Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Loaded with cheese and bacon this Twice Baked Potato Casserole recipe makes the ultimate side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any special family meal!
This loaded potato casserole is a family favorite recipe at the holidays and all year around!
Twice Baked Potato Casserole Recipe
Baked potatoes with layers of bacon, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese and sour cream is irresistible! All of these flavors together make one of our most popular casserole recipes on Pinterest.
Making a casserole in a 9 x 13 pan is so much easier than making individual Loaded Potatoes.
All of the bacon and cheesy goodness in this recipe make a creamy and delicious special treat. Once you get one bite you’ll need a plate full!
Just like our Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole, when this dish sits in the line up at a holiday meal or potluck you can expect to take home an empty pan.
We also love making this hearty side dish into an easy family meal idea by adding chicken. Our Chicken and Twice Baked Potato Casserole is a family favorite! Another version is our Crock Pot Twice Baked Potato Casserole which is nice for traveling, but I prefer the oven baking method!
Why This Potato Casserole Recipe Works:
- We eat with our eyes and this potato casserole just looks delicious!
- Potatoes alone are a bit bland, but become irresistible when bacon, cheese and sour cream are added.
- Leftovers freeze and reheat well.
- This is the type of recipe you bring to a gathering and people will ask for the recipe!
- Making a casserole is much faster than making individual potatoes and there’s so much less hassle.
A reader tipped me off to make this casserole low-carb by using cauliflower, so check out our Easy Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Casserole and our Crock Pot Loaded Cauliflower Casserole too!
Ingredients Needed
- Yukon Gold Potatoes – or your favorite spud to use making baked potatoes. 8 medium potatoes makes about 9 cups of cubes.
- Salt – Use some, but remember there’s also salt in the bacon, so don’t overdo it.
- Pepper – Great seasoning based on personal preference, we like to go light on pepper.
- Bacon – The ultimate casserole has freshly baked or fried bacon crumbled or chopped. If you need a shortcut pre-cooked bacon bits work okay too, just be sure to use quality bits.
- Sour Cream – Adds so much creaminess and helps blend all of the other deliciousness together.
- Cheddar Cheese – Adds color and flavor, we prefer sharp cheddar cheese.
- Mozzarella Cheese – Using at least two cheeses will give you more flavor dimension.
- Green Onions – Make the dish look more attractive and adds a little grassy, sweet flavor accent that is an improvement to the recipe.
How to Make This Loaded Potato Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Cut warm baked potatoes into bite-size pieces. Place half in baking dish. Sprinkle with half of salt and pepper.
- Layer half of bacon, sour cream and shredded cheese on potatoes
- Repeat layers.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and the entire dish is warm.
- Sprinkle with onions and enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I love using Yukon gold potatoes with a thinner skin.
- Dairy products rule. As a former dairy farming family, we’re a big fan of dairy products because they taste great and we know that we’re supporting other farm families like our own when we buy butter, cheese, sour cream and yogurt at any grocery store.
- Adjust your ratio of potatoes to yummy toppings based on your preferences. We love a high ratio of dairy products in this casserole!
- Bake time is only 20 minutes as long as the potatoes are warm. If using leftover baked potatoes in this recipe that are cold or room temperature bake time will be longer.
- We love our basic Pyrex baking dish with a lid. We always hope there will be leftovers and the lid makes life so much easier!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Prepare baked potatoes. Once cool enough to handle chop tender potatoes into bite sized pieces and layer half in the bottom of a lightly greased 9x 13″ casserole dish.
These instructions start with WARM pieces of potatoes.
Spread a generous layer of half of the sour cream over the potatoes.
Sprinkle half of the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses all the way to the edges of the dish. Top with half of the bacon.
Repeat all layers. Add remaining chunks of potatoes to the dish.
Sprinkle remaining cheese and bacon. I like the bacon to be on top and very visible. Seeing more bacon just makes things taste better!
Bake at 350°F until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle sliced green onions on top and serve warm.
Can This Casserole Be Made Ahead of Time?
This casserole can be made ahead of time, but keep in mind that it will take closer to an hour to reheat or warm through. I do prefer the taste of the casserole being freshly baked, but time constraints can be a challenge and prepping ahead can help.
Cover with foil to prevent the dish from drying out since it will be in the oven longer.
Be careful not to put a cold dish in hot oven.
Allow the dish to come to room temperature for about 30 – 60 minutes. Or set the cold dish in the cold oven while it preheats. The temperature of the ingredients doesn’t change as much as the temp of the dish before baking.
Bake covered with foil for about 30 minutes and then uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.
Use a digital thermometer to determine if the center of the dish is done cooking. This potato casserole with sour cream is cooked through when it has reached a temp of 140°F.
Other Easy Potato Casserole Recipes from the Farm
- Loaded Smashed Potato Casserole
- Red Potato Ranch Casserole
- Crock Pot Loaded Red Potatoes
- Easy Cheesy Potatoes in the Crock Pot
- Easy Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
We hope you enjoy these potato recipes as much as we do!
