Twice Baked Potato Casserole

In this recipe

Choose your potatoes
Bake your bacon
Endless Twice Baked Potato Casserole Toppings
How to serve this casserole
An Easy Make Ahead casserole
store leftovers

Who doesn’t love a casserole? Growing up in the Midwest, casseroles were a staple at my family table during the weekdays, at potlucks, and at every holiday get-together. Why? Casseroles combine fresh produce with pantry staples to create a any-serving-size dish that’s versatile, forgiving, and perhaps best of all, easy to assemble ahead of time.

This casserole takes all the joy of twice-baked potatoes — a creamy, fluffy potato base stuffed with gooey and flavorful cheese, salty bacon, and fresh scallions — and turns it into the ultimate make-ahead dish.

Choose your potatoes

I’ll never tell you there’s a wrong potato (all potatoes are wonderful), but usually there is to the right Potato for the Job with Twice Baked Potatoes and understanding a little more about them can help you make the right choice.

Potato varieties fall into two categories: waxy and starchy.

Waxy Potatoes have less strength and more moisture. What does that mean? They’re great at holding their shape when cut and cooked (think potato salad or soup) but get a bit crumbly if you try to break them apart. Potatoes that fall into this category include new potatoes, redskins, and seedlings.
Starchy potatoes have (naturally) more starch and less moisture, so they’re better for breaking up into fluffy potato clouds (baked, mashed) or crispy when fried (hello, french fries). Idaho, Yukon Gold, and Red potatoes all fall into this category, and these are the potatoes we’ll be using for our Creamy Baked Potato Bake.

Bake your bacon

This recipe features fresh chunks of bacon, which are a perfect opportunity for one of my favorite ways to cook bacon: baking in the oven.

Cooking bacon in the oven: Line a large, rimmed sheet pan with foil (for easier cleanup) and place an ovenproof rack on top, if you have one. The baking rack helps hot air circulate around the bacon, cooking it more evenly, and lifts the streaks from the rendered bacon fat, resulting in crispier cuts. Don’t have a baking grid? No problem. You can cook the bacon right on the sheet pan, just use tongs to flip the strips halfway through cooking.

Another thing to note about this method: Bacon will crisp up as it cools, so look for a dark color change on your bacon rather than crispy streaks as a sign that it’s ready to pull out of the oven.

Endless Twice Baked Potato Casserole Toppings

The joy of a baked potato dinner is the endless possibilities for toppings, and that joy exists in this casserole too! Our recipe starts with the classics: cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and green onions; But use this as a starting point and feel free to swap out some of your favorites.

Here are a few ideas:

mix cheese by replacing part of the cheddar with gruyere, feta or goat cheese.
replace bacon with cooked Italian or Andouille sausage.
want more veggies Add blanched spinach, sautéed peppers, mushrooms, roasted garlic, or broccoli florets to the mixture.
Use your herb garden Add chives, parsley or fresh basil as a garnish.
Add some heat by tossing in some chopped jalapenos or a hearty pinch of chilli powder!

How to serve this casserole

As I mentioned earlier, casseroles are flexible in their role as a main or side dish, so serve these as both here.

If you’re serving it as a main course, throw together a quick side salad while your potatoes bake. A hearty, flavorful kale salad is a great choice to balance out the rich, cheesy potatoes.

Or save this as a ahead-of-a-time side dish to serve alongside a quick stovetop meal like roast pork chops or oven-roasted chicken (the 350F baking temperature on this casserole is a bit flexible if you need to toss something more expensive around to cook alongside your main course).

An Easy Make Ahead casserole

Would you like to do this in advance? No problem! Once the casserole is ready, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When ready to bake, remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking, remove the plastic wrap, and then bake according to the recipe directions.

do you want to freeze it Wrap the entire casserole dish in a layer of plastic wrap, and then in a layer of foil. Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator, remove plastic wrap, then bake according to recipe directions.

store leftovers

One final note on the joy of casseroles: they reheat beautifully. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Reheat in the microwave or in an ovenproof casserole dish at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes.

More cozy potato casserole recipes

Cheesy Potato Casserole
Potato and sausage casserole
Sweet potato casserole with pecans
Sweet Potato and Yukon Gold Casserole

preparation time
20 minutes

cooking time
100 minutes

total time
2 hours

portions
8 servings

yield
1 (9 x 13 inch) saucepan

If using unsalted butter for this recipe, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the potatoes in step 6.

3 pounds russet potatoes
12 ounces sliced bacon (about 12 slices)
1 cup sour cream
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped scallions (white and green parts), divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
A few cracks of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Bake Potatoes:

Prick each potato a few times with a fork and wrap in a large foil packet. Bake the potatoes for 40 to 60 minutes, depending on their size, until tender. When done, unwrap the potatoes to rest until cool enough to handle.
Place bacon on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper:

Meanwhile, line a large, rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil and cover with a baking rack (if you have one). Arrange the bacon strips in a single layer on the wire rack, being careful not to overlap.
Cook and chop the bacon:

Bake the bacon until it shrinks slightly and darkens in color (remember it will crisp up as it cools), about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on thickness.

Using tongs, place the cooked bacon on a plate lined with a few pieces of kitchen paper to cool. After cooling, cut the bacon into small pieces. Put aside.
Peel and mash potatoes:

Once cool enough to touch (but still warm), cut the potatoes in half. Place the potatoes cut-side down on the cutting board and use a soup spoon to peel off the skin and discard. Cut the potato flesh into chunks and place in a large mixing bowl.
Adding Admixtures to Potatoes:

In the bowl with the potatoes, add the sour cream, cream cheese, milk, and melted butter. Mix and mash the potatoes with a potato masher until well combined but not completely smooth (you still want a few lumps of potatoes).

Add about half the chopped bacon, 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1 cup scallions, and the garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Use a rubber spatula to lift the mixtures into the potato mixture. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Reduce the oven temperature and prepare the casserole dish:

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with butter.
Assemble and bake the casserole:

Pour the potato mixture into the prepared casserole dish and smooth out with a rubber spatula to form an even layer. Scatter the remaining cheddar cheese over the potatoes. Cover the tin with foil, being careful not to press it tightly against the cheese, and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake the casserole, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes, until the cheese is browned and slightly bubbling on the sides.
Garnish and serve:

Top the casserole with the remaining pieces of bacon and spring onions. Surcharge.

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