Hashbrown Casserole is easy, cheesy and totally delicious! This simple casserole is made easy with frozen hashbrowns!
Copy Cat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown casserole needs just 5 minutes of prep making it the a great side or potluck dish! The perfect breakfast casserole!
The Hashbrowns, That’s Why
I love Cracker Barrel but the truth is… I only show up for the hashbrown casserole. That’s it. Just the hashbrowns people.
My friend shared her version of that yummy, oh so creamy and cheesy easy Hashbrown Casserole with me and WOW! Tender shredded hash browns in a rich and creamy cheese sauce, topped with more cheese and baked until hot and bubbly!
This is a perfect breakfast casserole for any holiday morning or just when you’re getting the family together for a delicious breakfast or brunch. It also makes a perfect side dish for Crispy Oven Parmesan Chicken or even served alongside a Ranch 7 Layer Salad for lunch!
Better Than the Original
There are lots of recipes out there for this cheesy casserole but this is the one I’ve found to be the closest! This hashbrown casserole is made with condensed cream of chicken soup. I’ve also made it with cream of cheddar soup if you can find it. Both work perfectly in this recipe! While I’ve had a version of hashbrown casserole without sour cream, I definitely prefer it with, it adds a little bit of creaminess and tang to the recipe. Since this is a copy cat hashbrown casserole recipe, my list of ingredients is inevitably different than the original but the flavor is just like my favorite Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole (in fact, it’s even BETTER in my opinion)!
How to Make Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
One of the best things about hashbrown casserole is that it’s super quick to prepare (5 minutes). I literally cannot stop eating it; dinner, bedtime snack and then breakfast if there is any left!
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- Spread into a 9×13 dish.
- Top with cheese and bake. Voila!
It’s that easy! If you’d like you can add leftover chicken, ham or ground beef to this easy recipe. Stir in your favorite veggies as well, Steamed Broccoli, peas or frozen veggies work well too!
Toppings
I like to top it with cheese to keep it close to the version I’ve had at Cracker Barrel but if you prefer a nice crunchy topping on your hashbrown casserole, this is also great with cornflakes. Gently crush 2 cups of cornflakes and toss with 1/4 cup of melted butter, sprinkle over the casserole before baking.
How to Freeze Hashbrown Casserole
This easy cheesy hashbrown casserole can easily be frozen. We usually prepare as directed and freeze any leftovers in individual servings making them the perfect lunch or quick dinner.
More Potato Dishes You’ll Love
- Scalloped Potatoes Recipe – Simple classic recipe.
- Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes – Creamy perfection.
- Twice Baked Potatoes – Make ahead (these freeze well).
- Perfect Baked Potatoes
- Potatoes Au Gratin
- Colcannon Recipe (Cabbage and Potatoes) – So yummy!!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen shredded hash browns thawed
- ½ cup melted butter
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup 1 can, or cream of cheddar
- 16 ounces sour cream
- ½ cup finely diced onion
- 2 cups shredded Colby cheese divided, or cheddar cheese
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
- In a large bowl, combine thawed hashbrowns, melted butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, onion, 1 ½ cups of cheese, and pepper.
- Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the reserved ½ cup of cheese.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Note: This recipe originally appeared on SpendWithPennies.com April, 2013.
More Must Try Cheesy Casseroles
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
I added crushed ritz crackers on top, it accentuated the cheesy onion texture overload ! This is one of my top fave casserole!
I add a block of cream cheese to this recipe. It’s fantastic.
If I triple the amount (serving for 30) – should I expect to cook it a lot longer? Like 90-120 minutes? Feeding a football team
You will need to increase the cooking time but it would depend on the pans used. I would suggest more than one pan. If you’re filling the pan more than suggested in the recipe, give it a stir part way through cooking (and then add the cheese on top). Allow for extra time, if it’s cooked early you can leave it on warm for a while.
I had to make a substitute because I did not have any onions. I used French onion dip with bacon and left out the sour cream. It turned out great!
Love it.
Delicious! Thank you for sharing!
I didn’t have frozen hash browns so I shredded enough potatoes to make 32 oz. ( I think it was six). I didn’t have any onion either so I seasoned it with garlic and onion powder. It was so good!
I added crumbled bacon and served it instead of loaded baked potatoes with London broil for a cook out. I will use it for a breakfast side dish as well. Love the original recipe but bacon goes perfectly with the ingredients for a change up.
Has potential but like one reviewer said way too much sour cream. I would use half or even a quarter amount of what it calls for. Maybe 3/4 of the cream of chicken also. Recommend using all the cheese in the mixing and then some extra for the top. Lastly garlic and maybe a tbsp of so of Cajun seasoning instead of black pepper. But all in all, it was a good starter recipe. Will try it with butter milk or heavy cream next time instead of sourcream.
Delicious
Excellent recipe! I make this at least every couple of months or so. My wife and I think it’s better than the casserole you’d get at the restaurant!
Hey guys just wanted to let you know I make that Cracker Barrel hash brown casserole quite a few times and my husband and I decided to add ground beef to the bottom to make it a one dish meal or sausage and it is absolutely delicious I just thought you’d like to know thanks for the recipe
The real recipe from Cracker Barrel uses buttermilk instead of sour cream and cream of chicken soup.
Thanks for letting us know, Allie! This is our take on their recipe, hopefully, you enjoyed it as well!
if you use Buttermilk is it the same ratio as the Sour Cream??
Hi Alley, what ratio of buttermilk do you use? Did you work at Cracker Barrel to know this is what was used? Thank you
can you add meat to this recepie
For sure! If you’d like you can add leftover chicken, ham, or ground beef or brown some Italian sausage! I think those would taste delicious in this recipe.
do you have to thaw the frozen veggies as you do the hash browns?
You can add them into the casserole frozen, Sybil! Enjoy!
OOps.. I forgot I also added some garlic powder and Onion powder. To lazy today to chop up onions and stuff.
Thank you for posting. I did it a little differently with what I had on hand. I add 3/4 cup of milk mixed with all wet ingredients. Tossed potatoes with Salt, Cheese and Misses Dash Table blend. Added pepper (I shouldn’t have done that since I used the Table Blend.)
Mixed all ingredients in a glass pan and added the extra cheese on top. Put in the oven then realized I forgot the butter. So I mixed it all up with a small amount of butter. Maybe 3 tablespoons. Should be great Thank you!
Absolutely delicious! I used the dehydrated Hungry Jack shredded hasbrowns (2 – 4.2oz cartons) reconstituted, shredded sharp cheddar and added about 1/3 cup of whole milk. OMG….so good. Quick, easy and inexpensive!
This Doesn’t call for salt do you not put salt in this casserole
You can add extra salt if you’d like, there is salt in the hashbrowns, soup, and cheese so I don’t find the need to add extra.
Can you switch out plain greek yogurt for the sour cream?
That should work just fine.
Can this be made in a slow cooker?
Yes, this can be cooked in a slow cooker (4qt). I’d cook it about the same as our crock pot mac and cheese. I would suggest cooking it at the lowest temperature and keeping an eye on it as dairy can sometimes curdle or separate at higher temperatures.
Terrible. Ruined by too much sour cream. I’ve made this dish many times from other recipes and found myself saying as I poured in the sour cream….”this doesn’t look right…” It didn’t look or taste right. WAY too creamy and an obtrusive taste of sour cream. Ick. I tossed it after eating one serving.