Last weekend Betsy and I had one of those lazy weekends. We normally try to get out and go for a hike or something, especially now that it appears to be officially Spring.
But last weekend was dreary and rainy. So we did pretty much nothing. Well, let me rephrase that.
Betsy did lots. She worked and cleaned and was generally a productive member of society.
I did nothing but watch streaming Netflix. I’m halfway through the entire Battlestar Galactica series (DORK ALERT) and I simply can’t be bothered with much else until I finish it.
Oh. I also managed to eat almost an entire casserole. This casserole was pretty heavy though and lifting it in and out of the fridge had to burn a fair number of calories. At least that’s what I told myself.
Hash Brown Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 Cups shredded potatoes, 4-5 medium sized russet potatoes
- ⅓ Cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ Cup sour cream, or greek yogurt
- 4 scallions, whites and greens chopped
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ Teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Butter or nonstick spray, for dish
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Peel potatoes and run them through a box grater. Grate the potatoes on a few paper towels. Add a few more paper towels on top and press out as much liquid as possible.
- Chop scallions and grate cheese. Add to a large bowl with potatoes and other ingredients.
- Combine well and add to a casserole dish that’s been lightly buttered or sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Bake dish at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Then broil on high for a minute to crisp up the top of the casserole.
- Serve immediately!
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Prepping the Potatoes. I prepped these potatoes in the same way that I would if I was making a more standard hash brown. Start by peeling all the potatoes and removing any large bad spots that they may have.
Then just run them all through a box grater! This isn’t hard really but just be careful not to zone out and accidentally box grate your finger. I’ve done that on more than one occasion…
Lay down a few paper towels before you shred them. When you’re done shredding, press the potatoes between a few more paper towels to soak up as much liquid as possible. You’d be surprised how much liquid comes out of the potatoes and if you don’t get rid of it, your casserole might end up a bit watery.
The Other Stuff. Besides a boat load of shredded potatoes, you’ll need a few staples for any good casserole. I used sour cream for my version, but you could use Greek yogurt also. They provide the same tangy creaminess to the dish.
You don’t need to put any butter in the casserole (although I suppose you could). I just used the butter on the dish itself to make sure the casserole didn’t stick.
Chop up the scallions (use the whites and greens) and shred the cheese. Yes. There’s lots of shredding going on here.
Then stir everything together in a large bowl. Don’t forget the cayenne pepper. You could substitute paprika or chili powder, but something a bit spicy kind of makes this dish.
Once this is all stirred together really well, add it to a buttered casserole dish. You could also just spray the dish with some nonstick spray if that’s more your style.
Bake this guy at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. It’s takes a while to cook a potato casserole like this. You want to make sure the potatoes are cooked through.
At the end of the cooking, I flipped on my broiler and broiled the casserole for just a minute so the crust got nice and browned.
Let this cool for a few minutes and then serve it up! It’s great with ketchup (although I don’t like ketchup) or hot sauce.
The corner pieces are especially valuable due to their maximum crunchy edges.
This is almost a lazy man’s hash brown. You kind of just throw all this stuff in a dish and bake it and it’s almost certainly going to be delicious.
Whether you’re feeding a crowd or feeding yourself on a dreary weekend, it’s hard not to like this dish.
rita
Nice, I was just looking for inspiration for some potatoes that need to be used up today. Thanks for the great post :)
Connie
That's a great idea! Perhaps you can bake it in a very shallow dish to maximize the surface area for crunchy crust. I'd probably pull out the food processor to shred the potatoes. Do you think the casserole can be prepared the night before and refrigerated to bake in the morning for breakfast/brunch?
Nick
Definitely. Wouldn't be a problem at all!
vanillasugar
this looks so good even the raw/uncooked version i would totally eat. that's like a foodie compliment. lol
My recent post chocolate-pb eggs with crunchy filling
Nick
i tried some raw. It wasn't bad. Well, as good as raw potatoes can taste… :)
Jeannette
Looks delicious! I've been looking for a dairy-based dish to make for a Passover meal, and this fits the bill perfectly. Thank you!
