This homemade cheesy hashbrown casserole is a comforting side dish that everyone loves. Wonderful comforting potato dish loaded with cheddar cheese and creamy sauce. It’s easily prepared without canned soup and baked to a gooey perfection. Make this side dish for every holiday gathering, family dinners, and potlucks.
Hashbrown Casserole
I was 16 when I first started working at the Cracker Barrel and that’s when I discovered their fabulous baked mac and cheese, broccoli cheddar chicken, and of course, hashbrown casserole.
Years of working there has left me with taste for many of those comforting dishes, which I still make at home. Hashbrown Casserole is definitely one of them. I even make sure to make plenty of this comforting potato side dish for each and every holiday dinner.
Thanksgiving has to have mashed potatoes every time since it’s such a traditional holiday when it comes to food. For other holidays, I like to make different potato sides and preferably the cheesy ones.
Scalloped Potatoes and Hashbrown Casserole are the two that always puts a smile of everyone’s face. It must be the cheese, the cream, and the comfort that fills these potato dishes.
Don’t let the fact that this casserole is prepared with no canned soup make you think that it’s harder to cook. It is just as easy and only takes about 10 extra minutes of preparation time. All the ingredients are easy and something that you most likely already have on hand.
How To Make Hashbrown Casserole Gluten Free:
This casserole is very easily made gluten free. Just make one simple swap of all purpose flour for gluten free all purpose flour.
One thing I’ve noticed about swapping gluten free all purpose flour for regular one in sauces and soups is that it takes just a little more gluten free flour to make it the same thickness.
In most cases, 1 extra tablespoon will do the trick. (Some gluten free brand mixes differ so add 1/2 tablespoon at a time and check the thickness.)
Of course, if you’re making a large amount of soup or sauce, you may need an additional tablespoon.
Can Hashbrown Casserole Be Made Ahead Of Time?
Absolutely. You can prepare the casserole completely up to the baking step and refrigerate overnight. Make sure to cover the prepared casserole dish with plastic wrap before putting it in the fridge.
Take the dish out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking and let it sit on the counter to warm up. Discard the plastic wrap and bake at 350° but add extra 5 minutes or so since the casserole will start out cold.
Storing:
Store any leftover hashbrown casserole in the refrigerator covered air-tight. You can store it in the original baking dish or transfer it into a food storage container with a lid. Properly stored, hashbrown casserole will last up to 3 days.
MORE COMFORTING RECIPES TO TRY
Easy Gnocchi with Garlic Butter
Loaded Cheese Potato Casserole
Ham and Cheese Mashed Potato Cakes
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Hashbrown Casserole
Ingredients
- 30 oz frozen shredded hash brown potatoes thawed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk (can use reduced fat if needed)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced parsley (can use dried parsley if needed)
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 casserole baking dish.
- Preheat medium pot over medium heat on stove-top.
- Add oil, heat it through and add onions. Saute onions until they start to brown.
- Smash and mince garlic and add it to the onions. Stir and saute until fragrant.
- Sprinkle flour over the onions and stir well. Stir for a few seconds and start slowly pouring in chicken stock, while stirring. Pour in milk after that while stirring as well.
- Let the mixture heat through and start to thicken.
- Stir in sour cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Let the mixture cook and thicken as the cheese melts. Taste to make sure you have enough seasoning.
- Stir in parsley.
- Mix hash browns and cheese sauce in a large bowl and spread the mixture in the prepared casserole dish. Make sure it's all spread evenly throughout.
- Spread some more cheese on top and bake for 35-40 minutes, until casserole browned and bubbles around the edges.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on December 20, 2018. Updated May 18, 2020.
Nancy Manthei says
Love this potato casserole. You made a good recipe outstanding, the whole family wondered why I haven’t been making this at Christmas all along. Just found the recipe, but you can count on me using this one several times a year.
Thank you!
LyubaB says
Thank you, Nancy! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed it! 🙂
Linda says
Looking for the potato casserole recipe. I could not find it.
lyuba says
Hi Linda!
I will send you an email.
Jacquelyn Wolfe says
Very good. I did brown the hash browns before adding the cheese sauce.
lyuba says
Oh that’s nice! Extra layer of flavor from the browning 🙂
Thank you, Jacquelyn!
Anne says
I added ground beef yummy
Sherie says
Can I use fresh potatoes?
lyuba says
Hi Sherie!
Hash brown potatoes that come in a bag are actually already cooked and then shredded. If you use fresh, potatoes will give out way too much liquid and you might end up with soup 🙂
If you want to make your own, you can cook potatoes fist by boiling them and cooling (Just don’t over-cook of potatoes will crumble). When cooled, you can use a large cheese grater to grate cooked potatoes.
