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Home » Breakfast Brunch

Easy Hash Brown Casserole

12/16/2014 Updated: 11/09/2019 By Karrie Leave a Comment

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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. 

Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

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

Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

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.

Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

Pouring béchamel sauce over all the ingredients.

Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

I put a lot more cheese on top after this picture was taken.  Another full cup, because life is meaningless without extra cheese.

Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

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!

Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

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

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.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 299kcal
Author: Karrie | Tasty Ever After

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
US Customary - Metric

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:

**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.
Nutrition Facts
Easy Hash Brown Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 299 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 13g65%
Cholesterol 61mg20%
Sodium 270mg11%
Potassium 541mg15%
Carbohydrates 16g5%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 11g22%
Vitamin A 660IU13%
Vitamin C 13.6mg16%
Calcium 284mg28%
Iron 3.8mg21%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @tastyeverafter or tag #tastyeverafter

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Thank you for visiting Tasty Ever After and I'm Karrie! I hope you enjoy spending some time here finding easy scratch made recipes for the home cook.

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