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Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds unpeeled potatoes baked I prefer Yukon gold
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound bacon cooked and chopped
- 2 cups sour cream
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Cut warm baked potatoes into bite size pieces. Place half in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish.4 pounds unpeeled potatoes baked
- Sprinkle with half of salt and pepper. Layer half of bacon, sour cream and shredded cheese.1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 pound bacon, 2 cups sour cream, 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Repeat layers. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and the entire dish is warm.
- Sprinkle with onions and enjoy!3 green onions
Video
Notes
- I love using Yukon gold potatoes with a thinner skin.
- Adjust your ratio of potatoes to yummy toppings based on your preferences. We love a high ratio of dairy products in this casserole!
- Bake time is only 20 minutes as long as the potatoes are warm. If using leftover baked potatoes in this recipe that are cold or room temperature bake time will be longer.
Did you make this recipe?
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Featured on this Meal Plan Monday
Originally published on October 8, 2018 with updates made on November 12, 2022 and September 6, 2023.
Love the simplicity of this recipe
How long should we warm up the potatoes for before cutting the potatoes up for the casserole?
Just make sure the potatoes are warmed through and they should work well! I hope you love the recipe!
Can you makes these ahead of time. Like the night before?
Hey there! Yes, the casserole can be mixed up ahead of time, just know that the baking time will be much longer because everything will be cold. The times listed are for using warm potatoes. Please let me know how it turns out!
Can this be frozen? If so, before or after baking?
Hey there! Great question! I would freeze the casserole after baking and reheat as needed. We do this regularly and it tastes great.
Can they be baked the day ahead, and real warmed ?
Hey there! Yes, this can be done remember a cold dish will take much longer to warm-up than starting with warm baked potatoes as the original recipe calls for. I like it best the first time it is baked, but we also enjoy reheating extras later on. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
How would you recommend reheating this dish?
Hey There! Great question! We typically reheat in the microwave, but I think using a slower method like the oven would be the absolute best! Hope you enjoy the casserole 🙂
Can you boil the potatoes beforehand instead of just warming them in the oven? Thanks!
Hey There! I haven’t tested this method, I’ve always used dry heat to make baked potatoes. I wonder if it would add too much moisture to the casserole? If you give it a try please let me know!
What is the best way to bake the potatoes (method, time, etc) before placing them in the casserole?
Hey there! I usually wash potatoes, prick a few holes in each and wrap with sheets of foil. Then I bake in a 400 degree F oven for about 45 minutes to an hour until the potatoes are tender. I’ve also made them in the crock pot before when I won’t be in the house because I can leave it on low for several hours until tender.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Instead of sour cream can I replace with butter or something else? Any recommendations?
Great question! In my mashed potatoes sometimes I use Greek yogurt. I haven’t tested it in this recipe, but I imagine it would work well! Let me know if you give it a try. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Huge hit! The first time I made it I stuck to the Exactly. What I do now, because I like it better, is mix everything together and cook, Sprinkle the top with a little cheese then cook.
Loved this recipe. My only question was what can I do to prevent them from drying out. I found that after a while, it was dry. Any suggestions?
Hey There! So glad you enjoy the recipe! Not sure how long you’re holding the potatoes warm, but we cover with foil while baking and holding if it’s going to be a while. Otherwise we haven’t had any trouble. You could always add more butter and sour cream too. Hope you’re able to make it again. Thanks 🙂
You say she can add more butter or sour cream… I don’t see that there is any butter in this recipe
Hello! While I don’t typically add butter to the recipe you can if you’d like. Hope you enjoy 🙂
Jennifer@ Plowing Through Life
When you used the crock pot for this recipe, how do you do it. Do you just put the potatoes in a crock pot and put it on low, without foil on them and for how long?
Hey There! Great question – here are the specifics on how to make it in the crock pot. Hope you enjoy 🙂 https://plowingthroughlife.com/crock-pot-twice-baked-potato-casserole/
This turned out so awesome!! My whole family loved it!!!
This was so good! I had about 1.5 of ground turkey to use up, so I made this a meal. After cooking the bacon (I used the Hormel pre-made which always needs more cooking/crisping but doesn’t leave as much grease), I add the ground turkey to the pan and let it use the bacon grease. Added roasted garlic powder, salt, & pepper. Once browned, I added to layers with the bacon.
My family loved it. There was just enough left over for lunch the next day. And now I’m sad it’s gone!
How would you make this so it can be cooked on the smoker. I’m using baby potatoes cut up. Can I rely on the smoker to cook the potatoes?
Hey There! Love this idea, but I haven’t tested it. Hopefully we can give that a try 🙂
Everyone loved it
My favorite way of enjoying a Potato dish. Loaded with all the extras. I may just add a little bit of garlic powder and just a pinch of onion powder since the recipe calls for green onions. My husband and I will be enjoying this first and later it will be the perfect dish to bring to our family get together. Planning on making this one this week. **
Can I bake and cut the potatoes the day before then mix the rest of the ingredients in layer form the day of?
Hey There! Yes – this idea should work, but the Idaho Potato Commission recommends refrigerating potatoes that have been pierced for food safety, so just allow more time to bake the casserole when starting with cold potatoes. We hope you enjoy!
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