Easy Hashbrown Casserole
Hashbrown casserole is easy, cheesy, takes only minutes to throw together, and is a favorite side dish for holiday dinners from Easter to Christmas, casual weeknight dinners, and potlucks alike. It’s total comfort food!
Ahhhh, hashbrown casserole.
My aunt makes a version slightly different from this, but it always shows up at Easter and Christmas. Not surprisingly, cheesy potatoes go exceptionally well with ham dishes!
Tuck it away for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or any other casual gathering when you want to make a big hit, because I guarantee that this will be the first thing to disappear every single time!
What Is Hashbrown Casserole?
Hashbrown casserole is one of the most irresistible side dishes you will ever eat! It's an easy casserole that takes less than 10 minutes to mix together - simply stir together thawed hash browns, melted butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chopped onion, shredded cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper, pour it into a casserole dish and pop it in the oven!
Some consider this a copycat of the Cracker Barrel hashbrown casserole, so if you're a fan of that, you'll love this recipe!
It's also a cousin to the cheesy potato casserole that I made a couple of years ago; many people refer to that particular recipe as "funeral potatoes".
Ingredient Notes
The ingredient list for this family favorite is not very long; here are a few quick notes to make sure you have what you need!
- Frozen Shredded Hashbrowns – The hash browns should be thawed before using so that the dish bakes evenly. You can also use the diced hashbrowns if you’d like. I do not recommend using fresh potatoes, as there would be too much excess moisture.
- Cream of Chicken Soup – You can also substitute cream of mushroom soup.
- Sour Cream – You can substitute full-fat, plain Greek yogurt.
- Cheddar Cheese – The classic pick for this type of casserole and you can use sharp cheddar cheese or mild, but you can also use other cheese varieties, too. Other good options are mozzarella, gouda, Montery Jack, and Colby cheese.
How to Make It
I love how quickly and easily this casserole comes together. The most important (and timely) step is making sure you thaw the frozen hashbrowns ahead of time so they’re ready to go. Once they’re ready, this is all you need to do:
- Stir together all of the ingredients in a large bowl, ensuring everything is evenly combined.
- Spread in a 9×13-inch baking dish and bake at 375 degrees F until it is browned and bubbly. You can sprinkle with some chopped fresh parsley or chives if desired.
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That’s IT! Two steps! Such a wonderfully simple side dish option.
Hash Brown Casserole Variations
This casserole would lend itself to tons of modifications based on personal preferences - add bell peppers, ham, sausage, bacon, ground beef, broccoli… so many options! A couple of different spins you can put on this:
- Turn it into Funeral Potatoes – Simply add a topping of crushed cornflakes or Ritz crackers for extra taste and texture.
- Spice it up – Stir in a 4-ounce can of green chiles to give this casserole a kick and southwest flavor.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing Instructions
- You can assemble this casserole in the baking dish, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking.
- Once the casserole is baked and cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- You can freeze the hashbrown casserole, either before baking it or after it has been baked and cooled. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before baking or reheating in the oven.
More Deliciously Cheesy Side Dishes:
- Cheesy Creamed Corn Casserole
- The Creamiest Scalloped Potatoes
- Cheesy Potato Casserole with Corn Flakes Topping
- Sweet Potato Gratin with Gruyere
- And if you are looking for a crockpot hashbrown casserole? I have one! The Slow Cooker Sausage, Hash Brown & Cheddar Breakfast Casserole is a huge favorite, especially for holiday mornings!
Watch How to Make Hashbrown Casserole:
If you make this hashbrown casserole recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Hashbrown Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen hashbrowns, thawed
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 10.25 ounce can cream of chicken soup
- 16 ounces sour cream, full fat
- ½ cup (71 g) finely chopped yellow onion, about 1 small onion
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, stir together all of the ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and bake until golden brown and bubbling, 30 to 45 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley or chives, if desired.
Notes
- Frozen Shredded Hashbrowns - The hash browns should be thawed before using so that the dish bakes evenly. You can also use the diced hashbrowns if you'd like. I do not recommend using fresh potatoes, as there would be too much excess moisture.
- Cream of Chicken Soup - You can also substitute cream of mushroom soup.
- Sour Cream - You can substitute full-fat, plain Greek yogurt.