I hope this helps!
Mel says
Love this recipe! Wondering if you think I can assemble ahead of time then bake later?
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Mel! You can absolutely prepare the casserole completely up to the baking step and refrigerate overnight. Make sure to cover the prepared casserole dish with saran wrap before putting it in the fridge. (Discard saran wrap before baking.)
Ariel says
Can you make this recipe the night before and reheat the next day ?
LyubaB says
Hi, Ariel, It would be better to prep it and bake it when your ready to eat it rather then baking it then heating it back up as it would take almost as long to reheat it. Hope this helps!
MARY ISABELL says
Can you add shredded chicken to this??
LyubaB says
Mary, I think that would be tasty.
Dianne Johnson says
I screwed up one time and had NO sour cream, but I did have some of the onion dip that has a sour cream base, not the cheap Frito-Lay stuff. I figured why not? It worked!! I always make it that way now.
LyubaB says
Yum! That sounds great!
Dianne Johnson says
One more thought. I love making dishes with chicken. When chicken breasts go on sale for $1.99 a pound, I get several packs and throw them in the crockpot with chicken broth and leave them for 6 hours. When they’re falling apart, I break them up and throw them in a ziplock bag and freeze them. Whenever I’m making chicken salad or any recipe that calls for a rotisserie chicken, I grab my bag of chicken and I’m good to go. I cooked 5 pounds of chicken yesterday. I think I’m set for a couple of weeks.
LyubaB says
Dianne, great ideas!!! Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Karla says
Any recommendations for making this gluten-free?
Perhaps using all-purpose gluten-free flour or arrowroot?
Wondering if anyone has tried this.
LyubaB says
Hey, Karla! Sorry for my late response my email was putting some of my questions into the spam folder. I have used gluten free flour when making this you may need to add an extra tablespoon of GF flour then regular so mix the cheesy mixture first and see if it needs it.
Pam says
Added diced ham to make a main dish
LyubaB says
Yum! 🙂
Nereida says
Can you use the southern style diced hash browns? I accidentally got the wrong ones.
LyubaB says
It will work in a way but you will have different results its going to be more like cheesy potatoes then a hasbrown casserole. I think it will still be tasty, just not the same as with hashbrowns.
Donna says
Can I double the recipe?
LyubaB says
Hi, Donna! You can absolutely double it!
Lynne says
Oh my. I made a double batch of this for Christmas brunch tomorrow morning and decided to bake a small dish of it tonight to try it out. It is so very good! I would say it’s even better than the hash brown casserole at Cracker Barrel. I can’t wait to share it with family tomorrow and will definitely be saving this recipe for the future!
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
Melissa says
I used fresh potaties to make my own hashbrowns. It came out delicious not watery or soupy at all. I used 6 small potaties to make 30 oz. I washed them poked holes on both sides put on a plate for 10 minutes let cool peel and shred. I didnt have frozen hashbrowns on hand so I had to improvise. I hope this helps. Thanks for this delicious recipe👍😃
LyubaB says
I bet that was good! I am glad you liked it!
Michelle says
I want to make this however I am confused on cheese amounts. As the ingredients say 8 oz cheese then bottom of ingredients say 1 cup of cheese for topping. Then in directions there are 3 times you add cheese. One is in the sauce. Then more to stir in with hash browns. Then more for top. Would be nice if directions detailed how much cheese to add for each of the 3 times. Also if I look at the beautiful picture It would appear as though there was a whole 8 oz block just on the top. Looks so good. But without more specific directions I have to stick to my soup based hash browns :0(
lyuba says
Hi Michelle!
I’m sorry the instructions aren’t coming off clear, I will add the amount in instructions as well. There are two times that you add the cheese, one in the cheese sauce and one on top. You would mix the whole 8 oz block into the cheese sauce. For the topping, you are welcome to use more than one cup of shredded cheese, if you want it cheesier. It won’t hurt at all! I really hope you will enjoy it!
Gokcen says
It was easy and most delicious hash brown casserole recipe ever! Thank you! 😊🙏🏻
Plus we added mushrooms and ham!! 😋😋
LyubaB says
Thank you! So glad you liked it! 🙂
Heather says
What’s the best way to thaw the potatoes? Let them sit in the fridge?
LyubaB says
Hi Heather,
Yes I would let them sit in the fridge overnight to thaw. I hope you like them!
Laura says
My family really enjoyed this last night as a special side dish to Chicken Cordon Bleu! Easy to prepare, and we’re sure leftovers will reheat well. Just delicious!! Thank you for sharing, this recipe is being moved to my “Favorites” board!
LyubaB says
So glad your family enjoyed it, Laura! Thanks for stopping by!
dianne says
Can you freeze this?