Cracker Barrel Cheesy Potatoes with a crispy topping mixed with a creamy filling - YUM! This delicious copycat recipe is the cheesiest potato casserole ever! It's so easy to make and a real crowd pleaser. A great side dish for dinner, breakfast or brunch!
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I even remember the first time I went to Cracker Barrel - it was when I lived in Virginia and I thought I died and went to food-coma heaven!
Chicken fried steak and cheesy hash brown potatoes and I think about 45 minutes later I rolled out of the restaurant.
It's been a favorite ever since!
If you love a great cheesy casserole then this easy recipe can be made in the comfort of your own home. It will be a family favorite! What's not to love?!!!
🗒️ Ingredients
- shredded frozen hash browns - I love this easy shortcut of using frozen vegetables. Though you could certainly use cooked shredded or diced potatoes.
- cheese - use store bought shredded cheddar cheese or Colby cheese, what can be easier?!!
- cream of chicken soup - Substitute with cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup.
- sour cream - low fat or the full flavor version, both will work and give this casserole great flavor, buttermilk is also an option!
- melted butter - just a tablespoon.
- salt and pepper - to add flavor.
- optional garnish - green onions
Cracker Barrel Cheesy Potatoes
Ingredients
- 30 oz. frozen hash brown potatoes thawed
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 10.75 oz. condensed cream of chicken soup fat free is delicious!
- 1 cup sour cream low fat works here
- 1 cup yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- optional garnish - green onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray 9x13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray or coat with butter.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Mix gently and pour into prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven - no need to cover or top with foil. Bake until bubbly and brown, about 35 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!!!
Notes
Storage
Allow leftovers to cool completely to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or place in an airtight container. This delicious dish also freezes well up to three months. Reheat - This cheesy potato casserole recipe is simple to reheat. Place the casserole dish (uncovered) into the preheated oven and bake until heated through - 25-30 minutes.Love this recipe? Join the free membership group!
Nutrition
🔪 Instructions
- Put the thawed hash brown to a large mixing bowl, pour in diced onions.
- Add in sour cream.
- Next goes the cream of chicken soup.
- Add the cheddar cheese.
- Pour in the butter.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Mix, mix, mix everything really well!
- Prepare the baking dish, spraying it with non-stick spray.
- Pour all of the ingredients into the pan - place into the preheated oven and bake until hot and bubbly and the top of the casserole is golden brown.
🙋♀️ FAQ's
This recipe uses less butter than most that you'll see, but it doesn't loose any of the flavor! In my opinion the excess butter just makes it greasy.
Yes, you can! And it doesn't make it less flavorful. This cheesy potato casserole recipe has great flavor with half the fat!
Yes, you'll want to thaw the potatoes first before making the Cracker Barrel cheesy hash brown casserole.
Absolutely! If you'd like to take the time to peel the potatoes and grate them, that works too. Just be sure to squeeze the excess water from them.
Yes! This casserole freezes well. Mix all of the ingredients together and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container - I use a ziplock bag. You can store it up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then bake as directed.
Absolutely! Spray your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the ingredients for the cheesy potato casserole together and place them in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.
Deb's tips
If you want to prep the Cracker Barrel Cheesy Potatoes Casserole the day before, remove the hash browns from the freezer and mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate overnight. The potatoes will thaw and the next day pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and bake as directed.
- Don't press the ingredients into the pan, it may cause it to stick to the pan. Just gently fill the casserole dish.
Variations
There are several variations for the Cracker Barrel Cheesy Potato Casserole - here are some easy substitutes to consider for your menu.
- Add one pound cooked breakfast sausage or ground beef to the mixture for an easy complete meal. An extra cup of shredded cheese will bring everything together.
- Next time top it with crushed potato chips, corn flakes or Panko bread crumbs mixed with a touch of parmesan cheese will create a super crispy topping. You'll need about 1 ½ cups of chips or bread crumbs mixed with about ½ of cheese.
- Crushed crackers make a great buttery topping!
