Mashed Potato Casserole
Mashed potato casserole is a simple and tasty way to enjoy the classic mash with the addition of a crunchy topping, savory beef bacon, and melty cheese! It’s the perfect side dish for entertaining friends and family, especially around Thanksgiving, and can be prepared ahead and heated the day-of while you prepare other dishes. We love a dish that is as tasty as it is convenient, and this checks all the boxes.
Simple To Prepare
We used golden potatoes for ours but a classic russet potato would also work great. I love golden potatoes for their creamier texture when mashed but russets will yield a fluffier mash so in the interest of space in our casserole dish, we went with the creamier option.
While they boil, you can prepare the flavor cornerstone of this whole recipe, the beef bacon. I love mashed potatoes on their own, but some crispy bits of savory and smoky bacon mixed throughout the final dish make this whole thing that much tastier!
Like I said up top, the thing that really makes it a casserole is the crispy topping at the end. A lot of recipes will use more bacon or shredded cheese sprinkled over top, but a combo of textures always makes a recipe more enjoyable. We kept ours simple with some crushed kettle chips and parmesan for some crunch in the final dish. This is a super simple and tasty way to elevate this recipe and get guests coming back for more.
Get To Mixin’
When you get to mixing the potatoes, there’s a few key ingredients needed to not only maximize flavor, but also that smooth creaminess that we’re looking for. Butter is, of course, a must in mashed potatoes, but we’re also adding a mixture of sour cream and a packet of onion soup mix. This adds a surprising amount of flavor, but not so much to dominate the dish; it’s a savory little addition that adds some tasty complexity.
Toss in the bacon, of course, some shredded cheese, and heavy cream and get all of that goodness mixed together. It’s tempting to dive into this at this point, and you absolutely could, but then you’d be missing the potatoes you’ve worked so hard on with the crispy topping.
Lay It Out and Bake It Up
There isn’t much left besides laying out the potatoes in a baking sheet, spreading the chip topping evenly over top, and taking it on a quick trip to a hot oven until the topping is golden brown.
This is a great dish for serving at any occasion. Mashed potatoes are a classic, but preparing them the day-of can be a pain so it’s great to have this on hand to prepare ahead, then toss in the oven when you need it.
I say it’s a side, but I wanted to keep eating this as the main dish, it’s delicious! Share this with friends and family at your next get-together and you can’t go wrong.
