Hashbrown Casserole is easy, cheesy and totally delicious! This simple casserole is made easy with frozen hashbrowns!
Copy Cat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown casserole needs just 5 minutes of prep making it the a great side or potluck dish! The perfect breakfast casserole!
The Hashbrowns, That’s Why
I love Cracker Barrel but the truth is… I only show up for the hashbrown casserole. That’s it. Just the hashbrowns people.
My friend shared her version of that yummy, oh so creamy and cheesy easy Hashbrown Casserole with me and WOW! Tender shredded hash browns in a rich and creamy cheese sauce, topped with more cheese and baked until hot and bubbly!
This is a perfect breakfast casserole for any holiday morning or just when you’re getting the family together for a delicious breakfast or brunch. It also makes a perfect side dish for Crispy Oven Parmesan Chicken or even served alongside a Ranch 7 Layer Salad for lunch!
Better Than the Original
There are lots of recipes out there for this cheesy casserole but this is the one I’ve found to be the closest! This hashbrown casserole is made with condensed cream of chicken soup. I’ve also made it with cream of cheddar soup if you can find it. Both work perfectly in this recipe! While I’ve had a version of hashbrown casserole without sour cream, I definitely prefer it with, it adds a little bit of creaminess and tang to the recipe. Since this is a copy cat hashbrown casserole recipe, my list of ingredients is inevitably different than the original but the flavor is just like my favorite Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole (in fact, it’s even BETTER in my opinion)!
How to Make Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
One of the best things about hashbrown casserole is that it’s super quick to prepare (5 minutes). I literally cannot stop eating it; dinner, bedtime snack and then breakfast if there is any left!
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- Spread into a 9×13 dish.
- Top with cheese and bake. Voila!
It’s that easy! If you’d like you can add leftover chicken, ham or ground beef to this easy recipe. Stir in your favorite veggies as well, Steamed Broccoli, peas or frozen veggies work well too!
Toppings
I like to top it with cheese to keep it close to the version I’ve had at Cracker Barrel but if you prefer a nice crunchy topping on your hashbrown casserole, this is also great with cornflakes. Gently crush 2 cups of cornflakes and toss with 1/4 cup of melted butter, sprinkle over the casserole before baking.
How to Freeze Hashbrown Casserole
This easy cheesy hashbrown casserole can easily be frozen. We usually prepare as directed and freeze any leftovers in individual servings making them the perfect lunch or quick dinner.
More Potato Dishes You’ll Love
- Scalloped Potatoes Recipe – Simple classic recipe.
- Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes – Creamy perfection.
- Twice Baked Potatoes – Make ahead (these freeze well).
- Perfect Baked Potatoes
- Potatoes Au Gratin
- Colcannon Recipe (Cabbage and Potatoes) – So yummy!!
Copy Cat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen shredded hash browns thawed
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 10 ¼ ounce can of cream of chicken soup (or cream of cheddar)
- 1 pint sour cream
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
- 2 cups colby cheese grated, divided
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
- In a large bowl, combine thawed hashbrowns, melted butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, onion, 1 ½ cups of cheese, and pepper.
- Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the reserved ½ cup of cheese.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Note: This recipe originally appeared on SpendWithPennies.com April, 2013.
More Must Try Cheesy Casseroles
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
Do the thawed hash browns need to be drained?
I typically find after defrosting there is not a lot of excess moisture, but if there is liquid you can drain it off before adding. I hope this helps!
I made this with the cubed potatoes and I didn’t like the resulting consistency as much as the shredded potatoes. Normally I use half the amount of butter and use 2 cans of soup. I also add some garlic salt. It is very creamy and cheesy!
Pretty sure most people haven’t eaten at CB if they like this recipe.
This in no way resembles that HB casserole. This resembled leftover mashed potatoes baked in a 9×13 with some cheese on top. Yes, I followed the recipe exactly. Don’t claim to be a copycat recipe if you are so far from reality.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe as much as we do Michelle. Thank you for trying it.
Really really good. Never any leftovers, ever. Hate to think of the calories, so I don’t! :) Thanks …oh, I added dried crispy onions to the top, yummy! and threw in leftover grated fresh parmesean. That’s the beauty of this recipe, add veggies, meat, more cheese, Make it your own, or not. Good stuff.
