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
Good but too much sour cream in my opinion.
can i used fresh shredded potatoes instead of frozen?
You could certainly use fresh potatoes in this recipe. They will take slightly longer to cook so I would suggest shredding and slightly steaming them before adding them to this recipe.
Great recipe! This isn’t my first time cooking it, and the base recipe is 5 ☆, but today I added a twist. My husband hates pork chops, so today I precooked them, cut them into small, tender bites, and am going to layer the casserole: one layer 1/2 hashbrown mixture, one layer pork chop pieces and the remainder of the hashbrowns. Then cook.
Thank you!
Can I use diced hash browns instead of shredded?
I have only made the recipe as written. Other readers have made the recipe with diced hashbrowns with success! it will change it slightly, but still be delicious!
Nope. Not even close. I didn’t care for it and my daughter didn’t like it at all. Too much onion and far too much sour cream. I’ll augment this recipe to my own liking. Not bad, but nowhere near great.
We loved it & yes, brought back good memories of Cracker Barrel. (We moved & don’t have one close) My question is, can this be cooked in a microwave & for how long? We have triple digit temperatures more than not. I can’t heat the house up. But want to make it again.
Yes, this should be fine in the microwave. You might need to do two smaller dishes depending on the size of the microwave.
I would suggest softening the onion in a little bit of butter first and then leaving the cheese off the top, cooking for 5 minutes and giving it a stir. Continue cooking until hot and then add the cheese on top to melt. Let us know how it goes!
It was very good. Next time I won’t defrost hash browns, it turned out a little too gushy for my family.
I recently made this for a few of my friends. We quarantined so we could all spend a gal’s weekend together for a 30th birthday. With breakfast resting in my hands I was nervous about trying a new recipe. Although this didn’t taste quite like Cracker Barrel’s, I would say it surpassed my expectations and was far better than any casserole you would receive there! It went over so well. I added oven-roasted broccoli so that may have altered the overall CB taste, but this is something I will continue to create for small gatherings. I kept telling everyone to check out this website! Thanks for the great recipe! :)
So happy you all loved the casserole recipe!
This is really delicious! Minor changes were I bumped the oven up to 450 and baked for a little more than an hour to crisp up the top. I served with scallion and minced pepperoni scrambled eggs for my husband and I fried my eggs over easy with scallions and pepperoni which I put on top of the potatoes like you would serve hash and eggs. Both presentations were winners! Looking forward to the endless leftover possibilities. Love your recipes! Keep them coming!
My family absolutely loves this recipe. I have tried others, and they weren’t quite right. This one is perfect. Thank you so much. When I find the right recipe, I stick with it. I have made this many times now.
I made this last year for Easter brunch but cannot remember what kind of onion I used. Can anyone advise what kind of onion they used? Thanks!
I use a white or yellow onion in this recipe.
I didn’t taste anything like cracker barrel
Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy it Susan. Thank you for trying!
Great to add bacon, assemble the night before and pop into the oven for breakfast! This is a go to Christmas morning dish
Fantastic! Used a little less butter and a little less sour cream. It was very good and everyone requested the recipe
Would this recipe work without the sour cream? This is for a family dinner and my sister hates sour cream. ♀️
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. You could use Greek yogurt instead.
I left out sour cream and used different cheeses, four cheese Mexican, cheddar, Colby jack. Was delicious.
I am a potato and cheese lover. this recipe was tasty. I felt it had too much butter. Had leftovers, so next day I Cut slices and fried them in a cast iron pan. they were fantastic.! A little crisp and tender in the middle.
Love the recipes!
I love your recipes! I have tried a few easy and delicious
We love this recipe!! For those that are vegetarians and can’t use the cream of chicken, I suggest using cream of celery. One day the only item that we didn’t have on hand for this recipe was the cream of chicken, so we put in the cream of celery and it tasted really good.
I used sharp cheddar cheese, 2 cloves of garlic, a half green bell pepper and red bell pepper chopped. Also a can of cream of chicken, and a can of cream of celery, 3 tbsp of sour cream, 1/4 tsp of paprika, and an 1/8 tsp of cayenne.
So basically, you made something else entirely.
She did say you could add your favorite veggies to it, and adding some extra spices isn’t “making something else entirely”. No need to be snarky :)
I think your suggestions are great! Thank you. Ignore rude people. Cooking is all about fun and love!