Thanksgiving is right around the corner and this Loaded Potato Casserole is the perfect dish to serve. While mashed potatoes are the official potato of the holiday, these are basically mashed potatoes taken to the next level and baked with cheese and bacon. What's not to like? I've also called this dish Twice Baked Potato Casserole, so you can picture it either way! You can enjoy this dish year-round as well. It's not just for Thanksgiving! Jump to Recipe
Ingredients needed for Loaded Potato Casserole:
For this recipe you will need potatoes, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, salt, pepper, bacon, cheddar cheese and green onion.
Note about the garlic:
I mince the garlic for this recipe so there aren't any chunks in the potatoes and they're super smooth, but my husband prefers garlic powder to keep it as smooth as possible. Both taste great!
How to make Loaded Potato Casserole:
Start by cooking potatoes. There are two methods:
I prefer to bake them, then scoop out almost all of the potatoes (leaving some in the bottom) for this recipe. Then you can use the skins for potato skins! Two recipes in one! Here is my Potato Skin recipe.
What if I'm in a hurry and don't want to make potato skins too?
You can simply peel and boil your potatoes. You'll want them fork tender so about 6-8 minutes. If you prepare them this way you can toss garlic cloves in with the potatoes to infuse the flavor while boiling and then discard before mashing.
You can use a potato masher, hand mixer or standing mixer to make your potato combo. I prefer using my KitchenAid stand mixer, because I find it to be easiest and it gets the potatoes the most smooth. I've linked mine below. This would make for a great Christmas or wedding gift! I use it constantly. It's currently out of stock at KitchenAid, but they have them at Macy's and many other places as well.
Add your potatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, garlic (or garlic powder), butter, salt and pepper to mixer and mix on a low speed until smooth.
Spray a baking dish with nonstick and then scoop your potato mixture in. Smooth them out then cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with cheddar cheese, bacon and green onions. The heat from the potatoes will melt the cheese.
Allow to cool slightly prior to serving.This dish is as indulgent as they come. It makes enough to serve about 9 people at Thanksgiving. If you're making it for a smaller crowd, simply cut the recipe in half.
Storage instructions for Loaded Potato Casserole:
Storage and reheating is super simple for this dish. Simply cover with an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, pop it back in the oven for about 15 minutes or until no longer cold inside.
Enjoy and have a fabulous Thanksgiving!
If you liked this recipe you might also enjoy:
https://www.cuisineandcocktails.com/creamy-au-gratin-potatoes/
https://www.cuisineandcocktails.com/three-cheese-spirals/
Loaded Potato Casserole
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Bake potatoes for about an hour. Remove and allow to cool. (Boil instructions in post if preferred.) Turn oven down to 325.
- Scoop most of potatoes out of skins and place in large mixing bowl. Keep skins for potato skins if desired (recipe in post).
- Add butter, cream cheese, sour cream, garlic/garlic powder, salt and pepper to bowl.
- Mix together until smooth. If it feels too thick then add the milk or cream.
- Spray baking dish with nonstick and spread potatoes into dish.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top with cheddar, bacon and green onion. Heat will melt cheddar.
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