Julie
When you complete BSG you need to do Firefly. Personal opinion.
Also: Box graters should come with a warning. "Do not operate drunk." At least, that's when I always bleed…
Lora
What a great idea. I'l take one of those crispy corners please. And so say we all.
Nick
So say we all!
Suzy Eats
Great idea. I am going to try this. LOVE potatoes :-)
Meliza
My daughter laughed when she heard I, the creative "measurer", bought the kitchen scale as you recommended. But despite this, I bravely sallied forth. Today I am making tons of cookies (including your fire and spice recipe) so I thought I'd crack that scale box open. All was going well, I was enjoying the whole weight measurement with the tare feature, when I thought things were a bit off. My first 4.5c of all purpose flour didn't look right. I re-measured with the dreaded measuring cup. Ugh. A tad over 3 c. How could this be! I went to a number of websites and discovered that there is not consensus about how many grams are in a cup of all purpose flour.
The range was from 140g at joyofbaking.com to my initial foray of 125g at traditionaloven.com to 95g. somewhere and with a middling represented by dianasdesserts.com at 110. So I went back to eyeballing. Yes I can be more consistent for future reps, and it is more fun, less messy, with weight, but I didn't really want to fool around with all the guessing at the conversion rate.
By the way, the asparagus bundles were fantastic. I used sweet potatoes cut lengthwise and slightly zapped to make them more pliable, and turkey bacon to make them healthier. Colorful, aromatic, and delicious. Extremely popular. I hope you don't mind that I gave you all the credit even though I doctored them.
Nick
Thanks for the comment. Glad the wraps turned out well! The changes all sound good to me!
On the flour question.. it actually also matters what KIND of flour your using. Bread flour has a different mass than all-purpose. And cake flour is definitely different.
For all purpose flour I use 125g per cup. Hasn't failed me so far. :)
Sherri
Could you also call this a Rosti?
Chris
This can NOT be "hash brown casserole" because it does not contain a can or two of "cream of something" soup! (ha ha)
Coming from the land of Cracker Barrel, this is the healthiest and most tasty looking has brown casserole I've seen. Nice one!
My recent post Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
thebasicsbypaulbyrondowns
This recipe has the South written all over it.
Claire
Nick, this looks delicious. So say we all! :-)
Sheltie_Momma
So what I'm wondering – if I made this in one of those weird brownie pans that has the partitions would I get way more corner pieces…I love me some corner pieces.
BrewDrinkRepeat
So, I did two things wrong, one I recognize and one I don’t. I put the mixture in a deep casserole bowl rather than a shallower pan, so it took a really long time to cook (and still didn’t cook all the way through).
However, one thing I’m confused about is that my potatoes changed color almost immediately upon shredding; they started to lose their almost-translucent whiteness within the first minute (while draining out the water), and by the time the casserole was done the potatoes had taken on a dingy, beige/tan color that was not at all appetizing (not to mention looked nothing like the beautiful photos above). What can I do to get around this?
Nick
Hey Brian… sorry for the delayed reply. Oxidation is the only thing that makes potatoes change color, so it’s really important to keep them in water right up to the point that you are ready to use them.
It sounds like you did put your potato in water though so i’m not really sure what could cause the fast oxidation. Once the casserole is mixed and in the oven they shouldn’t really change color much.
The only other thing I was able to find that can cause potatoes to change color is if you stored them in the fridge or if they were held at a cold temperature for a long time. That can apparently cause them to change color when cooked.
BrewDrinkRepeat
I actually didn’t keep them in water; I peeled them and then immediately shredded them with the grater and then pressed the water out w/ the paper towels. They were sitting on the counter, under the paper towels, for maybe 7 – 8 minutes total. Think that might have done it? Should that step be done quicker perhaps?
Nick
Huh… That should be fine… I mean… they might brown a bit, but I probably had mine on paper towels for a few minutes also.
Weird.