Twice Baked Potato Casserole

This creamy, cheesy Twice Baked Potato Casserole is the perfect side dish for the holidays or any special meal. Everyone will go crazy for this loaded potato casserole with bacon and cheese.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole is everything you love about twice baked potatoes, but with the convenience of a casserole!

Just like traditional twice-baked potatoes, we’ll start with baked Russet potatoes. Scoop them out, but you can throw away the peels – we won’t need them in this easy recipe. Rather than mashing them up and adding them back to the potato peels, we are just going to add the creamy potato filling to our trusty 9×13-inch baking pan.

Top the whole thing with plenty of cheddar cheese and crispy bacon pieces and bake until your loaded potato casserole is perfectly melty and amazing!

Need more cheesy potato ideas? Try my Funeral Potatoes, Boursin Mashed Potatoes, or Scalloped Potatoes with Ham.

The Perfect Cheesy Potato Side Dish

• A Twist on a Traditional Recipe – I like that this recipe takes a fancy potato dish that you might find in a steakhouse and turns it into an approachable side dish that is more suited to your dinner table. All of the flavors are here, but without so much fuss.
• Ultimate Comfort Food – Creamy mashed potatoes are on the top of my list when it comes to cozy, comforting foods, and this casserole takes them to a whole new level with bacon, cheese, and fresh green onions.
• Feeds a Crowd – You’ll get about 10 servings from this recipe, so it’s going to be perfect for holiday dinners. It pairs wonderfully with Easter Ham, Thanksgiving Roast Turkey, or Christmas Prime Rib.

Key Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this easy twice baked potato casserole:

• Potatoes: Russet potatoes bake up nice and fluffy for this recipe. Yukon golds are another good option. If you can’t find russets where you live, look for Sebago potatoes in Australia or Maris Piper or King Edwards potatoes in the UK.
• Butter, Milk, and Sour Cream: We’ll add these rich dairy products to the potatoes so that we can mash them up smooth and creamy.
• Bacon: Thick-cut bacon, cooked until crispy, is the perfect topping for this casserole, but we’ll add most of it directly to the potato filling for a salty, smoky flavor in every bite.
• Cheddar Cheese: Sharp Cheddar is the perfect choice for twice-baked potatoes. It’s full of flavor and melts beautifully.
• Green Onion: These are added at the end, as a pretty green garnish, but they also add a lovely mild onion flavor the casserole.

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How To Make Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Get started by preheating the oven to 375°F (190°C), or 170°C if using a fan oven, and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking pan and set aside.

1. Bake the Potatoes: Scrub and dry the potatoes, coat them with vegetable oil, season with salt, pierce a few times with a fork, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until done.
2. Cook the Bacon: While the potatoes are baking, add the bacon to a skillet and cook until it’s crispy.
3. Cool and Crumble: Let the bacon drain and cool on paper towels, then crumble or chop into small bits.

4. Peel the Potatoes: Remove the potatoes from the oven. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and discard the skins.
5. Mash: Mash the baked potatoes in a large bowl until no chunks remain. Decrease the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).
6. Add Sour Cream: To the potatoes, add butter and sour cream, then gradually add the milk as you mash until you reach the right consistency. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
7. Stir in Cheese and Bacon: Stir in half of the cheddar cheese, and most of the bacon (reserve 2 tablespoons for the topping.

8. Add Potatoes to a Casserole Dish: Spread the cheesy potato mixture into the prepared 9×13 baking pan evenly.
9. Top with Cheese and Bacon: Cover the potatoes with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese and sprinkle the rest of the bacon bits on top.
10. Bake: Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until warmed through. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sliced green onions, and serve.

Recipe Tips

• Try it with boiled potatoes. Use regular white potatoes or red-skinned potatoes. Quarter them and boil until tender, then mash and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
• Pierce the potatoes before baking: Pierce potatoes with a fork before baking to avoid exploding potatoes!
• Save some of the skins. For a more rustic baked potato casserole, mash some of the skins from the baked potatoes into the mixture.
• Use freshly grated cheese. Cheese that you’ve grated yourself will be tastier and melt much better than bagged pre-shredded cheese.

Storing Tips

Leftovers can be stored in the refridgerator for up to three days, or frozen for up to three months.

When freezing, it’s best to store the potatoes in smaller serving sizes. They will thaw more quickly and be easier to reheat this way.

Variations

This baked potato casserole is almost a blank slate, and ready for all of your creative mix-ins! Try some of these tasty ideas:

• Caramelized onions
• Ranch Dressing Mix
• Red pepper flakes or sriracha for some heat
• Salsa

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this in a crock pot?

Yes! Assemble the casserole in a slow cooker instead of a casserole dish.
Heat on low for 2 hours or on high for 1 hour. Once the cheese is melted, switch it to warm. If you’re using the crockpot to cook the casserole it from a cold state, add an additional 1-2 hours of heating time.

What can I use instead of sour cream?

When making mashed potatoes, sour cream adds a wonderful richness and creaminess. You can replace it with heavy cream or unsweetened yogurt to get a similar texture. Softened cream cheese can also be added, but it will make the potatoes thicker. Add a bit of extra milk if that’s the case.

This amazing Twice Baked Potato Casserole will be the star of your meal, whether it’s a regular weeknight or a special holiday. Keep this recipe (Pin it!) so that you won’t lose it – once you make it the first time you will surely be asked to make it again and again.