Loaded mashed potato casserole transforms your favourite potatoes right into a make-ahead pleasant casserole! This model is completely tacky with simply the correct amount of bacon and bitter cream (or cream cheese, your selection!). Recipe features a how-to video!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Loaded with all your favourite mix-ins. bitter cream (or cream cheese!), bacon, cheddar cheese, and chives/scallions. There’s a lot taste taking place right here!
- Prepared in underneath an hour & simply quarter-hour of hands-on time. Leaves you loads of time to focus in your most important dish.
- Will be prepped upfront. I embrace directions on easy methods to make this as much as two days forward of serving.
- Simply transportable, so it makes the proper travel-ready Thanksgiving aspect dish!
Overlook the turkey, mashed potatoes are hands-down a very powerful dish on any Thanksgiving or different vacation dinner desk (or, simply any dinner desk, actually). Whereas I like my basic mashed potatoes, typically it’s enjoyable to get just a little fancy, and this loaded mashed potato casserole, full of shredded cheese, bacon, bitter cream, and chives is one thing of a showstopper.
You’re only one hour away from this tacky, crispy-bacon-goodness (and nearly all of that’s passive wait-for-it-to-bake time!)…let’s dive proper in!
What You Want
- Potatoes. Both russet or gold potatoes will work, however I typically desire the starchier russet potatoes. You have to to peel your potatoes earlier than chopping them.
- Cheese. I like cheddar, although you actually can use no matter you like (my children love Colby jack)! Shredding your personal cheese will give you one of the best outcomes (similar to when making mac and cheese!), however you should utilize pre-shredded should you’re in a pinch.
- Milk. I like to recommend entire milk for greatest outcomes, however any may work right here. In case you select a non-dairy different, you might want a number of splashes greater than I listing within the recipe.
- Bitter cream OR cream cheese. Choose your favourite–each work effectively! After I examined this recipe, my style testers had been fully divided on desire, to the purpose the place I actually couldn’t resolve which one was higher. In case you can’t resolve, go for bitter cream, because it has a milder taste that everybody appears to get pleasure from.
- Garlic. No mincing wanted, use your garlic press to press a single clove into your potatoes (or two, in case your cloves are small!).
SAM’S TIP: Don’t skimp on the garnish! 1-2 tablespoons of recent chives or scallions add taste and a pleasant pop of colour to your casserole.
That is simply an outline of the elements I used and why. For the total recipe please scroll right down to the underside of the submit!
Tips on how to Make Mashed Potato Casserole
Earlier than we start, I need to point out that the photographs and directions under are simply meant to be useful, visible tips to accompany the written recipe (on the backside of the submit) and aren’t supposed so that you can try to bake from. I present these photographs and particulars as a result of I feel they’re useful, however for the total recipe in its entirety scroll right down to the recipe card.
- Prep your potatoes. Peel ’em, chop ’em, and rinse them effectively (give them rinse underneath chilly water). When slicing your potatoes, it’s necessary to chop the items so that they’re shut in dimension, that manner they prepare dinner evenly and also you don’t find yourself with lumpy potatoes (trace: should you actually don’t like lumpy potatoes, use a ricer to mash them)
- Boil till tender. Cook dinner the potatoes in well-salted water, boiling till fork-tender, then drain effectively and return the potatoes to the pot.
- Mash ’em. If you’re utilizing a ricer, rice them earlier than including your different elements. If utilizing a masher, add the milk, butter, cream cheese/bitter cream, salt, and spices after which mash away, then fold in a cup of the cheese.
- Unfold the combination into your baking dish and prime with the remaining cheese.
- Sprinkle crumbled bacon overtop, then cowl and bake. We’ll bake for 20 minutes with the foil on, then take away the foil and hold baking till the cheese is bubbly.
- Garnish with chives or scallions, then serve!
SAM’S TIP: Frivolously butter your foil earlier than putting it over your casserole; this can assist forestall the cheese from sticking. Simply be sure to place the butter aspect down!
Continuously Requested Questions
Russet potatoes are my selection, I like their fluffier, starchier high quality. Nonetheless, yellow, gold, or pink potatoes will all work effectively right here. If utilizing a thinner-skinned potato (like gold or pink) you don’t even must peel them should you don’t thoughts the skins!
