This Twice Baked Potato Casserole is what cheesy potato dreams are made of. It’s super simple to make and loaded with family favorites like mashed potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese and bacon.
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Easy Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Potatoes of any kind are a hit around our family, but these are really something special.
Our Twice Baked Potato Casserole with cream cheese is always one of the first side dishes to go whenever we serve it at a holiday dinner or family gettogether. It’s basically loaded mashed potatoes in casserole form, complete with tasty bits of potato skins (if that’s your thing), bacon, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and topped with fresh chives.
Another thing to love about this dish is that it is make-ahead and freezer friendly. Plus, you can make all sorts of substitutions and it will always turn out great. You can bake or boil the potatoes, use red potatoes or Idaho, nix the bacon to make this vegetarian or even change up the cheddar cheese with pepper jack. Whatever you do, you can be sure it will be delicious.
Make-Ahead Twice Baked Potato Casserole
This makes the perfect make-ahead holiday dish because it can be completely prepped up to 2 days in advance, then stored in the fridge. The day you want to serve, just remove from the fridge and let the baking dish come up to room temperature for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
Then simply bake as directed, garnish and voila! Easy cheesy.
Ingredients in Loaded Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Potatoes - we like to use red potatoes for this recipe, but you can also use Idaho potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes. In this recipe, we boil the potatoes before mashing and mixing, but you can also bake the potatoes in foil on a baking sheet for about 45 minutes-1 hour at 400 degrees.
- Salted Water - for cooking the potatoes.
- Cream Cheese - you want this to be room temperature so that it is easier to mix together with the other filling ingredients.
- Sour Cream - either lite or full fat will work.
- Milk - we recommend using whole milk, or even heavy cream, for this casserole.
- Butter - either salted or unsalted will work.
- Salt and Pepper - we like to use sea salt.
- Onion Powder and Garlic Powder - these spices add great flavor that are slightly sweeter and more mild than the fresh versions.
- Bacon - any kind of bacon will work. You want to dice, cook and then drain your bacon before adding to the casserole.
- Cheddar Cheese - you can purchase shredded cheese or shred your own.
- Chives - we like fresh chives but you can also use green onions.
How to Make This Twice Baked Potato Casserole Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wash the potatoes, peel (optional), and cut into 1" cubes. Place the potatoes in a large pot, add 1 Tablespoon of salt and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil, and boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are fork-tender.
- Once cooked, drain the water, then add the potatoes back to the pot. Mash the warm potatoes with a potato masher (or potato ricer) and add in your cream cheese, sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Mix well, then spread the mashed potato mixture into a 9"x13" baking dish and sprinkle bacon bits and shredded cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown, and the potatoes are warm throughout. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining bacon bits, shredded cheese and fresh chives. Enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
Leftover Twice Baked Potato Casserole can easily be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. The easiest way is to cover the casserole dish that you cooked them in with foil.
Once you are ready to reheat, pull the dish from the fridge and let it come to room temperature while you preheat the oven. Cover with foil and rewarm at about 325 degrees for 15 minutes, or until warmed through.
Absolutely! This casserole freezes great, thanks to all of the sour cream, butter and milk. Carefully scoop out portions and transfer to freezer bags, or another airtight container. This casserole can be stored frozen for up to 3 months!
To reheat, remove from the freezer bags or other container and place into an oven-safe dish. Cover with foil and reheat at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until warmed through.
You can also microwave individual portions. Just transfer to a microwave-safe container and reheat for about 4-5 minutes on defrost or half-power (depending on your microwave)
A couple ways to thicken runny mashed potatoes are A. Stir them gently allowing more steam to escape while they cool a little. 2. Add in some cheese, a hard cheese like parmesan is especially good if you want to soak up some excess moisture. 3. Add dehydrated potato pearls to mashed potatoes.
Twice Baked Potato Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 lbs Red Potatoes cut into 1" cubes
- 1 Tablespoon Salt for boiling water
- 6 oz Cream Cheese room temperature
- 8 oz Sour Cream lite or full fat
- ½ Cup Milk can substitute heavy cream
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 1-2 teaspoons Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ lb Bacon cooked and diced
- 1 ½ Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Toppings
- ½ lb Bacon cooked and diced
- 1 ½ Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 2 teaspoon Chives can substitute green onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wash the potatoes, peel (optional), and cut into 1" cubes. Place the potatoes in a large pot, add 1 Tablespoon of salt and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil, and boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are fork-tender.
- Once cooked, drain the water, then add the potatoes back to the pot. Mash the warm potatoes with a potato masher (or potato ricer) and add in your cream cheese, sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Mix well, then spread the mashed potato mixture into a 9"x13" baking dish and sprinkle bacon bits and shredded cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown, and the potatoes are warm throughout. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining bacon bits, shredded cheese and fresh chives. Enjoy!
Notes
Tips:
- You can leave the peels on or take them off, whichever you prefer, just make sure to wash them
- Start with cold water covering your potatoes, then bring to a boil. They will cook more evenly this way.
- Salting the water you boil your potatoes in seasons them as they cook.
- A hand potato masher will you give you a great rustic mashed potatoes texture.
- Cutting your potatoes smaller will make them cook faster!
Nutrition
Here are some other potato side dishes that we love!
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
- Bacon and Cheese Scalloped Potatoes
- Gruyere Mashed Potatoes
- Potato Skins
- Mashed Potatoes Red Potatoes
- Potato Casserole Recipe
- Crockpot Hashbrown Casserole
- More Potato Recipes
- Best Potato Recipes
- More Holiday Favorites
- More Side Dishes
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This Twice Baked Potato Casserole is super simple to make and loaded with family favorites like mashed potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese and bacon. Plus, it is make-ahead and freezer friendly!
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