This easy cheesy potatoes recipe is going to be your new go-to side dish for the holidays. Flavorful potatoes in a simple cheddar cheese sauce is creamy and comforting!
Love potatoes? Try these other favorite casseroles including funeral potatoes, cheesy scalloped potatoes and twice baked potatoes.
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Best Cheesy Potato Casserole
If you’re looking for a recipe for cheesy potatoes to add to your Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving menu this year…I’ve got your back!
This cheesy potato casserole is a staple Thanksgiving side dish that is always the first one gone. It tastes amazing served alongside a roasted turkey or baked ham feeds a crowd.
Why I Love This Recipe
- The perfect texture. Creamy from both the sour cream and cream of chicken soup, cheesy from the cheddar cheese and crunchy from the buttery corn flakes topping.
- Easy and quick. Prepared and baked from start to finish in under an hour with minimal ingredients and effort. This American classic is an easy, no-fail side dish!
- Party potatoes. A potato side by many names – cheesy potato bake, cheesy potato casserole, funeral potatoes or cheesy hashbrown casserole recipe.
Cheesy Potatoes Ingredients
With a few fridge and pantry staples, this recipe for cheesy potatoes doesn’t require any fancy ingredients!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Hash browns: A large bag of frozen hash browns potatoes. You can either use diced or shredded or even country style with onions and peppers.
- Sour cream: This adds a bit of tang and contributes to the creamy texture.
- Canned cream of chicken soup: You can also use cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup. Make a homemade cream of chicken soup if you’d prefer.
- Butter: This is mixed in with the potatoes and the crunchy topping for some added richness.
- Onions: I like to include some fresh chopped green onions to help boost the flavor. If you don’t have fresh onions on hand, you can mix in some onion powder instead.
- Cheese: They wouldn’t be cheesy potatoes without the cheese! I like to grate my own sharp cheddar cheese and then stir it into the potato mixture.
- Cornflakes: Crush them up, then sprinkle on top before baking. You could also use crushed Ritz crackers, potato chips or panko breadcrumbs as the crunchy topping.
How to Make Cheesy Potatoes
- Preheat oven. Preheat oven and butter a 9×13″ baking dish. Set aside.
- Mix ingredients together. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, green onions, sour cream, cream of chicken, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup melted butter and cheese. Stir, then spread into casserole dish.
- Add topping. Top with extra cheese (if desired) and crushed cornflakes. Drizzle remaining melted butter on top.
- Bake in oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling hot.
Expert Tips
- Thaw. It’s important to thaw the bag of hash browns first before using. If they are still frozen, the excess water could make your cheesy potato casserole runny when baking.
- Using real Russet potatoes. Easy cheesy potatoes recipe from scratch! Boil or bake potatoes and then shred or cube them and they should work well in this recipe.
- Topping. If the cornflake topping begins to brown too fast while baking, feel free to tent the top with foil. Instead of cornflakes, try crushed potato chips or Ritz crackers.
- Let rest. The potatoes will need to set a bit before serving, so I would recommend letting them rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before digging in.
Want more cheesy potato recipes? Try cheesy mashed potatoes, cheesy scalloped potatoes and ham, or this au gratin potatoes recipe.
More Potato Side Dish Recipes
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Cheesy Potatoes Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 (30-ounce) bag diced or shredded hash browns , thawed
- 1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup (or celery or mushroom)
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 bunch green onions (or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese , plus more if desired
Topping
- 1-2 cups crushed cornflakes (or ritz crackers or panko crumbs)
- ¼ cup melted butter
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. Make sure your potatoes are mostly thawed and drain any excess water.
- Combine ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together 30 ounce hash brown potatoes, 16 ounce sour cream, 1 can cream of chicken, 1 bunch green onions (or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder), 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese until combined. Spread into the baking dish. Top with extra cheese, if desired.
- Bake. Spread 1-2 cups crushed cornflakes over the top. Drizzle with 1/4 cup butter. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling hot. If using cubed potatoes instead of shredded hash browns, bake 40 minutes.
