Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole Recipe

This hashbrown casserole recipe, made entirely from scratch with a delicious homemade cheese sauce, shredded potatoes, and sweet onions, is one of our favorite potato dishes.

Think of hashbrown casserole as au gratin potatoes or scalloped potatoes made with shredded potatoes rather than sliced. Our recipe below starts with whole russet potatoes for the best possible texture, but you can easily substitute frozen hash browns if you are short on time (we’ve included tips for this below!).

This casserole is comforting, incredibly impressive, and always a crowd-pleaser. We love it for a comforting family dinner, but really lean on this recipe for the holidays and potlucks. Everyone ends up loving it!

Key Ingredients

• Potatoes: Use russet potatoes (regular baking potatoes). We start with whole potatoes and make our own hash browns. That said, you can buy frozen hash browns, thaw them, then use them in our recipe below (use the shredded option, not the hash brown cakes/patties).
• Butter: We use unsalted butter, but salted is fine. Just reduce the salt called for in our recipe below by ¼ teaspoon.
• Onion and Garlic: We cook these in butter for the base of our cheese sauce. They turn sweet and soft.
• Flour: You don’t need much (just 2 tablespoons), but all-purpose flour mixes with the butter to form a roux. This butter-and-flour mixture helps thicken the cheese sauce. The same happens when you make béchamel for mac and cheese.
• Milk and Cream: We love the richness of whole milk and cream.
• Seasonings: These season our cheese sauce. We call for Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
• Sour Cream and Cheese: Both add richness. We use full-fat sour cream, a good-quality sharp white cheddar cheese, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• Breadcrumbs: Add these to the top before baking for a crunchy, golden-brown topping. We love light and airy panko here, but homemade breadcrumbs are a great substitute.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Our Favorite Hashbrown Casserole

First, prepare the potatoes. We start with whole russet potatoes and shred them by hand. To get the perfect texture, rinse them under cold water to remove the extra starches that can make the casserole gummy. Then, par-boil them for 3 minutes in salted water. This blanches the potatoes and keeps them from browning while you make the cheese sauce.

Next, make the cheese sauce. While the potatoes cool, start by cooking the onions and garlic in butter, then stir in a little bit of flour. Once it’s mixed into the butter, whisk in the milk and cream. This is similar to a macaroni and cheese sauce (it just calls for less flour). When the sauce is smooth, whisk in the seasonings, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and, of course, the sour cream and cheese.

Combine the potatoes and sauce. Gently stir the potatoes into the cheese sauce, being careful not to break them up too much. This is also a good time to add the fresh parsley (if you are using it). Then, scrape everything into a square baking dish.

Make the crunchy topping. You could just bake the casserole right away, but it is really wonderful with a buttery, crunchy topping. In a small bowl, stir together the panko breadcrumbs, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, parsley, a pinch of salt, and melted butter. Once the butter coats all the breadcrumbs, scatter the topping evenly over the baking dish.

Finally, bake until bubbly and golden. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover, then continue baking until the topping is golden brown and the edges are bubbling. It will be super hot right out of the oven, so let it sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

What to Serve with Hashbrown Casserole

This potato casserole works really well for the holidays, potlucks, entertaining, and heartier family meals. My family loves them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Try them with one or more of our Thanksgiving recipes and holiday recipes, like roast turkey, glazed and baked ham, roast beef, or brisket.

They also work for a hearty dinner. Try them with roasted chicken, turkey meatloaf, and roast pork loin. They’re also amazing with simple vegetable sides. We love this with roasted carrots, roasted green beans, sautéed broccoli, or fried cabbage.

More Potato Side Dishes To Try