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Cheesy Potato Casserole is a cornerstone holiday recipe in the Midwest. This version has from-scratch cream of chicken soup and a crunchy cornflake topping.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Cream of chicken soup: 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup may be substituted for the homemade version written in to the recipe.
Step-by-step instructions
- To make the cream of chicken soup, combine chicken broth, onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, parsley, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper) in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer.
- Whisk together milk and flour until smooth. Pour into saucepan, whisking continuously, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, add cream of chicken soup, hash browns, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper to taste (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper).
- Stir to combine, then pour into prepared baking dish. Bake uncovered for 1 hour, then remove from oven.
- Melt butter in the microwave. In a large bowl, add corn flakes. Drizzle with melted butter, then spread over the top of the casserole in an even layer. Bake uncovered 20 minutes longer, then garnish with parsley if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes serving for at least 12, more if you have a bountiful buffet.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Assemble the casserole through step 2 of the “casserole” section (step 4 overall). Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours in advance. Proceed with the baking instructions as directed in the recipe.
- Freezer: Assemble the casserole through step 2 of the “casserole” section (step 4 overall). Cover and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then proceed with the baking instructions and directed in the recipe.
- Mushroom soup: Substitute cream of mushroom soup for the cream of chicken soup.
- Meat lover’s: Stir in cooked bacon or chopped ham with the hash browns.
- Tex-Mex: Stir in one (4-ounce) can of diced green chiles or some cooked chorizo with the hash browns. Or, use the O’Brien style hash browns with the peppers and onions.
More holiday favorites
Christmas Recipes
Baked Ham with Crumb Topping
Christmas Recipes
Prime Rib with Mustard Cream Sauce
Bread Recipes
Homemade Crescent Rolls
Vegetable Recipes
Roasted Asparagus
Cheesy Potato Casserole
Cheesy Potato Casserole is a cornerstone holiday recipe in the Midwest. This version has from-scratch cream of chicken soup and a crunchy cornflake topping.
Ingredients
For the cream of chicken soup (see note 1):
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 pinch parsley
- 1 pinch paprika
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
For the casserole:
- 1 (30 ounce) package frozen hash browns thawed
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups cornflakes crushed
- 1/4 cup butter
- fresh parsley minced, for garnish, optional
Instructions
To make the cream of chicken soup:
- In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan, combine chicken broth, onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, parsley, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper). Bring to a simmer.
- Whisk together milk and flour until smooth. Pour into saucepan, whisking continuously, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
To make the casserole:
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, add cream of chicken soup, hash browns, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper to taste (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper). Stir to combine, then pour into prepared baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour, then remove from oven. Melt butter in the microwave. In a large bowl, add corn flakes. Drizzle with melted butter, then spread over the top of the casserole in an even layer. Bake uncovered 20 minutes longer, then garnish with parsley if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Cream of chicken soup: 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup may be substituted for the homemade version written in to the recipe.
- Yield: This recipe makes serving for at least 12, more if you have a bountiful buffet.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Assemble the casserole through step 2 of the “casserole” section (step 4 overall). Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours in advance. Proceed with the baking instructions as directed in the recipe.
- Freezer: Assemble the casserole through step 2 of the “casserole” section (step 4 overall). Cover and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then proceed with the baking instructions and directed in the recipe.
- Mushroom soup: Substitute cream of mushroom soup for the cream of chicken soup.
- Meat lover’s: Stir in cooked bacon or chopped ham with the hash browns.
- Tex-Mex: Stir in one (4-ounce) can of diced green chiles or some cooked chorizo with the hash browns. Or, use the O’Brien style hash browns with the peppers and onions.
Nutrition
Calories: 189kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 275mgPotassium: 88mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 580IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 172mgIron: 2mg
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Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
Meggan, thank you for providing your own recipe for cream of chicken soup. There are many people with food allergies and having a good homemade version of popular “ingredients” is helpful to us out here who have one or more family members for whom we need to tailor our cooking. My wife and my granddaughter are gluten intolerant and I cannot use commercially prepared soups. However, I can take your recipe and replace the flour with gluten free flour and prepare this wonderful meal for my entire family. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness
Thank you Pat for all of your comments! I appreciate your generosity and enthusiasm in the food world. I hope you and your family enjoy this modified version, please come back and let me know how it went! – Meggan
The links are not working from the blog but can get to Recipe via searching. Regards from Thailand
Hi Paul, sorry the link isn’t working for you! I’m going to have a copy of the recipe emailed to you directly. Sorry again – Meggan
This has become our favorite potato recipe. Take some stress off and make it the day before as mentioned in the recipe. I added a little extra sour cream to keep it moist overnight. Next time I will try making your homemade cream of chicken soup instead of using canned. I wonder….is there a way to make your own hash brown potatoes instead of buying frozen??? Thanks for another great recipe!!
Hi Barbara! It makes me so happy to hear that you love this recipe! I haven’t tried homemade hashbrowns in this myself, I imagine it would work though as long as the hashbrowns were cooked beforehand then added to the mixture. Otherwise, it might end up mushy. What a great idea, though! If you do try it, would you please let me know how it turns out? – Meggan
These were great!
You can buy a cheaper & smaller box of another brand of Corn Flakes at Dollar Tree for a $1. Then you don’t have the waste of a big box! They work just as well! This is one of our Family’s Favorite that everyone likes and yes I’m from the Midwest!!
Tried it with french’s onions on top. Amazing!
YES! That sounds like the best idea ever. You are my spirit animal! Thanks for the suggestion. -Meggan
Wonderful dish!
I use crushed potato chips on top instead of the cornflakes and so gud! Your recipe is wonderful!!!!!
I love your variations that don’t contain the crappy canned soup! It is amazing to me how some recipes are so regional…
I have been making this in Sourhern California for years!!! I add green onions to it also!