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Mashed potatoes are good… but have you tried mashed potato casserole?! This casserole dish is so easy and the perfect side dish for special holiday meals like Thanksgiving! Russet potatoes make our mashed potato base, then we pour them into a baking dish, top with cheese and bacon, and bake! You can sprinkle with chives or green onions right before serving.
Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
Just here for the sides? Me too! Which is why most Thanksgivings I don’t even put turkey on my plate. Instead I’m filling it with green bean casserole, stuffing, biscuits, and mashed potatoes.. and obviously saving room for pie.
And while I LOVE my horseradish mashed potatoes recipe, this mashed potato casserole has won my heart. Especially when I’m hosting, because I can make it 3 days before Thanksgiving, cover with foil, and then bake right before serving. And since these mashed potatoes are delicious hot, warm, or at room temperature, I don’t need to worry about reheating. Mashed potato casserole is this hostesses dream dish!
Why You’ll Love My Mashed Potato Casserole:
- A crowd-pleasing Thanksgiving side dish everyone’s sure to love!
- Russet potatoes promise a light and fluffy mashed potato texture
- Heavy cream, sour cream, and milk give the dreamiest texture
- Plenty of butter promise a delicious flavor
- Bacon and gooey cheese on top make this dish a showstopper
- You can easy assemble this mashed potato casserole a few days in advance, cover the baking dish with foil, and bake when needed
- No gravy required
Grab a Potato Masher
Now that I’ve convinced you to make mashed potato casserole, we’ll move onto what you’ll need to make that happen! In addition to the ingredients below, you’ll need:
- a potato peeler for removing the potato peels
- and a potato masher for mashing the potatoes
- a nice baking dish or casserole dish will also come in handy
- a sharp knife for chopping the russet potatoes
- and of course, a few pots and pans for cooking
Baked Mashed Potatoes
- Bacon: Adds both flavor and a delightful crunchy texture! Pancetta makes a nice replacement if you cannot find bacon. Or if you’re a meatless home, feel free to omit the bacon or place it on the side.
- Potatoes: Russet potatoes work best here. You’ll want to peel the potato peels off the russet potatoes with a potato peeler. And then cut the russet potatoes into quarters
- Milk: Use whole milk aka full-fat milk. Reduced fat milk will create less creamy and flavorful potatoes.
- Heavy Cream: Do not swap this out for milk or even half and half. Heavy cream gives the best texture and flavor!
- Butter: I prefer working with unsalted butter. But if all you have is salted butter, that’s ok. Simply cut back on the salt called for, then taste, and add more as needed.
- Sour Cream: In addition to butter, sour cream adds flavor and helps create the most incredible mashed potato texture. Use full-fat sour cream for this recipe.
- Salt and Pepper: I offer a starting amount to add, but you’ll likely want to add more to suit your unique tastebuds.
- Cheese: Unlike a lot of recipes that use cream cheese, I call for sharp cheddar, which adds flavor and a gorgeous orange hue. You can obviously use any color cheddar you prefer! But I love the pop of color from the orange blocks.
- Chives: Finely chopped FRESH chives add an essential pop of color and fresh taste. But scallions (aka green onions) make an excellent substitute if you cannot find fresh chives or don’y like them.
With these 10 simple ingredients, you’ll create the most delicious side dish ever!
Let’a Make the Ultimate Side Dish
- Sprinkle with chives or green onions and serve warm! This mashed potato casserole is also delicious at room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F). It’s important to do this first so your oven has time to properly warm up.
- Fry the bacon! Make sure you get it nice and crispy. You can do this step up to 3 days in advance and store the bacon in the fridge.
- Cook the potatoes. Place the russet potatoes in a large pot and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. But start checking around 15! You don’t want to overcook your potatoes.
- Warm the milk, heavy cream, and butter. Adding cold ingredients into your warm potatoes is a major no-no!
- Drain the cooked potatoes. Pour in the warm milk mixture and mash with a potato masher. Just be sure you don’t over mash, which can cause gluey potatoes.
- Add some of the cheese and bacon (and resist the urge to dig in…) and mix until just combined. Again, you don’t want to overwork the potatoes here.
- Scrape the mashed potato mixture into a large baking dish, top with remaining bacon and shredded cheddar cheese on top, and bake! You won’t bake this for very long, just until cheese is melted and gooey.
I hope your friends and family love this mashed potato casserole recipe as much as mine do! At this point, it’s my most requested holiday side dish recipe. And everyone begs for the recipe.
Last year I added chopped caramelized onions and omg… that was epic! Just a little idea for you if you wanted to make this recipe even more flavorful!
You definitely don’t need to take this extra step. But sometimes it’s fun to have an option to “shake it up”. I like to caramelize the onion a few days beforehand and pop them in the fridge so they’re ready. You can add them to the mashed potato base or as a topping with the bacon and cheese.
More Potato Recipes:
- Broccoli Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes
- Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes
- Extra Crispy Garlic & Herb Baked Potato Wedges
- German Potato Salad
- Toasted Marshmallow Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Extra Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges
Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound thick-cut bacon
- 5 pounds russet potatoes peeled and cut into quarters
- 1/2 cup (113ml) whole milk
- 1/2 cup (113ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (170g) full-fat sour cream
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup fresh chives finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).
- In a large skillet over medium-heat, cook the bacon, turning frequently, until crispy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined plate, then transfer to a cutting board and chop into small bits. Set aside until needed.
- Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water, so that it’s 1-inch higher than the potatoes. Place over high-heat and bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender.
- About 5 minutes before the potatoes are done cooking, combine the milk, heavy cream, and butter in a small saucepan. Place over low heat and warm until the butter is completely melted. Keep over low heat until needed.
- Drain the cooked potatoes, then return them to the hot pot. Pour in the warm milk mixture and sour cream. Using a potato masher, mash until smooth, being sure not to over mash, which can cause gluey potatoes.
- Add in 1 and ¼ cups of the cheddar cheese and three-quarters of the bacon and gently stir, just until combined.
- Scrape the mashed potato mixture into a large skillet or 9×13–inch baking dish. Sprinkle remaining bacon and cheddar cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes, or just until cheddar is melty but not crisp or burnt.
- Sprinkle with chives! Scoop and serve!
How many servings will this make?
Hi Sarah. My family gets about 12 servings!
Thanks. I believe you forgot to mention adding the salt to the saucepan of potatoes, though. (Dense potatoes don’t absorb seasonings easily, so you’ll need to salt the water so that the water the potatoes ‘drink up’ also carries in seasoning.)
Haven’t made it, just questioning “5# of potatoes??”
If you are making this dish ahead, how long will it keep in the fridge, and what temp do you bake it at and for how long? I’d love to try this for this Thanksgiving!