- Serve. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy while warm!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
The dish isn’t gluten-free with the cornflakes, but you can make it gluten-free by swapping them out with a gluten-free cracker or breadcrumb.
Yes, you can make crockpot cheesy potatoes if you’d like. Simply mix the potatoes, sour cream, cream of chicken, butter, half of the cheese and spices in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Then sprinkle on the remaining cheese and cook for about 10-15 more minutes until bubbly.
If you haven’t tried this cheesy potato casserole recipe, it’s a must this year! We always make this old-fashioned potato dish for Thanksgiving with turkey or on Christmas and Easter with spiral ham, roasted vegetables, and potato rolls.
Yes, to make ahead prepare in a baking dish as directed, but leave off the cornflake topping. Then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days. When you’re ready to bake, let the dish sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Then sprinkle the cornflake topping over the potatoes and bake as directed.
To freeze this potato side dish, prepare according to instructions (don’t add the cornflake topping). Pour it into a baking dish or a disposable pan for easier clean up. Cover the pan tightly, then freeze up to 2 months.
When ready to enjoy, let thaw in the fridge overnight. Add the topping just before baking, then bake as directed (it may need to bake a few minutes longer since it was frozen, so just keep an eye on it).
Categorized as: American, Christmas, Easter, Freezer-Friendly, Nut-Free, Potatoes, Reader Favorites, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I love this recipe for hosting a large gathering. Everyone enjoys the flavor and I appreciate how easy it is to put together!
It wouldn’t be the holidays without cheesy potatoes as a side dish. Love them so much!
Funeral Potatoes are my guilty pleasure for sure, nothing beats the ooey gooey cheesy goodness and this recipe looks like a great rendition of a classic! Pinning for later!
This is the best recipe! These potatoes have been a favorite at my house for years. Comfort food at it’s finest!
OMG we have these all the times for holidays!
This looks amazing! The perfect side for dinner!
Yeah, this was super good. Had it Sunday and I’m in love with it
Do these need to be covered while baking?
This recipe came up on my “gluten free cheesy potatoes” Pinterest search. It sounds great and I certainly will try it out, but with regular corn flakes it is not gluten free. Corn flakes contain malt syrup. If you need gluten free, you will need to switch out the corn flakes for a gf variety or chips or some other topping. I will let you know which topping we end up liking best!
Thanks for the tip, Pam! I hope you try them out!
I’ve seen similar recipes that call for a cream soup (chicken, mushroom, potato, etc.). Does it work ok without it? Thanks for your help!
Many of my friends use it in their recipes, but my mom never has and I love it! The sour cream still gives you the creamy texture!
My mom would put plain potato chips on top instead of cornflakes. Soooo good!!!!
yum! i’ll have to try that next time. :)
These look delicious. I can’t wait to try them. Thanks for the recipe.
They’re super yummy. :) I hope you have a happy holidays! xo
yum! is there anything better than cheesy potatoes?! these look very similar to the ones my husband’s aunt makes for holiday dinners…and they are amazing!
I use ritz crackers on top of mine… I don’t like the way the corn flakes get mushy… and cream of celery soup, it has a nice tang! mmmm now I want some!
my mom has an awesome homemade mac and cheese recipe that usually gets bread crumbs on top but I like to use Ritz! They are so yummy baked on top of some cheesy goodness!
I made some of the cream of soup variety for our church Christmas dinner. They were good, but I’m always worried about the sodium content. I’m pinning your mom’s recipe for next time!
Mmmm!I think these would go down perfectly on a cold winter’s day! Too bad Christmas is on the middle of summer in Australia – we miss out on all the warm, cosy comfort foods at Christmas because it’s too hot to eat them!
I can almost taste these! Cheesy potatoes are perfect during a cold day. Good thing we have plenty of those coming up!
Few things are better! Yum.
My mother in law makes these potatoes and they’re insanely good (if not exactly healthy :) Perfect for the holidays!