Twice Baked Potato Casserole

This twice-baked potato casserole is probably one of the best things I’ve made with potatoes, aside from this hashbrown casserole. Enclosed in a layer of melted cheese and bacon are fluffy, baked potatoes loaded with sour cream, savory cheese, and more bacon! If you’re looking for comfort food, this is a sure win. 

But, let’s talk about ingredients for a moment. If you’re going to make a potato casserole, you’ve got to get the right potatoes for the job. 

For this twice-baked potato casserole recipe, we want to use Yukon Gold potatoes, which have a good balance of starch content and moisture. Alongside Russet potatoes and Idaho potatoes, these are great for roasting and bakes. Yukon Gold potatoes do cost a bit more, but the buttery and fluffy result it gives makes it all worth it!

Recipe Ingredients

Prepare these ingredients for the twice-baked potato casserole. 

• Yukon Gold potatoes – Grab 4 pounds of potatoes. This is about 16 medium-sized potatoes. Rinse and scrub to clean any soil off, and then dry with a paper towel. If you cannot find any, Russet potatoes are a good alternative. 
• Bacon – I’ve chopped up 1 pack (about 12 pieces) of bacon, but feel free to use more than that. 
• Salted butter – Prepare a stick of salted butter. Bring it to room temperature and then slice it into pats, plus more for greasing the pan. 
• Sour cream and milk 
• Cheese – I’ve used cream cheese and marble cheddar in this recipe; a delicious combination, especially when baked. 
• Salt and pepper 
• Green onions – Thinly sliced for garnish (optional). 

How To Make Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Step One: Bake the potatoes. After you have scrubbed and dried the Yukon Gold potatoes, bake until fork-tender for about 1 hour in an oven preheated to 400°F. 

• Pro Tip: I like to poke holes in the potatoes to allow the heat to penetrate and cook the potatoes more thoroughly. 

Step Two: Cook the bacon. While the potatoes are in the oven, dice the bacon. Cook in a large frying pan on medium heat until it is crispy and cooked through, stirring occasionally. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to cool.

Step Three: Mash the potatoes. Let the potatoes cool down after they’re done baking. Slice them in half and remove the flesh with a spoon, discarding the skin. Lightly mash the potatoes with a potato masher until almost completely mashed.

• Pro Tip: If you like potato skins like I do, chop up 2 to 3 of the potato skins and add them to the bowl. 

Step Four: Prepare the ingredients for the filling. The butter, sour cream, cream cheese, and milk should be at room temperature. Combine these ingredients with the mashed potato and season with salt and pepper. Add some grated cheddar and some cooked bacon, setting the rest aside for toppings. 

Step Five: To bake the casserole, grease a 3-quart baking dish and transfer the potato mixture. Cover it with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes. Discard the foil and top with the remaining shredded cheese and bacon. Bake again, uncovered for 20 minutes until warmed through and lightly golden on top. 

Step Six: Garnish. Top with any additional bacon and optional green onion. Enjoy!

Optional Toppings & Variations

There’s a lot of space to get creative and add a twist to this twice-baked potato casserole. Just small tweaks can make a significant difference in the overall flavor! 

• Make it spicy – Add some jalapenos, paprika, or chili powder inside the casserole filling. Or, if you want to give your guests the option, bake the casserole according to the recipe and simply offer a hot sauce like Sriracha or Tabasco as a condiment. I’m getting spicy tingles on my tongue as I’m typing this!
• Enjoy with a compote – Add a spoonful of sweet chili jam as a topping. This adds a tinge of sweetness and complements the cheese and sour cream mix in the casserole. 
• Add garlic – Whether chopped or as whole cloves, garlic brings a delicious umami to this casserole, especially when it is baked. Add the garlic to the potato mixture with cheese and sour cream.

What else would you add to make variations to this twice baked potato casserole recipe? Drop your suggestions in the comments! 

What To Serve With This Recipe

A bowl of Twice Baked Potatoes can be a meal all in themselves or you can serve them as a show stopping side.  Some of my favorite main courses to serve them with are:

• Pork Tenderloin
• Easy Cranberry Rosemary Chicken
• Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
• Turkey for the holidays

Expert Tips & Tricks

The best way to prepare cold ingredients for baking is to first bring them to room temperature. Doing this ensures they can cook through perfectly, reaching the desired texture for the dish. The last thing you want to do is to add the ingredients cold, straight from the fridge. 

• To bring the butter, sour cream, and cream cheese to room temperature I allow it to sit on the countertop for an hour before adding it to the potatoes. I usually take these out as soon as I have put the whole potatoes into the oven. 
• To bring milk to room temperature quickly and safely, pour milk into a microwave-safe dish or measuring cup and heat it in the microwave for a few seconds: 20 seconds for ½ cup of milk, 30 seconds for 1 cup of milk, 45 seconds for 2 cups of milk. For this recipe, you will only need to microwave the 1 cup of milk for 30 seconds. Microwave the milk right before ready to use.

Storage & Reheating Instructions

Once the potato casserole has cooled to room temperature, wrap it in cling foil. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month. 

To reheat, place it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. You can add more cheese on top to get extra crispy and savory cheesiness!  

Twice Baked Potato Casserole Recipe

This Twice Baked Potato Casserole is the perfect comfort food for the holidays. Good thing it's so easy to make because everyone will be asking for seconds!

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes approx 16 medium sized, scrubbed and dried
• ▢ 1 pack of bacon reserve about 1/2 cup for topping
• ▢ 1 stick (½ cup) salted butter softened and sliced into pats, plus more for greasing the pan
• ▢ 3/4 cup sour cream room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup milk warmed
• ▢ 4 ounce cream cheese softened at room temperature
• ▢ 2 ½ cups marble cheddar cheese freshly grated and divided
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 3 green onions thinly sliced for serving (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 °F
• Clean and scrub potatoes. Then poke a few holes over them with a fork. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes (depending on size) or until tender when pierced with a fork, flipping halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
• Remove from fridge the butter, sour cream, cream cheese and milk. Set them aside, they shouldn’t be cold when combined with the potatoes. Pro Tip: To bring the butter, sour cream and cream cheese to room temperature I allow to sit on the countertop for an hour before adding to the potatoes. To bring milk to room temperature quickly and safely, pour milk into a microwave safe dish or measuring cup and heat it in the microwave for a few seconds: 20 seconds for ½ cup of milk, 30 seconds for 1 cup of milk, 45 seconds for 2 cups of milk. For this recipe you will only need to microwave the 1 cup of milk for 30 seconds. Microwave milk right before ready to use.
• While the potatoes cook, dice the bacon into small pieces. In a large frying pan on medium heat, cook the bacon for about 10 minutes or until it is crispy and cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove cooked bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to cool.
• Remove the potatoes from the oven once easily pierced with a fork and reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
• Once cool, slice warm potatoes in half and remove flesh with a spoon and place in a large bowl; discard skin. (Pro Tip: If you like potato skins, like I do, chop up 2 to 3 of the potato skins and add them to the bowl).
• Lightly mash the potatoes with a potato masher until almost completely mashed.
• Fold in the rest of the ingredients: the room temperature butter, sour cream, cream cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
• Add 1 ½ cups of the grated cheese and 1 cup of the cooked crumbled bacon and set the rest aside for topping the casserole.
• Lightly butter a 3 quart baking dish and transfer in the potato mixture. Cover with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes.
• Discard foil and top with the remaining shredded cheese and bacon. Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 more minutes until warmed through and lightly golden on top. Let rest 10 minutes.
• Top with any additional bacon and optional green onion then serve.