My family loves baked potatoes. I love it when their picky behinds eat everything on their plates.  So, this dish creates a sort of win/win situation in our house. My loaded baked potato casserole has all the toppings and fixings that my kids go crazy over.  There are even hidden veggies in this dish. So, if you’ve been trying to get them to eat their broccoli, this may be a good way to do it. 

Why Loaded Baked Potato Casserole?

Why not? Nothing makes me happier in the kitchen than a quick or simple one-dish/one-pot meal. Not only is clean up easier but the meals usually last for 2 nights, giving me more free time to myself. 

How it all began…

I was meal planning and loading up my shopping cart for a pickup order a few weeks ago when this idea hit me. I was on the hunt for some plain potato skins because my fam loves when I make loaded ones. But they were all out of stock.  So, I started thinking about baking individual potatoes and then quickly lost interest in that.  I don’t like to do baked potato bars for dinner that often. It’s too much work. 

I save those types of meals for days when I know I won’t have a lot of business tasks on my plate.  

Instead of a potato bar, I tossed in all of their favorites into a one-dish meal that I could simply throw in the oven. This casserole has layers of seasoned hashbrowns, cheeses, homemade cheese sauce, broccoli, and bacon!

All topped with my favorite crunchy baked potato topping. Yum!

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

Cheese Sauce

• 4 cups milk
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup shredded three-cheese blend

Casserole

• Bag frozen hashbrowns
• 2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
• Medium diced onion
• Bag steamable broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup bacon crumbles
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• Black pepper to taste
• Garlic Salt with Parsley (I used Lawry’s)
• Concord Foods Original Potato Topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Steam broccoli in the microwave for 2 minutes and cut open the bag.  Don’t cook fully according to directions (you’ll finish cooking it in the oven). 
3. (Cheese Sauce Roux) In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Sprinkle in flour and whisk.  Slowly pour in the milk and keep stirring with a whisk until the roux thickens.  Add cheese and keep stirring until cheese sauce is smooth. Remove from heat.
4. Tap the outside of the frozen hashbrown bag with a large spoon or on the counter to break up the contents. Pour frozen hashbrowns into a large mixing bowl.
5. Next, dice a medium onion and add onions, crushed garlic, bacon crumbles and seasonings to the mixing bowl.  Stir well and set aside. 
6. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with about 2 cups of cheese sauce. Top with a layer of seasoned hashbrowns. 
7. Next, add a layer of broccoli florets over the entire dish.
8. Add a layer of shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup).
9. Follow up with another layer of cheese sauce–> hashbrowns–>and a final layer of cheese (1 cup).
10. Sprinkle the top of the dish with the potato topping and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Enjoy!

  Candice

What do you like to eat on your baked potato?