- Dare I say bacon? It does make everything better! Cook one pound of bacon until crispy, drain will. Crumble it and combine with the mixture, saving about ¼ cup to sprinkle on the top. What's not to love?!!!
Related recipes
I've said more times than not - potatoes were BIG when we were growing up and are still some of my favorite recipes. They can be epic, like smashed potatoes or colcannon potatoes - literally a meal by themselves. Or your everyday side dish - I mean nothing beats a baked potato, right?
- This is another cheesy hashbrown casserole. It definitely deserves rotation in your menu planning!
- This recipe for Copycat Cracker Barrel Fried Apples is another family favorite on blog. I hope you give it a try soon!
There's a TON of recipes all centered around potatoes on the blog - just type the word "potato" in search and you'll find them all!
Serving suggestions
The easy answer is lots of things! Oh... you're looking for ideas, I gotcha! If you're serving a fancy meal or your holiday meal, this is a real winner.
- Serve with Prime Rib, Holiday Turkey or this Glazed Ham Recipe. the Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole is a great side and much easier to make than twice baked potatoes.
- Serve it with these fried chicken tenders - what a great combination!
- Delicious served with Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole - you can use the cheesy gravy to top the potatoes, yum!
- Serve with slow cooker pork chops, meatballs or steaks on the grill - YUM!!
These cheesy potatoes are creamy, comforting, and taste just like the ones from Cracker Barrel—but even better because you made them at home. Whether you’re serving them up for a holiday, potluck, or just a cozy Sunday dinner, they’re always a crowd favorite.
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a five-star rating below, and tag me on Instagram @bowl_me_over so I can see your cheesy masterpiece!
Becky says
I was wondering if you could use Tater tots, thawed, and crumbled up instead of the shredded hashbrowns? Has anyone tried this? Thanks!
Bowl Me Over says
Sure you could Becky! If you have an excess of tater tots, why not? Thaw the tater tots, there's no need to crumble them, they just might take a little longer to cook, say 5-10 minutes. Enjoy the recipe!
Rhonda says
This is a very simple yet tasty recipe! Love it 😍
Bowl Me Over says
Wonderful, I just love those cheesy potatoes!
Kathy says
Question, can you substitute cream of cheese instead of cream of chicken?k
Bowl Me Over says
I haven't tried that combination, but it sounds good and cheesy! I would add a few tablespoons of milk to make the cream cheese easily mixable with the remaining sauce ingredients. Enjoy the casserole Kathy!
Kathy says
We had these potatoes for thanksgiving,I did substitute cheese soup instead of cream of chicken BIG hit! Everyone wants it for Christmas dinner as well
Nicole says
We had a honey baked ham gift certificate to use, and I wanted to make easy sides that would travel to my Mother-in-Love’s house.
This was such an easy recipe and I already had everything but the shredded potatoes.
We had a beautiful lunch, and every single person after their first bite of potatoes said how delicious they were. Then, when it was time for seconds, so many people came back with only these potatoes on their plate. “I had to go back and just get a little more of these potatoes.” - in their most polite Texas drawl.
Two things I really appreciate about how this recipe is written:
1. You said “one cup of onion” , not “one medium onion” - I had two of the smallest onions ever, so the direct measurement helps a ton!
2. The tip about not pressing the casserole down into the baking dish…which was my first instinct. I caught myself doing it, but then remembered reading not to do that.
Wonderful! A new staple!
Bowl Me Over says
I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe! That dinner sounds just amazing, what a great family gathering. Thank you so much for coming back to review the recipe!!
Lois says
I made this for dinner this evening and it was just wonderful we really enjoyed them. So good.
Bowl Me Over says
That's great - we really love this recipe too Lois, it freezes great as well!
Julie Menghini says
Oh heavens, I made this dish last night and we couldn't get enough of it. It's just delicious
! Best of all it made enough for tonights dinner too! Thank you for a delicious potato recipe!
Bowl Me Over says
You're so welcome Julie - I'm so glad you loved this dish too!!!