Cheesy Potato Casserole

There have been quite of few foods trending or going viral this year. Like Homemade No Knead Artisan Bread, Dalgona Coffee, and now Chocolate Bombs. Whether or not any of these will endure over time is anyone's guess. Although if I were a betting person I would say the No Knead Artisan Bread will be with us for years to come. Because bread is a comfort food to many. And nothing soothes the soul better than indulging ourselves in some our favorite comfort foods. Not only do they have enduring and endearing qualities to them, they sometimes are the foods we gravitate toward when we are craving a mood boost. A Cheesy Potato Casserole is the legal, vegetable version of a psychedelic drug, otherwise known, as one of the best comfort foods to have ever been created. And no, I won't spoil it by telling you it's comes with a heavy dose of calorie overload. Life is short. We all need to make room for some in moderation indulgences in our lives.

Almost every family has 'their' version of the best recipe for a Cheesy Potato Casserole. When served at the holidays, gatherings or barbecues, it's usually the dish everyone gravitates towards. As it's often the dish first to go. Even those who maintain they live a clean, healthy eating lifestyle find it hard to resist.

Let me start by putting any sense of humbleness aside or tempering any bit of food arrogance I may have from time to time let rear it's not so pretty head. This Cheesy Potato Casserole is the most wicked, best ever, most crave worthy, most crowd pleasing comfort food to have ever been created. There, I said it. And I have no regrets because it's just that good. And since I am on a bit of a hubris roll, risking any lifelong friendships, or causing any family conflict, let me say it's destined to become the new family favorite.

If you allow yourself to go down the Cheesy Potato Casserole rabbit hole you will find hundreds of versions of recipes for them. Some are made with frozen shredded hash browns or cooked potatoes versus frozen diced potato hash browns. While others are made with a combination of cheeses versus Velveeta (which, yes loosely qualifies as a cheese). Some are topped with crushed Ritz Crackers rather than crushed corn flake cereal. And then some are made with a homemade cream sauce rather than a can of cream of chicken soup. But comfort food was intended to be simple and not the least bit pretentious. And this Cheesy Potato Casserole is the embodiment of simple and unpretentious. 

In addition to frozen diced hash brown potatoes, this Cheesy Potato Casserole is made with sour cream, melted butter, Velveeta cheese, cream of chicken soup, dried chopped or minced onions, some Kosher salt, and topped with a slightly crushed cornflake and (yes, more) butter mixture. It's creamy, cheesy, and crunchy. The trifecta of comfort food deliciousness.

If there was ever a reason to stock up on cream of chicken soup and frozen diced hash brown potatoes, it would be this Cheesy Potato Casserole. If there was ever a time when we needed some soul satisfying comfort food in our lives, this definitely would be it. With the holidays approaching there may be no better side dish to make than this Cheesy Potato Casserole if you are looking to bring some joy to your family and/or friends. Make it for Christmas and/or New Years. And then when it's safe to have large gatherings again, make a double batch and invite all of the friends in your life you have missed being with. I promise a real hug and this Cheesy Potato Casserole will bring the kind of euphoria we all are longing to again experience.

Recipe

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Serves 8-10 as a side dish

Ingredients

1 bag (32 ounces/907g) frozen diced hash brown potatoes, slightly thawed (see Notes)

1 can (10.5 ounces/298g) cream of chicken soup

16 ounces (454g) sour cream

8 Tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

4 Tablespoons dried chopped or minced onions

12 ounces Velveeta cheese (338g), coarsely grated

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

4 cups (4 ounces/112g) corn flakes, slightly crushed

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Optional: Fresh herbs (thyme, parsley) for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Butter a large baking dish (9" x 13") and set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the slightly crushed corn flakes and melted butter. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, melted butter, Kosher salt and dried onions.

4. Fold in the shredded cheese and then fold in the diced hash brown potatoes.

5. Spoon mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top evenly with the cornflake/butter mixture.

6. Place baking dish on a large baking dish and bake for 60-65 minutes. Note: Check at the 30 minute mark. If your cornflake topping is getting too brown, gently lay (do not wrap) a piece of aluminum foil on top and continue baking.

7. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with some chopped fresh herbs (like thyme and/or fresh parsley).

8. If you are lucky enough to have any leftovers, cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. This casserole heats up perfectly in the microwave.

Notes: (1) I used these Ore-Ida Diced Hash Brown Potatoes. Take the frozen diced potato hash browns out of the freezer while you start putting together the rest of the ingredients and preheating the oven. In my world this is what it takes to get them to a slightly thawed state.