I exploit an 11×7″ (17x28cm) casserole dish, these are sometimes 2 or 2.5 quarts. In case you go for a spherical pan, these are normally deeper and will require extra time within the oven to totally warmth via, so hold that in thoughts.
If you wish to make this in a 9×13″ pan, your casserole will likely be thinner, which is completely nice, it simply gained’t want fairly as lengthy to bake.
I suppose you may, however the taste doubtless gained’t be pretty much as good, and I can’t assure your outcomes. However you may at all times attempt–it should undoubtedly save time!
In case you love mashed potatoes, give my shepherd’s pie a attempt subsequent!
Take pleasure in!
Let’s bake collectively! Subscribe to my e-newsletter to be notified of all the most recent recipes, and discover my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
Servings: 8 servings
Energy: 390kcal
Forestall your display from going darkish
Directions
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Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
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Peel and lower potatoes into 1 ½” (4cm) items. Place in a colander and rinse underneath chilly water for one minute.
3 lbs (1.3 kg) russet or gold potatoes
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Switch potatoes to a big pot, cowl with a minimum of an inch of water, and generously salt the water. Place pot on stovetop over excessive warmth and convey to a boil, stirring sometimes. As soon as potatoes are fork-tender, rigorously drain potatoes into colander then return to the pot and permit to sit down for a minute (this helps the surplus water evaporate from the pan).
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Add milk, butter, bitter cream or cream cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper,and mash till potatoes attain desired consistency. Stir effectively.
⅔ cup (157 ml) entire milk, ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (120 g) bitter cream, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon desk salt, ½ teaspoon recent cracked black pepper
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Stir in 1 cup (4oz) or shredded cheddar cheese till effectively distributed.
6 oz (170 g) shredded cheddar cheese
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Unfold potatoes right into a 2 or 2.5 qt casserole dish. Prime with remaining ½ cup (2oz) of shredded cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon.
½ cup (60 g) crumbled bacon
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Frivolously butter a big piece of foil and calmly cowl the casserole dish (buttered aspect down). Switch to heart rack of 375F (190C) preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, take away the foil, and proceed baking for an additional 15-20 minutes, till cheese is melty and bubbly.
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Take away from oven and prime with chives or scallions. Serve heat.
Chives or scallions
Notes
Bitter cream vs cream cheese
Both of those is a scrumptious choice. I personally desire cream cheese, which is a bit richer and makes a thicker mashed potato. In case you aren’t positive which to make use of, although, I like to recommend utilizing bitter cream which has a milder taste and is extra more likely to be well-enjoyed by all your friends.Â
Baking dish
I exploit an 11×7″ (17x28cm) casserole dish, these are sometimes 2 or 2.5 quarts. In case you go for a spherical pan, word that these are normally deeper and will require extra time within the oven to totally warmth via.
If you wish to make this in a 9×13″ pan, your casserole will likely be thinner, which is completely nice, it simply gained’t want as a lot time within the oven to warmth via (begin checking 5 minutes sooner).
Storing
Retailer tightly coated within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
Making upfront
You may make the complete dish as much as 2 days upfront of baking. Observe the recipe via step 6 (don’t bake), cowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When able to bake, take away plastic wrap and canopy with calmly buttered foil. Let sit at room temperature whereas oven heats to 350F. Bake coated for 30-40 minutes, then uncover and bake an extra 15-20 minutes, till cheese is melty and dish is heated via.
Freezing
Let the potatoes cool fully, retailer in an hermetic container or wrap tightly. I typically wish to press plastic wrap into the floor of the potatoes to assist forestall any freezer burn. It would hold for about 2 months within the freezer. earlier than reheating, thaw in a single day within the fridge and reheat in 350F (175C) oven (take away the plastic wrap first, should you used it!), coated, for about half-hour (or longer, examine that the middle is heated earlier than serving, typically you assume it’s thawed all the best way but it surely’s nonetheless frozen within the heart and may have extra time, an instant-read thermometer is an effective way to examine the temperature!).Â
Vitamin
Serving: 1serving | Energy: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 13g | Fats: 24g | Saturated Fats: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 5g | Trans Fats: 0.5g | Ldl cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 664mg | Potassium: 781mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 693IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 217mg | Iron: 2mg
Dietary data is predicated on third-party calculations and needs to be thought of an estimate solely. Precise dietary content material will range based mostly upon manufacturers used, measuring strategies, cooking technique, portion sizes, and extra.
