Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole Recipe

Soo creamy and soo cheesy. There’s also a little bit of tang from the sour cream and onions to balance the richness.

Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole Ingredients

• Frozen hashbrowns - Cubed or shredded hasbrowns both work, but we love cubed!
• Sour cream - Tart sour cream add so much creaminess to this casserole.
• Onion - Yellow, white or vidalia onion are all perfect, but you can also use red onion.
• Cream soup - Cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, cheese soup or potato soup are all delicious.
• Shredded cheddar cheese - You'll use cheese in the casserole mixture and sprinkle over top before baking.
• Butter - Melted butter is mixed into the casserole mixture for extra savory goodness.
• Salt - Use salt moderately to taste as the cheese will lend a bit of saltiness.
• Black pepper - Season with black pepper to balance everything out. Yum!

These potatoes literally melt in your mouth. These are what I call the “macaroni and cheese” of potatoes!

Plus, they go with nearly every meal. For Thanksgiving we had them as a side dish. For Christmas I served them with our breakfast buffet.

And they’re 10 times easier than making scalloped potatoes for Easter ham dinner!

You can also turn them into whole meal! Try my Smoked Sausage Potato Casserole so you can get your protein.

How to Make Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F then spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set it aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine thawed hashbrown potatoes, sour cream, diced onion, cream soup, melted butter, some of the cheese, pepper and salt.
3. After mixing well, taste test and season with additional salt and pepper as needed to suit your taste.
4. Transfer potato mixture to your greased baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven, top with the remaining cheese, then bake for an additional 10 minutes until golden and bubbly.
6. Let cool for 10 - 15 minutes before serving as casserole will be very hot.

This is such a great potluck recipe when you need to bring a dish to pass.

Not to mention, they simply couldn’t be easier to make. The hardest part is remembering to thaw out the frozen hash browns.

Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole Variations

• Frozen potatoes - I’ve made them with frozen potatoes before – it can be done! – but it comes out kind of watery and oily.
• Fresh potatoes - I’ve never tried this recipe with fresh potatoes so I’d recommend this Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole instead - it tastes like the inside of twice baked potatoes!
• Spice it up - Add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce to the potato mixture before baking for a spicy kick.
• Add more cheese - Switch up the flavor profile by adding a bit of pepper jack, blue cheese or mozarella along with the shredded cheddar.

Copycat Cracker Barrel Hasbrown Casserole

Did you know this casserole goes by many different names? I’m not sure who invented the original, but this recipe is based on Cracker Barrel’s hashbrown casserole.

It also goes by the name Funeral Potatoes since it’s such a popular potluck dish and always shows up at receptions.

Cheesy hash browns, cheesy potato casserole, hash brown casserole…the names are endless!

Tips for Making Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole

• Do you thaw hash browns for casserole? Yes, the hash browns should be thawed. If I’m making this casserole for breakfast I take them out the night before and let them thaw in the refrigerator.
• What kind of potatoes should you use? The main ingredient is, of course, potatoes. You can use shredded hash brown or southern style hash browns which are cubed. Personally I like the meatier diced hash browns, but shredded ones will give you a creamier texture.
• What kind of soup should you use? You will need a can of “cream” soup. I prefer cream of chicken, but other options include cream of mushroom, cream of potato or condensed cheese soup.
• Is cheesy hashbrown potato casserole vegetarian? To make this casserole vegetarian, be sure to use a vegetarian cream soup. Generally speaking most brands of cream of mushroom, cream of potato or condensed cheese soup are vegetarian.
• Should you top your potato casserole? If you want to emulate the Cracker Barrel hashbrown potato casserole then no topping is necessary. If you'd like to top it, see my pointers below for adding a crunchy topping.

How to Top Cheesy Potato Casserole 

Again, topping this casserole is not strictly necessary, but a lot of the ladies from church potluck like to add a crunchy topping.

It’s up to you if you want that textural component or keep them strictly creamy. Either way they’re delicious!

To make a crunchy topping, combine 2 cups of crushed corn flakes with ¼ cup melted butter. Mix until well combined and sprinkle over top at the same time you add the cheese for the final 10 to 15 minutes of baking.

More Great Potluck Recipes to Try

• Green Jello salad
• Chipotle bacon deviled eggs
• Broccoli and rice casserole
• Banana pudding poke cake
• Taco pasta salad
• Southwestern breakfast casserole
• Puff pastry taco pot pie
• Bacon-wrapped smokies

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