering bacon fat and chicken broth, absorbing flavor right to their cores for an intensely rich bite.
- Grate Block Cheese by Hand: For that beautiful visual layout with perfect elastic cheese strands, always buy a brick of sharp cheddar and grate it yourself. Pre-packaged grocery store bags are coated in dry, powdery anti-caking starches that ruin the high-gloss sheen of the melt.