A cheesy Easy Hash Brown Casserole recipe, just like Cracker Barrel's popular potato side dish! This casserole is made extra creamy and all-natural with a homemade béchamel sauce instead of canned creamed soup.
Each year on Christmas morning, we sit down to an insanely huge breakfast, where lots of pork products and sweet breads along with this cheesy Hash Brown Casserole adorn the table. The full list of homemade breakfast treats include Paleo herb sausage patties, sausage pinwheels, sausage cheese balls, rye toasts, mini loaves of lemon poppy seed, pumpkin, and cranberry orange breads, thick-cut bacon, winter fruit salad, soft scrambled eggs, and of course, this casserole.
Yeah, it's a ridiculous amount of food but I'm not making any apologies. It's really good and I only have to once a year, so it's perfectly okay I'm consuming around 35,000 calories in a single meal.
How to make an easy cheesy hash brown casserole without the canned soup!
This hash brown casserole is just like the one that everyone loves at Cracker Barrel, but it's made without the canned creamed soup. I substituted an easy homemade béchamel sauce, made with milk and chicken broth, and it take only 10 minutes to make. Plus, it tastes so much better than the canned stuff!
Béchamel is a basic sauce consisting of flour, butter, and milk, and is used as a basis for many other wonderful sauces. I use it all the time in recipes for:
- mac & cheese
- lasagna
- croque madame sandwiches
How to parboil potatoes to make your own shredded potatoes:
I like using freshly grated parboiled potatoes in my recipe, but refrigerated prepackaged or thawed frozen potatoes will work too. Here's how to parboil (precook) potatoes for freshly shredded potatoes:
- Place whole unpeeled potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Scrub the skins well if you want to grate them skin-on.
- Bring to a boil, cover the pot, and turn off the heat. Allow potatoes to sit in the water for about 5 minutes.
- Drain, let cool slightly, and peel potatoes (or leave skin-on). Grate the potatoes using the large holes on a box cutter or in a food processor.
Pouring béchamel sauce over all the ingredients.
I put a lot more cheese on top after this picture was taken. Another full cup, because life is meaningless without extra cheese.
Some chopped chives sprinkled over the top to bring a little color and great flavor to the casserole. Or add some eggs to it and make it a hash brown breakfast casserole!
Hope you enjoy this easy Hash Brown Casserole next time you need a delicious potato side dish for breakfast, brunch, or dinner!
Easy Hash Brown Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded potatoes from fresh parboiled potatoes** (can subsitute refrigerated prepackaged or thawed frozen potatoes)
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup onion or shallot, finely chopped
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, plus a little extra for topping (sharp, mild, or a mixture of both)
BÉCHAMEL SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
FOR THE BÉCHAMEL SAUCE:
- Make a roux by melting butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat, then add the flour and stir until light brown in color.
- Heat milk and chicken broth in microwave or on stove top in a separate pot. Slowly add heated milk and chicken broth, a little at a time, to the roux and stir constantly. Continue stirring until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and set the sauce aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F/176C degrees and lightly grease a large baking dish. Set aside and prepare the casserole.
TO ASSEMBLE THE CASSEROLE:
- Put butter and onions (or shallots) together in large bowl and microwave to melt butter or melt in a small pan on the stove top. Allow to cool slightly.
- Add shredded potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and béchamel sauce to melted butter/onion mixture in bowl. Mix well.
- Place mixture in the lightly greased baking dish and top with additional grated cheese. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes, or until casserole is bubbling and top is light brown.
Recipe Notes & Tips:
- Place whole unpeeled potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Scrub the skins well if you want to grate them skin-on.
- Bring to a boil, cover the pot, and turn off the heat. Allow potatoes to sit in the water for about 5 minutes.
- Drain, let cool slightly, and peel potatoes (or leave skin-on). Grate the potatoes using the large holes on a box cutter or in a food processor.
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