- Cheddar Cheese - The classic pick for this type of casserole and you can use sharp cheddar cheese or mild, but you can also use other cheese varieties, too. Other good options are mozzarella, gouda, Montery Jack, and Colby cheese.
- Turn it into Funeral Potatoes - Simply add a topping of crushed cornflakes or Ritz crackers for extra taste and texture.
- Spice it up - Stir in a 4-ounce can of green chiles to give this casserole a kick and southwest flavor.
- Make-Ahead – You can assemble this casserole in the baking dish, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking.
- Storage – Once the casserole is baked and cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- You can freeze the hashbrown casserole, either before baking it or after it has been baked and cooled. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before baking or reheating in the oven.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Recipe was originally published in March 2018.
Photography by Dee Frances of One Sarcastic Baker.
Looks delicious! I love how simple and comforting this hashbrown casserole recipe sounds — perfect for a quick family meal or brunch. The mix of crispy potatoes and creamy texture makes it a classic everyone enjoys. EpyTV
I made tonight and it was delicious.
Can u make this recipe without sour cream?
Very good & easy to make…Would it be suitable to cook this in a Slow Cooker?
This hashbrown casserole was a complete success. My colleges raved about how delicious it was!!! Thank you.
Definitely delicious!
I put this together last night and baked it off this morning. Absolutely delicious! I added some diced super mario 64 ham, and my family devoured it. Definitely adding to my brunch rotation. TY!!!
Love this! I add a couple cloves of minced garlic and top with shredded parm and french fried onions. Everyone likes it.
There was a French restaurant I went to once that sold a dish called “potatoes brulee”. I made this, separated it into ramekins and topped with a slice of provolone and broiled it, and it was spot on!
I used cream of mushroom soup, added a packet of onion soup mix, used gruyere cheese, 3 cups diced ham, and two generous dollops of Dijon mustard. For the past 10 minutes of bake, I topped with Ritz cracker crumbs. Cooked mine for a full hour. Tasty Perfection! I would have added asparagus if I had had some!
I made this for my family for Easter brunch and nobody liked it. It was greasy, tasted somewhat flavorless, was almost curdled in appearance, and was definitely a flop. Would not make again.
I make breakfast for a inn and this will 110% be our menu tomorrow morning. Thanks for this inspo.
the most wonderful recipe could have easily ate the entire thing by myself without eating anything else.
I just made this recipe and am eating it as I type. Very easy to make, I did exactly as recipe instructed, without onions because my husband will not eat them. I used bags of simply potatoes, which are hash browns that have not been frozen. It is very good my only complaint is to much sour cream. I will reduce it by 1/2 cup next time but otherwise very good.
I can’t rate this based on making it exact. By some reviews, it’s too soupy. For me, I used this as a base because I didn’t have everything at the time of making. Instead of sour cream, I used ~20oz cream of mushroom, 1/2 block 8oz cream cheese, and about 1 cup of Parmesean cheese w/ the listed amount of cheddar cheese. I also added in bacon bits and chopped baby bell peppers. I tried putting Panko on at 20 min, but I’m not a good judge of time and it didn’t brown. The end result isn’t a soupy mess and scoops out well. 🤔
Follow directions to a t. Made sure that my hash browns were defrosted. Cooking directions preheated the oven All the above and everything came out raw it was awful the potatoes were undercooked when you bit into the onions they were so crunchy it was horrible I threw my tire casserole in the garbage. Sour cream was overwhelming. Next time I will not use the sour cream I will substitute it for a second can of cream of chicken. I will saute the onions prior and to get the potatoes cooked I will leave it in the oven for an hour and 30 minutes instead of 40 minutes. it was way undercooked.
Our family loved the potatoes this year!! Thank You!
Our daughter is allergic to chicken, and our granddaughter does NOT like the mushrooms in cream of mushroom soup! It is a tedious job to take them out, but I did do it for her! Would cream of celery work?
Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Jeanne, You’re welcome! Yes, you could use cream of celery, that would work!
Was looking for a recipe that I could use leftover cooked hash browns. Thought this would work and it did!! A simple and tasty recipe. I added bacon bits to mine. Delicious 😋
Not sure how it got 5 stars. It called for way to much sour cream, and butter. Had to throw away a double batch that I was going to take to a Christmas potluck.