Those additions sound delicious Linda! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
I’ll be honest and say I don’t like the restaurant’s version of this recipe because it seems dry so I was nervous. The ingredients look more like the one my mother makes (no recipe, she just throws things together) and I was hopeful! I ended up eating this all week and it made great leftovers! I’ve been craving comfort food and this hit the spot! I subbed southern style hash browns because that’s what I had. So good!
I made this recipe and did not have all the jack cheese so I added some mozz and parm to the cheddar that I did have. I also had some cooked bacon left over in the fridge so I took a handfull chopped it up and stired it in. This was excellent. I would decrease the butter just a bit, I found mine kind of greasy.
I have both a can cream of chicken and a can of the cheddar cheese. In your opinion which taste better?
Either would be delicious April. I tend to chose cream of chicken because I love the flavor!
Do you use packaged pre-shredded cheese?
I like to shred my own cheese as I find it melts better, but pre-shredded cheese should work just fine in this recipe Lola. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Can you make it ahead?
Yes, this can be made ahead and either baked tomorrow or reheated tomorrow. If baking from the fridge, you may need to add a little bit of extra cooking time. Enjoy Michele!
wow….I made this last night….it was fantastic….goes great with BBQ chicken wings.
This casserole is delicious! i used cheddar cheese soup in the recipe and added crispy fried onions to the top for added crunch.
How would these work in a crock?
Yes, this can be cooked in a slow cooker (4qt). I’d cook it about the same as our crock pot mac and cheese. I would suggest cooking it at the lowest temperature and keeping an eye on it as dairy can sometimes curdle or separate at higher temperatures.
Honestly, this recipe was not it, I cooked it for 45 minutes following the exact recipe and it was not fully cooked. I added an additional 15 minutes and the onions were still raw and honestly there was way too much sour cream and general mix too potatoes, nowhere near the Cracker Barrel consistency. After an hour it was just par-baked sour creamy potatoes. Did it taste good? Absolutely. But I highly suggest you either cook the onions partway through or omit them all together and half the sour cream!
Tomorrow, I will be broiling it for an additional 20 minutes to see if I can get a good consistency!
Sorry that you didn’t enjoy it Des, it’s quite a hit at our house. Thank you for trying the recipe.
Is this with salted or unsalted butter? I plan to make this evening for game night and “Breakfast for Dinner”.
Either will work but I usually use unsalted as the rest of the ingredients have enough salt for my liking. Enjoy Liz!
Just made this today! I hate cooking and it was so easy, and honestly way better than Cracker Barrels! Would definitely make again, huge hit with my siblings!
Also followed recipe completely!
Can this be made with freshly grated hashbrowns?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. If you do try it, you may need to increase the cooking time to ensure the potatoes are fully cooked (or pre cook them).
Made this recipe for Easter brunch. Excellent and very easy to make. Big hit! Will make again!
these are better than Cracker Barrels. They are more creamy. Followed the recipe to a T. Will be freezing some and can’t wait to eat them again. My health conscious. husband couldn’t stop eating them.
Made the casserole for brunch. Response from my son-n-law and husband, amazing and flavorful. I just used 8z sour cream and a little garlic powder. Garlic makes me sick so it was very little. We have never had this before, but definitely a keeper!
I merged a few comments together and feel like it came out fantastic:
Marge Chapman knows what she’s talking about: 8 oz sour cream worked great. 16oz would be way too much cream. I still used a full stick (1/2 cup) and no complaints.
I followed Heather and Simon’s recommendation to sauté half a yellow onion and 2 minced garlic cloves for a few minutes to soften which everyone liked.
make sure your hash browns are completely thawed out! There was a slight crunch on mine and I wish I’d have cooked a few min longer. 55 min is my recommended cook time.
I prefer to print recipes out – not Pin… but I don’t see a way to do that… wonderful recipes…. but….
Hi Cheryl, on the recipe card itself you should see Save, Pin, Review, and Print buttons at the top of the recipe (just under the title). Please let us know if that helps!
I copy and paste into Office Word and then can print out the recipes
Is the nutritional guide per person or per recipe?
It is per serving Jayne. Enjoy!