Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole

Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole – mashed potatoes loaded with cheddar, bacon, and ranch. SO easy and tastes AMAZING!!! Instant mashed potatoes, hash browns, cream cheese, butter, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing mix, bacon, sour cream, and crushed Ritz crackers. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later. Great for a crowd! #casserole #makeahead #freezermeal #potatoes #mashedpotatoes #bacon #hashbrowns

Mashed Potato Casserole Loaded With Cheddar, Bacon, & Ranch

This Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole is my all-time favorite mashed potato recipe. OMG! SO good! Mashed potatoes and hash browns loaded with cheddar, bacon, and ranch. I mean, what’s not to like?!?!? I could honestly make a meal out of just these potatoes. We make this potato casserole all the time. It goes great with just about everything – burgers, chicken, pork, steaks. Not only is this Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole absolutely delicious, but it is also super easy to make! Quick, easy, and delicious. Three of my favorite things!

How to Make Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole

This Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole is super easy to make. It starts with some instant mashed potatoes. Cook the instant mashed potatoes and then mix in some frozen shredded hash browns, butter, sour cream, cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Spread the potato mixture into a baking dish and top the casserole with some crushed Ritz crackers. Pop the casserole in the oven and bake.

You can substitute homemade mashed potatoes for instant mashed potatoes. You will need about 4 cups of mashed potatoes for this recipe. This is a great casserole to use up any leftover mashed potatoes you might have on hand.

You can use freshly cooked or precooked bacon in this casserole. I usually use precooked bacon because it is so much easier. I actually buy precooked bacon in bulk at Sam’s Club and Costco for casseroles like this.

Can I Freeze Mashed Potato Casserole?

You can absolutely freeze this potato casserole. Since there are only two of us, I usually divide the potato mixture between a couple of foil pans and freeze them for a quick side dish later. You can freeze the casserole baked or unbaked. I usually freeze the casserole unbaked and bake when we are ready to eat.

To freeze the casserole, cover the pan with plastic wrap and foil and freeze. When ready to bake, thaw completely in the refrigerator and bake as directed below. To reheat the casserole, thaw completely and cover with foil. Reheat the casserole at 350ºF for 30 to 40 minutes.

What to Serve with Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

This Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole is a favorite at our house. We always have a pan in the freezer for a quick side dish. As I said, this potato casserole goes with just about everything. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this easy Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole:

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Recipe Print Recipe

Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole

Author: Plain Chicken

Yield: 8 people

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Cracked Out Mashed Potato Casserole – mashed potatoes loaded with cheddar, bacon, and ranch. SO easy and tastes AMAZING!!! Instant mashed potatoes, hash browns, cream cheese, butter, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing mix, bacon, sour cream, and crushed Ritz crackers. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later. Great for a crowd! #casserole #makeahead #freezermeal #potatoes #mashedpotatoes #bacon #hashbrowns

Equipment:

• Glass Mixing Bowls
• 9×13-inch Baking Dish

Ingredients:

• 2 (4-oz) packages butter & herb instant mashed potatoes
• 1 (32-oz) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 4- oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 1-oz package dry Ranch dressing mix
• 1½ cups chopped cooked bacon
• ¼ cup butter melted
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Prepare instant mashed potatoes according to package directions.
• In a large bowl, combine cooked mashed potatoes, butter, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream, ranch mix, and bacon. Stir in shredded hash browns. Spread in prepared pan.
• Combine ¼ cup melted butter with Ritz crackers. Sprinkle on top of casserole.
• Bake, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes.

Notes:

Can prepare through step 4 and refrigerate or freeze for later.

To bake after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed in step 5.

Omit Ritz crackers for a gluten-free casserole.

Can substitue a small can of french fried onions for Ritz crackers and butter

Do not make the ranch dressing. Only use the dry packet mix.

Increase or reduce the amount of ranch dressing mix to your personal preference.

Plain Chicken

https://www.plainchicken.com/cracked-out-mashed-potato-casserole/

All images and text © Plain Chicken, Inc.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @plainchicken or tag #plainchicken!

Steph