Cheesy potato casserole is a gooey, creamy, potato side dish made with diced hash brown potatoes slathered with cheesy, cream sauce, bacon, and green onions.
Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9x13 casserole dish.
Preheat a large sauce pot over medium heat and saute 1/2 lb of diced bacon until most of the fat is rendered and it starts to crisp.
Add diced onion and saute until softened. Press garlic and stir it into the bacon and onion mixture.
Sprinkle flour all over bacon and onions and stir until completely incorporated throughout.
Slowly pour in chicken stock while whisking and mix until flour is incorporated.
Pour in milk, keep whisking slowly, and let it cook until sauce starts to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and stir in cream cheese and sour cream.
Stir until cream cheese is incorporated and add shredded cheese. Keep stirring slowly until cheese is melted and take off heat.
Stir in diced green onions.
Potato Casserole:
In a another cooking pan (or wash the original one), sauté remaining diced bacon for the topping. (Don’t make it too crispy because it will continue to cook on top of the casserole.)
Pour diced hash browns into a large mixing bowl and add the cheesy sauce. Mix it together until evenly incorporated throughout.
Pour potato mixture into a greased 9×13 baking dish.
Spread more cheese over the top and cooked bacon pieces over cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes.