Friends, have I got a treat for you today? I present my loaded baked potato casserole. You're going to want to share this with your friends because it is too rich for one person. Potatoes, bacon, onion, sour cream, and cheddar cheese make this one of the best side dishes you'll ever find for your next steak dinner. Let's get cooking!
Loaded Baked Potato Casserole Ingredients
One of the great things about this loaded baked potato casserole is that you can use leftover baked potatoes and leftover crispy bacon. For this recipe, you will need two leftover and chilled baked potatoes, ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese, half an onion (about ¼ cup of grated onion), ¼ cup chopped crispy bacon, 2 tablespoon hot bacon grease or melted butter, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ½ cup sour cream, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
How To Make Loaded Baked Potato Casserole
Break out the grater
Pull the greater out of the cupboard because it will get some use today. Set the grater over a medium mixing bowl and grate the potatoes, skin and all. Next, grate the onion. Remove the skin first. Finally, grate the cheese. Now would be a good time to fire up the oven too. Turn it on to 425°f.
Measuring spoons
At this point, your grater probably needs some rest. Luckily, it's time for the measuring spoons to get to work. So, set the tired old grater to the side and get those spoons a measuring. Measure out some bacon fat, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Now, whip out the old measuring cup and measure up some sour cream. Put all this stuff in the bowl with the potatoes.
Mix it up!
The key to this loaded baked potato casserole is the texture of the potatoes. They should not be mashed. You took all that time to grate the potatoes, don't undo all that hard work by over mixing and mashing them. So, when mixing all the ingredients, rather than using a spoon, use two forks and gently toss the ingredients together. That will keep the texture of the potatoes and will make the casserole light and fluffy.
Bake the loaded baked potato casserole
To bake the casserole, gently transfer it from the mixing bowl to a lightly greased oven-safe dish. I have these snazzy little castiron pans you can see in the picture below, but any small dish will work. You can use a loaf pan, or if you have ramekins, you can make individual portions. Just like when mixing, you don't want to destroy the texture of the potatoes when you transfer them from the bowl to the dish. Definitely, don't push them down into the dish. Bake, the casserole for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top, is golden brown and the peeks are browned. If you make individual portions, bake them for 20 to 25 minutes. Take the casserole out of the oven and enjoy!
The Wrap-Up
The top of this loaded baked potato casserole gets nice and crispy while the middle stays soft and tender. This is a great side dish for a steak dinner, roast beef, or even a lobster dinner. But be aware, it is very rich, and you won't be able to stop eating it.
That does it for today. Thanks for reading. I hope you've enjoyed the post. Remember to share this on Facebook or Pinterest and leave a comment below. I love to hear from you.
Are you looking for another great side dish for your steak dinner? Check out this Steakhouse Creamed Spinach Recipe. This post was inspired by Chef John's Potatoes Romanoff. Check out his video here.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 left lover baked potatoes
- ¼ cup grated onion
- 2 tablespoon bacon fat or melted butter
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese, grated
- ¼ cup Crispy Bacon
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Grate the potatoes on a cheese grater into a medium mixing bowl.
- Melt the bacon fat or butter and pour it into the potatoes.
- Add the cheddar cheese, onion, crispy bacon, salt, pepper, sour cream, onion powder, and garlic powder. Mix well but only enough to distribute the ingredients. You don't want to mash the potatoes. It's easiest to use two forks to mix rather than a spoon.
- Spoon the potato mixture into a small oven-safe dish that has been lightly greased, such as a loaf pan. Don't smooth out the top.
- Bake the loaded baked potato casserole in a 425°f oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until it is hot and the top is golden brown.
- Serve the casserole as a side with a nice steak, thick-cut pork chop or ribs.
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