This hearty Twice Baked Potato Casserole is just like a twice baked potato, but in casserole form! Creamy, loaded mashed potatoes (with crispy skins included!) are topped with two types of cheese, crispy bacon and chives. It’s also make-ahead friendly and travels well!
Easy Twice Baked Potato Casserole
This incredibly creamy Twice Baked Potato Casserole is so easy, yet SO delicious! The potatoes themselves are flavorful, thanks to the two different cheeses and a tasty touch of garlic powder. What really sends this casserole over the top is the richness that’s created by the simple combination of sour cream and butter!
To put it simply, this homemade twice baked potato casserole is true comfort food. It’s creamy, rich, flavorful, and loaded with cheesy potatoes! A warm serving of this casserole after a day spent out in the cold is just what you need to warm up nice and quick. We love it for this reason… Even though we live in Florida. Listen, anything under 60 is freezing!
There are a lot of elements to this dish that make it so delicious. The rich creaminess of it, the perfectly cooked bacon, and the touch of garlicky flavor will all have you reaching for a second serving. However, we both agree that the combination of shredded mozzarella and shredded cheddar cheese are what makes this casserole SO unforgettably good! When it comes to cheese, more is always better.
Ingredients Needed
The great part about this twice baked potato casserole? You can completely customize it and make it your own. Love smoked gouda? It’s delicious on top of this potato casserole. Feel free to play around and make this your own by using what you have on hand already.
- Red Potatoes: We love red potatoes and they are wonderful in this recipe. We keep the skins on while you mash the potatoes, so keep that in mind while picking out your potatoes.
- Olive Oil: You can also use avocado oil or coconut oil.
- Butter: Lots and lots of butter. As we all know, it’s a necessary ingredient to make good mashed potatoes.
- Sour Cream: A full fat sour cream will yield creamier results than low fat, however you can use whichever you prefer. You can even use plain, full fat, greek yogurt!
- Seasonings: We use a combination of salt, pepper and garlic powder. When the mood strikes me, I have also been known to add some crushed red pepper flakes for a touch of heat!
- Cheese: The best part! We like to use a combination of mild cheddar and mozzarella cheese, but any shredded cheese that melts will work! I have also used gouda, sharp cheddar and white cheddar. It’s all good!
- Bacon: Pork bacon is our favorite, but turkey bacon can be substituted as well! Just make sure and cook it till it’s nice and crispy.
- Chives: Chives or green onions both work wonderfully, it’s all up to personal preference. You can also skip them, but I love the flavor they add and the pops of color!
How to Make Twice Baked Potato Casserole
The prep time for this recipe is just 15 minutes, then you toss it into the oven and wait for perfection! You’re gonna love this easy-peasy casserole recipe.
Preheat: Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Bake the potatoes: Wash and pay dry potatoes. Place potatoes on a baking tray and coat potatoes with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, until fork tender.
Mash the potatoes: In a large bowl, lightly mash potatoes using a potato masher, leaving them in big chunks. Do not mash them like mashed potatoes. We want them to be chunky.
Stir in more ingredients: Add butter, sour cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper, stirring until blended. Add 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup of cheddar cheese, fold to combine.
Prepare the casserole for baking: Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour potato mixture into the prepared casserole dish and smooth the top into an even layer. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella, cheddar cheese and bacon on top of potatoes.
Bake: Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until hot and the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!: Remove from the oven and top with chives before serving. Serve warm!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy. It’s such an easy casserole to whip together with little effort. No peeling the potatoes or boiling them on the stove, just pop them into the oven!
- Make-Ahead. It’s a great make-ahead dish for a party or even with guests. You can fully prep it the day before and just bake it when ready to serve. It also travels easily! Full directions on how to prep this casserole ahead of time are shared below.
- Flavor. With all the cheese, sour cream and butter, this casserole is perfectly rich and creamy. Then we add the crispy bacon and the chunks of potato (we like to roughly mash them so they keep some texture!) and it’s seriously irresistible.
Can This Casserole Be Made Ahead Of Time?
Yes! In fact, this casserole is great for everything from making it the day before a party, traveling to a party or even freezing it ahead of time.
Prep Ahead: If you’d like to make this casserole ahead of time, simply prepare it (do everything except the final baking step) about 2 days before you’ll need it and keep it stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Allow the casserole to warm up on the counter for about 30 minutes (or up to an hour) and then bake it as directed in the recipe below!
Freeze: If you would like to freeze it for another time, prepare the casserole in a freezer friendly casserole dish (we use an aluminum pan). Prepare the casserole (except the final baking step) and then wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, I put it directly into the oven from the freezer and bake it at 350°F for about 45 minutes. It’s done when the cheese is melted and it’s warmed through!
What To Serve With Twice Baked Potato Casserole:
This casserole is delicious as a side with many different main dishes! It makes the perfect dish to bring to a potluck, because it goes with just about everything! Here are a few of our favorites to serve along with this casserole:
- Pan Fried Pork Chops
- Crockpot Shredded Beef
- Roasted Citrus Chicken
- Slow Cooker Country Style Ribs
- Air Fryer Shrimp
- Crockpot Dr Pepper Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Beef Tips
- Sheet Pan Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp
- BBQ Air Fryer Chicken Legs
Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 medium-sized red potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 tablespoons butter, sliced
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
- Minced chives, optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Wash and pay dry potatoes. Place potatoes on a baking tray and coat potatoes with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, until fork tender.
- In a large bowl, lightly mash potatoes using a potato masher, leaving them in big chunks. (Do not mash them like mashed potatoes. We want them to be chunky.)
- Add butter, sour cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper, stirring until blended. Add 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup of cheddar cheese, fold to combine.
- Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour potato mixture into prepared casserole dish and smooth the top into an even layer. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella, cheddar cheese and bacon on top of potatoes.
- Return casserole to oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until hot and the cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and top with chives before serving. Serve warm!
Notes
Nutrition
Looking For More Easy Side Dishes?
We have a ton of great side dishes that are easy to whip together. Here are a few reader favorites:
These potatoes are great. Only because of a time factor I decided to boil the chunks because it was quicker. I only had russet potatoes and they were still great. I subbed green onions for chives. The recipe is amazing and look forward to making it again. Very few make it in to my recipe book but this one is def going on it.
I would like to read the reviews but I cannot figure out how to get to them.
Hi Kris! Any comment reviews are left in the comments here, and there are star reviews in the recipe card.